Music as Medicine

June 19, 2002

Can music really heal? This question has been raised countless times,

but just recently have the findings become more favorable. For

centuries, music has been revered for its calming effects, and now it is

being taken seriously as an alternative form of therapy. Bernard

Besman, a local resident of Los Angeles since the 1950's and recipient

of the RIAA nomination for the Best Song of the 21st Century for his

contributions on the John Lee Hooker classic Boogie Chillen', has

devoted his time on educating people as to the benefits of music.

Besman's new project entitled, Music Medicine - Zero Side Effects

focuses on providing high quality, original music, specifically produced

to enhance relaxation and increase stimulation.

(www.musicmedicineinc.com) Conceived in a hospital bed in 1996 to help

in his recovery of a massive stroke, Bernard Besman founder and famed

record producer of the legendary John Lee Hooker, hopes to bring comfort

and relief to people suffering from various ailments through the

harmonious sounds of Music Medicine Inc.'s therapeutic music.

At the age of 89, Besman claims that music helped him to overcome

numerous life threatening occurrences including four heart attacks, a

quadruple bypass heart surgery, two strokes, and a prostate operation.

Today, he relies on a pacemaker to help him through his daily

activities. Looking back, Besman says that he couldn't have survived

without the music. This project, amongst the myriad he has

spearheaded, Besman explains, is the one that he holds most sacred and

is committed to producing the highest quality therapeutic music for the

remainder of his life.

June 19, 2002

I work with tuning forks at times for healing.

Interesting effect when I work with someone who has

had metal implanted in their back or hip. Music and

sound has been used for healing since the beginning of

time; however, I love this quote from the

December/January issue of Massage & Bodywork (a

magazine published by the ABMP):

" All sounds arise from silence, all sounds lead to

silence. The ultimate healer is silence energy

without form, the stillpoint. "

--- Ethan Sischo <esischo wrote:

> Can music really heal? This question has been

> raised countless times,

> but just recently have the findings become more

> favorable.

- Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup

http://fifaworldcup.

June 21, 2002

Well,

>Can music really heal?

It's rather poorly directed and imprecise, but it's much better than many

of the alternatives.

It can work miracles at times. But it is not precisely repeatable in a

controlled double blind experement, so it's rejected by the medical field

<sigh>

Steve

>This question has been raised countless times,

>but just recently have the findings become more favorable. For

>centuries, music has been revered for its calming effects, and now it is

>being taken seriously as an alternative form of therapy. Bernard

>Besman, a local resident of Los Angeles since the 1950's and recipient

>of the RIAA nomination for the Best Song of the 21st Century for his

>contributions on the John Lee Hooker classic Boogie Chillen', has

>devoted his time on educating people as to the benefits of music.

>

>Besman's new project entitled, Music Medicine - Zero Side Effects

>focuses on providing high quality, original music, specifically produced

>to enhance relaxation and increase stimulation.

>(www.musicmedicineinc.com) Conceived in a hospital bed in 1996 to help

>in his recovery of a massive stroke, Bernard Besman founder and famed

>record producer of the legendary John Lee Hooker, hopes to bring comfort

>and relief to people suffering from various ailments through the

>harmonious sounds of Music Medicine Inc.'s therapeutic music.

>

>At the age of 89, Besman claims that music helped him to overcome

>numerous life threatening occurrences including four heart attacks, a

>quadruple bypass heart surgery, two strokes, and a prostate operation.

>Today, he relies on a pacemaker to help him through his daily

>activities. Looking back, Besman says that he couldn't have survived

>without the music. This project, amongst the myriad he has

>spearheaded, Besman explains, is the one that he holds most sacred and

>is committed to producing the highest quality therapeutic music for the

>remainder of his life.

June 21, 2002

When healing takes place, what force does the healing?

Dave.

June 21, 2002

steve wrote:

> >Can music really heal?

>

> It can work miracles at times. But it is not precisely repeatable in

> a

> controlled double blind experement, so it's rejected by the medical

> field

> <sigh>

Why the frown? Who needs the medical field to play some music! We need

to release our dependence on the medical field, they are an old paradigm

with some good that will be carried forward into the new paradigm that

is emerging and well underway. Remember, *everything* follows dollars.

Wherever we spend our money rules the world. People think corporations

or the government rule the world but 'taint so. We do, with our

spending. That's why things are changing in the medical field.

