The Digestion Blog » Experiences

Beware of Health “Spell” Scams

Gabriel — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 13:53:37 +0000

I recently received a comment on my blog that at first seemed legit but later revealed itself as nothing more than scammy spam. The poster was explaining their life with Crohn’s Disease & how debilitating it was. There was actually a great deal of content to this comment & what the person talked about sounded rather convincing. The only problem was that near the end of the comment they started talking about how while nothing else worked, they found someone who would cast a spell for them & miraculously they started to heal from their Crohn’s Disease. What modern medicine & alternative therapies couldn’t treat, wiring a random stranger money so they could write a spell for you did.

Yeah right! Needless to say once I saw that part of the comment I sent it to the spam filter. Before doing so I did capture the e-mail & researched where else this spammer was posting. I found similar comments on other blogs proclaiming similar positive outcomes due to this person’s spellcasting. Anything from illnesses to casting “love spells”, this person can do it all. Some comments or websites proclaimed that other spellcasters were scams, but that they were actually the real deal, just pay by credit card *wink wink*. The sad part is that some of the sites had users commenting about how they were scammed out of hundreds or thousands of dollars pursuing these things. In some cases the saying “a fool and his money are soon parted” is probably a worthy description of people who fall for these scams, however, using sickness or illness to prey on people is the lowest of lows in my book.

I think I’ve made my point of view on spells pretty clear already, but I’ll just clarify my feelings a little more here. I do not believe spells have any physiological healing power, that being said, it is possible that there could be a psychological component at play. The placebo effect itself could almost be looked at as being spell like. “I am giving you something to make you feel better”, but in reality you are not receiving anything special at all, it is just the bodies reaction to the concept. So perhaps you could get a placebo effect from a spell, but that certainly isn’t a vote of confidence for spells.

If you really want to investigate something like this then it would be best to try and focus your search locally. Try to find a local Wicca or witchcraft group and see if they can write a spell for you. Do not spend much money on this, seriously. Take this as though someone is giving you a prayer or wishing you good health. Personally I’d avoid it unless someone you knew offered it for free out of compassion or concern. I had a few spells written for me from a practicing Wiccan, mainly for fun, but basically I took it as a nice gesture from this person but wasn’t anything that changed my mind as far as the supernatural. As I expected the spells themselves didn’t do anything.

So in short, don’t let someone play you because of your illness. Like most things in life there usually isn’t a quick fix, yet there are many scammers who will promise you one.

Mustard, Broccoli & Other Veggies Key To Intestinal Health

Chicago School Bans Kids From Bringing Their Own Lunches

Gabriel — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:16:41 +0000

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the a school(Little Village Academy) in Chicago has banned kids from bring in their own lunches unless they have a medical reason to do so. While the school & the district is spinning this as being about protecting kids from bad food choices many think that the school & it’s food service provider are putting profit over pupils. The principal, Elsa Carmona, says that other schools have a similar policy, though she was unable to name which other schools have such a policy. More worrying is that the school district has no official written policy on bagged lunches, nor do they keep track of which principals have decided to do away with allowing them. Parents don’t have much choice in the matter as the school their child goes to usually depends on where they live. They may not have any recourse to send their child to another school & perhaps many aren’t going to be inclined to do so over something “petty” like the school lunch program.School cafeteria food hasn’t been good for decades & it’s nutritional content is very questionable. When I was going to elementary school in the early 90s you did not see a cornucopia of nutrition. What you did see were things like salads full of iceberg lettuce with slivers of carrot & red cabbage smothered in ranch dressing; formed breaded & fried chicken nuggets; sandwiches made with white bread full of corn syrup & dough conditioners that had processed ham & cheese in the middle; hot dogs or ‘pig in a blankets’ made with meat that was probably sourced from questionable locations; sometimes even fast food would make an appearance, a few times the school teamed with Taco Bell and the students all got bean & cheese burritos; and even peanut butter & jelly wasn’t safe as the peanut butter was probably full of hydrogenated oils & the jelly full of corn syrup. I often found the PB&J option to be made with stale & dried out bread as well. Back then food allergies weren’t taken into consideration much either. Your beverage options were 2% milk, skim milk or chocolate milk. I couldn’t drink milk for awhile while growing up & it was very hard to get some water to go with my lunch. When I’d ask lunch attendants to provide me with water they would ask me why I wasn’t drinking my milk? I’d explain I couldn’t drink it due to allergy & some would act almost annoyed & explain to me that I should drink the milk to get strong bones. Seriously… The main point I am making here is that school lunches have been far from healthy for a very long time. I am wondering if the principal at Little Village Academy eats these lunches, everyday, herself?

