To subscribe for free: update-subscribe@doctoryourself.com )

"After breakfast, I visited Linus Pauling, who was staying in the room next to mine. When I walked in he was busy with a hand calculator. I told him that on the basis of my fifty patients I had concluded that he and Dr. Cameron were right, that vitamin C in large doses did improve enormously the outcome of treatment for cancer."

Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., FRCP(C)

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Vol 2, No 25) November 5, 2002

"Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A."

a free online library of over 350 natural healing articles with nearly 4,000 scientific references.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO DR. ABRAM HOFFER!

(85 years young on November 11, 2002, and in very active practice)

People worldwide owe their good health to Canadian physician, researcher, author and humanitarian Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD. Readers of this Newsletter share some of their stories below.

BIPOLAR DISORDER AND WORSE

Dear Dr. Hoffer,

I "lost" my mind in 1997 after my third child was born. In 1999 I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was put on lithium and Paxil. For the next two years I lived life from the couch with not enough energy to cook meals or respond to the children's needs. I cycled every three days and dealt with almost constant horrible suicidal thoughts. There was a constant war going on in my head even though my body was made lethargic by the medications. My weight grew from 123 to 200lbs until March of 2001, when I discovered nutritional therapy.

Originally I was interested in finding energy to be able to exercise to slow down or stop the weight gain, but to my surprise in addition to the energy I was hoping to find, my mental symptoms disappeared within just a few weeks of supplementing. I was then able to get off the medications that were making me lethargic, causing me to gain weight, and to not be able to care for my children or home.

I have my life back, and my children have their mother back. Of course my doctor thought of me as another "noncompliant" patient refusing to take her lithium. I feel very fortunate to have your research and that of others in your field to back up the "miraculous" healing that I experienced. It gives me much comfort and assurance that I am not the only one being helped so tremendously by megavitamin therapy ... and that this is for real and not just a misperception on my part as my doctor would like for me to believe.

For the past 19 months, my mind has been at peace. I've been able to work, and to homeschool my children. I have lost 60 of the 80 lbs I gained on medication. I have the energy and mental capability to cook, make and live by a budget, clean my home, cut my grass, and chauffeur the kids to church, scouts, the library, playgroups, etc. We also have been able to start a family home business which is successful.

My children and I thank you for the work you do and hope you have a happy birthday and rewarding life.

Sincerely,

Marlena and children: Ashley (9), Heather (7), and Philip (5)

FAMILY HEALTH IMPROVES

Claire writes:

"Since becoming aware of the ineffectiveness of conventional methods of treating illness, I fell upon the studies of Dr. Abram Hoffer. My older sister was diagnosed as schizophrenic at 18 years of age. My father was diagnosed with Diabetes II and had high blood pressure. He later had a stroke and became disabled. My mother has arthritis and high blood pressure. I have learned that these illnesses were, and are, caused by ignoring nutrition.

"I began to take pains to build my life on a foundation of nutritional consciousness. As a result, I feel that my husband, children and I are not subject to as many illnesses as other families. I attribute this to what I have learned about nutrition and vitamins.

"Thank you Dr. Hoffer. Your work has opened our minds and empowered us. And thank you Dr. Saul for sharing your work with so many through the internet."

POSITIVE HEALING ATTITUDE

K. A writes, after reading Dr. Hoffer's articles:

"Wow! You make me want to get up early in the morning and begin healing!"

MORE THANKS

"It is a privilege to honor a man who contributes so much to the health and welfare of his fellow humans. I honor you for the work you have done to relieve human suffering. What a wonderful world it would be if the majority of others in the health professions followed your example of working with the laws of nature. In so doing, you have provided relief from pain and suffering while at the same time treating the cause of illness and restoring a higher degree of balance to the patient.

"In your many years of selfless service to the human community, I think you have put in action the intent of this quotation: "All that is true and real is always simple, natural, and life supporting."

"May your work and life continue to flourish."