Dr.Nature

June 22, 2002

Hello,

>> >Can music really heal?

>>

>> It can work miracles at times. But it is not precisely repeatable

>>in a

>> controlled double blind experement, so it's rejected by the

>>medical field

>> <sigh>

>

>Why the frown? Who needs the medical field to play some music!

>We need to release our dependence on the medical field, they are

>an old paradigm with some good that will be carried forward into

>the new paradigm that is emerging and well underway.

I agree with you completely here.

But it is heartbreaking *to me* that so many will continue to suffer

because of the closed mindedness of the medical empire.

> Remember, *everything* follows dollars.

>Wherever we spend our money rules the world. People think corporations

>or the government rule the world but 'taint so. We do, with our

>spending. That's why things are changing in the medical field.

Yes, things are changing. But from where i sit changing in spite of the

medical empire.

That's why the frown.

Thanks for sharing

Steve

June 22, 2002

steve wrote:

> But it is heartbreaking *to me* that so many will continue to suffer

> because of the closed mindedness of the medical empire.

I understand what you're saying. I'm just trying to empower people to

start (continue) to realize that the medical empire is only one because

we make it one. They have taken an enormous power grab that I become

more and more aware of with each passing week. We've allowed them to do

it, it is reversing now and will continue to do so. I think - rather

than get upset that they won't accept certain things like music, we need

to think of them as an old paradigm and move on to the one we want to

create. If everyone weren't so reliant on the medical field as their

answer to their health, they wouldn't care if medicine accepted these

therapies. What is this thing about " always check with your doctor " ?

Think about that - that is entirely part of their power grab, we know

from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death - not to

mention further illness and pain - from iatrogenic illness (caused by

doctor errors). What other profession could get away with that?? What

other profession would we continue to visit and indeed feel are the top

of the hierarchy if they were doing their jobs so badly. People need to

wake up to this because we really do have the power.

>

> Yes, things are changing. But from where i sit changing in spite of

> the

> medical empire.

But that's a good thing! They aren't going to change on their own,

they've got it exactly where they want it. We need to know that we

don't have to be upset about it at all! Just change it to the way we

want it to be.

>

> That's why the frown.

>

> Thanks for sharing

>

> Steve

>

> ****************************************

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>

June 23, 2002

" Dr.Nature " wrote:

> from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death - not to

That's quite a claim. Where exactly did you hear that?

June 23, 2002

It was written in the Journal of the American Medical Association

(July 2000), and believe me they are not wanting to tell on themselves.

You can read more about it at the link below. As Mercola says, it's

probably seriously underestimated and doesn't include injuries and

illness. Plus, how many disorders and diseases are not being adequately

treated? I don't think it's because it's not possible (depression is

one of the leading ones and remains untreated - as Mercola says -

costing along with a handful of other disorders $250 billion a year to

businesses). There are many answers, I just don't think the medical

profession is the place to search for health. I admit my bias (as a

naturopath), but also, I see the success rate I get and don't really

care what the medical profession believes or not. Depression is one of

the easiest things to treat holistically/naturally. The SSRI's are a

big worry to me because of the effects they are seeing with people on

them for 10 years or more. Since there are so many other options, it's

something I like to make sure people aware of. And to have them look at

other options than thinking the medical profession is the first or only

place to go.

http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/30/doctors_death.htm

Dr.Nature

Dave Benware wrote:

> " Dr.Nature " wrote:

> > from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death - not to

>

> That's quite a claim. Where exactly did you hear that?

>

> ****************************************

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> All messages, files and archives of this forum are Copyright

> group and the individual authors.

>

June 23, 2002

What is this thing about " always check with your doctor " ?

Well, for those of us who actually see clients, it's a matter of law.

For instance, I can work with a client who has diabetes,

and in a few hours they no longer need insulin shots.

But to even talk with them without a medical referral is criminal in

my state. I certainly cannot claim they were healed without risking

prison, even though they will never again need insulin shots.

The *laws* of the various states is why " always check with your doctor "

>Think about that - that is entirely part of their power grab, we know

>from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death - not to

>mention further illness and pain - from iatrogenic illness (caused by

>doctor errors). What other profession could get away with that??

Any profession which has the force of governmental law behind it.

>What other profession would we continue to visit and indeed feel

>are the top of the hierarchy if they were doing their jobs so badly.