Now another question comes up, do parents actually pack a healthier lunch? I rarely had a packed lunch when I was growing up; When I did have a packed lunch, I would have to say that the food was usually tastier, but was it really better? Memorable lunches I brought to school included things like potato chips, sloppy joes, fig newtons, sparkling juice, apples & carrots. Less memorable lunches usually were made from cheap slices of white bread with low quality lunch meat between them. I think the ingredients used in my packed lunches, at times, was higher quality than the school lunches. The Little Village Academy principal claims she made the decision to not allow bagged lunches after seeing kids taking soda & chips on field trips for their lunch. I’ve seen what some parents have packed into their kids lunch & honestly I can’t say that I am always very impressed with their choices. The fact is a lot of shelf stable, single portion, portable foods aren’t that good for you. Things like kids juice drinks, snack pack cookies, crackers or chips, breakfast cereal bowls or fruit containers are usually full of sodium, sugar and/or carbohydrates. Even things you make yourself like sandwiches can quickly become unhealthy or very expensive. For example the peanut butter & jelly sandwich can be quite unhealthy, even when made with good ingredients like organic peanut butter & jelly that has no high fructose in it. If you want to make sandwiches with quality meat, that’s going to cost you as well. Honestly, good quality food(e.g. organic, hormone & antibiotic free and/or free range) costs considerably more & can be harder to come by. Many times families will not go for the healthiest option due to the cost difference or the parents themselves are not aware or do not care what is or is not healthier.

All of this being said, I think it’s a poor choice that the principal took it upon herself to enforce a restrictive & draconian policy on the students & their parents, especially when trying to speak as though she was taking some sort of moral high ground in regards to her student’s nutrition. She may not like what the parents are giving them, but frankly, she’s not giving them anything better.

Kids With IBD: Medication, CCFA Webcast & Alternatives

Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Interfering With Your Relationships?

Gabriel — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:02:28 +0000

Writer Lia Serbyn has written a funny, but all too real article on the toll Irritable Bowel Syndrome can take on one’s relationships.

IBS doesn’t exactly enrich your love life. It behaves like a stalker slapped with a restraining order; it’ll show up any damn time it pleases because it knows you have no serious protection against it.

Her experiences are similar to mine. Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects all relationships, not just romantic ones. Even close friends & family can seemingly turn on you, becoming frustrated with your illness. Maybe it’s a survival of the fittest animal instinct that comes into play. The desire to leave the straggling Wildebeest behind the herd as a “decoy” to the lions. Perhaps it’s not as sinister as that… Perhaps it’s just frustration. You’d love to go on that long road trip, you’d love to go over for dinner or go out to a movie, you’d love to go to the beach… But you… Just… Can’t.

Not only do you battle with family & friends when these things come up, but you also battle inside within yourself. There is always that squeaky voice in the back that goes “maybe this is your fault, maybe you’re doing something wrong, perhaps you need to try harder!”. This isn’t helped as you read stories of people doing amazing things while battling things like Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Gastroparesis. So you do “try harder”, you try a new medicine, herbal remedies, you start yet another regimen of probiotics(perhaps this brand will be the key!). You go out, you try to focus on having a good time but then IBS rears it’s ugly head at you yet again. Here you are again, at a public restroom, cramping up & nauseated. Back to square one, back to reality.

It’s frustrating & depressing, but in some ways it’s cathartic to know that you’re not the only one who struggles on a daily basis. That just because you’re not running a marathon or doing something amazing despite your disease, it means you’re at fault for letting it consume your life. Relax. Chill Out. Do the best you can. Maybe someday this ship will turn around.

Fighting Crohn’s Disease With Comedy

Gabriel — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:27:21 +0000

The Independant, a Santa Barbara based paper, has an interview with Ben Morrison, a comedian who has dealt with Crohn’s Disease since 1997.

… But for comedian Ben Morrison, who was hit with a Crohn’s disease diagnosis during his senior year of high school about a decade ago, finding humor in his situation has been the only way to stay positive and even keep the little known intestinal woe under control. He’ll be bringing his Crohn’s-related stand-up show “Pain in the Butt” to town this weekend, and he spent a few minutes chatting with The Independent last month.

Read the rest of the interview @ The Independant’s website.

You can also check out Ben Morrison’s website.

