It Could Be Anything!

Number Sixteen ©January, 2001 ••••••• Don Harthcock, Editor

OpinionSoup may contain language and topics unsuitable for children.

"Each moment you are alive is a gem, shining through and containing Earth and sky and clouds." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

IN THIS ISSUE:

ANNIE'S STORY - Personal from Donny

ALUMINUM - Does it cause Alzheimer's Disease?

CAN CANCER BE CURED? - or is it extra-terrestrial?

EUCALYPTUS - more than food for cuddly koalas

GINSENG - the gift of Confucius, now popular with truck-drivers

GLUCOSAMINE - super glue for connective tissue

HONEY - What do bees know?

MANGO - Miss Daisy's favorite exotic

PEAR - ...home-made Pear preserves with hot, buttered biscuits...!

VERONICA - one of the Speedwell girls

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The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated any of the statements made in this publication, nor is that likely ever to happen. This publication is not meant to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Since this publication is not intended to be diagnostic or prescriptive, the authors assume no responsibility for any adverse reactions resulting from the use of any information contained in it.

Annie's Story

Personal from Donny

Ernest & Annie Harthcock Shanks, 1994

DONNY SPEAKS FOR ANNIE IN SUPPORT OF ALTERNATIVE & HOSPICE CARE

I want to ask you something concerning warnings we hear so frequently from orthodox medical practitioners, of the risks and dangers inherent in Alternative Medicine: does anyone truly believe that hospitals and powerful drugs are not dangerous and risky?

My own dear sister Annie, now deceased, speaks to you through me...of the dangers and inhumanity of risky surgical procedures and powerful medications that DOCTORS KNEW DAMNED WELL SHE COULD NOT SURVIVE. Their methods were extremely invasive and traumatic, and they were working on a woman who had to stop and rest, just going out to check her mail!

My mother Daisy also died in a hospital...her children practically LIVING there...with everyone helplessly watching the relentless, deadly advance of acute leukemia. Her doctor popped in once a day for maybe two minutes, I presume to assure us that yes, Mother was still dying.

I doubt that either of these beloved ladies could have been saved, in any case, but did we have to give them over to doctors and park them in hospitals? I wish that my family (including me) had had the courage to defy the doctors and leave these women at home, in the comfort of familiar surroundings and people who knew them and loved them.

Who made the rule that you have to give your dying relatives over to doctors? What is the point of hospitalizing people who have terminal diseases? MAYBE they're going to get better, in a hospital? I say, give them hugs and chicken soup, in their own homes. I could have given Daisy her morphine right in her own bed, but nobody told me that I could.

If Annie could not survive a surgery, as everyone knew that she couldn't, why didn't we let her stay in her own home, sitting at her kitchen table reading one of her stupid romance novels until she dropped dead right there? At least we could have talked to her every day until the end, playing Rummy, entering sweepstakes and arguing about books (things that she loved, things that she used to call me and ask me to do with her, all of which improved her temporarily, every time). We wanted her to live; we never imagined that she would be in agony the last two weeks of her life, hooked up to machines, bloated and swollen with liquids from all the tubes stuck into her, and oblivious to the presence of her loved ones.

Here's a synopsis of what happened to my sister: her children, loving her intensely and desperate for her life to be saved, were convinced by doctors that she MIGHT survive a very high-risk, experimental procedure to correct an aortal aneurism, and that she would DEFINITELY die without treatment. Annie went along with this, KNOWING that doctors had not made her any better in ten years of declining health, but thinking maybe they might help her this time, because they said so.

Understand me now...these doctors didn't come to Annie's house like insurance salesmen, trying to talk her into something. In fact, they made the whole family jump through hoops to prove that Annie was a qualified applicant to get "into the program." But all the time, her children were being told that this was Annie's only hope...so they did everything they could, to get their mother to the clinic. They knew no alternatives.

Actually, Annie was just another case to be written up, so that the medical experts could know more about what doesn't work. And it might have worked, mightn't it? They're going to get it right someday; they're sure they will! Even Thomas Edison had thousands of failures before he perfected the phonograph, and medical pioneers are also inventors. The difference is, human beings cannot be replaced as you might replace a piece of metal that you've destroyed with improper voltage.

