The science behind what we eat, and the effects that the food we ingest have on our body is a broad one, and there are many different types of therapists who are full-time livings from advising people on how they can improve their health by making changes in their diets.

Nutritionists are just one of many examples of these types of professionals.

Nutritionists do a lot of the same work that dietitians and sports therapist do, in that they make recommendations about the types of diets that people should strive to maintain.

The difference that sets nutritionists apart is in who they deal with. Other types of therapists who deal with dieting, such as ones that work in sports medicine, are often dealing with athletes or at least people that require some individualized advice for their diets in order to accomplish their own unique fitness goals.

For example, someone who is running track and field is going to require a much different diet to be designed for them than someone who’s trying to bulk up to play as a linebacker.

Nutritionists do dole out a lot of advice about dieting, but they do so in a much more general way. They generally deal with much larger groups of people, such as in a classroom setting, and the dietary recommendations that they make usually involve changes that are safely applicable to average people with average goals.

Anytime you see a public address that comes on the news dealing with food substances at large that are declared to be either generally bad or generally good for most people, it’s usually a high-ranking nutritionist in the food industry whose research is suggesting these conclusions.

Although they do deal with a lot of the same sciences that other types of dietitians do, nutritionists do require a slightly different path of certification in order to become licensed in their profession. They usually don’t require any type of training in personal therapy, which is something that is common among people who deal with more individualized dieting solutions.

This is because nutritionists often do not work directly with the public. Much of their work is done in a research environment, such as a food laboratory at a major university, or in some sort of food company’s research facility.

They generally deal with case studies involving the long-term effects of ingredients in foods that are offered to the public, and make broad recommendations about trends that they see taking place in diets of most Americans as a result of their observations.

Anyone who is young and talented, and wants to enjoy the feeling of doing significant scientific research that genuinely benefits millions of Americans, and helps to fight off many unhealthy trends that are beginning to become a problem in this country, such as obesity, might do well to consider being a professional nutritionist as an option for their career path.

Find out more about nutritionists and read articles on natural therapy.

Acne is one of those conditions that is especially vexing to its victims because it can be triggered by many things and make an appearance at the most inopportune times. The solutions for acne are many and can range from drugstore creams to professional services administered at the dermatologist’s office. You might not be aware, though, that easy and effective solutions can be found in your own home and they barely cost anything. Try an acne cure treatment from the list below and you might be surprised at how simple it can be.

1. Always cleanse before bed.

This seems like it ought not to be even mentioned, but being neglectful about cleansing your face is quite common. After a long evening out you might just tell yourself that you don’t need to wash your face that particular night, but remember that make-up is a barrier placed on the skin. Even when you’re dead tired, make sure to wash your face and all the cosmetics and grime that can potentially trigger a breakout.

2. Popping a zit isn’t the worst sin.

This only applies to those pimples that have formed a visible white head on the surface and seem ready to be purged. By no means should you go digging, or attack any deep cystic acne. You can sanitize a needle with alcohol and gently puncture the head in order to squeeze out any pus. Dab on a bit of anti-bacterial ointment afterwards. Releasing the contents and pressure this way may actually better facilitate the healing process.

3. Salt water toner.

You might have noticed that after an afternoon swimming at the beach, your skin seems to clear up over the next few days. This makes perfect sense because the antibacterial properties of the salt in the sea water helps to disinfect your pores. You can make a salt water tonic at home and use it as a treatment on your skin. Just apply with a cotton ball nightly before bed.

4. Aspirin mask.

Taking aspirin can help in two ways. First, it works as an anti-inflammatory if taken orally. Second, if crushed and mixed with water into a paste, it can work as a mask. Gentle beta hydroxy acids will help clean up clogged pores, so try this a couple times a week and you will notice a clear glow to your complexion.

5. Ice it down.

This is the cheapest option and it comes right out of your own freezer. This is particularly effective when used at the fist onset of a pimple. If you sense a dull ache where the lesion is about to make its appearance, immediately reduce the swelling by applying an ice pack. If done in intervals throughout the day, this can drastically reduce the life span of your acne and reduce redness.

