So many times when we started our Health Pursuits group, someone new would come and exclaim, “At last a place where people believe me, believe in my pain and fatigue.” This was usually after the person had seen multiple practitioners and had often been told right to her face that it was all in her…

Years ago we read about Soil-Based Organisms and considered about intestinal microbes. We have studied so much about the microbiome and tried many approaches. I remember when a member reported that VONs visiting new mums and babies found that mums using antibacterial soaps had babies with more incidence of ‘cradle cap.’ Now we have lots…

When our group met, once a month for 20 years, and when I did the newsletters, I always tried to emphasize a different part of our MEND approach each month. We also tried to include books to read on each area. MEND stands for Movement and Exercise, Environment, Nutrition and Diet. I guess it should…

I WISHED FOR INFO ON WHAT NUTRIENTS GUT BACTERIA PRODUCE AND HERE IT IS!https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/22/motor-neurone-disease-researchers-find-link-to-microbes-in-gut

Happy Canada Day! The following link has some interesting progress on the question of what intestinal bacteria do we need/not need. It still does not answer the question of what nutrients particular bacteria might help produce…but progress. I know research costs money but it is too bad that patents and such mean that the well-off…

This is just in from a member who has helped someone with P.D. by adding Thiamine to the protocol. Have a look at this and then the next item I will post about Glutathione.We have been exploring the connection between thiamine and pain conditions — neuropathy, neuralgia, fibromyalgia, sciatica, chronic back pain, etc. This information…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, May 18, 2019 Jack Challem, a Nutrition “Great” by Ralph K. Campbell, MD (OMNS May 18 2019) My childhood was spent in a fast-moving era. Vitamins had only recently been discovered and were being studied in the early 1930s. My father taught me to read at a tender…

After reading the article below, I would suggest to anyone who tests negative on the NST for iron, seriously check their zinc and both forms of B6 (pyridoxine and pyridoxal 5’phosphate) as these nutrients help reduce iron status. Iron Is the New Cholesterol Elevated iron is at the center of a web of disease stretching…

As you probably read awhile back, new studies show that essential oils can be as toxic as toluene. Sorry, if you are an essential oil promoter.A member of the group sent along more info. Buddy the cat appreciates this information too. You met Buddy in the story on soft water/hard water.Check it out:https://www.essentialanimals.com/library/safe-use-of-essential-oils-for-cats/

I was looking for a replacement for a hard wax my guy wanted to use on some woodwork. The hard wax he was using did not make me feel very well. Petroleum ingredients.If you have an issue with some DIY or other product, you have someone to consult.Go to Living Rooms. http://www.livingrooms.ws http://www.livingrooms.ws

‘Prescribing cascade’ is a term to describe the problem of using another drug to deal with side effects of a previously prescribed drug. Horror indeed! Getting off the merry-go-round can be difficult if not impossible.We have had group members who had to shave tablets with a razor blade in order to decrease dosages gradually enough…

Have a look at this article from the New Yorker. It is very similar to one in the Scientific American back in 1997 except all the measuring instruments are much more sophisticated.https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-hidden-air-pollution-in-our-homes

Waterloo and now Queen’s in Kingston have research on digestion using the ‘robogut’. Many years ago, our study group was discussing intestinal bacteria. There was much about ‘candida overgrowth’, yeast-busting diets and herbal treatments. Yes, we had many discussions that could be labelled ‘gross’. Someone found an Alberta article about ‘fecal transplants,’ from healthy individuals…

After my question about meat and thyroid, we had an interesting connection.The people at the web site below sent me their page on thyroid nutrients which is very well informed and you may find something of interest for yourself.They wanted to link to our web page but since we have carefully guarded our impartiality the…

The International Organization of Nutritional Consultants has a list of approved schools on their web site as attached below. Interestingly, there is a program titled Registered Orthomolecular Health Practitioner. We would have been astounded to find that when we started studying together back in 1996.Anyway, thought you would be interested to see this development.IONC LIST…

Just had an inquiry from a member about hair analysis for food allergy testing. Below is a link to a testing kit on Amazon.Has anyone tried this? Has anyone compared it to the blood allergy testing by e.g. Immuno Labs in Florida? What kind of accuracy? Skin prick is supposed to be about 50% and…

Most of us have had some struggle to absorb sufficient magnesium so we have studied it a lot. Magnesium is required for so many processes from adrenal support to mitochondrial energy production to vitamin D absorption to … you name it. The attached fact sheet on magnesium is quite good. It does not mention that…