At the clinic, we hardly ever saw any actual doctors, by the way, even though Annie was in the Intensive Care Unit. We had to chase the doctors down, and the few times we talked to them they had to refer to charts and journals first, because they had too many patients to know anything about any of them. They volunteered nothing. They did not seek us out. They avoided us. They did not want us to realize that my sister was just another laboratory animal in their Great Experiment.

The nurses, also, had too much to do, and they would frequently answer my questions with "I don't know; I just came on duty."

They kept Annie's hands tied down, because they were sure she was trying to yank her tubes out. They cited other instances of this happening, so we would understand why her hands were tied to the bed. After nearly a week of hand signals and lip reading, her son and I discovered that this poor, miserable soul was just trying to scratch her nose. This was Intensive Care, in a prestigious Clinic!

The entire approach was like a football game; there were special teams to do each thing. This method of health-care may be efficient for clinics in Health-Care MANAGEMENT, but it keeps the care-givers from knowing their patients.

The nurses changed dressings, monitored machines and drips, and wrote things down. Some of the male nurses were insensitive and crude, yelling at Annie and shaking her violently when they wanted her to wake up. Don't say you can't believe it; I'm telling you, I was there and I saw it. And they didn't want us to be there to see it; they were annoyed that we were there at all, and they severely restricted us from being with Annie.

There was a team for X-rays, another one for respiration; there were Heart guys and Kidney guys. To some of them Annie was not even a person; she was The Liver in I/C, bed three. To some of them I'm sure she was just a bloated hunk of meat with an infection they couldn't control or even locate. This is the way these people are trained to act, regardless of what you see on television shows. They are strongly indoctrinated to remain distant, and they are monitored and evaluated by their superiors so that this training is never abrogated.

If these aloof specialists conferred with each other it was not evident. They CERTAINLY did not talk to us, or to their patients. How can you treat someone without talking to them?

You've heard of Bedside Manner? Well, there wasn't any. And the incessant TESTING! Good Lord...I'd really like to know the final total of the bill footed by taxpayers for Annie's hopeless and absurd hospitalization.

To sum up (Thank You for sharing my pain and anger so patiently), what was seminally WRONG here was the "definitely going to die without treatment" part. Says who? My sister and her children did not go for second and third opinions, and they never even CONSIDERED any Alternatives.

Before this happens to someone in your family, I urge you to consider that there are always Alternatives. DOCTORS ARE NOT GODS!

I can't hide it, and I don't try to hide it: doctors make me very angry with their arrogance and presumptions of superior stores of intelligence and knowledge. But please don't believe that I am saying they can't do anything right. You know very well that some orthodox medical practitioners do many things extremely well, especially in emergency situations. It's the stuff that they don't know, and PRETEND to know, that pisses me off.

Annie was born September 4th, 1930. She was allowed to die at 9:15 p.m., December 26th, 1998...the Ochsner's Clinic staff wanted to wait until after Christmas to suggest to the family that she be released from Life-Support. How very kind of them. Their long faces and low voices were perfect...the rest of the family didn't notice this; Donny is the only Theatre major.

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ALUMINUM

- Lightweight metal; heavy danger

Don't use Aluminum pots and pans, even though they're the cheapest. Aluminum cookware of all kinds, including Aluminum foil, actually puts Aluminum into your food, and you don't need it! Additional Aluminum is absorbed from such diverse products as antacids and antiperspirants. For your good health, stop using these products at once!

The cumulative effect of Aluminum in your body can be extremely deleterious to your health; ALUMINUM TOXICITY IS LINKED TO NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDERS. The most serious charge against this metal is demonstrated by the high level of Aluminum found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. What remains unknown is whether these high levels are a cause or an effect of Alzheimer's Disease, according to many experts.

Donny urges you not to flirt with Alzheimer's, a disease which robs you of your humanity and your personhood, and with which, sadly, I am all too familiar. As many of you know, I am the caregiver for my darling Jonnie, who has had Alzheimer's since at least 1995.

Avoid Aluminum, and be sure that you are getting plenty of Calcium and Iron, which can prevent the absorption of this metallic element.

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CAN CANCER BE CURED?