>People need to wake up to this because we really do have the power.

Not for long.

The government (federal) is working feverishly hard at creating a

national healthcare, where they will have more power to control the

people through their healthcare system.

>> Yes, things are changing. But from where i sit changing in spite

>>of the medical empire.

>

>But that's a good thing! They aren't going to change on their own,

>they've got it exactly where they want it. We need to know that we

>don't have to be upset about it at all! Just change it to the way we

>want it to be.

nice dream

steve

June 23, 2002

>

> " Dr.Nature " wrote:

> > from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death - not to

>

> That's quite a claim. Where exactly did you hear that?

>

" Dr.Nature " wrote:

>

> It was written in the Journal of the American Medical Association

> (July 2000), and believe me they are not wanting to tell on themselves.

> You can read more about it at the link below. As Mercola says, it's

> probably seriously underestimated and doesn't include injuries and

> illness.

First of all, do you believe ALL asticles in JAMA or just the articles

that support your own agenda?

Second, almost half, (106,000/year), of the deaths are from " nonerror,

adverse effects of medications " .

Notice the word *nonerror*, that sorta takes the wind out of your

statement that " doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death " .

Third, you said " from iatrogenic illness (caused by doctor errors) " . In fact,

iatrogenic does *not* mean by doctor error.

It's always the easiest thing to criticize and blame others, but remember, when

you point the finger that you have three fingers pointing back at yourself.

Dave.

--

Mystic_Path_Study_Group

June 23, 2002

Dr. Nature wrote [among many other valid points]:

> << And to have them look at other options than thinking the medical

> profession is the first or only place to go. >>

This whole subject is VERY important IMO. I've been interested in it for a

long while. I'll share some additional pertinent points.

* The reason [iMO] that a federal level of alternative health study was

established was because SO many consumers were wielding their financial clout

[as Linda emphasized the importance of] by visiting alternative health

practitioners. This was taking money directly OUT OF the pockets of the

allopathic doctors who were used to the idea of a virtual monopoly in their

field. The allopathic community was, in essence, crying out, " How can we get

back a lot of that business. "

* The AMA is really like a traditional union in the worst sense -- a union

that tries very hard to keep competition OUT.

[1] One of the many ways they do this is by demanding that only techniques

and products that have been double blind tested should be considered for

human patient care. There are multiple problems with this. Drug companies

make such HUGE profits that [only] they can afford expensive, large scale

double blind testing. Then can recoup their money via their patent protection

of their products.

But, for example, Dr. Schute of Canada showed decades ago that vitamin E

helps cardiovascular health. But nobody can patent vitamin E. So if any one

manufacturer of E did an expensive double blind test of E for heart health,

all of that manufacturer's competitor's all around the world would benefit.

There is also an inherent logical limitation to double blind testing. If I

make the hypothesis that not all crows are black, all I need to see if ONE

white crow to prove my hypothesis.

[2] Doctors and the drug industry form a powerful financial consortium that

can afford to lobby politicians. They often successfully lobby for laws to

" protect " the public from " unproven " medical practices. The truly ethical

approach to deal with this pseudo concern would be to require that

practitioners reveal to prospective patients their background, and then let

the prospective PATIENTS decide what to do. The allopathic folks instead are

in effect saying, " If we grant YOU the freedom to make your own choice, you

will probably make a DUMB choice -- not choose us. Naturally we need to

protect you from your own stupidity. "

[3] The allopathic industry has long lobbied for oversight type boards.

Theoretically, such boards should police industry members and sanction or

evict those who don't measure up. Practically, such boards end up allowing

shoddy/dangerous performers to continue doing their thing and they focus

instead on punishing/threatening competitors.

In a similar way, the allopathic industry has been very active at getting

their members on advisory boards that determine what will and what will not

be reimbursed by insurance companies. This has lead to very counter

productive results -- completely at odds with the financial interests of the

insurance companies. Let's look at a hypothetical example.

Patient John may be advised to have a $30,000 heart bypass operation, even

though a naturopathic physician could do a better job at treating John with

less risk, less pain, and better results -- both short term and long term for

$1,000.

Gee, can you see the possibility of health insurance rates going DOWN for a

change if insurance companies would start reimbursing holistic health care?!