Sincerely,

John I. Mosher, PhD

Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences

State University of New York

And I'd like to get my own personal appreciation in here, too:

Dear Dr. Hoffer,

Having followed your work for over 25 years now, I owe you a most sincere debt of thanks. I have found everything that you've written to be extremely accurate and unusually helpful. It is difficult for me to fully understand why orthomolecular medicine has been rejected so thoroughly by the medical profession. My experiences in employing niacin and vitamin C have been consistently successful. I'm not surprised that many people still don't take my word for it, but it mystifies me that you, and Dr. Pauling, and other highly qualified scientists, have been unjustly ignored.

Respectfully yours,

Andrew Saul

A previous DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER devoted to Dr. Hoffer's 50 years of practicing nutritional medicine is available for you to read at

Would you like to know a bit more about Dr. Hoffer's life story, in his own words?

About Dr. Hoffer's dosage recommendations:

About cancer and nutritional therapy:

About cardiovascular disease and nutritional therapy:

About how to separate megavitamin facts from the myths you hear:

About Dr. Hoffer's work and the media:

About a famous patient of his:

About the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine:

Books Dr. Hoffer recommends you read:

About psychosis, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses:

About vitamins effectively substituting for tranquilizers:

My personal experience using Dr. Hoffer's protocols:

How about everything Dr. Hoffer has written?

Dr. Hoffer says:

"Thank you very much for writing and expressing your appreciation of what I have been doing for so many years. I kept going because I saw my patients recover when no other treatment worked and because I have so many colleagues around the world who found the same therapeutic responses with their patients. But the history of medicine is full of ideas and treatments which are acceptable today but which were rejected out of hand for 40 years and more. It is the way the medical profession has of dealing with really new ideas. You are certainly going to help so many people by sharing this valuable information." A. Hoffer

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I am proud to be one of Dr. Hoffer's most ardent imitators. Proof of this follows below, as I postulate the Doctor Yourself Laws of Natural Therapeutics, which are derivative from and/or inspired by Dr. Hoffer's book, "Hoffer's Law of Natural Nutrition (Quarry Press, Kingston, ON, 1996).

THE DOCTOR YOURSELF LAWS OF NATURAL THERAPEUTICS

LAW: Most non-accidental illness is due to malnutrition.

This not only includes the chronic diseases, but also viral and bacterial acute illness, which are greatly aggravated by inadequate nutrition. Conventional physicians are still available to persons needing them for traumatic injury.

LAW: Adding drugs to a sick body to cure it is like adding poison to a polluted lake to clean it. Killing microorganisms, or masking the cause of symptoms is no more than a temporary answer in either case.

LAW: Restoring health must be done nutritionally, not pharmacologically. All cells in all persons are made exclusively from what we drink and eat. Neither the chemical spraying a sick plant nor the chemical vaccination of a sickly child can substitute for really good nutrition.

LAW: Nutrient therapy increases individual resistance to disease. Drug therapy generally lowers resistance to disease. Healthy plants, healthy animals and healthy people do not get sick. Doctors do not admit to this, because healthy people do not go to doctors.

LAW: The quantity of a nutritional supplement that cures an illness indicates the patient's degree of deficiency. It is therefore not a megadose of the vitamin, but rather a megadeficiency of the nutrient that we are dealing with.

LAW: The number one side effect of vitamins is failure to take enough of them.

LAW: With vitamin therapy, speed of recovery is proportional to the dosage given. As there is a certain, large amount of fuel needed to launch an aircraft or a spacecraft, there is a certain, large amount of nutrients needed to cure a sick body.

LAW: Vitamin C replaces antibiotics, antihistamines, antipyretics, antitoxics, and antiviral drugs at saturation (bowel tolerance) levels. This is the single most inflammatory statement in medicine.

LAW: The reason one nutrient can cure so many different illnesses is because a deficiency of one nutrient can cause many different illnesses.

LAW: A vitamin can act as a drug, but a drug can never act as a vitamin.

LAW: With vitamin therapy, at any given quantity, frequently divided doses are more effective.

LAW: The advertising of a given food is inversely proportionate to its nutritional value. If you couldn't miss seeing it on TV, you probably can do without it.

LAW: The price of a food is inversely proportional to its nutritional value. Brown rice, beans, vegetables from your garden, sprouts from your own countertop jars, fruits from your own trees and bushes. all are superior to meats and prepared convenience foods that cost a fortune.