- of cosmic rays and conspiracy theories

Dusty Springfield died March 2, 1999, of breast cancer. She was 59 years old, too young to die of anything. Human beings have the potential to live to 120! If we can go to Mars, why can't we cure cancer?

One of my nephews, the paranoid one with all the conspiracy theories, tells me that although the pathology of most cancers is well-understood, the disease is too important, too big a research grant money-maker, to eliminate. That idea is too insidious and far-out even for Donny to consider. This nephew also knows who killed Kennedy, but he won't tell me.

The odd thing about this guy is, sometimes he's right. For example, he correctly diagnosed the problem with my 1982 Dodge pickup..."It's completely fucked-up," he said.

Last year, I took his advice for once and bought four thousand cans of food, two hundred assorted batteries, a hundred gallons of water, one case each of Sterno®, candles and matches, and a couple of non-electric can-openers, in anticipation of the Y2K debacle he was so sure about. I also took all two hundred of my dollars out of the bank. He told me I was wasting my time writing this book, because "After December 31st, there ain't gonna be no more Internet." Well...win some, lose some. I'm still writing.

I will remember Dusty Springfield, and I will occasionally think of all the women who have not survived breast cancer. I will remember my grandmother Willie Malone who died of cancer, and my mother Daisy Ferrell who died of leukemia. Researchers say they are making progress; there is much hope for the success of a new "anti-leukemia pill" that's made the news recently.

I must tell you something that might make you nervous: I feel deeply that we will always have cancer with us, along with various dangerous and constantly-mutating viruses that scientists and doctors continue nurturing with antibiotics. I occasionally get disturbing "feelings" that cancer and viruses are not endemic to our planet. We are constantly being bombarded with cosmic rays that pass through everything they encounter, right on through the Earth and out the "other side." What happens to our bodies when cosmic rays pass directly through our DNA? Do the cells mutate and become cancerous? Can anybody tell me?

My niece told me, "Don't even go there, Donny...you're starting to get some fans; don't scare them off."

OK...I won't go there, today. I won't go there here, now. But, you know...people have had "feelings" that were even more far-out, and not all of them have been wrong.

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EUCALYPTUS (Blue Gum Tree, Fever Tree)

- Koalas do not have sinus problems.

Eucalyptus globulus is the best-known variety of Eucalyptus, of which there are many species. I am told that this tree can grow to well over 300 feet and that other species of Eucalyptus grow even taller than some Sequoias, which I find difficult to believe (certainly not in Florida)...but I have not visited Victoria or Tasmania down in Oztralia. The aromatic leaves of this giant tree yield a colorless oil, Eucalyptol, that is used in pharmaceuticals (cough drops, sinus relievers), flavorings, and perfumery.

Eucalypts have been introduced into Africa, southern Europe, India, Tahiti, and along the Pacific coast of North America, especially in California.

A natural sinus relief, Eucalyptus is also antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, and expectorant. It reduces blood sugar, kills fleas and worms, and is widely used in disinfectants.

Credit for the discovery of the medicinal possibilities of this tree, is given to Baron Ferdinand von Müller, German-born director of Melbourne's Botanical Gardens in the late 1800's. A French botanist named Trottoir (working in Algiers) was the first to discover the value of Eucalyptus for drying up marshy areas...you could say that Eucalyptus roots really suck swamp water.

Eucalyptus' valuable utility as a drainer of marshes and swamps is a value set to human standards; that is, it makes swampy areas habitable to human beings and it eliminates mosquitoes. To environmentalists, this value is considerably offset by the changes Eucalyptus brings to local ecology. Donny also cautions that this tree is extremely invasive, and belongs in Oz.

The essential oils of other varieties of Eucalyptus, particularly E. citriodora, E. macarthurii, E. odorata, E. staigeriana, and E. sturtiana, are widely used in perfumery and soap-making.

Eucalyptus is approved as an over-the-counter drug in Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

CAUTION: DO NOT INGEST EUCALYPTUS OIL, WHICH IS TOXIC.

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GINSENG

- Don't EVER chew "Ginseng Gum"...it tastes like DIRT.