Citizen action is another way to right this crazy situation. In Minnesota

some people got together to lobby the MN legislature to allow alternative

health practitioners to practice without getting harassed by ALLOPATHIC

oversight boards. The effort took a while, but it was successful! We got laws

passed that told the allopathic community in effect to " BACK OFF! " . I'm proud

to say that I participated in this effort and personally testified before

legislators.

Dr. Nature also wrote: << we know from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading

cause of death - not to mention further illness and pain - from iatrogenic

illness (caused by doctor errors). What other profession could get away with

that?? >>

Over the years I've seen various numbers on the number of deaths per year;

they're all around 100,000 people PER YEAR. What's incredibly ironic about

this is the GAUL that the allopathic community has when some zealot somewhere

will find a handful (e.g. less than 10) of people that died after consuming

some nutritional supplement. Then they try to generalize this into a

" vitamins can be dangerous " warning. I saw such a " news " blurb on a

television newscast about one week ago. I could have called the TV station to

research about the source of that warning. But I figured, " Why bother " . The

odds are astronomical that I already know the answer.

However, I periodically DO get on the case of management people in the news

business (newspaper editors, TV news directors) to remind them of their

ethics responsibility of not being a shill for a special interest group.

An important reason why the traditional allopathic practitioners are losing

business is because their patient paradigm is incorrect. They have

traditionally viewed bodies as Newtonian physical/chemical machines. That

paradigm is woefully inadequate. In contrast, holistic medicine views the

WHOLE patient. We could even refer to that with some made up term like

. <G>

Traditional medicine has a sad centuries old history of being extremely slow

to change paradigms. But as Dr. Nature observes, there is a POWERFUL economic

force afoot that is FORCING the issue. I can give you an example that most

lay people would not be aware of. I've read where many allopathic doctors are

hurting badly because of sky high malpractice insurance premiums ... as much

as $100,000 per year. Granted, lawsuits are another segment of our country

that cries out for reform [http://ourcommongood.com/index.html], but for the

purposes of this discussion, I know of one clinic in Reno, NV where they

practice homeopathic medicine. The last I heard Dr. Tang's mal practice

insurance premium was around $1,000 per year.

As you might guess, one reason I feel so strongly about the value/need for

people to be able to practice holistic medicine is because I've seen so many

great results both personally and among people I personally know. I fixed my

osteoarthritis so that I can again run around on the tennis court; I've

eliminated a decades long persistent stuffy nose problem; I've eliminated

benign prostate hypertrophy (swollen prostate gland resulting in frequent

need to urinate); I've stopped my gums from bleeding when I brush my teeth;

and the list goes on. Going beyond family and friends, I've collected in a

computer file some 700 first person stories on hundreds of topics from A to W

[no, not to Z ] where people have safely improved their lives by going

the holistic route.

Rich Putman in Minnesota

" Live as if to die tomorrow. Learn as if to live forever. " - Ghandi

<A HREF= " http://www.homestead.com/EarnSave/ChoiceAB.html " >Choices you probably

don't realize you have.</A>

June 23, 2002

Not to throw the conversation off topic, but I would like to offer

anyone who is interested, a newly released CD from Music Medicine Inc.

We have been working hard to spread the word about alternative methods

of healing, specifically the benefits of music. If interested, please

let me know and I will mail you a copy. In return, all I ask is for

your feedback.

Best,

Ethan Sischo

Music Manager

Music Medicine Inc.

www.musicmedicineinc.com

Dave Benware [bompa]

Sunday, June 23, 2002 10:10 PM

Re: Re: Music as Medicine

>

> " Dr.Nature " wrote:

> > from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death - not to

>

> That's quite a claim. Where exactly did you hear that?

>

" Dr.Nature " wrote:

>

> It was written in the Journal of the American Medical Association

> (July 2000), and believe me they are not wanting to tell on

themselves.

> You can read more about it at the link below. As Mercola says, it's

> probably seriously underestimated and doesn't include injuries and

> illness.

First of all, do you believe ALL asticles in JAMA or just the articles

that support your own agenda?

Second, almost half, (106,000/year), of the deaths are from " nonerror,

adverse effects of medications " .

Notice the word *nonerror*, that sorta takes the wind out of your

statement that " doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death " .

Third, you said " from iatrogenic illness (caused by doctor errors) " . In

fact,

iatrogenic does *not* mean by doctor error.

It's always the easiest thing to criticize and blame others, but

remember, when

you point the finger that you have three fingers pointing back at

yourself.

