WHAT REVERSES BRAIN INJURY?
Article #2 in the Series: Adventures in Holistic Health & Harmony
THE DAMAGE & THE MEDICINE
On an average day in 2007 “Mr. Kentucky”, a champion body builder named Devin Dearth, was working out at the gym when he suffered a massive brainstem bleed. This is the worst area to have a stroke, and it left him paralyzed from the neck down, unable to walk or talk. His brother ultimately took him to a large hospital in China where the treatment was Traditional Chinese Medicine, an ancient Natural and Holistic Medicine. The doctors there used intense acupuncture needling techniques, and within ONE HOUR of his arrival at the hospital, he could lift his own leg off the table!
Devin’s brother made a documentary of his recovery called “9000 Needles” You’ll find the link to this documentary at the bottom of this article, and it chronicles his amazing journey back to buttoning his own shirt, talking, hugging his wife, and even walking. He lived another 7 years after his massive stroke, and my theory is that he might have enjoyed a longer, healthier life had he NOT spent any months in the U.S. medical system using only Allopathic medicine and standard rehab techniques. No doubt here, while Western Medicine helped save his life—he was still alive and breathing–it left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Because no one in his family or medical team knew about the powers of acupuncture, more months passed and precious time was wasted before Devin’s brother saw a video on the internet which changed everything. The video was a woman describing her own brain-stem bleed and her amazing recovery. She was talking and walking in the video! How did this person reverse effects of that massive brain stem bleed (stroke)? She went to a Traditional Medicine Hospital in China and received treatment there for about 3 months.
This Ancient Medicine from China knows how to harness and direct unseen energy systems in the body to heal itself. After a stroke, the brain maintains a certain level of plasticity which Allopathic (Western) Medicine does not yet know how to access. Chinese Medicine knows how. The treatment Rx is acupuncture, herbs and Tui-Na, a form of medical massage.
But here’s the catch: The brain’s plasticity and ability to heal decreases over time. After 12-14 months, there is little hope of much recovery from acupuncture alone. Do you know anyone who has had a stroke? Get them to a good acupuncturist ASAP…within days or even a few weeks is best! A few months can still be helpful. Vital brain and body system functioning is at stake.
THE MAGIC OF MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
However, there are two medicinal mushrooms which can dramatically effect the growth and healing of the neural network in the brain. One of these mushrooms has been illegal in the United States since the 1970’s. However, it has been researched for its effects on depression, criminal behavior, and even end-of-life anxiety. One brief study at Harvard University in the 1960’s, headed by Dr. Timothy Leary, followed 32 inmates after one single dose of it. The study found dramatic decrease in repeat crimes by these previous prisoners after they were released back into society. It has, and is being studied more…and all who research psilocybin recommend more research. It has huge potential. This medicinal mushroom, Psilocybin aka “Magic Mushroom”, was decriminalized in Colorado in 2019. This is such a powerful mushroom that it grows neural networks by 200% after one dose! I have a true sense of possibility– and concern– about its use. This one, I believe, is best used in clinical settings by caring medical practitioners who are well educated and understand its effects in the hours immediately following a dose and its possibilities to heal certain long-term mental and physical conditions.
The other medicinal mushroom, Lion’s Mane Mushroom, has been confirmed to contain something unique in the natural world: It carries two nerve growth factors (NGF), and in fact, when used as an herbal extract, does regrow nerve connections. We’ve SEEN it at our clinic. It regrows connections to damaged appendages after surgeries and radiation. It has been used for thousands of years with patients with other conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis. Clearly there are more natural medicines to explore and research further to heal the brain. Of course, the Chinese have been using these mushrooms for thousands of years and are more familiar with their healing powers. Western Medicine has limited understanding in comparison, and the majority of M.D.’s have no education about them.
DANGERS IN THE STORMY SEAS OF LIFE
Knowledge is power. That’s what this article series is all about. In the first article, we assessed our Journey on the Seas of Life in terms of our healthcare choices. As we continue on, we now find that our current Western medical system has many blind spots. Having little–or for most medical professionals, a lack of knowledge and insight about, or outright disbelief in– Natural and Holistic Medicine has literally hurt their patients and allowed big corporations to create and expand conditions in our food supply and the practice of medicine which create dis-ease and disharmony in the human body. The whole of America suffers. I may live a holistic and healthy life, but I have many friends and relatives who suffer. It hurts my heart to see it, especially when I KNOW there are ways to reverse diseases. Especially when I KNOW how emotions and stress contribute mightily to diseases. We need true, Integrative Medicine where the best of BOTH sides….the Western and the Natural & Holistic…work together.
At present many of us recognize that our healthcare system has become more of a “sick care” system. According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. (and most other wealthy nations) now have more chronic health conditions, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and mental illness (to name a few) at rates far exceeding the so-called Third World. It seems that people are generally healthier in the poor nations. They are more connected to the earth (we still are “Earthlings”) and without the ability to pay for so much of our Western Medicine. Arguably there are insects and viruses which can be deadly to these people; however, the statistics of chronic issues are vastly smaller there. And childbirth statistics show that Ghana has a higher percentage of live births than we do in the U.S. Why is that? What’s going wrong that so many of our babies die of natural causes before they are born or in the hospitals soon afterward? Why so many pre-mee’s in the intensive care units? Could it be that their mothers are sick, poisoned and stressed out?