Canadian Woman’s Struggle To Get Gastric Neurostimulator for Gastroparesis

Gabriel — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 15:46:34 +0000

The Moose Jaw Times Herald is running a story about Melissa Rowe, a resident of Moose Jaw, Canada who is trying to raise money for a gastric neurostimulator device. It appears the local Saskatchewan healthcare system has denied her claim to get the device. The estimated cost to get the device is approximately $50,000. She is appealing the decision, so let’s hope they change their mind.

Unfortunately the paper has left out information about the actual fundraiser in the online version of the article and redirects you to buy the paper. I am sure it was probably just an oversight, but it would be nice if they’re trying to help this woman to make sure the information is on the Internet. I’ve e-mailed them to see if they can provide this information. I’ll update this post if it becomes available.

Also I’d like to point out that this shouldn’t be used as a jab against the Canadian healthcare system as it’s no cakewalk to get the the gastric neurostimulator covered by US insurance. Though it’d be nice if both systems had a smoother path.

Today Show Highlights Gastroparesis

Gabriel — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:51:10 +0000

On Sept 2nd, 2010 the Today show ran a segment on Gentrie McKall Hansen, a girl, who recently was diagnosed with Gastroparesis & underwent surgery for an Enterra neuro-stimulator implant. I am glad Gastroparesis is getting some national attention. Her story highlights major issues with our medical system here in the United States. So many things are written off as being “in your head” or mental problems. We’re starting to have a problem with “fast food” doctors, who do not truly care about or listen to their patients or possibly are under immense pressure to push patients in & out the door. I think another story that highlights this is Michael Douglas’ recent diagnosis of stage 4 throat cancer, even though he had been trying to find the reason for his sore throat and ear ache for months, no one caught his cancer early until now. It makes me angry, isn’t the United States supposedly the best healthcare system in the world?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

References:
Gentrie’s Hunger Game
Gentrie McKall Hansen’s facebook
G-PACT
Gastroparesis & Dysmotilities Association
Living With Gastroparesis

Align Probiotic For Irritable Bowel Syndrome Update

Gabriel — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:14:43 +0000

Align Probiotic For Irritable Bowel Syndrome Update

This is a follow-up to my post “Align Probiotics Review: First Glance“. I did have some time to try out Align Probiotics and see how they worked out for me. Check out below for a week by week run-down.

Week #1

Week #1 started out pretty well. I did notice that I was dealing with some aches and fatigue, possibly due to Align clearing out toxins or possibly due to something else entirely(I am known to get sinus infections randomly). Within a few days these aches and pains stopped. I think I did start to see some benefit from Align almost immediately. Improvements such as not having to go to the bathroom as often, bowel movements feeling more complete & perhaps even less gas/cramping. Having the pills labeled by the day of the week was pretty handy to keep on top of taking it. I tried to take it the same time each day.

Week #2

Continued improvement, but maybe not as large a leap as the first week. Things seem pretty stable. Maybe a small amount of constipation this week ,but not too bad. I think Align is probably a bit more gentle due to only having 1 billion colony forming units versus other products promoting having 6 billion or sometimes 20 – 50 billion colony forming units.

Week #3

This is where our story goes a bit south for Align. I started having chronic constipation again and even started getting some mild lower abdominal pain. Mild nausea also, probably from being constipated. This is pretty typical for me when my body has decided to go south on the probiotics. Also during this time I was under some stress, so perhaps this played a part in it as well. So ultimately I do not blame Align probiotics for fouling up, but rather I just have a touchy system.

Week 4

Unfortunately, at this junction I decided to discontinue taking Align probiotics, in hopes of reliving some of the constipation. Also the stress eased up in my life during this time as well.

Conclusion

I do not think that Align is a faulty product and actually it’s been the most successful probiotic I’ve used. I have a very touchy system and have had much less luck with other probiotics. I definitely think Align probiotics are worth trying, especially if you’re suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

[Buy Align Probiotics from Amazon.com]

Special thanks to Proctor & Gamble for supplying the samples of Align Probiotics.

Tribute to The Best Toilet Paper In The World

Gabriel — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:21:55 +0000

Tribute to The Best Toilet Paper In The World

Yes! That’s right, I am going to praise Conttonelle & their excellent Aloe & E toilet paper. Those with digestive problems are going to be using more TP than the average person. A lot of TP out there, even though it’s soft, doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause wear & tear after awhile. Plus there are some products out there that are too soft, almost like you’re using a blanket. Probably the best thing about Cotonelle Aloe & E is that it has Aloe & E in it, which is good for your skin and helps prevent irritation from occurring.