Dave.

--

Mystic_Path_Study_Group

****************************************

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group and the individual authors.

June 23, 2002

steve wrote:

> The *laws* of the various states is why " always check with your

> doctor "

Yes but I am saying *we* can change those things. We've been

brainwashed into thinking that the medical profession has all this power

and so we've allowed it. In my state, it's not criminal to work with a

client without a medical referral, so that right there shows it's

subjective and can be changed.

> What other profession could get away with that??

>

> Any profession which has the force of governmental law behind it.

>

Again, we as the people are not knowing our power. That's all I'm

trying to get across.

>

> >What other profession would we continue to visit and indeed feel

> >are the top of the hierarchy if they were doing their jobs so badly.

> >People need to wake up to this because we really do have the power.

>

> Not for long.

> The government (federal) is working feverishly hard at creating a

> national healthcare, where they will have more power to control the

> people through their healthcare system.

But there are also natural health insurance companies popping up all

over the place. If more people join them, it will force the regular

health care to make changes, just the same way the medical profession is

being forced to change because more and more people are spending money

in natural health.

> Just change it to the way we

> >want it to be.

>

> nice dream

I don't need to dream, it's a reality in my world. I live it already

and am working to help empower more people to see that we are not at the

mercy of the medical profession or science which is another area people

feel helpless against. It's already happening, big changes are well

underway, I don't know why you see it as a dream.

>

> steve

>

> ****************************************

> home page:

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>

> All messages, files and archives of this forum are Copyright

> group and the individual authors.

>

June 23, 2002

Dave Benware wrote:

> First of all, do you believe ALL asticles in JAMA or just the articles

>

> that support your own agenda?

>

Just the ones that support my agenda.

>

> Second, almost half, (106,000/year), of the deaths are from " nonerror,

>

> adverse effects of medications " .

>

> Notice the word *nonerror*, that sorta takes the wind out of your

> statement that " doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death " .

>

> Third, you said " from iatrogenic illness (caused by doctor errors) " .

> In fact,

> iatrogenic does *not* mean by doctor error.

It mostly means complications of treatment. The 106,000 is included in

those complications -- meaning the the medical professions' treatment

plan (medications) caused their deaths. I am not against medication, I

just am for the least invasive treatments and medications are many times

*not* necessary. People just don't know of the options. Medicine's

role is often to cut out or medicate something after the damage is

already done. And what they do creates more damage. If there are safer

options, why not use them?

> It's always the easiest thing to criticize and blame others, but

> remember, when

> you point the finger that you have three fingers pointing back at

> yourself.

Au contrare, I don't spend time criticizing and blaming - I change

things. I let people know about options and that they don't have to

just passively accept the status quo.

I just got this quote in the mail this morning, it seems apropos

Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.

Stanislaw J. Lee

>

> Dave.

>

June 23, 2002

Ethan,

I am very interested. I think music has amazing healing qualities. I

tried going to your website and it said 'not found'.

Dr. Nature

http://www.DrNature.net

Ethan Sischo wrote:

> Not to throw the conversation off topic, but I would like to offer

> anyone who is interested, a newly released CD from Music Medicine Inc.

>

> We have been working hard to spread the word about alternative methods

>

> of healing, specifically the benefits of music. If interested, please

>

> let me know and I will mail you a copy. In return, all I ask is for

> your feedback.

>

> Best,

>

> Ethan Sischo

> Music Manager

> Music Medicine Inc.

> www.musicmedicineinc.com

>

> Dave Benware [bompa]

> Sunday, June 23, 2002 10:10 PM

>

> Re: Re: Music as Medicine

>

> >

> > " Dr.Nature " wrote:

> > > from JAMA that doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death - not to

>

> >

> > That's quite a claim. Where exactly did you hear that?

> >

>

> " Dr.Nature " wrote:

> >

> > It was written in the Journal of the American Medical Association

> > (July 2000), and believe me they are not wanting to tell on

> themselves.

> > You can read more about it at the link below. As Mercola says, it's

>

> > probably seriously underestimated and doesn't include injuries and

> > illness.

>

> First of all, do you believe ALL asticles in JAMA or just the articles

>

> that support your own agenda?

>

> Second, almost half, (106,000/year), of the deaths are from " nonerror,

>

> adverse effects of medications " .

>

> Notice the word *nonerror*, that sorta takes the wind out of your

> statement that " doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death " .

