Archived News of the Week

The Golden Rule, Ridiculous Research on Vitamin D, DTD and More on the Brain

The other day, I was thinking about The Golden Rule and was struck with the profound simplicity of its message along with its depth of meaning and philosophical significance. Moreover, imagine what it could mean in all of our lives if everybody would just do it. Really, what could be simpler than "Do unto others as you would have done unto you."? It's not rocket science. We all know how we want to be treated - with kindness, love and respect. If we have this piece of "Gold" and abide by it, and maybe follow the Ten Commandments as well (why not?), then we are set to co-create with like-minded others the kind of peaceful world that we all yearn for.

Here's the rub, though. I think probably everyone knows what the Golden Rule is - even hardened criminals languishing on Death Row - but how many of us live by it with unswerving devotion? I try, as I am sure you do, but then I seem to go off course: That witty yet sometimes stinging riposte wrapped in a sleight-of-hand faux-humor bubble comes out of my devil's mouth, ("But it was FUNNY!"!) insensitively putting someone down, hurting someone, belittling someone - all for a chuckle. Or, I lose my temper or I am in a hurry or I ignore someone or I am quick to interrupt or I am impatient...

Living by the Golden Rule seems to be a no brainer, huh? So why are there wars, murders, bullying, ignorance, prejudice, child pornography, child abduction, rape and all the underbelly darkness of the fearful tick-tock world that spills over onto us? The answer? My feeling is that number one and probably the most important: In order to love someone as yourself, you have to start with you, the one and only - you. We must first deeply love and respect our self-ness, who we are, where we came from, how we've grown despite the pain. If we don't love our self - right now - then all bets are off that we can sustain being a helpful and compassionate person in the world because it's just not who we really are down deep. We will be sending our self-loathing out into the world and that dark cloud of noxious energy will tend to envelope, in some form, everyone we meet. And that simply doesn't feel good.

So, because we have hatred towards ourselves and don't know any better we rampage through life, hurting others, psychically and energetically maiming others and just being an example of all that's rotten in our world. Oh, some could excuse us. There are the random things to put the blame on, like bad childhoods, bad antidepressants, bad luck, bad hair days, bad whatever. And yes, I do personally believe that there is a thing called evil and that some people are born evil and without a conscience. But this is rare and I think - bottom line - that essentially we humans are good. And when all is said and done, I believe in the goodness of the human spirit and the nobility of abiding by the Golden Rule. We are all heroes.

See if this will help. Let's jig with the words of the Golden Rule and turn it around into a statement which may be more helpful. So, instead of the usual way the Golden Rule is stated i.e. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," let's try this:

"Want Nothing. Need nothing. Harm Nothing."
(Then you can easily turn this into)

"If you want nothing and if you need nothing, then how can you possibly harm anything?" Think about it.

Enforce the principles above with The Three Graces: Tenderness, Generosity and Respect. And you are ready to start being a Beneficial Presence in the world.

Another stupid study about a supplement published by an AMA Journal, (Jour Clin Endocrinology and Metabolism, 10/12). Honestly, these Big Pharma bozos who malign supplements for no reason other than their arrogance or their bottom line irritate me to no end. The latest one: A placebo-controlled randomized trial (sounds good so far) done on 305 post-menopausal British women showed that vitamin D supplements have "no effect on cardiovascular risk and death."

Incredulous, I read further and noticed that the amounts of vitamin D given were laughably small: 400-1,000 iu's of D per day. Then, based on these puny amounts, to leap to the following unequivocal conclusion - without questioning the D unit amounts, starting and ending values of their D levels, how long they were on the D - that, "The study actually shows that vitamin D does not protect you against heart disease... (and)... that's not what people want to hear, but it's true." No it's not true. Actually, multitudinous research studies show that high levels of vitamin D are protective against most everything, including cancer and heart disease. High levels are considered to be between 50-70 ng/ml. and this usually requires from 5,000-10,000 iu's of D per day for a period of months to raise the serum D to these beneficial levels.

DTD: Pursuant to my last newsletter, a patient brought to my attention yet another odd mental aberration - as if Alzheimer's, Lewy Body Dementia et al aren't enough to consider. This one is called Developmental Topographical Disorientation, or DTD. This is not an old person thing, but a brain disorder that one is afflicted with pretty much from birth and is usually discovered in childhood. It's as if they were born with no inner GPS. These people are easily disoriented and easily lost, ("That child can get lost in the back yard!"); yet there is no brain damage or cognitive impairment. It was first named as a disorder in 2008 and an article was published about it in Neurophychologia, an Italian magazine.

Couple shorties on the brain: Alzheimer's is now being called Diabetes Type 3. There are insulin receptors in the brain, and when we become insulin resistant, or have diabetes or go face down in sugar day after day after day, the insulin receptors become unable to handle all the sugar i.e. insulin resistant, and elect premature retirement thus allowing the sugar to go haywire in the brain causing neurodegeneration to the neurotransmitters in the amygdala and the hippocampus. Second shortie: Three nutrients were tested in older people and it was found that significant memory improvement happened in the group taking DHA, EPA and Gingko. I have far better stuff than that to keep your brain healthy. I continue to be amazed at how well the appropriate brain food works to enhance memory, thinking, the snappy retrieval of words and finding your car in the Costco parking lot.

Two good Gluten-Free Restaurants: Julia's in North Boulder and Mary's in Hygiene. Go there - try their food, soups, Mary's pies, breads, chicken pot pies and pastries, Julia's breads, soups and crackers, the lovely down-home ambiance of both of their establishments and the excellent G-free foods that both Mary and Julia make.

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