Learn How To Identify A Quality Acne Cure Treatment And Not Get Swamped With Inadequate Remedies That Fritter Away Cash And Do Not Work. Plus Read A Huge And Expanding Library Of Acne Cure Advice, Great Treatments, Resources And A Free Of Charge ebook, Visit Our Site Right Now => http://www.acnedone.com

Often misunderstood, because of the way most people interpret feeling bad, is the way the body seeks to heal and add quality years to the particular person involved. Termed the Healing Crisis, it is the bodys attempt to throw off toxicity and get the rest imperative for healing.

A healing crisis can be as simple as a cold or influenza. As bad as they sometimes feel, crises definitely slow a person down and force at least some needed rest. It can be safely said that many supposed flu-like symptoms are really food poisoning, especially if the person eats at fast food places regularly.

During anytime of healing, even in the case of serious illnesses, cleansing the body with organic juicing or supervised water fasting (not recommended without support) colon hydro-therapy or other safe, time tested and success proven methods are suggested to work along with the natural process of the body.

Whether a healing crisis comes on naturally, the bodys attempt to give the person a better quality of life by throwing off toxicity, or is a cleanse prompted by the person through diet or other methods, it is important to support the body with rest, fresh water and as little stress as possible.

The healing crisis may not feel great; however, it can add years to life. When symptoms are merely suppressed with medication and one goes on with what one must do without needed rest, the need for the cleanse does not disappear. In fact rather than being so close to the surface, the cause dives deeper; and unresolved, what the body wanted to rid itself of will gain power and become serious illness in years to come.

Many people dont have the tolerance for feeling badly. It can feel better to suppress messages and healing processes rather than accept opportunities to throw off toxicity. The majority of society feels that way; and, it becomes their mindset because of the messages sent via television, pharmaceutical companies and certain parental advisement.

To be really truthful these healing crises seem to happen at the most inopportune times, like in the middle of meeting a crucial deadline. This is because the person is under some serious stress which taxes the immune system.

To recap, the healing crisis which can feel like influenza, have coughing fits, headaches, diarrhea, skin eruptions etc. is a naturally occurring attempt on the bodys part to heal and spring clean. A person has the choice to rest and take care of themselves or to bear up and push the body further without rest. The latter is suppression.

What to do if you are in a crisis and you make the smart decision to go with the flow and support your body? Take as much rest as possible. If you must work, take a different attitude while there of emotional detachment. Meditate morning and night. This will give you the opportunity for thoughtfulness, prayer, scientific or not, and space to hear what the Universe is trying to tell you. Buy or use your juicer. Drink at least a quart of fresh juice a day. Get a book that gives you juice recommendations. Eat only food that has a natural earth color; in other words, no fast food, nothing white, no dairy and no meat, no breads.

The above are easy and inexpensive alternatives to staying sick or suppression through medication. If youre a bit more ambitious you can get colonics, delve into traditional uses of herbal combinations, see a naturopath, get body work and join an on-line or local community support group.

Like everything in life healing crises are cyclical. If you are recovering from cancer or other life threatening illness, plan on healing and cleansing naturally several times a year, stay on your food regime and find a nutritional and naturopathic accountability coach. You will need to do this for support.

If you are under a doctors care for any life threatening illness you should ask for assistance in determining difference between normal body healing and an acute but life threatening attack. It is also notable that the body will never recover from a chronic disease without the healing crisis.

The High Intelligence within each body is such a miracle and should not be dulled or minimized, cannot be quantified in absolute terms and can be trusted. It is your gift to be well and get well naturally. Rely on your own judgment in this regard and take back control of your body. Making your own decisions and trusting your body is the first part of healing from within.

Take Care of Yourself You Deserve It, Ellen Valentine, CNC

Ellen Valentine is a Life Transitions Coach and Nutritional Counselor. Her passion is assisting people feel ease in the body and with normal healing processes. Create Health Early in life and Wellness through Coaching the Whole Being

categories: nutrition,healing,the common cold and flu,natural healing,health and fitness,longevity,healing and spirituality,alternative healing methods

There’s a new star on the medicinal mushroom sky. It goes by Phellinus linteus in Latin. The little known English common name is Black Hoof Fungus. It’s far more common, even in America, to hear it referred to by its Japanese name as Mesima.

