Medical opinion by John Ruhland, ND

Do you have health-related questions for Dr. John, the Naturopathic Doctor? Send them to the Free Press, PMB #178, 1463 E Republican ST, Seattle 98112, attn: Nature Doc, or email to WAfreepress@gmail.com. Please keep questions short. The opinions expressed below are on general issues of health. They should not be construed as personal medical advice. Readers should seek a variety of information about any health concern before deciding on a treatment from a personal physician.

Dear Dr. John: Germany and Sweden have now both banned nuclear energy production. Do you think banning nuclear testing and nuclear power will have any real effect on people's health?

Dr. John: Most certainly. Radioactive isotopes are taken up by the body and stored in all tissues. This is most readily seen in the widespread problems there are today with thyroid disease. Ionizing radiation is directly damaging to DNA. Healthy DNA is priceless to humanity, making radioactive pollution one of the most dangerous problems that exists. We must end nuclear testing and nuclear energy in this country. We know there is an increased incidence of cancer in the area downwind of Three Mile Island. Between 1944 and 1949, Hanford released 26,000 times the radioactivity released at the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster.

I would like to add, there are other important problems that must be recognized and addressed as well. Chlorine and fluorine, which are added to our drinking water, are taken up by the thyroid, preventing the thyroid from taking up adequate iodine. In addition to the presence of radioactive isotopes in our body from the nuclear industry, this is another reason hypothyroidism is so prevalent today. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, dry skin, coldness, slowness, depression, poor concentration, constipation, poor circulation, muscle cramps, headache, joint stiffness, infertility, shortness of breath, PMS, and menstrual irregularities. I see these frequently in my office, and they are not difficult to treat, yet I would much prefer preventing thyroid disease by eliminating people's exposure to toxins. That would allow me more time to help other people maintain or regain their health.

Dear Dr. John: Why is Hepatitis C such a big problem suddenly?

Dr. John: A number of top scientists worldwide, including several Nobel Prize winners, believe the Hepatitis C test is actually detecting cellular breakdown products and not a virus at all. I know from my own practice that people who test positive for Hepatitis C are basically asymptomatic. The only very sick people who I have seen who test positive for Hep C are people who have had blood transfusions. Clearly blood transfusions can save lives, but they are also directly immuno-suppressive, and in some cases lead to severe health problems, including liver cirrhosis. To truly understand what is causing this "epidemic," follow the money trail. Millions of dollars are being made by selling drugs and treating people for an often non-existent problem.

Dear Dr. John: I've read in the newspaper that there are harmful side effects from using herbal medicine and vitamins. Do you think these are safe?

Dr. John: The statistics indicate that few people die annually from use of herbal medicine and vitamins. Statistics for conventional pharmaceutical drugs are worse by orders of magnitude.

Researchers in the study entitled "Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients" found that prescription drug use is the fourth leading cause of death in the US. This study was not a single study, but a meta-analysis of all appropriate studies of premature deaths in hospitals due to prescription drug use. The article is available to anybody to read at libraries. It is found in "JAMA," April 15, 1998 Volume 279 Number 15, pages 1200-1216, or send a SASE to me in care of the Washington Free Press.

My Conclusion: If we were to add deaths due to doctor-prescribed drugs outside the hospital setting, and also add deaths due to non-prescription drugs, the number of deaths due to allopathic (conventional) drugs would be much higher. Hundreds of people die from aspirin use alone each month. If we were to add premature deaths due to surgery and radiation, mainstream medicine may be the leading cause of death in the US. Judging from this study describing how allopathic doctors kill their patients, who is promoting quackery in medicine? The main orthodox medical institutions not only do not study new holistic treatments, they also ruthlessly suppress them.

Dr. Ruhland, formerly practicing in Bellevue, is now in private practice in Seattle.