It's holiday season again! And, if you're like many of us, you'll be out and about much more -- exposing yourself to the various viruses that are circulating right now. There are at least two that I am aware of -- an upper respiratory infection, which often transforms into a nasty cough and viral pneumonia, and a stomach virus that involves vomiting and diarrhea.

In either case, I want to encourage you to make an appointment at the clinic for help with your symptoms -- or with your immune system to help you avoid getting ill.

With a respiratory infection, either in the early stages or once it has gone into your lungs, diathermy is a fabulous therapy that allows you to recover much more quickly. When you add the appropriate herbal remedy, recovery time is cut more than in half, in most instances.

For those of you unfamiliar with diathermy, you can find an extensive article discussing it on this site under "treatments. " If you don't have web access, call Amy and we will send you a copy. In essence, diathermy uses short wave radio waves to stimulate blood flow and white blood cell activity deep within the body. We use units with paddles (or pads) that maximize the effectiveness of this therapy. The drum type of unit (or the microwave type) simply doesn't have the same effect.

The best thing about diathermy is that it can be utilized for such a wide variety of health issues:

1. At the beginning of an illness, it speeds your recovery.

2. If you are convalescing and just can't seem to get your energy back, diathermy to the adrenal glands will help you bounce back much more quickly.

3. If you are overstressed and overtired (and we all know how stress depletes the immune system), again, adrenal diathermy will prevent you from getting sick.

4. A particularly popular application of diathermy in the clinic is for sinus infections. The relief from the pressure is remarkable and healing is speeded up. And, in this case, if you get the sinus infection handled, it won't go into your lungs and cause even bigger problems.

5. For people with severe allergic reactions, liver diathermy helps you recover much more quickly than the standard time of four to five days.

6. If you overindulge during the holidays, with either alcohol or fatty foods, liver diathermy will help your body deal with the overload.

7. For those of you who experience chronic bladder infections, diathermy is extremely helpful. It also helps clear up kidney infections with minimal side effects.

Finally, if you just don't feel well, and aren't sure what's wrong, make an appointment to get checked out. Either diathermy, meridian balancing -- or perhaps Neurovascular Dynamics (NVD) will be just the ticket to get you up and running, so that you can enjoy all your special events at this time of year.

We look forward to seeing you soon at the clinic.

This flu season is shaping up to be very nasty. We received word from colleagues in Australia about how severe the flu strain was this year; and their warnings were right on the mark.

A number of patients in the practice have already developed bronchitis or viral pneumonia as a result of getting sick. And, I wanted to share their experiences with you.

One of these folks lives out of the Los Angeles area. She's a special case, because she has been hospitalized twice with severe asthma. I have treated her with diathermy for her lungs before. This time, after being diagnosed by her medical doctor with pneumonia, she went to a local chiropractor and told him how to use the diathermy and how long to apply it. She needed diathermy to both her adrenals and her lungs in order to recover. The lung diathermy clears the infection out of the lungs by bringing blood flow and white blood cells into the area. The adrenal diathermy supports and nourishes the adrenal glands, which are responsible for our immune responses and for maintaining homeostasis. In the convalescent period, adrenal diathermy restores your energy and gets you back on your feet more quickly. She really noticed the difference in her energy level after her adrenals were treated.

Another patient works in a health care environment and became quite ill with pneumonia. And, of course, he couldn't go to work and infect other patients with life-threatening conditions. We applied diathermy to his lungs, together with an herbal remedy, PulmaCo from Medi-Herb, and he experienced quite a fast recovery. I believe he only missed a couple of nights of work.

Two other patients sent in their experiences in their own words. One of them was very ill this year; the other, so far has escaped. But, she knows what to do since she has had experience with viral pneumonia previously. See the attached sheet for their wins.

I strongly recommend that you call our clinic at the first sign of the flu. With the proper treatment -- NVD, herbs and possibly diathermy -- hopefully, you can avoid the pneumonia. However, should the infection go into your lungs, we can still help you recover very quickly. I hope you stay well this winter, but if the 'bug' gets you, remember: We are your resource!