Phellinus linteus is common in Southeast Asia as well as the southern United States. It grows on hardwood species of oak, mulberries and poplar, and sometimes on pines. [1]

Whereas we in America have gotten wind of most medicinal mushroom species by way of Japan or China, Phellinus linteus primarily gained its fame in Korea as an adjunct to traditional chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

The reputation of Phellinus linteus as a powerful medicinal mushroom has rapidly spread across the world and today it is increasingly popular with medical professionals from the U.S. and Japan to Turkey and Israel as an immune booster [2-11], especially for the prevention of cancer metastasis. [5,10,12-17]

It may have all began when a’96 Korean study reported that Phellinus linteus extract exhibited a broader range of immune enhancing and anti-cancer properties than the extracts from other species of medicinal mushrooms. [4]

World renown American mycologist Paul Stamets took this a step further when he published research in 2003 which compared seven of the world’s most popular medicinal mushroom species, including Reishi, Cordyceps, Maitake, Chaga, Lion’s Mane and Agaricus blazei. [18]

Phellinus linteus had a stronger effect than any of them on the part of the immune system known as macrophages. The activity of this type of white blood cell increased by 5,700% when Phellinus linteus extract was administered in an amount equivalent to 3,750 mg for an average size adult (165 lbs). [18]

It should be noted that macrophages may promote cancer growth as well as fight cancer. The research that has been published about Phellinus linteus extract indicates that it enhances the anti-cancer properties of macrophages. [8,14,19,20]

Additional reports have been published on cases of “spontaneously” regressed cancers, where the patients reported having used Phellinus linteus by their own choice:

1. A Japanese article from 2004 reported a “dramatic remission of hormone refractory prostate cancer achieved with extract of the mushroom, Phellinus linteus.” [15]

2. Next out was a Korean article published in 2005, which reported on a patient who “ingested mushroom called Phellinus linteus for one and a half years” before exhibiting “spontaneous regression” of liver cancer and skull metastasis. [17]

3. And then one year later, in 2006, another Japanese article was published on “a case of spontaneous regression of hepatocellular carcinoma with multiple lung metastases.” The 79-year-old patient had been taking an extract of Phellinus linteus Mycelium for a month. When examined by his doctor 6 months later, his tumors had disappeared. [16]

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The mushroom Phellinus linteus has not been approved by the FDA for medicinal use. Always consult a licensed medical practitioner before using any herb or mushroom medicinally.

Dr. Rafael currently specializes in research on medicinal mushrooms, having worked in the natural health field since’96. He partners with Cordyceps Reishi Extract, LLC, a business offering premium grade medicinal mushroom products including Phellinus linteus extract. For article references, go the Phellinus linteus reference page.

categories: herbs,herbal,nutrition,supplements,wellness,healing,prostate cancer,cancer,men’s,medicine,disease,research,biology,nature

5,300 years ago, an injured and starving man from Val Venosta, Italy, fled across an Alpine glacier to escape pursuers. But his enemies caught up with him and with a practiced arrow-shot penetrated his shoulder blade and subclavian artery. Before long, he was dead from blood loss. “Oetzi the Iceman” was found mummified in 1991. On his person were pouches containing mushroom remedies, the oldest known proof in existence of medicinal mushrooms usage.

One of the mushrooms was Birch polypore – Piptoporus betulinus – which it is believed he used as a remedy against intestinal parasites. Eggs of the whipworm parasite (Trichuris trichiura) were found in his intestines. The other mushroom in the possession of Oetzi was Tinder fungus – Fomes fomentarius – which has been traditionally used in Europe to cauterize wounds and stop bleeding.

Both of these are polypores, so named because they have pores instead of gills underneath. No species of polypore is known to be poisonous. They usually grow on trees, dead or alive.

Few polypores are edible because they are hard and fibrous. But people in the Orient as well as the Occident have used them to treat a multitude of diseases for ages. Usually in the form of a tea that would be brewed and drunk; sometimes as a poultice placed on a wound or over an aching body part.

In North America, some Indian tribes used polypore extracts as remedies against smallpox and other illnesses that arrived with the Europeans. Birch polypore was among these. Other polypores used were Chaga (Inonotus obliquus), Reishi (Ganoderma resinaceum), Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor), and the now threatened species Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis).