Photos courtesy Sylvan Botanicals of Cooperstown NY

Asian Ginseng is Panax ginseng; American Ginseng (photos, left) is P. quinquefolia. All Ginseng tonics are known to combat reduced vitality and to supply extra energy and stamina; Asian Ginseng is more stimulating. Jonnie and I take powdered Red Chinese Ginseng...Whoa! make that Chinese Red Ginseng, in capsules or as a hot tea, every day. See how sharp it makes you? I caught that instantly! We also regularly use Korean Ginseng, Manchurian Ginseng and Siberian Ginseng.

A Chinese legend holds that Ginseng was introduced into that country more than 2,500 years ago by Confucius. Some say that it has been used for more than 4,000 ears. Donny has been using it for thirty years.

Ginseng improves your ability to concentrate. What was I saying? IT IS INDICATED FOR USE ESPECIALLY BY OLDER PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEGUN EXPERIENCING COGNITIVE DEFICIENCY.

Ginseng, a member of the Araliceae Family, grows abundantly in China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria and Siberia. Some Asian Ginseng product manufacturers are now growing Asian Ginseng in the United States. Ginseng is an Adaptogen. See Adaptogen.

WARNING: Do not EVER chew Ginseng gum; it tastes like DIRT.

The forked-root Ginseng plant is famed not only for its ability to help increase energy and stamina; it is also a tonic for the male reproductive organs and has been used traditionally to strengthen the Adrenal Glands. In combination with other herbs, Ginseng acts to balance blood sugar. Recent studies indicate that Ginseng lowers Serum Cholesterol and prevents Heart disease.

Some un-updated herbals still warn of Ginseng's false reputation for increasing blood pressure and irritability. This erroneous information was published in 1979, in (where else?) the Journal of the American Medical Association (Siegel, R.K., "Ginseng abuse syndrome," JAMA [1979], 241: 1614-15). Although the incorrect conclusions of this irresponsibly-reported, uncontrolled study were never repudiated by JAMA, they have been discredited by several reputable research scientists.

Don't you think JAMA should have looked more closely at an uncontrolled study that made claims of side effects which had gone unnoticed by Chinese herbalists for over 2,500 years? Where were all those irritable Chinese people with high blood pressure?

Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) contains nutrients for the Prostate. It decreases stress, strengthens the immune system, and stabilizes emotions. Dr. Terry Willard of Wild Rose College of Natural Healing in Calgary, writes, "One dramatic study demonstrated that children with Shigella and Proteus recovered faster when given (Siberian Ginseng) extract along with antibiotics, in contrast to antibiotics alone" (Healthy and Natural Journal, October 1998).

The basis of standardization for Ginseng is Ginsenosides. Ginseng is approved as an over-the-counter drug in France, Germany and the United Kingdom; it is listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia.

CAUTION: SOME COMMERCIAL GINSENG PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE ADULTERATED OR TO CONTAIN NO GINSENG! BUY ONLY THE BEST, STANDARDIZED PRODUCTS (BEWARE OF "BATHTUB GINSENG").

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GLUCOSAMINE

- for joint discomfort and pain

This amino sugar is an important "ground substance" in connective tissue. Clinical studies have found it to be helpful in joint integrity. It is the primary "glue" that keeps connective tissue and bone together; supplements help alleviate joint discomfort and pain.

Glucosamine combined with Chondroitin has been lavishly praised by former sufferers of osteoarthritis, many of whom hail it as a miracle.

Your doctor may be prescribing Tylenol®, Indocin®, Motrin®, Advil® or Aleve® for your pain. He or she may be unaware of (1) the existence of Glucosamine, (2) the further damage being done by the medicines he/she is prescribing, and/or (3) the possibility of arrest and reversal of osteoarthritis. If your doctor scoffs at this idea and is not aware of Glucosamine (both are real possibilities), you need to change doctors.

CAUTION: DIABETICS SHOULD USE GLUCOSAMINE ONLY WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN'S SUPERVISION.

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HONEY

- Sweeten your tea and heal your chapped lips!

Is Honey a "healthier" sweetener than refined sugar? It sounds so much more Natural, doesn't it? In fact, Honey contains the same amount of calories as refined sugar. BUT...

