SOME ALTERNATIVES TO DRUGS
By Steve Hayes, Director

ANTHRAX ANTIDOTE?

   Most of us have heard about anthrax.  We know that it has been used to kill people and that whole buildings have been evacuated when a mysterious white powder is found. 

   Anthrax is a naturally occurring, highly lethal disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It is commonly found in animals but generally not in the United States.  It can be developed in the lab and, unlike other bacteria, is able to live for long periods of time. Anthrax can be dormant for up to 50 years and then become active.  It is colorless, odorless and difficult to detect. It can be spread by aerosols, through the mail, in bombs or missiles.

   Anthrax has been developed by many countries for use in biological warfare.  The impact of this deadly bacteria was shown when anthrax spores were accidentally released from a Russian military microbiology facility in 1979.  The Russians reported that 66 of the 77 people who inhaled the anthrax spores died.

ENGLISH BREAKFAST TEA

   The traditional treatment for anthrax is a vaccine and/or the use of antibiotics.  The problem with these treatments is their availability if somehow anthrax was spread over a large area. 

   A new study led by Professor Les Baillie from the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University and Doctor Theresa Gallagher of the Biodefense Institute, part of the Medical Biotechnology Centre of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Baltimore looks at a less expensive and certainly more readily available alternative than antibiotics. 

   Published in the March, 2008 issue of the Society for Applied Microbiology's journal Microbiologist, the study points out that drinking English Breakfast tea might be an effective antidote to anthrax.  They conclude that black tea has the potential to inhibit the activity of anthrax--as long as you don't dilute the tea with milk.  There is still work to be done but the results are promising.

   The authors caution that the results of their study do not mean that someone exposed to anthrax should not immediately seek medical help, but it does mean that more readily accessible remedies may be available that do not have the side effects of vaccines and antibiotics.

CATARACTS

   As many of us age, proteins and other substances accumulate on the surface of the lens of the eye and form a cloudy covering which eventually will spread over the eye and cause a loss of sight--a cataract.
 
   According to the National Institute of Health:

   · By age 80, more than half of all Americans have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. 

   As you see on billboards, there are many doctors advertising surgical removal of cataracts.  While these surgeries have a 90% success rate, it is still surgery and sometimes produces unwanted side effects-like loss of vision.

A NON-SURGICAL ALTERNATIVE?

   Chakshu Research, a start-up company, is in the final stages of clinical testing of eye drops that will dissolve the clouded area and restore the clarity of the lens.  This means that, instead of expensive surgery, many people developing cataracts will be able to purchase the drops at a pharmacy and remove the cataracts themselves.  There is also some preliminary evidence that the drops will also be helpful in the treatment of glaucoma and macular degeneration.

   Dr. Randall Olson, chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, was asked by Popular Science what he had seen in the clinical trials of the eye drops on cataract patients.  Dr. Olson said, "Nobody, including myself, would have looked at this and thought it would work.  But during trials, I've seen cataracts disappear."

IS STANDING WHILE YOU WORK REALLY EXERCISE?

   Do you like to walk around when on the phone?  Do you feel compelled to get up from your desk or chair and just walk around?  Well, a recent study says that these activities may be helping your health. 

   In the study, the authors pointed out:

   · Only five percent of Americans exercise regularly;

   If you sit at a desk all day, try obtaining a standup desk.  Get a cordless phone and stroll around while speaking on the phone.  With simple adaptations to our daily routines, most of us can increase the amount of time that we are standing or walking around.  According to the study, this simple step will help increase your metabolism and improve your health.  Also, you will feel less guilty about not exercising.

CONCLUSION

   As Monday was St. Patrick's Day, there are two Irish sayings from the play "Man and Superman" written by the great Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw that I think apply to all of us.

   The first is, "Liberty means responsibility.  That is why most men dread it."

   If we want to be free of disease and illness, we need to take more responsibility for our own condition-quit smoking, lose weight, stand more and exercise.  Not only will we feel better physically and prevent the onset of many diseases, but studies have demonstrated that exercise is a very effective antidote to depression.

   The second is, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world.  The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.  Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

   Demanding that our healthcare providers find and treat the cause of problems and not just treat the symptoms is considered unreasonable by many healthcare practitioners.  However, the alternative is a life of taking pills and deteriorating health for us and for our loved ones.

   In closing, my grandfather had a framed copy of his own version of the famous Irish blessing hanging on his wall:

   "May the road rise up to meet you,

   How does this apply?  Most of us would probably like a head start on the Devil.