Although nearly extinct today, Agarikon was once common in the old-growth forests of ancient Europe. Greek physician Dioscorides referred to Agarikon as a remedy for tuberculosis in Materia Medica, 65 B.C. It’s the earliest record of a medicinal mushroom in European literature. Two millennia later, the historic use of Agarikon in Poland was put down in writing in the article Medicinal mushrooms in Polish Folk Medicine by K. Grzywnowics. Again, it included lung conditions, as well as rheumatoid arthritis and infected wounds.

So far, we’ve only covered the history of medicinal mushrooms in Europe and America and have barely even touch upon their use in Asia, where their use has been even more exhaustive. At least three Asian species must be included in any article on the history of mushrooms.

First out is Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), sometimes nicknamed the “Mushroom of Immortality” due to its wide range of healing properties. Reishi was mentioned in Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic from around 2,000 years ago. Many ancient Oriental temples and wood-carvings include images of this highly revered “cure-all” fungus.

Next is Cordyceps, a minute fungus from the Tibetan plateau, parasitising on silk caterpillars. Cordyceps sinensis was first mentioned as a medicinal mushroom in The Classic Herbal of the Divine Plowman from 200 A.D. It is popular with athletes to improve physical stamina. Historically, it’s been used as an aphrodiciac.

Finally there is Shiitake, the number one gourmet mushroom of the Orient. Shiitake has been cultured in China for approximately 1,000 years as a food. What is less known is that it is also one of the most researched medicinal mushrooms in the world. A polysaccharide extracted from Shiitake is approved in Japan as an anti-cancer drug. Other qualities hinted at by research include antibiotic and immune enhancer.

Scientific research on medicinal mushrooms began in Japan in the late 1960’s. A ground-breaking study by Dr. Ikekawa found that mushroom growers and their families had lower cancer rates then the communities in which they lived. Today, medicinal research into mushrooms has expanded exponentially around the world and is still increasing. Medicinal mushrooms are still making history.

Note: The article is informational only. The FDA has not approved mushrooms for medicinal use. Always consult a licensed medical practitioner before using any product to treat an illness.

Dr. Rafael has worked in the natural health field since the mid-90’s as a researcher and author, now specializing in fungi for health. Click medicinal mushrooms for mushroom articles and products. The material for this article comes from several different sources. However, a large portion comes from the literature of medicinal fungi expert Paul Stamets, who deserves special credit and thanks.

In an interview on National Public Radio, world-renown medicinal mushroom expert Paul Stamets recounts his discovery of the healing properties of agarikon, a mushroom growing on 500-year-old trees in the old growth rainforests of the northwestern United States.

Scientists have known for some time that mushrooms are not plants. Far from it. They are more closely related to animals and humans then they are to the vegetables we eat. Because of that, they are often at risk from the same bacteria and other “bugs” that cause diseases in humans. Being well aware of this fact, Stamets asked himself how agarikon – a perennial mushroom living for up to 50 years – managed to fight off diseases so well in the perpetually wet rainforests. It must possess a potent immune system, he concluded, with potential anti-bacterial and anti-viral compounds that may act as antibiotics for humans.

Agarikon in the wild looks somewhat like a beehive on the trunk of some of the giant, ancient trees of the old-growth forests of the American northwest. (See picture of Paul Stamets with one of these wood conks by clicking on the agarikon-link on this page.) Be aware that this is an endangered species, which should be left unharmed in the wild. But be sure to bring your digital camera so you can prove to your mushroom club friends that you saw it.

Using a proprietary extraction method on his organically cultivated agarikon, Stamets created an agarikon medicinal. He sent a sample of it to the Defense Department for testing within the BIO Shield Program, at a top security lab facility in Ft. Dietrich, Maryland. The BIO Shield Program is dedicated to finding remedies for use against bioterrorism threats and potential biological warfare agents, such as anthrax or smallpox.

Within this BIO Shield Program, tens of thousands of natural and manmade compounds have been tested for use against biological warfare pathogens. Drug discovery supervisor John Seacrest was happy to report on the radio show that the agarikon extract provided by Stamets had indeed been one of the few substances tested that had proved effective against smallpox related viruses.

