Having a VOICE. Making it heard.

Posted on November 28, 2011 by DrBilliot

This week I was thinking about the area of education and healthcare. There’s so much to be done, so much to teach, so much to learn and so little time. I found myself wondering. How do we make a big difference? How do we change something especially the “established” health care system that seems to hold so much validity to the average person? How do we compete against the billions of dollars spent in advertisement by the pharmaceutical companies? How to communicate to others that needless drugs and surgeries do more harm than good. How to share the truth that the body heals itself and that working with the body to heal is better than suppressing symptoms? Is anyone really listening to us anyway? Can we change anyone’s heart and mind in this matter and if so how?

If you have ever tried to share the truth of healing with another and been rejected; if you work around others who are only “medically minded” and you possibly have family who don’t understand, you may have been met with disappointment time and time again and you may have given up or thought what you said did not matter. Don’t let those words from others stop you from sharing the truth. When you let those words stop you, you shut up your own voice because of another’s and all of us lose.

I saw recently in a blog written by a friend regarding suppressive medical therapies in children’s healthcare and I started thinking. I saw the responses from others commenting on his thoughts and I realized that we can make a difference. Someone shares this blog with someone else and maybe writes their thoughts or comments which someone else reads. Someone who is searching for answers may find it and and as a result change their life. Our words can make the difference.

Words are powerful. They can heal and bind us together just as they can harm us and tear us apart. Words can convince and persuade and cause us to look at things differently or in a new way. When I look back over my life, I can see changes in my life journey that happened because of a book that I read. I think back to these times with great appreciation to the author who took the time and courage to put into words what was so beneficial to me.

In this age of technology and instant communication,we can even more effectively use our voices to help others see what may have been obscured by other people’s words; words that may have lied and attempted to obscured the truth. These lies and untruths especially in healthcare often cause great pain and suffering to those around us. Sometimes our voice is the only thing that stands in the way of this. Our words, both spoken and written can and do make a difference. In the words of Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy, 1839: “The pen is mightier than the sword,” and in cases of healthcare mightier than the scalpel as well.

Dr. Melodie Billiot

 

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Why won’t this cold go away? I’m taking Vitamin C!

Posted on October 27, 2010 by DrBilliot

I’ve heard this frustrated question a lot.  The idea of  taking vitamin C for a cold makes sense, as Vitamin C does help your body defeat the virus and bacteria.  However, if you are taking Vitamin C that you bought at a grocery, drug store or vitamin shop, chances are it is a synthetic vitamin and not a natural one (that is, made from actual food). If that is the case, then that may be why you aren’t seeing results.

Synthetic vitamins certainly can have an effect on the body, but this effect is more pharmaceutical than nutritional.  This is because vitamins that are found naturally in foods contain the vitamin complex, with all of the components needed to function as a vitamin. Synthetic vitamins are only isolated chemicals that happen to be included as a part of the natural vitamin complex. Many synthetic vitamins actually deplete your body of other nutrients and tax your kidneys before they are excreted through your urine.

Ever had very bright yellow urine after taking vitamins? This is simply the toxic elements from the “vitamins” you’ve taken being excreted.

Synthetic vitamin C contains only ascorbic acid or ascorbate (a less acidic form of ascorbic acid). Ascorbic acid IS NOT  vitamin C. It is only the outer shell that serves to protect the vitamin C complex, like an orange peel protects the inner flesh of an orange.

Natural vitamin C has many more components to it:

  • Rutin
  • Bioflavonoids (vitamin P)
  • Factor J
  • Factor P
  • Factor K
  • Tyrosinase
  • Ascorbinogen
  • Ascorbic Acid

When you take only ascorbic acid, your body searches through your body’s tissues to find the above missing components to make up the whole vitamin C complex.  That is the only way it can use ascorbic acid. So you are depleting your body’s nutrients.  And if you don’t have enough of those nutrients, the ascorbic acid does not provide any health benefits to you.