LAW: Media publicization of a nutritional research study is inversely proportional to its curative value. The most popular news stories about vitamin therapy tend to be either worthless, or negative, or both.

LAW: Being you own physician refers to your overall management of your case yourself. It is about rights and about power, not how many diplomas you have accumulated. "Doctor Yourself" is a practical philosophy, based NOT on your mastering all aspects of scientific medicine, but based rather on the reasoned application of effective health knowledge where you personally need it.

LAW: The principles of natural therapeutics are fairly simple, but they are not easy. What you need to do to Doctor Yourself is less than you might think but more than you might want. Lifestyle changes (in diet, routine, and

choices) can be unpopular.

LAW: Health recovered is proportional to effort expended. You do not have to live an inflexibly perfect life to have a much healthier life... but it helps.

LAW: Health knowledge worth having does not go out of date in ten years or even one hundred years. "New" does not automatically mean more accurate or more valuable. "Old" research and clinical studies are often superior references. What works is never out of date. Fasting, near-vegetarian diet, use of nutritional supplements, and other non-pharmaceutical methods have stood the test of time, as have Einstein's theories and the Bill of Rights. Those unaware of the power of simple and safe natural methods are in this position because of contradictory and confusing media reporting.

LAW: Most confusion over "what constitutes proper healthcare" arises from partisans. A "partisan" is a highly one-sided source. Bias against vitamin supplements usually proceeds from persons and industries who stand to lose when cheap, natural health care succeeds. Hospitals, physicians, nurses, dieticians, politicians, pharmaceutical companies and others have a vested

(cash) interest in disease.

LAW: Many conflicting reports about vitamin therapy come from natural health partisans. These include vitamin distributors, individual supplement companies, brands and even practitioners trying to corner as much of the market as they can for themselves. Ignore them.

DO-IT-YOURSELF, 30 SECOND TRIAGE

What's wrong? And does it always matter?

"Vitamin C should be administered while the doctor ponders the diagnosis." Frederick R. Klenner, M.D. and Fellow. of the American College of Chest Physicians

If you do not feel well, and I would go so far to say for almost any reason, try this deceptively simple game plan. Go out of your way to promptly get to saturation of the following four key nutrients: niacin, vitamin C, water, and carotene. It is uncomplicated, fast-acting, and very effective on a wide variety of illnesses.

1) GET TO NIACIN SATURATION, which is indicated by a mild, warm, pink-eared vasodilation known as a "flush." (Inside Windsor Castle it is doubtless known as a "Royal Flush.") If you are feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, worried or just plain ticked off, try this while you are pouring that double shot of bourbon and counting to ten: Immediately take 100 to 200 milligrams of niacin (not niacinamide) every ten minutes until you feel warm. . . and happy. If you think this will not work, it's because you have not tried it. I refer to the niacin, not the bourbon.

While we're at it: Some FEARLESS FLUSH FACTS

If I had a dime for every person worried about the "flushing" they experienced when taking large doses of niacin, I'd be a rich man. Niacin flushes are harmless. Some people (including me) enjoy them, especially this time of year, as they are accompanied with some welcome warmth. Dr. Hoffer says that the more niacin you take now, the less you will flush later.

Time needed to see improvement: less than an hour.

2) GET TO VITAMIN C SATURATION, which is indicated by bowel tolerance. That means, take a few thousand milligrams of vitamin C every ten minutes until you get, or feel like you are about to get, diarrhea. This will both clean you out and jump-start your immune system. Vitamin C in quantity is the best broad spectrum antitoxin, antibiotic and antiviral there is. Cheapest, too.

Time needed to see improvement: less than a day.

3) GET TO WATER AND CAROTENE SATURATION. This can be simultaneously achieved by twice-daily juicing a big stack of vegetables, such as carrots and any green or orange vegetable. Yes, green as well as orange veggies are absolutely loaded with carotene. Yes, you really do have to drink it. What are you afraid of? When's the last time a person died of vegetable overdose?

Saturation of carotene is reached when your skin turns a partial-pumpkin, lovely orange-tan color. Called "hypercarotenosis," it is harmless. Looks cool, too, much like a suntan.)

Abundant water intake is guaranteed by abundant juicing. When your tummy is full of juice and you have to urinate a lot, you are at water saturation. Inside your skin, you are an aquatic animal. Water is good. Veggie juice is better. If you are worried about getting enough trace minerals, relax: most are amply found in the vegetables.

Time needed to see improvement: less than a week.

If you think I have lost what's left of my marbles, think again. I have never been more serious. When I work with very sick people, the first "homework" I give is to go flush, reach bowel tolerance, hydrate, and turn orange. Sounds preposterous, doesn't it. But people who do so feel better immediately. Their tests improve immediately. And they learn something of lasting practical value.

YOU WON'T SEE THESE WRAPS IN RESTAURANTS ANYTIME SOON

This month's JUICING HINT: "Veggie Wraps"

Take one or two broccoli leaves (or cabbage leaves, kale, or even leaf

lettuce) and wrap them around each carrot that you juice. Send the wrapped carrot through pointy end first. This reduces clogging and improves the nutrient content of your juice. Taste? Better than you think. Fresh carrots are pretty sweet. Of course the smell of pulverized broccoli leaves is a bit of a jolt: sort of like a meadow after a rain, or the smell of new-mown hay. Personally, I do not mind it. You'd expect that by now, wouldn't you. Pull up a glass and join in the fun.

GRAVES DISEASE

"I usually approach Graves Disease by first giving standard solution potassium iodide (SSKI) to control the symptoms (and occasionally fix the problem right there). I don't like using kelp because you don't really know how much iodine you're getting. For the SSKI, I usually follow the PDR recommendation of about 30 drops a day (not all at once!) mixed in a healthy volume of water. You get tingling if you take it too fast. I'll do that for a week or two, depending on the response, then adjust or stop. Repeat later if needed. But do watch it, for too much iodine can be toxic.

"Then I go after the autoimmune aspects by using protocols similar to those from the Arthritis Trust

"Though there's more to add, this is a good start for most folks."

Peace,

Tim Simmons MD

NOTMILK NOT-CREDITED

Sue writes:

"Forgive me for correcting you, but the

(Editor's Note:

They both do a great job. Thanks for keeping me honest.)

Joe writes from Oregon:

Regarding your correspondent whose natural info on Graves was suppressed at an internet discussion site: I have become aware that other groups also suppress natural healing information. I felt censorship from the Fibromyalgia and CFIDS groups, almost as if they were controlled by BigPharm companies. If they're not, they've found some passionate true believers as surrogates. Flaming of natural health posts is common. Even some "alternative" sites seem to have been co-opted."

(Others, including myself, have noticed just what you have, on 'net newsgroups such as misc.health.alternative, sci.med.nutrition and alt.health, for example. Keep right on posting what helps people get well.)

FROM THE NETHERLANDS

"I like your Newsletters, and yes, I got what you wrote in Dutch in the last issue. Only: rule number one for any affirmation is that it should be phrased in a positive sense. Words like 'no' or 'not' drop away. Therefore, when you want to program yourself to be and stay healthy, the best phrasing in Dutch would be:

IK BEN GEZOND!

(I am healthy!)

"For not being sick does not automatically mean being healthy."

"Kindest regards,

Désirée L. Röver, medical research journalist

rovercopy@cs.com "

(Editor's Note:

Dank u wel! You are absolutely correct: putting health in positive terms is

best.)

FINALLY: A GOOD REASON FOR FLUORIDATED WATER

Fluoridated water making better ice to play hockey on for the Philadelphia Flyers, says the Philadelphia Enquirer (Friday, October 18, 2002)

9979.htm

(If that long link didn't come through, just go to the Inquirer's sports page at

Thanks to the New York Coalition Opposed to Fluoride for this and other great anti-fluoride facts. Be sure to sign up for their free e-mail newsletter at the very bottom corner (talk about modesty!) of their mainpage at

To read the Coalition's excellent, educational press releases:

Also be sure to see

The "LINKS" page at my website

YEAST OR CANDIDA

Some people think that to avoid yeast infections, you should avoid yeast. This sounds almost plausible until you think about it. As with sharks, spiders, and snakes, there are all kinds of yeasts, but only a few of them are troublemakers. Most yeast infections are caused by one particular species, Candida albicans. These fungal critters, which are found in any healthy body, are normally kept in balance by your other resident flora of "good" bacteria and other microorganisms. But a low immune system, stress, poor nutrition, and especially antibiotic use, can bring on a Candida overgrowth.

