********** STATEWIDE COVID-19 MITIGATION **************

The entire commonwealth is now under statewide COVID-19 mitigation.
    Here is what statewide mitigation means.
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General Guidance
Freedom of travel will remain, but refrain from non-essential travel.
The Dept of Health strongly encourages the suspension of
    gatherings of more than 10 people over the next eight weeks.
Doctors Office's are encouraged to exercise discretion in order
    to mitigate the spread of illness.

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My office will be open daily throughout this COVID-19 Pendemic and scheduling patients.
Dr. Edwards will be doing phone visits with his patients for the next 2 weeks.
However some patients needing essential in-office therapy will be screened for
    COVID-19 and seen by appointment only.
For more information please feel free to contact our office at
    215-966-8774 or MartyEdwardsND@aol.com .

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​The Truth About Colds and Flu Doctors Won’t Tell You

If you suffer from cold or flu, you may want to let it run its course and rest both physically and emotionally, instead of taking conventional drugs that are supposed to suppress the symptoms.

Conventional medicine claims that there is no “cure” for common cold, and flu should be prevented with vaccines loaded with chemicals. You are also supposed to ease your discomfort with the help of different medications.

Unfortunately, this only indicates a lack of understanding what colds and flu are really like, and their effect on your body.

They are both caused by viruses. You have to understand what viruses can do at cellular level before you understand what colds and flu do at that very same level.

Do you remember your science classes when you learned about cellular division? Each of the cells are parent cells, and through mitosis (genetic duplication) and cytokinesis (cellular division) parent cells divide into daughter cells. Each daughter cell is considered to be a parent cell that will later divide into two daughter cells, and the process goes on.
Viruses, unlike your cells, cannot duplicate through mitosis and cytokinesis. They are microscopic particles of genetic material, and each is coated with a thin protein layer.
Viruses cannot reproduce on their own, as they are not designed to do so. The only way to manage flourishing in your body is to use the machinery and metabolism of your cells, and then produce copies of themselves.

Once viruses access your cells, of course, depending on the type of the virus that is involved, two things can happen:

1. The virus uses cell’s resources to replicate many times. It later breaks open the cell, and the newly replicated viruses leave and search for new cells to infect. This is called lysis, and it effectively kills the cell.

2. The virus incorporates in the DNA of the cell, so it can be passed on to the daughter cells that stem from that cell. Later on, the virus in every daughter cell replicates itself as we already described. The cell is lysed once there are multiple copies of the virus.
As you can see, the infected cell dies due to lysis in both cases.
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Why colds and flu can be good for you when allowed to run their course
Viruses responsible for colds and flu mostly infect the weakest cells, usually cells that are burdened with excessive waste and toxins. You should get rid of such cells anyway, and replace them with new and healthy cells.

Colds and flu can be considered as a natural event that allows your body eliminate old and damaged cells. If there is no viral infection, it would take much longer for such cells to be identified, destroyed and eliminated.

Just imagine the “stuff” you blow out of your nose when you have a cold or flu, followed by all the dead cells in the mucous, due to the lytic effect viruses have.

As you can see, there is no need of cure for common cold. It is nature’s way to keep you healthy. Get plenty of rest, eat well and stay hydrated during colds and flu, and you do not need all those vaccines or heavy medications that suppress congested sinuses, fever or cough.

Each of these uncomfortable symptoms is a way through which your body eliminates waste material and goes through colds and flu. It is okay to use over-the-counter pain medication like acetaminophen in cases when the discomfort becomes intolerable, or if these medications help you sleep well.

However, try to avoid medications that suppress helpful processes like fever, cough and runny nose.

But, just because colds and flu help your body does not mean that you should expose yourself to them to improve your health. Protect your health and improve your immune system, get enough sleep and introduce some health-promoting dietary and lifestyle changes.

This will help your cells stay strong against viruses that knock on their membranes. In that case your body will not have enough weak cells available for the colds or flu to do their job and lyse them.