FROM: Anne Steinemann <anne.steinemann@unimelb.edu.au> Dear Friends: Thank you for your interest in my research on chemical exposures, fragranced products, and adverse health effects. It’s been a productive year: 14 new journal articles published on this topic. Many thanks to my students, colleagues, and all of you. You can obtain these and related articles, free of…

  In the middle 1800s, a doctor named Ignaz Simmelweis noticed that maternity patients at one Vienna Clinic were dying at huge rate while the ones at a second clinic were not. The difference? The first clinic included an autopsy suite where professors and students were going from that to the maternity ward without washing…

  For those who test negative on D-Ribose, we have theorized that it means mitochondrial energy production is impaired in some way.   D-Ribose is needed to utilize the energy molecule ATP so not needing D-Ribose is akin to saying there is not enough ATP to need it. That’s the theory and it has been…

  Catherine, Lisa and Irene, from the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants had a taste (smell) of the test kit on Jan.25. Smelled good so they decided they need more. 🙂   If you look for and find a Nutritional Consultant, check and see if they are registered with the IONC. Support this clearly smart…

  Ever since I became step-mom to Buddy the Cat, I have been concerned that he would not drink water from a bowl in the house, especially when we go anywhere for a day or so. All the more mystifying when we have excellent well water??? Buddy will drink out of any old puddle outside.…

DRY EYES Eyes feeling dry and scratchy? It may be more dangerous than we realize. Lack of moisture can actually cause the cornea to deteriorate. Dry air indoors from our heating systems and the dry, cold wind outdoors may be the culprits. Of course, age can be a factor as well. What to do? One…

And if it is in our pets, what about us! Thanks Vilma Kinney for alerting us to this report. Science of The Total Environment Volume 659, 1 April 2019, Pages 790-795 www.sciencedirect.com

Interesting Series to Start the Year Happy New Year to All. A new series has been suggested to me and I would like the opinion of anyone who has time to watch. Acces info below. Live Longer, Feel Better! [TRAILER]

The following link is to an article in Orthomolecular News because it have a lovely list of pioneers in alternative and complementary medicine. Not for me to do any bashing. Just want to cheer on the pioneers. https://orthomolecular.activehosted.com/social/ec8956637a99787bd197eacd77acce5e.106

This is recently in from Jane in New Zealand. Very interesting. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12162545

The nutrients required to process many chemicals include iron, magnesium, zinc, B6 and vitamin C. An insufficiency of any of these may make it difficult to process the chemical compounds in cannabis. Don’t forget that B6 comes in 2 forms, pyridoxine and pyridoxal 5’phosphate so it pays to check both. Also check two forms of…

THE MARKETPLACE ON TESTING FOR FOOD SENSITIVITIES: Another simplistic report First of all, why would it be important to figure out what foods are causing reactions? Answer: Whatever you cannot process does you harm e.g. causes inflammation. Inflammation has been identified as the culprit in many conditions. We have approached determination of problem foods from…

If you don’t already know about this source of information, you can access it at the addresses given just before the reference section.   Of course, I wish they had our strategy for monitoring overload and deficiency states but maybe some day. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Sept 12, 2018 Seven Arguments for…

  What are they?   If you are okay with 2 different substances, exposed separately but then have a reaction when exposed to both together, that is a concomitant allergy.   My favourite story is about a horse with asthma. Can you just imagine the inhaler mask and puffer?   Anyway, everything had been tried…

  A lot of topics around air pollution have come together so I will try to stitch them together.   This week’s release of a big study on the effects of air pollution on cognition (see link below) are interesting and not surprising. Those of us with MCS are very familiar with the brain fog,…

    Back in 1996, despite feminism, careers, and independent spirits, we were pretty quiet about what we were dong.   We had been given pronouncements, by our medical practitioners, that there was nothing to be done for us.   We refused to accept that and started in on a 20-year exploration of what might…

  Heartburn may have some surprising causes. My dentist recommended that I stop using baking soda and start using toothpaste. So I did. Back in April I had a stomach upset of some kind and my heartburn got worse after that. Betaine HCl smelled a little good so I started using that which helped a…

Healthpursuitsgroup Published by Diane Dawber · 2 mins · I found this interesting in that the researchers distinguished chronic pain from ‘alarm’ pain using MRI imaging. However, they are still not considering biochemistry since the MR imaging technology has not been coordinated with nutrients. When someone latches on to the idea that nutrients could affect…

    Mary Grace is one of the retired nurses in our original nurse/teacher group studying ways to better health. When we first met, Mary Grace had been in a hospital bed at home, on multiple inhalers for breathing problems and was making progress using nutrients from Shaklee.   For 20 years, Health Pursuits met…

  ‘Nutritional Medicine’ is a 40 year labour by Dr. Alan Gaby to collect and collate reputable information (e.g. published, peer-reviewed articles) about nutrients and medical conditions. Since the first edition was published in 2011, we have used it to help interpret the Nutrient Scent Test results and to include information in the NST which…

  The famous line about “April is the cruellest month’ definitely applies to depression. When the weather lifts and spring has sprung, we should feel good. However, when depression is involved, that may not be the case.   Vitamin D levels are at their lowest along about April and May because of lack of sunshine…

Spring is well named. It happened with its usual 0 to 100 kph acceleration leaving gardeners in the dust so to speak. I’ve been busy in the actual garden and also in tending our Health Pursuits patch.   Mothering implies taking care of something. We apply it to children but also other people, pets, plants,…

  In Alan Gaby’s reference book, ‘Nutritional Medicine’, he gives a list of conditions that thiamine can help prevent — neuritis, neuropathy, back pain, sciatica, fibromyalgia, diabetes.   I just met someone who has severe pain – neuropathy, back pain, sciatica, and more. He had been to expert pain specialists who had given him a…

    Interestingly, I have had quite a number of people testing positive on Thiamine recently. I can hardly open the bottle it smells so bad to me but these people found it quite pleasant.   Thiamine requires calcium and magnesium for aborption so that gets us into the whole calcium uptake situation with the…

  Two pieces on CBC reminded me how important it was that our group met once a month for 20 years and shared information that we got from doctors, books, journal articles, etc. Not every piece of information passed the experience test. Those that did helped us all.   Almost ten years ago, we watched…

  Of course, for those of you who have done the test, know how to test yourself and have individual nutrients that you typically need, you have the power to monitor your nutrient balance unless something changes like having the flu or a big life event or an accident.   I love it that so…

  Some people might have the impression that the NST gives results on 56 nutrients and then you just go out and supplement the ones you need.   It is not that straightforward which is why we supply a written report with every test and give food and other strategies, not just nutrients. Here are…

  So often when people are not doing well in March or April, it turns out to be low Vitamin D. Depression, low energy, low immunity — could be low Vitamin D because we’ve used up our reserves from last summer and can’t make any more in our skins until about May. The sun just…

Below is an article about lots of different causes of coughs.  I found it interesting and timely so thought you might as well. This article may be reprinted free of charge provided 1) that there is clear attribution to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and 2) that both the OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html and…

  Dear Lady Gaga,   Sorry to hear you have had to cancel your tour because your FM has flared up so badly. The pain, fatigue and brain fog can be SOOOO debilitating!   We have such sympathy because so many of us in our Health Pursuits group have been through the FM diagnosis (a…

  Today a woman did a retest after 3 weeks of working on the original test results. She had one day of remarkable change and then things reverted to previous symptoms.   What does this mean?   I remember a functional medicine doctor (Was it Abram Hoffer or Jeffery Bland perhaps?) who said if you…

    It always amazes me when a person’s scent test shows that just one nutrient is deficient.   A recent test showed up just Vitamin A as needed while beta carotene (provitamin A) was not, often a sign that conversion is slow.   Scratching my head, I turned to Dr. Alan Gaby’s, ‘Nutritional Medicine’…

  I feel sad when a person, who was offered the Nutrient Scent Test over a year ago, died this week from a heart issue. No idea whether we could have helped or not … but will never find out now.   Mitochondria within our cells produce energy for the heart muscle. Coenzyme Q10, magnesium,…

Happy 2018 to everyone. Hope your strategies for surviving the holiday season in good shape have worked.   A really wonderful chance meeting happened yesterday with a couple who had done the NST 12 years ago! That was when we were just 3 years into the adventure and knew a fraction of what we know…

  It was a super time, on Monday the 11th, connecting with so many I have known from Health Pursuits. Thanks to everyone who came. I know that every book that goes out will help many people. Share the knowledge!   On Tuesday, Dec. 19, there will be another chance to meet at Sigrid’s between…

  A woman came to our group with a lot of symptoms – low energy, pain, indigestion, bloating, poor sleep, etc.. Sound familiar?   She was in a rush so she only did the scent test with the sample of betaine hydrochloride with pepsin which is where we always start.   The betaine smelled good…

The celebration is at Isabel Turner Library, December 11, 12:30-5 pm.   Frontenac News is publishing a piece today if you receive that paper. I hope that community event listings in other papers will also appear.   Books are available at Sigrids, Novel Idea and Truesdales in Sydenham. Sheena has also offered to supply books…

A BIG YIPPEE! THE BOOK IS OUT! We are thrilled to announce the publication of the book, ‘THE NUTRIENT SCENT: new evidence suggests testing to individualize food and supplements for optimum health.’ The celebration happens on December 11th between 12:30 and 5 pm at Isabel Turner Library. Founding Members, books, treats and the author will…

  All you users of the scent test are going to love what Siddhartha Mukherjee writes in his amazing book, THE GENE. The only parts I have inserted are between square brackets [..] for clarity to identify the noun associated with the pronoun. The rest are all his words.   p. 323 “Parts of it…

  Hi, Everyone,   While doing an NST, I discovered something (as almost always) that was interesting. L-carnitine tested on the negative (bad) side for the person. When I looked up in Dr. Gaby’s reference on L-carnitine, he said that people with low thyroid should not take L-carnitine. It could make the situation worse.  …

  The article below delves into the REM sleep deprivation issue. Although I knew about the effect of alcohol consumption on sleep, I did not know the effect of cannabis. Since cannabis is a hot topic in the chronic pain community, I read over the article carefully.   There is a subset of chronic pain…

  About 3 weeks ago, Arlene Dickinson, on Dragons’ Den, commented that despite all the advertised DNA tests, none of them really helped you know what to do about health risks. Then I read in the paper that genetic scientists had won the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine for their discovery of ‘clock’ genes.…

NEW ONTARIO GOVERNMENT REPORT ON FM, ME, CFS, MCS, etc. Thank you to Nancy Miller for forwarding this. http://health.gov.on.ca/en/common/ministry/publications/reports/environmental_health_2017/task_force_on_environmental_health_report.pdf

  On Saturday (Sept. 22, 2017) on Quirks and Quarks, a segment reported on research into whether jellyfish sleep or not.   Jellyfish were chosen because they are simpler organisms which would be easier to study. Apparently, these jelly fish react much more slowly to stimuli (e.g. being dropped into a tank of water) AT…

  Finally someone has done a meta analysis of studies on antidepressants. Surprise! The results show that risk of death increases about a third over a decade with use of antidepressants. Link below. Years ago, we read ‘The Schwartzbein Principle II” by psychiatrist Diane Schwartzbein. She had done work studying which nutrients would increase (or…

  I am reading ‘The Gene’ by Siddhartha Mukerjee which contains accounts of the horrible eugenics experiments/programs in many countries. There is so much about racism/genetic ‘purity’ in the news these days that I thought you would like the support of this Health Pursuits experience. The Scent Test kit contains 2 forms of each of…

  H, everyone, Many of us have been in the situation of poor mood or we know someone struggling with poor mood or even more severe mental health issues. Many have found relief in diet and nutrition strategies. We would have liked a journal article to recommend to those we encounter. Here you go! Save…

    It is hard to know what to trust on the Internet.   Here is a You Tube series recommended by Susan who is a knowledgeable member. I watched the one mentioned and found it reliable.   Check out this nutritionalist on YouTube. I’ve been following her for several years and am impressed 99%…

    Our member near Peoria, Vilma, sent us an interesting article about hydration with some information and theories to consider. We have had people trying to sell us water forever but this has things you can do yourself. Please do comment as I’d love to hear your thoughts.   1. H302 water? What is…

  Many of us know how hard it is to explain the environmental piece of good health. Nancy Miller has found an excellent resource for doing so.   Just go to the following:   https://alisonmain.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/augsept_42_45_sm.pdf

  Maybe I have commented on this before but I think it may be very important to do two different things — retrain the tastebuds and also reduce the number of carbohydrate-feeding bacteria in the intestines as these bacteria can drive the craving for sweet. Dr. Abram Hoffer suggested that three days without the carbohydrates…

    Dr. Wayne Sossin of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University has been a part of research into memory involving variations of the PKM enzyme. An article has been published in Current Biology according to cbc.ca.   They are just at the stage of studying how changing the enzyme using electrical…

    The Federal Ministry of Health is considering revisions to the Canada Food Guide. As you can imagine there are plenty of lobbyists for various agricultural industries.   What do we know so far that could help?   We have found that vegetables and fruits should form the basis of the diet. Fresh as…

  WHAT YOU CAN DO WHILE WAITING FOR CARE   It is heart-breaking to hear about children who are suffering from anxiety and depression to the point of being suicidal. We have had children make huge progress by reducing inflammatory factors and supporting nutrition.   If it is taking a long time (many days) to…

On a very hot day, it is worth thinking about water … and drinking lots of it.   Have a read of the following and see how much agrees with your views.   http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/06/06/drink-water-30-days_n_16959230.html  

  It is admirable that Dr. Hance Clarke and his team at Toronto General are helping people manage their pain with less medications and with strategies such as meditation, acupuncture, movement, etc.   I just wish that people could be aware that food/digestive issues, biochemical balance and household environmental toxins can have a large impact…

  Today (Monday, May 29) on the CBC there were 2 interviews with authors of books on dealing with back pain.   These might be interesting to compare as book choices for the readers among us? Titles are “Crooked” and “The Back Mechanic.”   Unfortunately, they do not appear to deal with inflammation from food…

Exciting to see that the science of smell or olfaction is catching up to what we have discovered. Besides the Nutrient Test kit we have, I bet there are more than a few of us who could track a string soaked in chocolate! Thank you, John McGann, for your work which gives us even more…

  The original purpose of the Health Pursuits Reading & Research meetings was to discuss the books, journals and articles we were reading. We didn’t just discuss the books, we tried the strategies in them and reported back to the group. We did book reviews for a magazine. We even did an annotated anthology which…

  We have been aware, since we started in 1996, that intestinal condition affects many aspects of health from digestion, to generation of beneficial vitamins, to production of toxic substances, to immune function and more. Jane sent me this interesting study link which is not conclusive but certainly stimulates thought — and a wish for…

  I am wondering if the wheat producers and the businesses who use wheat are alarmed at the popularity of gluten-free products because it is cutting into sales. There is now a Harvard academic going around trying to make the case that gluten-free diets do not reduce the risk of heart disease. Huh???? The headline…

Earth Day! Science Marches! Health Pursuits members rejoice. We are not alone in wanting our environment to be better. It doesn’t matter that goals are difficult to attain. What matters is that we have goals and keep on taking whatever steps we can toward them.   Clean water and clean air for everyone.   How…

    Since Spring has officially begun, we’re overdue for the air quality discussion.   Snow mould was a hazard a couple of weeks ago but sunshine should have cleared it away by now. Moulds and fungi are an outdoors problem when the weather turns damp, and last year’s vegetation rots. Sniffy noses, less energy,…

A study comparing the rate of heart attack in New York City, after its trans fat ban, compared with that of other state jurisdictions, shows a 6% reduction. Here’s the link. http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/trans-fat-ban-ny-1.4068142  

  The World Health Organization lists depression as the leading cause of disability in the world with 350 million suffering worldwide. In the US, 6.9 % of the population is estimated to be affected. The symptoms of depression include sleep problems, eating problems, lack of energy to do the simplest tasks, and suicidal thoughts. This…

THE FLAWED STUDIES OF ANTIOXIDANTS   The Globe and Mail piece today assembles evidence that antioxidant supplements are not effective. Better to eat lots of fruits and vegetables.   We agree with the last statement but if you examine the evidence they cite, you will find studies that gave all their participants the same supplements…

Although the following meetings are in Kingston, we do have the videos.  If you want one, contact us at infor@healthpursuitsgroup.com We decided to chime in with the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston speaker series on Mental Health on May8. TUESDAYS at 7PM SERIES ON IMPROVING FOCUS & MOOD   Apr. 11, 2017 Mental Balance &…

POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH STUDY Interesting on CBC radio this morning, an interview about a post-traumatic growth study at Algonquin. If you go to victimjusticenetwork.ca, you will find the questionnaire related to the study. Perhaps we should inundate them with information about the MEND factors that help people recover. I know myself that recovery from concussion and…

ARE GENES DESTINY OR CAN WORKING ON YOUR EXPOSOME HELP?   Our genome is our genetic material, our DNA. There are many genes that are not expressed. E.g. a person can carry the gene for gluten-sensitivity and not be gluten-sensitive.   The ‘exposome’ is the new term for the collection of factors that affect which…

On Saturday, I sat down to relax and idly was watching The Great British Baking show on PBS where lots of elaborate goodies were being constructed. It suddenly occurred to me that when they were finished their hours of work, they still didn’t have anything very nutritious to eat! Realistically, spending half an hour on…

Gary Taubes has been on the radio concerning his book about sugar. I haven’t read it but from experience, I can say a few things. Sugars are carbohydrates (carbs) but carbohydrates are not necessarily sugars. Vegetables and fruit have sugars. The sugars are combined with fibre and lots of nutrients. Whole grains have fibre, nutrients…