I was 13 years old when the Monkees made their debut on network television.  It was my favourite show of the week as they always sang one of their hits at the end of the show.  Whether it was Last Train to Clarksville, Daydream Believer or Valerie, it was always the best part and worth waiting for. 

Davy was a talent in his own right, despite the proclamations that they were a “manufactured” group.  When the Beatles came to the U.S. in 1963, Davy was playing in the Artful Dodge on Broadway.  He was in the audience at that Ed Sullivan show when the Beatles debuted.  Mike Nesmith was already a musician on the guitar as well as Peter Tork who also played piano.  Mickey Dolenz had to learn to play the drums but he mastered that quite well.  They were certainly no Milli Vanilli as they sang all their own songs.

When our family moved at Christmastime, halfway through the first season, my best friend wrote to me every week.  Faithfully, she would give me a rundown of exactly what happened on the show as we did not get that channel up north where we were now living.

One day, I had one of her letters at school and the guys I hung around with took it away from me and headed to the washroom to read it.  I was mortified as they later made fun of me.  After that incident, I wrote to my friend and asked her not to write about the show anymore.  I guess I didn’t need that “kid stuff” although I stayed a fan of their music until they stopped recording in 1968.  She and I are still friends, thank goodness!  When I sent her a message yesterday about Davy’s death, she too was filled with sadness.

In the coming days, we will likely find out the true cause of his death.  For someone who seemed to be healthy and in the prime of his life, 66 is too young to be cut down.  As a practitioner of Live Blood Analysis, I know that, all too often, there are underlying symptoms that go undetected by regular check-ups and blood work.  I will be interested to hear what the media reports about what happened although we may never know.  I am truly hoping that there might be a lesson that we can all learn from.

So, rest in peace, Davy Jones.  You brought a lot of teenagers a great deal of joy that they will never forget.

I had never heard of this particular product before but, when I received the information about it online, I decided that I would try it.  I like to try new things and stay informed about anything health or diet-related.  I read all the information on the website and researched it thoroughly before placing the order. 

I am confident that it is a product that does not have harmful ingredients.  I am hoping that it will work for me and possibly everyone else I know who is having problems losing weight.

My husband wants to try it also, as he has more weight to lose than I do, but I’ll be the guinea pig first.  Besides, I have a special event that I am attending at the end of March and it is important to me that I look good.  This is a 30-day supply and that is the amount of time that I have.

My main issue is that I am not 20-something anymore and the pounds have crept on over the years, to the tune of 20 pounds too many.  I am not fat by any means but I also cannot wear a bikini……or many of the clothes in my closet.  They are just a little too tight around the bottom.  Mind you, my bottom was never, ever small.  When I was 15, my friends called me “hippy” and I weighed 25 pounds less.  Kids can be so cruel.

I did weigh myself first thing this morning but will keep that info under wraps for now.  No sense in broadcasting to the world my secret number.  Suffice to say that, at 5’6-1/2”, it’s a little too high.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress as I will be weighing in every day.

When I have a picture taken now, my face looks a little plump and puffy.  I see that in so many other faces nowadays.  There are so many pretty girls out there who are carrying too much weight and it distorts their appearance. 

This morning, I was watching a morning show that was celebrating the birthdays of a number of people who are Leap Year babies.  Every one of the girls was very attractive but they were all too big.  It is such a common sight.  Am I the only one who looks in the mirror and notices that I need to lose weight in order to look my best?

Back to the product……the packaging is a simple plastic, resealable pack containing small tubes with the drink crystals inside.  I just have to mix it with water and drink.  The outside says “No Caffeine, No Stimulants, No Meal Replacements and No Shakes”.  Hurrah!  I like to eat, not drink shakes all day.

It also says that I can “Lose weight and inches by burning fat, not muscle”.  It “Helps keep blood sugar, cholesterol and lipids at healthy levels.”  Since I have a problem with low blood sugar, this is always a concern for me.  It also says “Helps increase your will-power over food.”  Who doesn’t need THAT??  It “Reduces binge eating” too but that is not a problem that I have although it is all-too-common with other people.