How to differentiate common cold and flu?
Colds come on gradually, within a day or two. You feel tired, sneeze, cough and have a runny nose. In most cases, you do not have a fever, but if you still have it, it is slightly higher than normal. A cold will last for 3-4 days, but sometimes even 10-14 days.

Flu comes suddenly, and it is more serious. It leaves you tired, weak, with a fever as high as 104f. Muscle and joint pain, severe headache, sore throat and a feeling of being chilled are just some of the symptoms. It would take much effort to get off the bed. The fever lasts 3-5 days, but you will feel weak and tired for 2-3 weeks.

Final Note
You do not need any antibiotics, because common colds and flu are caused by viruses. People who take these feel slightly better because antibiotics provide a mild anti-inflammatory effect.

But, the side-effects sure outweigh the benefits. Antibiotics affect friendly bacteria in the digestive tract. If you really need some help when dealing with pain during colds or flu, take a small dose of acetaminophen instead of antibiotics.
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Traditional Naturopathic Healthcare Principles 
A guiding principle of traditional naturopathic healthcare is the physical body will heal itself when the obstacles to that healing are removed. This principle is called vis medicatrix naturae – the healing power of Nature. A second principle is to treat the whole person. This principle recognizes that a person is not only the physical body. The physical, emotional, and spiritual are integral parts of the whole person.
 
To live within these principles of traditional naturopathic healthcare should not be expensive. The greatest obstacles to health that we face as a culture today are the tens of thousands of man-made chemicals and natural toxins that suppress our immune system. These chemicals also trigger gene expression that leads to diseases. Avoidance is critical for good health. It is a matter of making conscious choices about the foods that are consumed.
Stress plays an important role in our health. But it is not only how we manage stress. Releasing negative feelings while focusing on positive thoughts is the most powerful practice of natural medicine that leads to well-being and happiness.

The following Tips Support These Traditional Naturopathic Healthcare Principles
  1. Eat colorful vegetables and fruits; avoid processed sugar, salt, potatoes, flours, or   
       hydrogenated oils.
  2.  Drink the purest water available.
  3.  Eat raw and lightly cooked seasonal foods so that you limit exposure to roasted, baked    
       and fried foods.
  4.  Use natural cleaners and glass containers so that you avoid plastics and harsh 
       Chemicals in the home and in food preparation.
  5.   Grow house plants that absorb toxins in the air.
  6.  Enjoy relaxing heat therapies such as baths, steam and saunas.
  7.  Eat organic and free-range foods when available.
  8.  Expand your mindfulness by daily spiritual practice of meditation and/or 
       contemplation.
  9.  Move your body; walk, don’t drive; take the stairs.
10.  Work on body mechanics by stretching and strengthening weak muscle groups.
11. Stay connected: strengthen relations with your family and friends.  Be active in your 
       community!

Study:
Ginger is 10,000x more effective at killing cancer than chemo
(it won’t destroy healthy cells!)
 
August 29, 2019 Leave a comment 157,132 Views

Ginger has been used as both food and medicine for thousands of years.

Native to southeastern Asia, ginger has been a common ingredient in these parts of the world and has long been prized for its aromatic, culinary and medicinal properties.

This underground stem, which is used as both a spice and herb, is packed with active ingredients that play a variety of roles in your body and is still a popular remedy for motion and morning sickness, however, current research offers new hope for cancer patients.

Ginger has helped many a cancer patient fend off nausea and inflammation during treatment. Now it appears it can do even more.

In a Georga State University study on the effects of ginger extract on living cells, researchers found that ginger extract induced growth-inhibition and death on cancerous cells, while leaving the healthy cells alone.
 
Ginger was found found to have virtually no side effects, which separates it from modern-day chemotherapy.  Some forms of chemotherapy have actually been found to increase the rate of metastasis, causing cancer to appear in other organs that were unrelated to the organ being treated.
 