In the Seas of Life metaphor, the majority of our healthcare system in the U.S. and North America is Off Course and in a nasty storm that’s been brewing for nearly 100 years. One must ask the question: How did we get Off-Course and into these dangerous and dark waters?
THE DEATH OF NATURAL MEDICINE IN THE U.S.
Until early in the 20th Century, the practice of medicine in the U.S. was highly influenced by herbal and natural medicines of Europe and Native Americans. Big Money changed the game, and in the last 100 years, we have been in the Modern, Western Medicine (aka Allopathic) experiment. We lost valuable knowledge and tools from Mainstream use…and awareness. So what IS “Allopathic” Medicine?
Definition of “Allopathic”: Relating to or being a system of medicine that aims to combat disease by using remedies (such as drugs or surgery) which produce effects that are different from or incompatible with those of the disease being treated.
– Mirriam-Webster
WHAT HAPPENED?
Having become rich and powerful from his oil company (Standard Oil, later broken down into multiple companies such as Chevron, Exxon, etc.), John D. Rockefeller discovered an opportunity to use petrochemicals to make medicine, patent it, and make a LOT of money. The Rockefellers, Carnegie and friends invested in pharmaceuticals, and they funded colleges to teach this new medicine. They systematically demonized natural medicine colleges who also became starved for funding.
This new, “Modern Medicine” was based on a mechanistic, comprised-of-separate-body-parts philosophy, and our medicine lost sight of the interrelationships of our body’s systems, emotions, and the power of the human spirit. Our doctors were (and still are) being trained in “a pill for every ill” thinking. Our primary medicine lost connections to Nature & natural medicines.
THE INTERNET FOR GOOD AND BAD
Meanwhile, like most everything else that changes drastically, when the pendulum swings too far in one direction, it is compelled to move back toward the middle—toward balance. And so, Natural and Holistic Medicine is, indeed, on the rise in use and public awareness. The Good will not stay forever hidden, and it’s out there for all who care to look. The Internet has allowed for the spread of all sorts of health-related information. Some is accurate. Some is questionable. But the Internet and “Dr. Google” has provided a lot of powerful information to the average person available at their request via their computer and hand-held device screens.
TRUTH IN FOODS
However, some information is incorrect, and some is hidden. Natural, Functional and Common-sense Medicine is not without challenge in this modern age of the Internet. And that includes information about our foods. With today’s domination by big players like Google and Facebook, there is clear censorship happening. For example, you won’t easily find some of my personal tried-and-true sources of medical and food research via the standard Google Search Engine. Since June of 2018, my two favorites, Dr. Mercola and Sayer Ji’s GreenMedInfo are not shown in searches unless their names are specifically typed in the search. Why are they buried? They represent power to the people to choose not to participate in the madness of some things happening in our food and medical industries.
Here’s an example: Try to find the processing methodology of making canola oil. Oh, you’ll see the breakdown of types of fatty acids it contains, and it sounds like all good stuff. But you won’t find a description of the toxic process using hexane and bleach unless you look really, really hard and long…and maybe not even then. You’ll find it, though, if you also type in the names of my favorite sources. Type in “canola oil Mercola” and you’ll get an eyeful, starting with medical studies which prove how canola oil hurts memory functioning. NOTE: You may want to write down or store their names & websites (above) for later use!
Canola oil is found in products labeled “USDA Organic”. Huh? It was the first GMO product in the 1970’s, and Canada Oil created it. It wasn’t developed for human consumption. It was a great engine solvent. Yet, most of America skips innocently down the path, believing this is a “healthy oil” because the food industry has done a good job spreading this nonsense. FAIR WARNING: Read the ingredients on product labels. Check out/ask the restaurants. Thankfully, some food bars are proud to list their ingredients. Even Whole Foods has been fooled about canola oil.
SAILING INTO A SAFE HARBOUR
Wow….THAT WAS a rough journey! Bravo for riding it out because it is valuable to understand the “Why” behind current circumstances in our health. This is ever-so-true and is a core theme in natural and holistic healing practices such as Chinese Medicine, and for all caring practitioners of Body-Emotional work such as massage therapists, energy healers and mental wellness professionals. It is key to identify emotional issues which may be underlying physical dis-ease manifestations. And in our Journey thru Life, being open to—and seeking—information and healing experiences beyond the standard medicine will gift us with many treasures.
Next month our travel on the High Seas of Life we will take us into the Safe Harbor of Harmony, where we will find rest and peace. Here, a new level of Balance and Radiant Health awaits us.
Other Articles in this Series:
#1 What You Need to Know in 2020: Sailing the Seas of Life
Be well,
Dr. David & Deb Martin
…and all the Practitioners at Lotus Blossom Clinic
www.LotusBlossomClinic.com
239-277-1399
Serving the Greater Fort Myers area with Natural and Holistic Medicine, including Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Massage, Science-backed Food as Medicine, Energy & Transformational Sessions…and over 30 monthly Community Classes & Events!
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
9000 Needles, a documentary.
Lion’s Main Mushroom, Deb Martin, 2017.
The Concord Study, Dr. Timothy Leary, Harvard University, 1961-1963