How can you tell if you are taking actual vitamin C?
If the vitamin label has an ingredient that is listed as “Vitamin C” instead of an actual food that contains vitamin C, such as “acerola cherry powder,” it’s more than likely a synthetic vitamin. If the quantity of vitamin C is listed as more than about 50mg, then this is certainly synthetic. 500mg of whole food vitamin C would be the size of a softball! Often, a manufacturer will throw some stale rose hips into the ascorbic acid drum and label the result “Natural Vitamin C.”

If you are going to take supplements, I recommend choosing those that list actual food ingredients.  Synthetic vitamins have their uses, just like drugs. However, you are far better off buying and eating whole foods, than buying and taking synthetic vitamins.

An important note for those trying to avoid toxic synthetic vitamins: The word “Enriched” found on most grain products (breads, pasta, rice, flour, etc.) means that the natural whole-food vitamins found in the grain’s germ have been removed to extend the shelf life (extend it into the next decade, by the way). To replace the actual nutrition, the manufacturer has sprayed toxic synthetic “vitamins” on the grain. Ever wonder why nasty processed breakfast cereals make such grandiose claims to contain “100% of all vitamins and minerals” you need? They sprayed the stuff with less than five cents worth of toxic chemicals that the FDA allows them to call vitamins.

What natural supplement should you be taking?
If you are in the Atlanta, Georgia area and would like some help determining what natural, whole-food supplements are right for you, we can help you. One of the many natural supplement companies I use with my patients is Standard Process. They provide safe, effective, high quality dietary supplements to health care professionals. They are not sold in groceries, drug stores or vitamin shops. If you are taking vitamins or want to start taking them, you are much better off working with a natural physician who can determine exactly what your body needs and wants as far as vitamins go. I’ll explain how we determine what your body needs and wants in another article.

If you are outside the Atlanta area, you can go to the Standard Process website and find a physician near you.

More information
I’ve put together some articles regarding natural vs. synthetic vitamins that you may be interested in…

Posted in Cold/Flu, Immune System, Natural Health | 3 Comments

Exploring how your body deals with a cold

Posted on October 8, 2010 by DrBilliot

Your body is amazing in its ability to heal itself.  I wanted to explore with you how it deals with colds…

What’s a fever?
A fever is how your body destroys germs by increasing the activity of “phagocytes” (such as white blood cells) that attack and destroy them.  The higher temperature can dramatically increase phagocyte activity.  Conventional medicine attempts to reduce fevers thinking that is what gets rid of the cold when in actuality the fever is what helps the body to destroy the virus quicker and makes you feel better sooner. Taking fever reducing medication actually suppresses your body’s ability destroy the virus. High fevers can be dangerous, and should be given medical attention, but if you have a slight fever, this is just part of your body’s healing process.

What’s a cold?
A cold is basically a nasal infection. It can lead to sore throats and other things, but a cold lives and dies in your nose. The most popular cold virus strain is the rhino virus. Rhino means nose.

Cold viruses like cooler temperatures, slightly cooler than the 98.6 degrees. So the first thing your body does when faced with this invader, is produce a stuffy nose.

Why?  Because breathing through your nose keeps your nasal passages cooler so the virus can survive, but a stuffy nose forces you to breathe through your mouth. Your nose is no longer being cooled down, making the environment less friendly for that nasty virus.

The virus dies, and after some clean up and repair work that your body does, you are good as new.

So this is why your symptoms may be prolonged when you try to “help” the body heal with medications. It interferes with the body’s natural healing process.

Of course, there are diseases that are much more challenging to handle than others. So, that’s why your best defense is to take an active part in keeping your immune system healthy. The absolute best way to do that is by boosting your immune system through diet and lifestyle adjustments.  See the recommended reading list for more information on that!

Recommended reading:

Stress Busting Tips
Information About Flu Vaccines
Immune Boosting Diet Tips
Immune Health Kit

Posted in Cold/Flu, Immune System, Natural Health | 2 Comments

How do I stop craving sweets and refined carbs?