“Whatever manipulations we’re doing to tumors can inadvertently do something to increase the tumor numbers to become more metastatic, which is what kills patients at the end of the day,” said Dr. Raghu Kalluri, working on an unrelated study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
At George State, the researchers found that ginger extract shrunk prostate tumors in mice by 56%, while reducing inflammation and providing anti-oxidants.

This study comes in addition to 17 other studies linking ginger to anti-cancer benefits.  The plant has also been subjected to peer-reviewed studies that link it to healing when dealing with over 101 other diseases.
You can enjoy the benefits of ginger in various way, teas, extracts, supplements, and you can eat raw ginger to benefit quickly from its healing powers.

Source: Health Holistic Living

4 of the Best Natural Antihistamines
Overview
If you have seasonal allergies, you know they can be challenging. These symptoms can become nearly unbearable sneezing, itchy eyes, congestion, and sinus pressure.

You’ve likely used many over-the-counter (OTC) solutions to attempt to tame these seasonal symptoms and may want to try something else. There is evidence that completely natural solutions can ease your symptoms.
Hay Fever, allergenic rhinitis, or seasonal allergies — numerous drugs, both prescription and OTC, are made to help combat these cold-like symptoms. But some of these medicines have their own lengthy list of side effects.
Understanding how histamines work can help you better understand how natural antihistamines can be an ally during allergy season.

How do antihistamines work?
Allergies are an immune response to an otherwise harmless substance. This substance — whether it’s pollen or dust — comes into contact with cells in the mucus membranes of your nose, mouth, throat, lungs, stomach, and intestines. This triggers the release of histamine.

Histamine is a part of the immune system that causes all of the symptoms you associate with allergies — the sneezing and cold-like symptoms you dislike. Antihistamines block histamine activity, seeking to stop the allergic reaction.

Many allergy medications on the shelves of your local drug store work as antihistamines. But there are also certain foods and plant extracts that can have similar effects on histamine production.

1. Stinging nettle
A common herb in natural medicine, stinging nettle, may also be a natural antihistamine. In one study, 58 percent of participants found their symptoms relieved with the use of freeze-dried nettles, and 69 participants rated it better than the placebo.

Stinging nettle can be found online and at health food stores. The study participants in question used 300 milligrams (mg) each day.

2. Quercetin
Quercetin is an antioxidant found naturally in onions, apples, and other produce. Research has shown the antihistamine effects of quercetin. One study  found that it even lessened the respiratory side effects of allergies in rats by reducing inflammatory response in the airways.
You can get quercetin as a supplement or simply add more quercetin-rich foods to your diet (the better choice of the two).

 WHERE CAN I GET QUERCETIN?   Quercetin is found in grapefruit, apples, and okra.

• Quercetin is available as a supplement in pill and tablet form, but try to opt for natural sources first.

 

• 3. Bromelain

Bromelain is a compound most commonly found in pineapples, but you can also find it in supplement form. It’s said to be effective at treating respiratory distress and inflammation associated with allergies. One study suggests taking between 400 to 500 mg three times daily.

Taking in bromelain through the natural food pineapple consumption is recommended.

4. Vitamin C
Vitamen C is an easy-to-find natural antihistamine. It’s prevalent in many fruits and vegetables, and also in supplement form.

Because it’s free of side effects and nontoxic, it’s a safe solution for treating stuffy nose and other unpleasant symptoms of seasonal allergies. Research suggest taking at least 2 grams (g) per day for the best antihistamine results. Increase your intake with three to five citrus fruits a day.

The Take Away
When you suffer from allergies, relief can seem just out of reach. By combining natural remedies with proper self-care and allergen avoidance (when possible), you can find allergy symptom help. Proper diet and exercise can help your immune system operate at its highest levels.

Also, remember that while food sources of these antihistamines are natural and safe, supplements aren’t regulated in the United States. So be sure to get them from quality sources, and check with your doctor prior to using supplements.