Case Study # 1

When I was working on my Masters and teaching full-time, I went to Doc Richards to have an adjustment treatment; but when she heard me coughing, she wanted to treat me for the cough. I stated "that the cough got worst at night when I ended up spiking a fever". She stopped me right there and then, and told me to sit up and let her listen to my lungs.

She diagnosed me with walking pneumonia and that was the first time I had diathermy. She treated me for three days straight, starting on Wednesday determining the amount of time I needed to lay on the heating pads. I was back to teaching after the weekend with no drugs.

This was seven years ago but unfortunately I did not recognize walking pneumonia last year when I let it go for too many months and by the time the doctor treated me I had probably had it for three months. She once again prescribed diathermy. And once again got me back on my feet again with the treatment and no drugs.

I am a firm believer that diathermy worked for me to recover from walking pneumonia and will attest to it. After two bouts of walking pneumonia, I for one will continue to use diathermy to help me recover from any other ailments Doctor Richards recommends should the need arise.

Case Study # 2

I was diagnosed with Bronchial Pneumonia in my right lung in December 2007. I had not been able to sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time because of violent coughing - a residual of a virus. I used an over the counter cough suppressant and expectorant and an old Rx of Allegra (antihistamine) which gave me some help. I was also taking Echinacea, Vitamin C, and D-Hist. All were helpful, but I had to discontinue the cough syrup because it caused my heart to race. I could not stop coughing. I was exhausted and knew that if I didn't get help, I was only going to get worse. My husband was concerned that I would develop bacterial pneumonia.

Why didn't I go to an MD? After six weeks of battling bronchitis a year earlier, and after eight weeks of bronchitis on another occasion, both caused by a virus, my MD told me to go home and wait it out. I was ill for three months on one of those occasions. I was given no help at all. I saw no reason to waste money with my current virus by another visit to my MD. My MD also made me feel guilty for wasting his time with my petty complaints.

I did not look forward to being ill all through Christmas. I had already been ill for over two weeks.

I asked Dr. Richards if she had any help for my condition. She treated me with diathermy on my right lung and another treatment of diathermy immediately after for my adrenal glands. I did not think this would work. It sounded too simple. The diathermy was set to its lowest setting because I was so frightened of being cooked. Visions of cooked hamburger kept going through my mind during the treatment - nothing like that happened. The staff came in six times to check on my comfort. The treatment was comfortable and they managed it with me sitting in a plush chair since my back is too painful to lie on a table for long. Dr. Richards also gave me PlumaCo tablets.

To my relief and surprise, I slept several hours at one time that night. By the next day, I was coughing less. I slept through the night the second night after the diathermy. Five days later I was so much better that I thought about skipping my second diathermy treatment that had been scheduled, but my husband insisted that I keep it. After the second diathermy treatment, I recovered rapidly. Within a week, I had no remaining symptoms of the virus.

The next time my grandson passes on one of his school viruses, I will come in for Diathermy much sooner. There is no reason to suffer so long. My medical doctor offers me no help or symptom relief at all. I am convinced that Diathermy cut my recovery from this virus by more than half. It also relieved me from much exhaustion and suffering.

There's a very good reason why diet after diet fails you. Why you can't seem to lose weight and keep it off no matter how hard you try. If you would really love to be one, two, or several dress sizes slimmer, without starving yourself, running to the gym every day, or going on yet another fad diet, then let me reveal why famous, hyped, fad diets and heavily advertised gimmick "magic" products do not work, and exactly what you can do to achieve real lasting weight loss, make real lifestyle change–and enjoy better health, feel more youthful, and have more vibrant energy.

The weight loss success that has eluded you time and again can finally be "real" for you. A healthy, better looking body CAN be yours, without torturing yourself, without eating grapefruit and eggs every day for two months, without having to bring an extra pair of pants to work with you in case you have an "accident" from taking the latest fat blocking program . . . (I'm not kidding–the instructions printed on the latest heavily advertised weight loss program, Alli™ , strongly suggest that you bring along a spare pair of underwear and pants in case embarrassing staining problems occur while on their product. And you want to follow that program?)