>

> Third, you said " from iatrogenic illness (caused by doctor errors) " .

> In

> fact,

> iatrogenic does *not* mean by doctor error.

>

> It's always the easiest thing to criticize and blame others, but

> remember, when

> you point the finger that you have three fingers pointing back at

> yourself.

>

> Dave.

>

> --

> Mystic_Path_Study_Group

>

> ****************************************

> home page:

> FAQ: http://www.geocities.com/nrgbalance/bmfaq.html

> For List Help Email: -owner

> To UNSUBSCRIBE Email: -

>

> All messages, files and archives of this forum are Copyright

> group and the individual authors.

>

June 23, 2002

Thank you very, very much for your generous offer, I would LOVE a copy..thank

you.. below is my info

Cy Barrette

10 Desloges Apt 301

Ottawa, Ontario

K1K 4P3

Canada

June 24, 2002

rputman wrote:

> [2] Doctors and the drug industry form a powerful financial consortium

> that

> can afford to lobby politicians. They often successfully lobby for

> laws to

> " protect " the public from " unproven " medical practices. The truly

> ethical

> approach to deal with this pseudo concern would be to require that

> practitioners reveal to prospective patients their background, and

> then let

> the prospective PATIENTS decide what to do. The allopathic folks

> instead are

> in effect saying, " If we grant YOU the freedom to make your own

> choice, you

> will probably make a DUMB choice -- not choose us. Naturally we need

> to

> protect you from your own stupidity. "

Rich, you made many excellent points. The one above is especially

true. So many " alternative " practices are now being utililized by

medicine -- the very ones that in the past were called unproven (meaning

- worthless). And they've even gone so far as to now prohibit people in

Florida for practicing them! This is an outrage and we need to wake up

and take action. As you say, people can decide for themselves what

treatments we want. Imagine if these same dynamics happened in the

mental health profession - you'd have to check with your psychologist

before seeing a happy movie. LOL okay so that may sound far-fetched but

really, this is just a body, we've been lead to believe it's so fragile

and we shouldn't do anything unless we check with a medical doctor. Of

course that gives them another office visit.

>

> [3] The allopathic industry has long lobbied for oversight type

> boards.

> Theoretically, such boards should police industry members and sanction

> or

> evict those who don't measure up. Practically, such boards end up

> allowing

> shoddy/dangerous performers to continue doing their thing and they

> focus

> instead on punishing/threatening competitors.

>

> In a similar way, the allopathic industry has been very active at

> getting

> their members on advisory boards that determine what will and what

> will not

> be reimbursed by insurance companies. This has lead to very counter

> productive results -- completely at odds with the financial interests

> of the

> insurance companies. Let's look at a hypothetical example.

>

This and so much more. It's a money-making industry yet people aren't

realizing how much so. The New England Journal of Medicine has given up

trying to find independent doctors to write and review articles for it

because so many of them have financial ties to the drug companies.

Think of the implications of these doctors being courted by the drug

companies. (I will append the article about this at the end). And did

anyone see that segment on the Oprah show about the whistleblower who

blew the lid off a pharmaceutical company which was offering doctors

very expensive gifts - boats and vacations to exotic resorts et al. The

company paid the largest settlement ever of $875 million. Think about

how they got that kind of money??

>

> Citizen action is another way to right this crazy situation. In

> Minnesota

> some people got together to lobby the MN legislature to allow

> alternative

> health practitioners to practice without getting harassed by

> ALLOPATHIC

> oversight boards. The effort took a while, but it was successful! We

> got laws

> passed that told the allopathic community in effect to " BACK OFF! " .

> I'm proud

> to say that I participated in this effort and personally testified

> before

> legislators.

Fantastic. If more people took action like you did, everything would be

so different. Really, the main action needed is to 'vote with your

dollars'.

>

> Over the years I've seen various numbers on the number of deaths per

> year;

> they're all around 100,000 people PER YEAR. What's incredibly ironic

> about

> this is the GAUL that the allopathic community has when some zealot

> somewhere

> will find a handful (e.g. less than 10) of people that died after

> consuming

> some nutritional supplement. Then they try to generalize this into a

> " vitamins can be dangerous " warning.

Yeah, have they pulled french fries off the market now that we know they

cause cancer?