Posted on September 8, 2010 by DrBilliot

I’m asked this question a lot.  And I’ve found what works best to eliminate cravings is to focus on WHAT and HOW you are eating. You’ll be amazed how a couple of tweaks in your diet can make a big difference.

First and foremost understand that when you stabilize your blood sugar, your cravings will be reduced or eliminated.

So, think of your metabolism like a fire that needs to keep burning. The fuel is blood sugar. Proteins and fats are the logs for the fire, carbs are the kindling. When you have trouble getting the fire started (low energy or low mood) you crave the kindling.

Refined carbs and sugars* are like paper on the fire–they get the fire going quickly (lift your mood or energy) but it goes back out just as fast (energy or mood drop).  Note that alcohol is like gas on the fire; caffeine, nicotine and other stimulants are like sparks that stimulate the fire to burn.

When you keep stoking the fire with paper and stimulants, the rapid ups and downs in fuel/blood sugar causes corresponding rapid ups and downs in energy and mood.  So you see that eating simple carbs to satisfy the cravings for sweets becomes a viscous cycle?

Break the cycle by doing the following:

  1. Don’t skip breakfast. Make sure your meal contains protein and fat.
  2. Eat every two hours. Eat protein (eggs, nuts/nut butters, cheese, meats, hummus, etc.) and complex carbs (veggies), that is.
  3. Avoid refined carbs (breads, pastas, crackers, chips) and sugars which cause exaggerated ups and downs in blood sugar levels and promote sweet and carb cravings.
  4. See the Lower-Carb Mediterranean-Type Diet information for more details on how and what to eat.
  5. If you need supplementation help, Gymnema from Standard Process/MediHerb can help your body to stop craving sweets and carbs within 1-2 weeks if your body can use this herb.

Also, these actions can help you eliminate caffeine, alcohol and nicotine cravings as well.

* Refined carbs include most commercial white/wheat and enriched flour products such as white bread, pasta and white rice, as well as most other commercially prepared breads and baked goods. Sugar-laden foods include candy, ice cream, cookies, regular and artificially sweetened (diet) soda, alcohol, high-fructose drinks as well as most packaged foods labeled “low fat”, including low fat milk.  All these foods and drinks share another quality–they are all quite addictive.

More Information
Read more on why sugar and refined carbs are so bad for you, especially important with flu and cold season fast approaching:  Sugar and Your Immune System.  You’ll also find a link at the bottom of the article to Other Sugar Related Ailments. Check it out and see if you are suffering from health problems that may simply be because you are eating too much sugar.

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95% of chronic health problems come from only FIVE stressors

Posted on August 4, 2010 by DrBilliot

Did you know that 95% of chronic health issues can be directly related to one or more of five major body stressors? They are:

  • Food Allergies
  • Infections
  • Scars
  • Chemical Poisoning
  • Heavy Metals

There are also some minor stressors such as medications, environmental allergies, piercings, tattoos, magnetic fields and others that could impede your health.

The body’s electrical system
Did you know that our bodies have their own electrical system?  You are probably familiar

Our body's energy system is similar to an electrical circuit. It's important that there are no breaks in the connection.

Our body's energy system is similar to an electrical circuit. It's important that there are no breaks in the connection.

with the measuring of the heart’s electrical signals (the EKG) and the brain’s signals (the EEG). But what you may not know is that every organ has its own set of electrical signals and that they are all interconnected. These circuits work very much like the simple electrical circuit that many of us built in science class: a light bulb, a battery and two wires connecting them together. If there are no breaks in the wires or at any of the connection points, the light bulb comes on!

And you know what happens when there is a break in a connection–no light.

If we think about our organs being part of that energy flow as it circulates through the body to keep it humming, or to “keep the lights on”  then you can guess what happens if that energy flow is impeded. Something isn’t going to work right.
The stressors mentioned above break that flow.