You should sweeten with Honey instead of sugar if you have asthma or allergies. Honey, water and lemon make a good syrup for pollen allergies.

Whereas sugar is empty calories, Honey is high in Vitamin C and the B Vitamins; it also contains small amounts of Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Silica and Sulfur.

Honey as medicine has been used throughout history. Believe it or don't, Honey is antiseptic and disinfectant. It will kill bacteria! Honey has often been used topically to heal minor wounds and chapped lips.

A big spoonful of Honey is slightly energizing, especially when you have been weakened by stress or illness. Honey can also be calming, at bedtime (but how do it know?). It's good medicine for allergies (particularly hay fever), asthma, catarrh, coughs and colds, diarrhea, headaches, heart problems, indigestion, insomnia and sore throats.

For more information on Honey, visit Miller's Honey Company.

CAUTION: DO NOT GIVE HONEY TO INFANTS.

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MANGO

- "What do they taste like?" ~Every Jitney-Jungle shopper*

image & addit'l info courtesy freshmangos.com

This evergreen, tropical SE Asian native, now a very popular fruit tree in all tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world (especially South Florida), produces one of Donny's very most favorite comfort foods. Mangos have been cultivated and loved for more than 4,000 years. Trees can grow as tall as sixty feet; they require hot, dry periods to set and produce fruit. You can expect your first Mango crop four to six years after planting your trees.

Most of the Mangos sold throughout the USA come from the Caribbean, Haiti, Mexico and South America. In Miami, boys and young men sell them in season from front-yard stands, on street corners, and from roving produce trucks. Mangos were my mother Daisy's favorite Florida gift.

It is highly likely that your grocery-store Mangos will not be ripe. They will ripen in a few days on your kitchen counter, at room temperature (do not refrigerate), and you can accelerate this process by placing them in paper bags along with an apple.

The unique fruit of Mangifera indica is eaten ripe, or pickled when green. Mangos must be peeled, but don't bite them and peel them with your teeth as I've seen young boys do; the rind contains Urushiol, which can cause severe irritation to lips and tongue. The best way to peel a Mango is after you slice it.

Mangos, high in Potassium and Vitamins A and C, also contain a moderate amount of Fiber. Mangos contain an enzyme similar to papain which will comfort your digestive tract. They contain almost zero fat and sodium, and are low in calories. Eat Mangos raw, chilled or room temperature (room temp is slightly more flavorful). They are also good baked in pies, or stewed.

* "They taste like Mangos." ~Donny

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PEAR

- related to roses!

The fruits of Pyrus communis, a member of the Rose Family along with its cousin the Apple, are extremely high in Fiber. You'll have to go elsewhere for your Vitamins and Minerals, but Fiber and great taste are sufficient good reasons to eat Pears.

Pears are picked and shipped unripe, so you'll need to put them into a fruit ripener (an ordinary brown paper bag will do). Anjou Pears will ripen in your refrigerator, but Bartletts, Boscs and Seckels won't. Don't wait for your Pears to get soft, because they ripen from the inside out.

For crispness and great taste, try the Apple-looking Sand Pear, also known as Chinese Pear and Asian Pear. This fruit must be allowed to ripen on the tree.

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VERONICA (Speedwell)

- "Veronica Speedwell"...sounds like a private-eye's secretary.

photo courtesy Weed Science Society of America

Veronica officinalis, with its tall spikes of blue flowers blooming in late summer, has long been a favorite in European gardens. Seeds and leaves of this herb, once known as thea de l'Europe, make a medicinal tea used for rheumatic pain, skin disorders, and the blahs.

This genus is named in honor of St. Veronica, who is said to have wiped tears from Jesus' face as he staggered to Calvary.

There are about 250 species of Veronica, including V. spicata, V. longifolia, V. prostrata, and V. officinalis. These four are the oldest cultivated varieties and are the grandparents of the many hybrids enjoyed in today's gardens.

Plant Veronica in full sun, in rich, moist soil.

OpinionSoup is published by Don Harthcock. OS#16 ©January, 2001, Don Harthcock & Brian McLeod. Reproduction of any part of this copyrighted publication for commercial purposes is prohibited. Taping to refrigerators, posting on bulletin boards & emailing to friends is cool.
 

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