You do not cook with Candida when you bake bread. You do not eat Candida when you eat cheese. And even if you did, I doubt if Candida could survive the trip through your highly-acid stomach. And your body is quite happy digesting brewers' and nutritional yeasts, which are very nutritious, and loaded with B-vitamins, trace minerals, and the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). I think categorically eliminating yeast from the diet is barking up the wrong microbial tree.

For the various forms of yeast infection, I first recommend vegetable juicing and a near-vegetarian diet, including plenty of unsweetened yogurt. This helps get the entire body's microbe population back into balance. Eliminating sugar is an absolute must. Candida love sugar, so starve the little beggars. In addition, to help bring prompt symptomatic relief, I suggest megadoses of vitamin C. Used in sufficient quantity, I think it is superior to nystatin, imidazoles or any other pharmaceutical you may be offered. You can expect to encounter widespread disagreement with this statement.

ORAL Thrush (Candidiasis or Moniliasis)

Direct application of vitamin C is an effective antifungal treatment. Due to where thrush is commonly found, and to the fact that ascorbic acid is, well, acidic, it is recommended that for topical use you select calcium ascorbate, sodium ascorbate, or any other non-acidic form of vitamin C. Adding a few drops of water to a half-teaspoon of vitamin C powder makes a nice paste that will adhere to the skin when applied with a "Q-Tip" type of cotton swab. Another method would be to make a vitamin C spray, using additional water and a cheap sprayer bottle from your local dollar store.

Homeopaths frequently recommend Borax, 3X or 6X, for thrush.

VAGINAL Thrush (Candidiasis or Moniliasis)

Some women have successfully employed ascorbic acid vitamin C tablets (250

mg) as twice-daily vaginal inserts. But you should get a medical opinion before you self-treat. And if you want to choose a drug therapy, you go right ahead. Ask around, check the library, do an internet search, and read up on this to be comfortable with your decision.

VIRUS SEASON

is here again, and for netizens that unfortunately means computer viruses. Be sure you have an up-to-date-this-month antivirus system operating on your computer. Cautious people know that to help avoid computer viruses, it is good policy to **never** open attachments to any emails you may receive, even if they are from someone you know or from an address you recognize. Viruses routinely fake return addresses, and absolutely anyone can be thoroughly fooled.

If you wonder if a free antivirus program can be any good, consider that this recommendation comes from a fellow who has used it, who publishes this international newsletter. . . and who never opens or reads attachments, nor sends any attachments to his subscribers. (And no advertisements, either.

Never.)

Taking care of your computer is much like taking care of your body: an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure.

Privacy Statement:

Persons interested in my book PAPERBACK CLINIC: A Simplified Manual of Natural Therapeutics, may obtain it directly from me at 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, NY 14470, USA for $34.00 postpaid in the USA; US $39.00 to Canada, and US $50.00 airmail to all other countries. I will be happy to autograph your copy if you so request with your order.

FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR ALL to this newsletter are available with a blank email to

update-subscribe@doctoryourself.com

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This newsletter is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

"DOCTOR YOURSELF" "DoctorYourself.com" and "Doctor Yourself Newsletter" are service marks of Andrew W. Saul. All rights reserved.

Copyright c 2002 and prior years Andrew W. Saul drsaul@doctoryourself.com Permission to reproduce single copies of this newsletter FOR NON-COMMERCIAL, PERSONAL USE ONLY is hereby granted providing no alteration of content is made and authorship credit is given. Additional single copies will be sent by postal mail to a practitioner or patient, free of charge, upon receipt of a self addressed envelope with TWO first-class stamps on it (offer good in the USA only), to Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, NY 14470 USA Telephone

(585) 638-5357.