The five major stressors interrupt the energy flow in your body and can contribute to ill health.

The five major stressors interrupt the energy flow in your body and can contribute to ill health.

Testing the signals
Just like the heart and the brain signals can be tested, so can all the other organs’ electrical signals. So we can easily test which organs may be under any kind of stress and not receiving the correct energy flow.  We do this through points on your body called reflex points. These reflex points are derived from an ancient Chinese system that has been around for thousands of years. Simply put, there are points on the surface of your body that relate to the state of health and the flow of energy in each and every function and part of the body.  Each point represents a specific organ and its function.  For example, the spot just below your right breast is the liver point. Through that point I can determine if the liver’s energy flow is strong or weak. Weak means that the electrical flow is impeded–remember the light bulb!

Now we can find out what stressor is disrupting the energy flow and take corrective actions to help the energy flow freely again. So, let’s take a look at a couple specific body stressors that one of my patients had:

A case study
Sixty one year old, with a cheery disposition, female that appeared to be in good health came to the clinic with a persistent cough that she had been dealing with for over two years.  She’d tried many solutions but nothing seemed to help.  The coughing was definitely impacting her quality of life.

The evaluation
Upon evaluation I determined that her bronchials, adrenals and lungs were stressed, with the bronchials being the primary, high priority reflex point. The bronchials were showing that the main stressor was acetate (a chemical poisoning stressor). She also had a compromised immune system where the energy imprint of a parasite (an infection stressor) was causing the stress.

I recommended clinical nutrition supplements to give her bronchials, lungs, nervous system and adrenals some nutritional support to help her body transition from “defense mode” to “healing mode.”

Her program
Her program consisted of desensitizing the parasitic energy using AACT allergy elimination, helping her body’s immune system with an acupressure Immune Protocol, dietary improvements to reduce stress on her body (especially a reduction in her sugar) in addition to her supplement program.

Her cough was almost completely gone after only five days on this program. She has continued her program with excellent results in overall health improvement and the elimination of many long-standing symptoms.

About the two stressors in this case:

Infections: The common infections are virus, bacteria, fungus, yeast or parasites. An infection may present itself as a chronic skin condition, hyperactivity or chronic fatigue syndrome, to name a few.  For example, a person who had mono at 14 who at 35 is experiencing chronic fatigue syndrome may still have the mono virus in her system.

Chemical poisoning: There are numerous chemicals in our environment these days. Some of the most common chemical toxins are food additives, alcohol, pesticides, herbicides, vinyl chloride (for making some plastics), chlorine, dry cleaning solvents and more.  Some symptoms could include allergies, anemia, behavioral problems, constipation, dizziness, dry skin, headaches, fatigue, loss of libido, and much more.

What were your stressors?
Do you recall what was stressing your body when you were first evaluated for a treatment program with the Clinic? If not, just ask at your next visit. This kind of information can help you to understand the healing process taking place in your own body!

If you are not a patient of mine but want to learn about your stressors and you are in the Atlanta, GA area give us a call,  770-937-9200 so that we can get you evaluated.

Posted in Natural Health | 2 Comments

Why are we so gullible about our health?

Posted on August 3, 2010 by DrBilliot

It’s troubling to me that people have gotten to the point where they KNOW the body cannot heal itself and that their continued health requires drugs and doctors. A woman told me this week she had been diagnosed with “PMDD” the new menstrual disorder. The solution given to her was the birth control pill which dysregulates and creates endocrine confusion. When that didn’t “work” her doctor recommended Prozac for her symptoms. When she came to me, she had no idea what to do. She didn’t want to take Prozac, she told me, but what other drug might work? She had never considered that her body might heal without a drug!

Confused about your health? So is your doctor!
How have so many people become confused about keeping their body healthy and letting it heal itself? Perhaps it’s the inundation of billions of advertising dollars into our living rooms that give us instant drug name recognition so that we automatically associate a health problem with a drug. Maybe it’s the society’s agreement that the health experts we should rely on are medical doctors, and that the recommendations from these doctors are drugs and more drugs with no thought to the cause of or prevention of illness. How can we NOT be confused?