>

> As you might guess, one reason I feel so strongly about the value/need

> for

> people to be able to practice holistic medicine is because I've seen

> so many

> great results both personally and among people I personally know. I

> fixed my

> osteoarthritis so that I can again run around on the tennis court;

> I've

> eliminated a decades long persistent stuffy nose problem; I've

> eliminated

> benign prostate hypertrophy (swollen prostate gland resulting in

> frequent

> need to urinate); I've stopped my gums from bleeding when I brush my

> teeth;

> and the list goes on. Going beyond family and friends, I've collected

> in a

> computer file some 700 first person stories on hundreds of topics from

> A to W

> [no, not to Z ] where people have safely improved their lives by

> going

> the holistic route.

This is exactly it. When there are better alternatives, it's good for

people to know about them.

Thanks for this discussion Rich. Article follows. (Notice how they

didn't change the laws about their ties to the drug companies, they only

are relaxing the standards of the Journal).

>

> Rich Putman in Minnesota

The New England Journal of Medicine will announce

Thursday that it has given up finding truly

independent doctors to write and review articles and

editorials for it, as a result of the financial ties

physicians have with so many drug companies in the

United States. The Journal says the drug companies'

reach is just too deep.

In 2000, the drug industry sponsored more than 314,000

events for physicians ”everything from luncheons to

getaway weekends” at a cost of almost $2 billion. On

top of that, many doctors accept speaking and

consulting fees that link them to drug companies.

No publication in this country influences the way your

doctor treats an illness more than the New England

Journal of Medicine. Since 1812, the Journal has

scrutinized and published thousands of clinical

studies.

These " review " articles on drug therapy that can be

pivotal. They tell doctors the strengths and

weaknesses of new medications for everything form high

blood pressure to obesity to cancer.

Now, the Journal will allow these critical evaluations

to be written by people with financial ties to drug

companies.

" This change will allow us to recruit the best

authors, the people who have experience with new

treatments to write these editorials and review

articles, " said Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, the medical

journal's editor-in-chief.

Under the new policy, doctors writing reviews in the

Journal can accept up to $10,000 a year from each drug

company in speaking fees and consulting fees.

Concerns About Possible Bias

Not everyone thinks this is such a good idea.

" So if a doctor is doing that kind of business with

four or five companies, he or she can get as much [as]

$40- to 50,000 a year and not violate the new New

England Journal policy, " said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the

director of the Public Citizen Health Research Group,

one of the country's largest medical consumer groups.

" The bias introduced by drug companies paying writers

of review articles a large amount of money can have

the consequence of slanting articles and influencing

physicians in a way that isn't really in the best

interests of their patients, " said Wolfe.

The Journal, in a letter to its readers, says the

policy change is necessary because it simply could not

find enough qualified authors who did not already have

ties to drug companies.

" There are areas where we simply have not published

anything because we didn't think we could get a person

who was good to write in an area that had absolutely

no interaction with a commercial entity, " said Drazen.

But Jerome Kassirer, who was the Journal's editor

between 1991 and 1999, says he had no problem finding

independent authors.

" There's a lot of depth in academic medicine,

sufficient depth, so that it's almost always possible

to find a first-class person to write an editorial or

review article in which they do not have a conflict of

interest, " said Kassirer, now a professor at the Tufts

University School of Medicine.

Some doctors are concerned that by relaxing

conflict-of-interest standards, the Journal is

reducing the prestige and influence that it has taken

190 years to build.

June 24, 2002

Dr. Nature...

> Rich, you made many excellent points. The one above is especially

> true. So many " alternative " practices are now being utililized by

> medicine -- the very ones that in the past were called unproven (meaning

> - worthless). And they've even gone so far as to now prohibit people in

> Florida for practicing them!

>

What " alternative " practice(s) now being utilized by alopathic

physicians has(have) been prohibited in Florida?

--

------------------------------

Joel P. Bowman, Ph.D.

Email: joel.bowman

Department of Business Information Systems

Western Michigan University

http://spider.hcob.wmich.edu/~bowman

------------------------------

June 25, 2002

Steve,

I hadn't considered that a " complant " so serious as diabeties would be worthy of

a " holistic " cure. Now, here's an interesting thing, how do you become so

convincing as to be able to elicit a re-growth of the Islets of Langharin?

Cheers,

Simon Clifford

-

steve

Sunday, June 23, 2002 7:50 AM

Re: Music as Medicine