Supplements - Part 2

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

In the last article, we saw that our food supply just isn’t what it used to be. Our soils are depleted of vital nutrients, and so is our food. We concluded that proper supplementation is necessary, even vital, to our good health.

Let’s start by looking at the major categories of supplements: synthetic, natural inorganic, natural organic and natural carbon based organic.

Synthetic vitamins: This type is manufactured in the laboratory and appears the same as natural vitamins in their atomic structure. However, they can be differentiated in the laboratory. Most Americans are taking this type of vitamin. Go to Wal-Mart and CVS, they are cheap! But, they are less bioavailable and the synthetic elements can actually end up being deposited and stored in extra cellular spaces, fatty tissue and interstitial fluids; where they reside, potentially causing toxicity and chronic disease.

Supplements - Part 1

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

If you think there is no difference between one vitamin supplement and the next, think again.

There is nothing more valuable than your health, just ask a sick person. No matter how much you love your house, your car or your hobbies, you won’t enjoy any of it without your health.

So, why do so many people simply buy whatever vitamin is the cheapest, easiest or fastest to get a hold of? If your health is a top priority, why would you settle for that? Do you buy the cheapest oil and old gas for a beautiful new car, just because you can save a buck? Then why buy a multivitamin with unknown effectiveness and inert ingredients?

Simply eating right isn’t enough anymore. Even the best diet falls short of adequate nutrition. Minerals are responsible for over 300 biochemical, life-sustaining reactions in the human body. The problem is, minerals are not found in the same abundance today as they used to be.

Back Pain

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

It is estimated that 80% of Americans will have chronic back pain (BP) at some point in their lives. At any point in time, over 30% of the population of adults will have back pain. Then why is it that only 7 to 10% of the population goes to the chiropractor?

People struggling with BP take many different paths to find relief, many of which have been proven ineffective. Debilitating symptoms cause some to resign themselves to a lifetime of prescription pain killers, steroid shots and even multiple surgeries. All of these have been proven less effective than alternative treatments such as spinal manipulation, exercises and massage.

In days of old, osteopathic doctors actually performed some spinal manipulation with adequate results. Today, there are very few osteopaths who even choose to learn it. Most have chosen the allopathic model of conventional medicine, and couldn’t care less about the roots of their profession. They have been absorbed by medicine.

Organic Sulfur - Part 2

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

In the last article, we started to look at a few of the many benefits of organic sulfur. Today, we will finish this topic with even more benefits of OS, and how and when to take it.

Hesh Goldstein says OS may help with emphysema by providing the body with the material needed to manufacture new healthy cells on the lung walls. There is also good evidence to suggest help with asthmatic cases, even proven to reverse countless cases.

OS makes cell walls more permeable, thereby flushing out toxins more easily and introducing nutrients to the cells more quickly. There are two practical problems this benefit can help overcome, one is hypoglycemia and the other is an alcohol hangover. First, hypoglycemic people can get blood sugar into cells more easily. Less insulin is then necessary for this process, resulting in less overuse of the pancreas. Within several months of using OS, hypoglycemia may be eliminated entirely. Secondly, for all you heathens who drink to excess, using OS causes the body to rapidly reduce and release alcohol toxins, removing them as waste: the process quickens recovery time from a ‘hangover’ to as little as twenty minutes.

Organic Sulfur - Part 1

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

I am always on the lookout for interesting health information. A few months back, I started reading articles on organic sulfur, aka methylsulfonylmethane or MSM. I’ve used MSM with many patients over the years. It helps with relief of pain from arthritis. What I didn’t know were the details of this crucial compound.

Every day the body needs about 750 mg of sulfur. Small amounts are found in water, fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products. Unless you consume mostly organic, raw foods, you are likely deficient in organic sulfur (OS). Anytime food is cooked, dehydrated, stored during shipping or refrigerated a length of time, it is depleted of most sulfur. This means pasteurized milk and any frozen veggies have no significant supply of sulfur. This is because OS bands with moisture and is carried away when dehydration occurs.

Dynamic Stretching

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

The calendar says spring is here. The weather channel begs to differ. As I write this, more snow is forecast, and spring seems a long way off! Thanks for nothing, Phil.

For now, thinking about spring and outdoor activities is all we can do. We look forward to getting back to our outdoor exercise regimen, whether it’s running, biking, softball or any other physical activity. How we ease into these activities has a big role in how long we will actually perform them before an injury occurs. Preventing injury is much preferred to recovering from an injury.

Warm-up activities are a must if you want to continue to be active, and minimize your risk of injury. You can’t stay healthy if you can’t perform your favorite activities.

Diatomaceous Earth

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Since we are (hopefully) coming into spring soon, my thoughts are turned to starting the garden. Over the last several years, I’ve tripled the size of my garden to grow a sizeable portion of our fresh produce. One of the challenges of every gardener is pest control. The big pests, like groundhogs, are easy to take care of – just shoot ‘em. It's the little munchers that are the problem. I really don't like using pesticides and chemicals at all, so I don't. I have found one chemical-free, nontoxic, edible product to use in controlling most insects, bugs, and worms. It is called Diatomaceous Earth, or DE.