Anyway, I have taken the one capsule and finished my drink while writing this.  I really enjoyed it too as it tastes like berries, not the typical chocolate that most companies use as flavouring.

I feel a little different but am not sure in what way yet.  Maybe it is an army of little men inside me fighting the fat cells.  I’ll know in a couple of hours if this is for me or not, but so far so good.  I’ll report back tomorrow and let you know if I have any adverse reactions.  After all,  that is what being a guinea pig is all about.

Yes, I know. You visit your regular practitioner once a year. You have blood work done, you get a mammogram, a PSA test, colonoscopy and a barrage of other tests before being declared “healthy!”

Maybe you are taking a vitamin or two….the ones with all the extra ingredients like magnesium stearate, talc, stearic acid or those preservatives like potassium chloride that the company says will not harm you as they are only in minute amounts.

“I’m healthy”, you declare.

.

…but are you really? You could be a ticking time bomb and not even know it. Lurking beneath the surface is a whole host of diseases just waiting for you to make one wrong move.

…then, it’s BANG! You have Type 2 Diabetes, Acid Reflux, High Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, even worse, Cancer or Heart Disease.

These are not diseases that come about just because you are getting older either. Don’t be fooled by that story. They occur because you are doing something wrong in your everyday life and it is something that your regular practitioner knows very little about.

Oh sure. They tell you to quit smoking, eat properly, exercise more and maybe drink more water. Some of them actually smoke themselves, and they have very little nutrition training. I have also yet to see a water bottle on their desk either. Don’t get me started on what those medications they prescribe for you do either. That’s a whole different can of worms.

So, what’s the answer? How can you really know if you are indeed healthy? The answer is Live and Layered Blood Analysis.

Since I started my practice over 5 years ago, I have seen some amazing results and many more surprised faces. Everyone has been simply blown away by what they see and discover about themselves. Many times, it has been the jolt they needed to implement immediate changes in their lives to correct their unhealthy habits.

What is Live and Layered Analysis? All I can say is that these two tests will show things that normal blood work will not. Want more details? Go to www.janetwoods.ca and discover for yourself if you truly are healthy and have nothing to worry about. Just remember too that everything you do discover through these two tests is also reversible and can start you heading in the right direction towards great health.

It’s 2012 and many things are being prophesized to change this year. Don’t let it be your health. The time to step up and take responsibility for your health is NOW! Don’t wait until your doctor tells you something is wrong. Being unhealthy is no fun and that’s what life should be all about.

Consistent heartburn can result in esophageal cancer if it is not managed properly.  Despite what you have been told, heartburn drugs are not the answer.  The right answer is “change your diet.”

The risks of taking these drugs are multiple.  They can increase the risk of osteoporosis, a vitamin B12 deficiency and pneumonia. A vitamin B12 deficiency specifically, especially in the elderly, can cause anemia, fatigue, depression, dementia and irreversible nerve damage.

A new advisory now warns that long-term use of PPI’s (for more than one year) can also cause a magnesium deficiency.  Magnesium is an important mineral responsible for helping the heart to stay healthy, blood pressure regulated, kidneys working properly, muscles and bones to stay strong and keeping fatigue and headaches at bay. 

When magnesium is deficient in the body, it can cause muscle spasms, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), tremours and seizures.  Tremours in the elderly are frequently misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s, leading to unnecessary treatments and admission to a nursing home.

Many blood pressure drugs also cause low magnesium.  Couple those with a heartburn medication and you have an even higher risk of major problems.

If you are taking a heartburn drug, wean yourself off of it and change your diet to solve the problem.  Never stop a drug without first consulting with your primary physician.

If you don’t want to change your diet and absolutely refuse to part with your heartburn drug, at least take a high quality mineral supplement every day with a minimum of 600 mg of Magnesium.  It’s your body so it’s your choice and just my opinion because I don’t have heartburn.