If you've tried diet after diet, lost weight and then gained it all back plus some extra, or just haven't been able to lose weight, it's probably NOT YOUR FAULT. Were you aware that most people gain all their weight back, plus 10% when they stop dieting? It's because when you lose muscle mass, you don't burn calories as readily, and you just pack on the fat. This is part of the reason your dieting efforts have been doomed from the start. But I promise you, you CAN speed up a lazy metabolism, burn body fat, change your fat to muscle ratio, lose inches where it counts . . . it is ALL possible–with a sensible holistic approach. Regardless of how many diets you've tried and given up on in the past.

Why All The Weight Loss Products, Diets, Pills and Gimmicks You've Tried Have Failed You

What I see in the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry is very disturbing to me. Aside from the fact that the industry has a vested interest in keeping you "fat" and wanting to continuously lose weight, there are several other factors that keep you from winning the weight loss battle.

1. The Unhealthy, the Ridiculous, and the Outrageous: Each heavily promoted diet after the next promises that you'll lose a gazillion pounds by eating one or two magic foods–the grapefruit and egg diet (yucko!), the soup diet (even worse), the Beverly Hills diet, the steak and potatoes diet, the kiwi diet–or buy their very expensive pre-packaged foods. Any of these may temporarily help you lose weight, but once you stop eating the 2 magic foods a day, or start eating real food, the weight comes roaring back! And heaven forbid if you "cheat," or if you're so hungry that you go on an eating binge, and feel guilty. Not to mention that many of these "diets" are truly unhealthy if you use them for any length of time, because your body is deprived of essential nutrients it needs.

2. The Impossibly Complicated: Diets that require strict calorie counting, carb counting, food exchange counting, food combining, or any other careful calculations–ones that pretty much rule out eating in restaurants, or require you to eat "rabbit food" just don't work because it would take superhuman, iron willed self-discipline to stick to them. They are NOT realistic. So everyone runs out and gets the next greatest star diet book, sees that its full of charts and mathematical equations . . . and that book winds up gathering dust with the dozen other books just like it. If you follow our recipes and guidelines, the calorie counting takes care of itself.

3. Sabotaging Your Own Weight Loss: Most diets that restrict calories do so at the expense of healthy fats and protein. This is particularly true of Slim Fast™ and other liquid diets. [See http://www.DrRichardsTalksBack.com for my article on Healthy Weight Loss]. The result: your body cannibalizes your muscles for the proteins that it needs to make neurotransmitters and signaling hormones. These are the small polypeptides that your hypothalamus and pituitary use to tell your endocrine system how to work. As a result, you start craving real food, return to your former eating habits, and sabotage your weight loss!

4. The Dangerous Drugs, "Magic Pills", or "Solutions": Look, if there was a pill that let you eat all the pizza and ice cream you wanted, that burned off fat while you slept, that made you lose weight without exercising at all . . . and was healthful, I'd be the first one to tell you about it! But these advertisements are all lies, and they are dangerous to boot. Some of these "magic pills" contain stimulants, herbs that are unregulated and untested, some even contain high amounts of sugar and caffeine! If you have any physical problems like diabetes or hypertension or any number of other health problems, some of these so-called solutions can put you at great risk, physically.

Are You Ready for a Serious, Legitimate, Honest, Weight Loss Program that Really Works, Based on a Sound, Holistic Care Model?

A number of you have been after me for years to put together a weight loss program that made sense. Well, I listened to you, I researched, and here it is! However, be advised, if you are still watching infomercials and signing up for a month's free "food," or still looking for that magic pill cure-all, then this program is NOT for you, and you should definitely NOT respond to this letter.

Side Effects of Dr. Richards' Holistic Weight Loss Program:

*If diagnosis reveals these kinds of health needs, your personal health situation will be thoroughly discussed with you.

You may be motivated to lose weight for health reasons. Very good. But chances are that you are concerned about your appearance too. Not liking how you look in your clothes, noticing that extra tummy roll. But there's GOOD NEWS! Healthy weight loss includes the conversion of fat into muscle so you lose the unsightly bulges, you improve body shape, you drop dress sizes, and you look younger and healthier. To insure that you are losing unhealthy fat and retaining muscle mass, simple weigh-ins are not enough. After all, muscle weighs more than fat, and as you convert body fat to lean muscle, the scale may not tell the whole story. You must also measure the ratio of body fat to muscle. And so we do! Body fat percentage and fat/muscle ratios can be easily measured with a simple quick diagnostic test which is part of this program. Bye-bye flab!

Coleus Forskolii: The New Herbal Secret Weapon

Coleus Forskolii, which is in our herbal product Coleus Forte™ , is a miracle worker! In addition to helping your body burn fat, it lowers your blood pressure, improves your blood sugar by increasing insulin secretion, replaces body fat with muscle mass, inhibits platelet activation (less clots), increases the strength of contraction of your heart, (while relaxing smooth muscle), and improves thyroid function. The reason for these wide ranging effects is that Coleus acts directly to increase cyclic AMP, a major regulator of cellular metabolism. The dose is two to three per day, based upon your response to the product. A few people experience loose bowels, which can be handled by reducing the dose.

Of course, you will have to watch your portion size and eliminate sugar and white flour (i.e., decrease refined carbohydrates in general). But, that's just a healthy approach to eating. The only people who can't take Coleus Forte™ are those whose blood pressure is too low to start with (people with severe adrenal problems) and those few people who find their gut becomes too irritable. In my office, that's less than 1% of the people who have tried it so far.

And you'll be happy to know that Coleus Forskolii is an integral part of our program to ensure your weight loss success.

What About the Cost?

This is a supervised, managed care program, with diagnostic testing for those patients who have health conditions, or who are new to the practice. Obviously it is not the price of a six pack of Slimfast™ . If you are not tired enough of "magic pills," diets that don't work, and gimmicks, and not ready to make a serious commitment to really losing weight and inches and keeping it off, then this program is not for you. Because each program member will be having a slightly different program, the cost will vary; however, you will be pleasantly surprised with the fee. Your individual plan will be discussed with you during your initial consultation visit. After that, when you have all the facts, you can make that decision for yourself.

Limited Number of Slots Available for Dr. Richards' Holistic Weight Loss Program

What Should You Do Next? Call the office and schedule your initial consultation/evaluation. Blood and diagnostic testing will be needed for new patients and for patients who have known existing health conditions, so we can make sure we track your changing requirements. For existing patients, this may not be needed.

Our first meeting will last between 15 to 30 minutes. Then, I will review your situation, and we will put together your personalized customized eating and nutrition plan. Every 2 weeks after that, you will come to the office for a 5 minute weight and body fat measurement. Every 6 weeks you will meet with me, and we will go over your progress or any problems you need to address.

Note to patients with special needs, diabetics, inflammatory conditions, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, adrenal and other problems: This program will be specifically tailored to your special needs, so it is safe and effective.

Note to the men in our practice: This letter was written mainly to the women in my practice because women are usually more concerned about weight loss than men. But, I have Great News for Guys–you lose weight easier and faster than the ladies! And, this program will help you maintain your muscle mass. (As previously stated, most of the other weight loss programs cause you to lose muscle mass.)

Extra Goodies You Will Receive on this Program:

If this is the year you decided to take better care of yourself, or this is the year you've really gotten sick and tired of empty weight loss promises, give us a call at 626.963.1678 and schedule that initial consult now. You and your loved ones will be glad you did!

Are you dismayed by recent news reports that tell you not to take vitamins, because they may shorten your life? I can't tell you how upset I have been by this disinformation campaign.

The article I read in The Sunday London Times (4/27/2008) by Lois Rogers claims that taking vitamins is dangerous to your health. She represents everyone who takes vitamins as a dissolute, high-living, burn-the-candle-at-both-ends sort; someone who is taking vitamins to offset an unhealthy lifestyle.

She then makes reference to the hoary, old standby "recommended daily allowances." As though that means something! I wish she had done her research; she would have discovered that the RDAs were established after World War II. They were specifically designed to determine the minimum quantity of a nutrient that would prevent a deficiency disease. The RDAs have never measured what is necessary for health.

Even more disturbing to me is that she cites as her experts dieticians who know less than nothing about nutrition. In general, dietetics is the medical subsidiary that is concerned with caloric intake. In the hospital, they design meals to contain adequate calories, and they are not too concerned about how this is achieved. I remember when my nephew was hospitalized; flour was added to the orange juice to "increase its nutritional value". Trouble was: he is extremely gluten sensitive. The results weren't pretty. In addition, dieticians routinely instruct diabetics to take sugar cubes to raise their blood sugar! One of our textbooks when I was in chiropractic school was a dietetics text. Believe me, dieticians are totally clueless when it comes to optimizing your health via adequate nutrition.

But, you may ask, what about those "studies" that show that vitamins are bad? Surely there is good data behind these claims. Actually, no. Most of the studies in the peer-reviewed medical literature are funded by drug companies and designed to fail. Remember the vitamin E study from 2004? See my article

Another example is the Finnish study on anti-oxidants. It is continually trotted out and cited. This study was deeply flawed. [See my article on its shortcomings on my website, under the newsletter archives. "Finnish Antioxidant Study" A more complete discussion is on the Vitamin page of the web site – access it through the site map – and is entitled "Sorting Out the Antioxidant Controversy".]

Then there was the study that claimed to "prove" that vitamin C damaged DNA! The only problem: it was conducted in a test tube and the pH of the vitamin C (it is slightly acidic) denatured the DNA molecule. How this correlates to real life escapes me. And, the study is seldom cited any more because the fault is so glaring.

So, what is this latest published "study" based upon? The study was issued by The Cochrane Collaboration – an organization ostensibly devoted to assessing the effect of different medical treatments. However, their methodology is suspect. According to their self-description, they simply review the peer-reviewed medical literature to come up with their conclusions. So, these deeply flawed studies are included in their "findings." They simply assert that vitamins are harmful, after collating all of this bogus information. The problem – you can't return to the source papers and analyze their shortcomings.

This latest analysis is being touted because of the huge number of participants, 233,000 – a total of all the numbers of all the studies reviewed. That's not really a "study" since there is no consistency in participants, nor any controls over what nutrients were given. The number is meaningless, because the parameters are practically random. So, now, we are substituting quantity for quality. Remember "GIGO" – "garbage in, garbage out." You can't have good data if the studies don't have good guidelines.

So, what is really behind all of this? I did some digging and came up with some telling information. The Cochrane Collaboration is touted as being conducted by an "unbiased" source.

However, when you look a little deeper, this isn't exactly true. It turns out that the founder of the group is Iain Chalmers, M.D. When I researched his bio, I discovered that he now heads up The James Lind Library, a project of the World Health Organization (WHO). Pretty good credentials, yes? Actually, no. The kicker in this information is that the WHO and the UN – after more than 20 years of lobbying by the drug companies – have enacted the Codex Alimentarius. [Download the flyer from one of our suppliers. For more info on the Codex, visit my blog www.DrRichardsTalksBack.com. And, there is now under way a full-scale public disinformation campaign to accustom the public to the notion that vitamins and herbs are dangerous and need to be by prescription only.

Actually, the article in the London Times lets the cat out of the bag in its statement: "The findings add weight to the growing anxiety over the unregulated sale of dietary supplements, which are more widely available in Britain than elsewhere in western Europe. Many dieticians say the pills should be treated as medicines; they are calling for a reporting system for adverse reactions similar to the ‘yellow card' system used by doctors to monitor unexpected reactions to drugs." If you'd like, read the article in its entirety.

I am not much for conspiracy theories, but the evidence is overwhelming. For almost 10 years now, we have received an increasing barrage of bogus studies designed to condition us to believe that vitamins are bad for us. I find this alarming because, as I enter my 60's, I am counting on being able to continue taking my nutrients to maintain my ability to work and be productive. I have hundreds of examples from my own practice that prove this point. Don't let the drug industry's propaganda dissuade you from doing what is best for yourself and those you love.