I looked high and low for an Aloe & E toilet paper product locally & Cottonelle Aloe & E was the only one I found & it works marvelously. Perhaps in your area you may have more choices, but I would strongly suggest you find one with Aloe in it or get Cottonelle Aloe & E. If you cannot find it locally you can buy :cottonelleaff: in bulk from Amazon.com, which if I didn’t have it locally, I’d probably do it.

Plus, who doesn’t like a cute puppy on the packaging :)?

Trigger Foods and Valentine’s Day.

Gabriel — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:12:38 +0000

Trigger Foods and Valentine’s Day.

So it was Valentine’s day last Sunday, for which I decided to make a cake for my girlfriend. Unfortunately cakes usually do not agree with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. On top of this I was making an Asian style pork roast(ginger, soy sauce, honey, garlic, etc..), rice & steamed carrots + broccoli. Overall the meal was quite good, the only problem was that pesky cake.

Trigger foods for me are usually fatty foods that are low in fiber, plus dairy is rarely good unless something has broken it down. Cheeses are okay, so is sour cream. Plain milk is a no-no. Sometimes it’s a matter of mixing a trigger food in with something so it doesn’t bother me as much.

I’ve had experiences with cake in the past that worked out just fine. For example once I ate a white cake w/ cream cheese frosting without problems. This most recent cake had the markings of being something that would probably cause me trouble. It had butter, oil, whole eggs & milk in it. On top of those items, I was putting a whipped cream frosting on it. Truly it was digestive Armageddon. I was praying to the mighty Digestive Gods to let this one slip by while eating a slice. Unfortunately the Gods were angry & I paid for it a couple hours later with mega-diarrhea & discomfort the rest of the evening.

Ultimately it’s frustrating what with not being able to enjoy the food you make or food others can eat with no problem. Also frustrating is how trigger foods can change from week to week or month to month. Best bet is to probably just stay away from things so loaded with triggers. Maybe you can sneak 1 or 2 trigger foods here and there, but not a gut bomb like that cake.

Do you notice your trigger foods change from time to time? What are your trigger foods? Leave a comment, it’d be interesting to know.

Review: NOW Foods Artichoke Extract

Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits for IBS/GERD

Gabriel — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:41:51 +0000

Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits for IBS/GERD

Apple Cider Vinegar has a lot of buzz going for it on the Internet and the natural health circuit. It can reportedly help with all sorts of problems ranging from gout to heartburn to weight-loss. While a lot of these claims haven’t been proven, I decided to give it a try.

Vinegar is fermented apple juice thanks to yeast helping to breakdown the apple juice to an alcohol & then bacteria break that down into the sour acidic substance we know. Most commercial vinegar we see in supermarket shelves has been filtered & pasteurized, possibly even distilled(clear). If you’re looking for health benefits then you’ll want to skip those & look for Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. Filtered & pasteurized ciders have had all their “goodness” boiled or strained out of them.

As far as digestion goes Apple Cider Vinegar is suppose to work two ways:

1) It increases acidity in the stomach which could helps digest food. Now people with heartburn might think this is a bad thing, but in some cases heartburn/indigestion is caused by a lack of acid, not too much.
2) It has something called “mother” which is the cloudy unfiltered stuff in the vinegar. Most people purport the “mother” as being the source of Apple Cider Vinegars healing properties. Reading up on it though “mother” is a nice way of saying “dead bacteria & fermentation byproducts”. There really may not be a whole lot of stuff inside the “mother” that does anything. It is not dangerous to drink though.

Apple Cider Vinegar on it’s own is too acidic to drink, so it is recommended to mix about 1 tablespoon(15ml) with 8oz(235ml) of water, plus you’ll probably want to add something to sweeten it a bit. It’s strongly advised to use natural sweeteners like honey instead of refined white sugar. You could probably also use raw sugars that haven’t been overly refined. The flavor after sweetening is like a very tart apple juice.

My results were iffy. They seemed similar to results I received with digestive enzymes. Some days it seemed to help, other days it seemed to make my symptoms worse. One meal I’d feel less bloated, another day I’d feel more bloated and sometimes nauseated. Overall I do not think the apple cider vinegar helped me a whole lot, but heck it’s pretty cheap & worth a try if you’re suffering from some sort of digestive issue. There is very little harm or risk of side effects so long as you are taking it with water.

Which Brands?

I’d suggest you try out Source Naturals Apple Cider Vinegar Pills or Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar.