Dr. Arturo M. Volpe

The Deland Bakery of Deland, Florida specializes in alternative breads. Some of their breads are gluten-free, others are also yeast-free, and I haven’t seen any sugar or dairy products listed in any of their breads. Some of the breads are made from oats and, while oats do contain gluten, it’s a slightly different type of gluten that is some times tolerated by gluten-sensitive individuals.

The number for the Deland Bakery is 904.734.7553. They ship all over the country. Please note that I have no affiliation or direct experience with this bakery but they have been recommended by patients (and parents of patients).

Tags: Natural Food Resources
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This seems unreal. Could a simple and inexpensive blood test detect any cancer anywhere in the body, and do so long before any other diagnostic procedure can find it?

It seems that the answer to this question is, quite possibly, yes. The test in question is known as the AMAS test and you can read about it at www.amascancertest.com.

It was developed and extensively researched in the 1990’s and has recently been approved by the FDA. As a result, it should be covered by insurance and can be ordered by any doctor anywhere in the country.

According to the literature, this test has a very low rate of false positives and false negatives, and is so sensitive that it can detect the presence of cancer even a year or longer before it can be identified by any other diagnostic means.

However, there is one major limitation. The AMAS test does not look for a protein that is indicative of a certain cancer, but rather for an antibody that is not specific to any type of cancer but is evidence that the body is fighting against some form of cancer. As cancers grow, they inhibit the immune system from fighting against them and, as a result, this test becomes unreliable in advanced cancers and recurrences. Since many cancers are first detected in advanced stages, this test cannot be used as a replacement for other diagnostic approaches and can only be seen as an additional early warning.

So why haven’t you heard more about this test? Maybe because it’s very new and new ideas take a while to receive widespread acceptance.

Tags: Cancer
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Most of us know that our air, water and food conta in pollutants of various types and that they are subject to a great deal of quality monitoring and regulation.

Studies have also revealed that numerous environmental toxins accumulate in plants and animals, and are found in the highest concentrations in large predator animals that are at the top of the food chain.

But where do humans fit in all this? Do chemicals actually build up in our bodies as well?

The answer to these questions is unquestionably yes, and there have been a number of studies confirming this over the years. A new website sponsored an Environmental Working Group of Washington, DC offers a reprint of a recent study performed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine on this very topic.

The researchers looked for a broad range of chemicals in the blood and urine of volunteers. They found a total of 167 chemicals with an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants and other chemicals per individual tested.

Researchers then categorized these chemicals according to their known effects on humans and animals. A shocking statistic is that the largest number of chemicals that were found, 94 out of 167, are toxic to the brain and nervous system, while 79 cause birth defects and abnormal development and 76 are known to cause cancer. The study can be found in its entirety at www.ewg.org and clicking on “Body Burden: the pollution in people”.

Beyond mercury in vaccines and other environmental toxins, it is possible that we are ourselves poisoning our children before they are born because of the chemicals we carry in our bodies.

As surprising as the results of this study may be to some, the extent of pollutants in the human body may in fact be underestimated because many chemicals dissolve in fat and are stored in fatty tissues, but are not found in blood or urine. Among fatty tissues, the brain, with its 60% fat content, has the highest concentration of fat of any organ in the body.

I know information like this can be discouraging, especially if you have chronic health problems or if you are the parent of an autistic child and wondering if you should have more children. My advice is not to give up and work to overcome these problems because it is possible. A good place to start is to gain as much knowledge as possible, and the new book by Sherry Rogers, MD appropriately entitled “Detoxify or Die” (available from www.prestigepublishing.com) is worthwhile reading.

Tags: Chemicals & Environmental Issues
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Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback in which a patient is connected to an EEG machine through the placement of sensors on the surface of the scalp. It is a completely non-invasive process because a gel is used to hold the sensors in place. The EEG machine “reads” the electrical impulses that come from the brain and reproduces them on a computer screen.

Since there are certain brain frequency patterns that are associated with inattentiveness and hyperactivity, while other patterns are more desirable, individuals learn through repetition to train their brains to produce frequencies that are more beneficial for focused attention.

This process has been compared to weight training for building muscles. Proponents of this technique often state that the brain acts like a muscle and can “grow” and become more able to focus through training.

Although there have been several studies on neurofeedback and most of them have had positive outcomes, this technique has not been endorsed by mainstream medicine for a variety of reasons, including the lack of double-blind studies.

One study that was conducted at the Family Psychology Institute in Endicott, New York, followed 100 children and teens over a period of one year. All of them had been diagnosed with ADHD and were taking Ritalin; however, only half the children also received weekly sessions of neurofeedback.

After one year all of the children were doing better, but only those who had received neurofeedback continued to show improvements after they stopped taking Ritalin. In addition, children in the neurofeedback group showed a greater degree of improvement.

Tags: ADD/ADHD
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