In lieu of this discovery, Stamets has applied for a patent to a mushroom related anti-viral drug. One of his sponsors is Boston investor John Norris. As Mr. Norris so correctly points out, not everybody is willing or able to be vaccinated.

A former second in command at the FDA, Mr. Norris is hopeful that he and Paul Stamets will be able to sell hundreds of millions of doses of this agarikon extract to the American, German and British armies’ defense stock-piles.

However, that may still be a few years off. This new mushroom-based anti-viral drug must first go through many lab trials and then gain final approval by the FDA.

Note: This article is intended for informational purposes only. Never use any herb or mushroom medicinally except as advised by a licensed medical practitioner.

Reference: Banse, T., NPR Morning Edition, Smallpox Defense May Be Found in Mushrooms, August 4, 2005.

About author: Dr. Markho Rafael has worked in natural health since the mid-90’s, specializing in medicinal mushrooms. Click Agarikon Mushroom for picture of agarikon, mushroom products, free mushroom articles, or to request a unique copy of any mushroom article for your own web-site or magazine / ezine. Click Fomitopsis medicinal for scientific research references about agarikon.

categories: virus,herbal,herbs,supplements,nutrition,wellness,alternative medicine,healing,medicine,disease,self help,fitness,biology,nature

Reishi extract is commonly used in Oriental Medicine as almost a cure-all. Both medical practitioners and regular people use it for things as innocent as stress and the common cold to more serious afflictions like asthma and cancer.

Working with cancer research at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science & Medicine is Dr. Fukumi Morishige, a strong proponent for the use of reishi in cancer treatment.

Below follows seven cases described by Dr. Morishige during a speech, later reprinted in the publication, Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III.

Growing up in Japan as Dr. Morishige did, it was impossible not to have heard of reishi. But he dismissed it as a mild herbal remedy to be used with limited results for non-terminal illnesses, not as a viable option for treating terminal conditions such as cancer. His curiosity arose when two of his cancer patients showed signs of remission, which they themselves claimed were due to their use of reishi.

The first was a 39-year-old female with lung cancer. Several hospitals had given her the same prognosis. The condition was too far progressed; there was nothing they could do to help her. She’d also been having secondary complications to the cancer in the form of edema of the chest cavity. But by the time she came to see Dr. Morishige six months later, those symptoms had completely disappeared. The patient herself insisted the improvement was due to 4 grams of reishi per day.

The second case was a young boy suffering from congenital liver cancer. At the age of 5, his attending physician determined that the condition was terminal and discontinued any further treatment. At 9 years of age, the boy’s parents brought him to see Dr. Morishige who could then find no remaining traces of the cancer. The parents explained to Dr. Morishige that they had been feeding their son reishi via a naso-gastric tube. It was at this point Dr. Morishige determined that reishi’s effect on cancer deserved further study.

Listed below are five of Dr. Morishige’s cases. Reishi and Vitamin C (for side effects) was used:

Case 1: A patient with a 5 cm (2 in.) brain tumor who had lost consciousness was placed on 6 gm of reishi per day in June of ‘86. By September, this 70-year-old-male patient had emerged from his comatose state. The reishi was decreased to 3 gm per day. Another three months later, December of 1986, scans showed diminishing size of the tumor. After it shrunk to 1 cm (0.4 in.), the hospital released the man to return home and live with his family.

Case 2: A patient with lung cancer, a 50-year-old female, was coughing up blood. Dr. Morishige put her on a daily dose of 6 gm of reishi. In six months, the tumor vanished. The woman, among other things, had regained her ability to climb stairs without suffering shortness of breath.

Case 3: Patient with breast cancer that had spread to the bones was in unbearable pain and immobilized below the head. An initial dose of 9 grams of reishi daily was increased to 20 grams per day. Two months later, the woman was pain free and released after demonstrating improvement in her ability to walk.

Case 4: A man with rectal cancer metastasized to the liver was placed on 6 grams per day of reishi. Six months later, CT scans revealed that the tumor had shrunk. The patient showed improved health.

Case 5: A 60-year-old male diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer with a short remaining life expectancy began 9 gm/day of reishi orally, in combination with 30 gm/day of Vitamin C intravenously. One year later, he was completely symptom free and back to work. He continued using 5 gm/day of reishi after being released from the hospital.