Your body wants to be well, but you have to let it
When I say the body heals itself I don’t mean from just simple things like a scratch or a bruise (though these are miracles in themselves) but from serious health problems like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, PMS, cystic ovaries, abnormal cell growth, you name it. Every day in the clinic, I see these types of problems resolve from the body’s own healing actions and without drugs. I don’t have a “cure” or a miracle remedy, but what I do know is that your body wants to be well. It is not sitting in wait, ready to express all manner of evil genetic codes. Your body’s intention, it’s “program” is health and wellness. The only time your body runs into trouble on this track is when it hits obstacles or barriers to its well-being. To maintain and create health, our focus should be to listen to our body and ask “Why”, “What” and “Where” is the cause of my problem. Let’s address the cause not the symptoms.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, bloating, heart burn, cramps, pain, weight gain, all of these things are symptoms. In our world of health care today these are termed “diseases” and are “treated.” This “treatment” often lasts the entirety of someone’s life and the medication used, instead of addressing causes, may reduce symptoms but in the process many other side effects are created. This often leads to additional medications to handle the side effects, all the while the poor body and organs continue to suffer from whatever deficiency or toxicity got them sick in the first place. As I tell my patients, your body rarely has a deficiency of Prozac or Nexium or Lipitor. As simplistic as it sounds, it is true. You have to address the cause of the problem not just the symptom or the problem still remains and gets worse!

If you’re desperate enough, you’ll try almost anything
People will rely on the so-called experts and accept treatments that defy logic because they are offered no other option, no other solution. Did you know that the definition of a drug is a poison that is introduced into the body to cause a specific and desired reaction? A drug works by forcing the body to defend itself from the poison. Unwanted reactions to the poison (drug) are called side effects. When a drug “works” it masks an unwanted symptom and makes the person more comfortable. In most cases, the drug doesn’t actually assist healing or address the cause of the health problem. Because all drugs are poisons, using a drug will always cause stress to the body. Certainly the benefit of the drug may outweigh this stress, but no drug is completely harmless.

Take for example blood pressure medications. According to the American Heart Association there is no known cause for high blood pressure in 90 to 95 percent of the cases. If you are in the category of this top percentage your condition is called essential (or primary) hypertension. What is known is that when vessels are narrowed, blood has a harder time flowing through them, causing hypertension. What is not known or even looked for is WHY this happens.

It’s hard to believe that a problem that affects so many Americans has no known cause. Really? Perhaps there is no interest in finding and fixing the cause when patients can be on blood pressure meds their whole life so that the disease can be “managed.” Is some of the illogic starting to make sense now? Follow the money. Who benefits when people have to stay on a prescription medication for their entire lives? The patient? I don’t think so. The phrase “buyer beware” has never had more relevance.

Drugs promise an easy solution: just take them!
I’ve seen in my life that nothing worth having is obtained easily and rarely is it given to you. And if it is, you usually have to work hard to keep it. Your health works this way as well. There are reasons for health problems. They aren’t always apparent, but they can be found and handled. You may have to change something about your lifestyle, your diet, your sleep patterns, etc. You may have to search and not take no for an answer. You may have to be persistent. But there are answers. Sometimes the “fix” isn’t easy. Sometimes it is hard. The body has to go through its healing cycle and this isn’t immediate like drug changes can be.

A body that is damaged takes time to heal. Think of a broken bone or severe injury — there is a healing cycle and an intelligence in the body that knows just what to do. The only reason the body doesn’t heal is because there are obstacles to that healing process. If you find and effectively address those obstacles then the body will heal. If you don’t take the time to find them — or don’t even look — your body suffers. Don’t take the “quick fix” approach which is filled with side effects and ill health and sadness in the end.

Choose health and vibrancy and take control of your life and health and be healthy. For real!

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