Janet Woods is a Natural Medicine Practitioner and Coach

In the 1972 “Additives Book” by Beatrice Trum Hunter, she referred to red dye # 3 as a cause of hyperactivity in rats. 3 years’ later, this theory was also found to be true in children and applied to ALL food additives.

40 years’ and hundreds of studies later, our children’s brains have suffered immensely. Instead of eliminating the food colourings and additives from their diets, we have chosen to put band-aids on their ADHD problems instead with Ritalin and other angerous anti-psychotics

Stop feeding your kids fake fruity drinks, gummy worms and all the other foods containing these additives. Read the labels and then save your child’s brain. If you don’t, they will be incapable of taking care of you when you are old.

My current read is Napoleon Hill’s The Law of Success, Volume IV. One of the 16 lessons is called “Cooperation”.  Among other things, it talks about people doing the type of work that harmonizes with their true nature.  When that happens, the best in them will come out and they will excel at what they are doing. 

The chapter also laments the fact that most people never find the work for which they are best-suited and makes them the happiest.  They generally die with most of their dreams still unfulfilled. 

Too often, most people choose their life’s work based on the fact that it will pay them a decent wage and cover the bills.  Many others are pigeon-holed into an occupation simply because it is all that is available to them and suitable to their current qualifications.  That’s so sad.

Unfortunately, true success will always elude these people.  They will never experience the happiness and enjoyment which comes to those who do the work that they like best.

Take me for example.  Early on in my career as an office worker, I knew that I was better-suited to something more meaningful and true to my inner nature and personality.  I was highly-motivated to make money, to be the boss and run my own show. 

At one point, I would be working at a job and then quit to set out on my own.  That business would fail so I would fall back on employment only to be thrust out into the business world again trying my hand at yet another venture.  Too many times I tried and failed to be a success.  If I told you how many jobs and businesses I had on my real resume, you would be flabbergasted.

When the internet became a common household must-have, I took to it immediately and started my search for success on another level. All that office education and experience would soon pay off.  That was back in the late 90’s, about the same time that I experienced my first taste of natural health and healing.  Something clicked inside of me.  All those years and years of searching have led me to where I am today…..a lot more broke but wiser and very happy with what I do.

When I was young, I remember saying many times over that I wanted to be either a teacher or a doctor.  Now I am both. Better late than never I say.  The big money is not forthcoming quite yet but I continue to practise my craft and help the world to enjoy a healthier life.  The money will show up any day now.  I just have to keep believing, taking action and loving what I do. 

Janet Woods is a Natural Medicine Practitioner and Coach in Peterborough, ON Canada

I am keeping on top of the natural news highlights that I am receiving frequently.  Their reporting is much more accurate than that from our local news stations or CNN.  Those stations only report what they are told and invariably, it is never the complete truth.

There are also a couple of radio shows that I listen to whose information and reporting I trust.  That is why I quietly did a few things in order to prepare for what may be around the corner.

The results have been surprising to say the least.

When the reactors first appeared to be in trouble, I loaded up all our water bottles and large containers and stored them in a cool place.  If the radiation happens to get swept up in the jet stream and carried this far into Canada then it will surely contaminate our lakes and rivers.  Even a tiny bit of radiation is never safe and scares me.  If that doesn’t happen then I will have lots of water ready to go for watering my plants and garden in the Spring.

I did ignore the recommendation to purchase Potassium Iodide.  Since it is a chemical and I am against all that stuff, I decided to purchase something natural that wouldn’t be harmful.  I put a few drops into juice in the morning and now I expect to be safe from any radiation poisoning.  I might be a bit paranoid but I found that this stuff had a big benefit!!

I have lost weight and feel great plus I haven’t changed my diet!  In fact, last night, I ate fish and chips, a big no-no.

Since I do Live Blood Analysis, I know that I don’t have a thyroid problem.  Even though I started back exercising regularly, I have struggled lately to curb my cravings and take some weight off in anticipation of squeezing into my spring and summer clothes.  It just wasn’t happening.

Quite often, a sluggish thyroid can hold you back from losing unwanted pounds and regaining that svelte person that you used to be.  Since I am no longer young, I have what’s called “fat-creep”.  It has crept up on me oh so slowly over the years.  Instead of being diligent and taking it off as it was put on, I have let my weight go up slowly.  I am not obese by any means but I can certainly see a pudgy face when I look at recent pictures of myself.  Forget putting on a bikini!

In the face of disaster, there just might be a ray of hope for those of us who are not as thin as we would like to be.  By taking a natural thyroid remedy like Bladderwrack in order to prepare for this possible imminent danger, you just might be pleasantly surprised.  Maybe I’m delusional but I prefer to think that I am onto something.  I’ll keep you posted.

Janet Woods is a Natural Medicine Practitioner and Coach in Peterborough ON Canada

Not one to slink away from the opportunity to express my opinion, I clicked on the survey and proceeded to fill it out. 

First question: “What are the most important things that they need to address?”  The question I really wanted to answer was “Should we have spent several thousands of your hard-earned tax dollars on this ad?”  They could have asked for our help in a smaller, less-expensive ad.

Getting back to the question, I could pick as many answers as I wanted.  The list included “a welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff”.  That’s always helpful when you are standing in the triage line-up but I’ve never had an issue there.  There was also ”balanced budgets with no deficit”, “shorter wait times for various tests and treatments” and “preventing hospital infections”.  My favourite was “higher staff morale.” I didn’t choose that one though.  If you are not happy in your job, that shouldn’t be my problem.  There are lots of unemployed people who would love to make $30+ an hour and enjoy doing so.

The next question involved a scorecard with areas highlighted in green, yellow and red.  Green were the areas where the hospital was performing well and red were obviously the poor ones.  Where they are excelling is in EMS offload, surgical safety checklists and timing of the initial physician assessments. That means that the paramedics are doing a great job dropping you off, the surgical staff is doing what they are supposed to do before they cut off the wrong leg and there might be more than one doctor on duty in the ER.

The areas highlighted in red where the hospital is failing miserably were plentiful and alarming to me. These include incomplete performance reviews, patient safety issues such as hand sanitizing, C-difficile and MRSA break-outs, a high incidence of pneumonia and re-admissions. 

As far as the performance reviews, I’ve participated in and conducted many of them over the years through my HR experience.  They are an integral part of being an employee and are important for staffing purposes.  This is also the opportunity when you express your concerns and also find out how you are performing.  Maybe that’s why the staff morale is so low. No one is listening to them. Unhappy people also make many mistakes and that’s scary in a hospital environment.

The part about the hand sanitizing made me angry.  As recently as the early 1900′s, the medical community couldn’t figure out why a high percentage of women were dying in childbirth.  They finally realized that the doctors were not washing their hands before delivering the babies.  They would go right from performing an autopsy to the delivery room.  You would think that hygiene habits would have improved after 100 years.  Not so.

Here’s a little advice for you:  The next time you are in the hospital, speak up.  If a nurse or doctor approaches your bed and they haven’t washed their hands, ask them to do so before they touch you. Don’t be shy.  If you can’t speak for yourself, have someone do so on your behalf.  It is appalling to me that they go bed-to-bed and don’t wash their hands in between.  The excuse of being too busy doesn’t wash with me.

Concerning the high rates of pneumonia in patients, there are a few facts about that too you should know.  Most people think that the patient has just caught a bug or a chill.  That’s not the case.  The type of pnemonia that is fatal to many people in the hospital is the type where food goes down the wrong way and gets lodged in the lungs.  This occurs from feeding patients who are highly medicated and not able to swallow properly because they are not awake.

When my Dad was in the hospital, he was basically in a medicated coma sleeping most of the time.  One day, the nurse came in and asked me if I had been able to “shove some food into him.”  I was still attending alternative med school so I was not as aware as I am now.  I was smart enough though not to allow them to feed him when he was sleeping.  As a result, he never contracted pneumonia like so many others do.

Next on the list of questions was how they can improve tracking and reporting of patient problems.  Possible solutions included suggestion boxes, email or resolution by the Patient Resolution Office. Suggestion boxes have gone the way of the dinosaur and just the fact that an entire dept. is dedicated to this shows they have a lot of problems. The dept. is obviously not working, so close it.

The section about Community Engagement focused on getting the community involved in the decision-making and quality processes.  Since when does the healthcare system listen to the input from the community?  It is a great idea in theory.  In reality, when it really comes down to it, they don’t listen to us at all.  They found that out this week when no one showed up for their meetings.  I wonder what they learned from that?

The next section dealt with regional specialties and what is most important to the community.  The list included services for the elderly, low income people, services that smaller hospitals can’t handle and those services needed within an hour’s drive. 

Obviously, my first choice is for the elderly since I have a lot of experience in that area and it wasn’t all pleasant.  Our city also has the second highest population of seniors in Canada and they need help.

A recent issue of Macleans magazine reported how our elderly are not being cared for in our hospitals the way that they should be.  I have been saying this for years. Ask a senior if they want to go to the hospital.  Most times they will refuse because their friends walked in and either came out in a wheelchair or not at all.

Finally, there was a wish list.  If I had $1M, what would I spend it on.  The list was long – cancer, diabetes, long-term care, cardiac care, after-hours clinics, etc.  There was also “Other” and this is the category I chose.  Of course, I had to add my comments so that they knew what I was referring to.  What else?  Prevention…..Natural health…..Helping people to stay healthy and out of the system for as long as possible.

Healthcare is the name of the system.  Sickcare is the reality.  Our hospitals are wonderful when you are in a crisis situation.  If you are in a car accident, our Doctors are the people you count on.  God bless them.  They will do a fantastic job putting you back together.

When it comes to keeping you well, that is another story. You may very well end up right back there again.  The hospital got a red mark in that area too.

When a hospital is putting out a survey like this, you know that it is in big trouble.  The patients aren’t happy and the staff morale is low.  The budget is in the red and there are too many bosses and not enough workers.  Whenever there is a crisis, they always lay off the most important people in the hospital – the nurses. 

Since I have been in our hospital a few times with a family member, I thought I could still contribute some decent opinions. What I discovered was that I felt that the survey was an expensive joke and is not going to solve today’s healthcare problems in our city or any other for that matter. 

Not until we take responsibility for our own health and the doctors and hospitals get out of bed with the pharmaceutical industry, will we ever have a system that works. 

It’s just my opinion but, what do I know?  I’ve never been a patient.

Janet Woods is a Natural Medicine Practitioner, Coach and Owner of BloodConnect in Peterborough, Ontario Canada

That first move started me on a path of 4 high schools, multiple cities, towns and homes around Ontario.  I’ve had quite the life and gained many friends and experiences along the way. 

I still like to keep in touch so, thanks to the internet, I read two newspapers online daily.  Yesterday’s paper revealed something to me that was very disturbing so I wrote an email to the person who put the article together.  Her reply to me was exactly what I expected.

There is a 13-month-old baby involved in a dispute between the hospital in one city and the parents who live in another.  These are the two cities where I lived and whose papers I read. This baby is very ill and on life support.  The hospital wants to remove all breathing apparatus and feeding tubes which is so common at the end of one’s life.  The parents are agreeable except that they would like to take their baby home to die rather than him being in a hospital two hours away.

The hospital has refused.  This is, however, not the fight I want to get involved with.

My question to the writer of the article was why there was no mention of what had happened to the baby other than the fact that he had experienced several seizures before lapsing into the vegetative state that he is currently in.

His sister had also suffered the same fate and is now deceased.  Having had no children myself, I cannot imagine the anguish and pain that this family is going through.  It is terrible beyond belief and my thoughts and prayers go out to them.