Note: This article is provided for scientific and informational purposes only. This product has not been tested by the FDA and should not be used for self-treatment of tumors. Never use any herb for medicinal purposes without consulting a licensed medical doctor.

Reference: Morishige, Fukumi, 1987. Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III, Page 12 – 23, ISBN4-88580-053-6 C-0077

About the author: Markho Rafael has worked in natural health since the mid-90’s, specializing in medicinal mushrooms such as Reishi and Cordyceps sinensis. Click FungiPerfecti Reishi Extract for additional free articles about reishi and how it works individually or synergistically such as in Stamets 7. You may also request free unique articles for your web-site or other publication.

Reishi extract is commonly used in Oriental Medicine as almost a cure-all. Both medical practitioners and regular people use it for things as innocent as stress and the common cold to more serious afflictions like asthma and cancer.

One of the strongest proponents for the use of reishi as a medicinal mushroom is Dr. Fukumi Morishige. He works with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science & Medicine on treating cancer with reishi.

Below follows seven cases described by Dr. Morishige during a speech, later reprinted in the publication, Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III.

Being a native of Japan, Dr. Morishige was familiar with reishi before becoming aware of its potential in cancer treatment. But his attitude was essentially the same as any other trained medical professional. He believed it might have some marginal effect on certain non-terminal conditions but dismissed any claims regarding cancer as exaggerated. That is, until two of his cancer patients related their stories of using reishi to self-remediate their conditions.

First was a 39-year-old woman with lung carcinoma. The hospitals she had visited all told her she was too far gone and there was nothing they could do to help her. As a serious secondary complication, she also exhibited chest cavity edema. None-the-less, by the time she had her first appointment with Dr. Morishige, the symptoms of her illness had disappeared. The woman credited her recovery to the use of reishi, which her husband had administered to her at 4 grams per day.

Next was a young boy with congenital liver cancer. At five years of age, his doctor had told his parents the cancer was terminal and subsequently discontinued treatment. Four years later, the parents took their son to see Dr. Morishige, who was no longer able to find any traces of the cancer. The boy’s parents told Dr. Morishige they’d been administering reishi to their son via his naso-gastric feeding tube. It was after this that Dr. Morishige decided to take a closer look at reishi’s effect on cancer.

The following are five of his case studies using reishi and Vitamin C (for prevention of side effects):

Case 1: A male patient, 70 years of age, had lost consciousness from a 5 cm brain tumor. Dr. Morishige put him on 6 grams of reishi daily beginning June, 1986. By September, he’d come out of his coma, after which he continued taking 3 grams of reishi per day. Six months later, brain scans revealed that the tumor had shrunk. When it had diminished to 1 cm (0.4 in.), the man left the hospital to go home and live with his family.

Case 2: A 50+ female with metastatic lung cancer and hemoptysis (coughing up blood) began a regimen of 6 gm/day of reishi. Six months later, the tumor had disappeared. And whereas before she had experienced severe shortness of breath, she could now effortlessly climb stairs.

Case 3: Patient with breast cancer that had spread to the bones was in unbearable pain and immobilized below the head. An initial dose of 9 grams of reishi daily was increased to 20 grams per day. Two months later, the woman was pain free and released after demonstrating improvement in her ability to walk.

Case 4: A patient with rectal cancer, which had metastasized to the liver, was administered 6 gm/day of reishi. CT scans taken 6 months later showed tumor shrinkage and patient reported feeling better.

Case 5: A male patient aged 60 was diagnosed as having terminal pancreatic cancer and short life expectancy. Dr. Morishige placed him on 9 gm/day of reishi plus 30 gm/day of Vitamin C. A year later, the man was free of any symptoms and back working. After leaving the hospital, he continued taking 5 gm of reishi per day.

Note: This article is provided for scientific and informational purposes only. This product has not been tested by the FDA and should not be used for self-treatment of tumors. Never use any herb for medicinal purposes without consulting a licensed medical doctor.

Reference: Morishige, Fukumi, 1987. Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III, Page 12 – 23, ISBN4-88580-053-6 C-0077