My experience in natural medicine had the alarm bells going off immediately as I was reading this story.  On a daily basis, I receive multiple emails and articles about health issues from both sides of the fence – natural and mainstream medicine.  Recently, one of them was an interview with a regular MD who stated that it is very common for babies or young children to have at least one seizure in their life.

What???  I don’t know about you, but I have never had a seizure and neither have any of my friends or relatives. 

What I have had are a lot less vaccinations than the 30+ that our children are getting today.  This was the question that I posed to the writer of the article. 

Was there any consideration that the boy was in this condition due to the many vaccinations that I know he has already received?  She replied that neither the doctors nor parents discussed what may have caused his condition except to say that it was “genetic”.  That’s an easy word to throw around even though the condition doesn’t exist in either of the parents or in any older generation.

The parents were not born and raised in our country so I am sure that they would never consider that coming to the other “land of the free” would cause their child any harm.  The doctors and hospitals would never mention it either since that is a huge lawsuit can of worms.

I replied to the writer’s email this morning and thanked her for the prompt response.  I also told her that I had already expected the answer that she gave to me. 

I may be totally off-base with this one but I’m not alone.  I’m not the only one who thinks that we are killing our children.

Janet Woods is a Natural Medicine Practitioner and Coach in Ontario Canada

My favourite time of year is Spring.  When the snow melts and the temperatures warm up, the birds start to chirp and all the little baby animals start to reveal themselves.  The trees bud and the flowers start to poke through the soil.  Since it is only February, we are not there yet.

Where we are is in the middle of a February thaw.  After weeks and weeks of steady snow and frigid temperatures, the weather has warmed up sufficiently to melt off a lot of the snow.  The roofs are all dripping and the snowbanks are diminishing in size. We also have warnings posted for the rising rivers and lakes in the area. 

This morning when I went out I discovered the disgusting side of this weather. 

There were cigarette butts everywhere in all the tiny, remaining snowbanks.  It was a sight for sore eyes to say the least.

I am against smoking for a number obvious of reasons.  First of all, I am in the health business so I know the dangers of smoking.  I think that anyone who smokes is nuts.  Lung cancer and emphysema are very nasty diseases that I would not wish on my worst enemy.  Emphysema runs in my husband’s family and you literally drown in your own fluids. 

Unfortunately, I learned my own lesson a little too late.  I was a casual smoker off and on for 20 years.  It wasn’t until I stopped going to the bars that I totally gave up the habit.  A number of years later, I was diagnosed with a mild case of COPD and was furious as I had not smoked for some time. 

We had been bowling in an establishment that, at the time, was still designated as smoking.  Every week, I would come home and have pains in my chest.  That was 11 years ago and I have not had any problems but it is still something that lurks in the back of my mind.  I avoid smokers at all costs.

So, besides the health risks, there is also the fact that the tobacco companies add 4000 chemicals to the tobacco.  My favourite is cyanide which is used in a gas chamber.  What idiot willingly puts that into their body?  They are all obvious cancer-causing agents but no one seems to care about that either.  Don’t forget too that the tobacco industry is a huge money-maker for the government.  The healthcare system (or sickcare system as I like to call it) also thrives on the revenue from all the dumb people out there who continue to smoke and ignore all the warnings.  At $10 a pack, only an insane person would fork out that much money.  Sorry for calling you so many names but you know I’m right.

Getting back to the butts on the sidewalk, I couldn’t believe how many there were.  It was a solid line of small butts and half-smoked butts that went all around the building and the parking lot.  Now some poor custodian is going to have to get out there and clean them all up.

If you want to be stupid and smoke your brains out, don’t go flicking your butts on the sidewalk.  Put them in the receptacles that are provided for you around your building.  Your disgusting habit is making our world more ugly than it already is.

Janet Woods is a Natural Medicine Practitioner and Coach in Ontario Canada