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Update on Ozone

8/12/2016

Musings from 20th Street

After the last edition of Musings I wrote about ozone, it came to my attention that my friend, naturopathic physician, Paola Dziwetzki, had left a comment beneath the original article on TheTruthAboutCancer.com. I am always grateful for readers' responses and feedback. Truly. Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads my labored and (I think) well-researched articles. And I am especially grateful when the feedback either corrects something I've said, or teaches me something I didn't know. Such is the case with what Paola wrote:

"It's great to see Jane still being enthusiastic about ozone. Jane and I have been into ozone for years. I have been treating myself with ozone for over 10 years. It was a life transforming event. Unfortunately, there are few things in the article which are not correct, so I hope Jane will forgive me for setting them straight:

1) Being German and living in Germany, I can tell you that ozone therapy in Germany is officially regarded as a bogus treatment. It's not covered by state mandated health insurance. The claim that it's standard of care in Germany is unfortunately completely false. I wish it was the go-to medical treatment for doctors, but the fact remains that it's not. It's not used in hospitals on a wider scale in any shape or form. There might be some experimental programs happening, but to say that every surgery requires ozone pre and post treatments in Germany - that is simply not in agreement with reality.

2) Dr. Warburg's Nobel Prize win in 1931 had nothing to do with ozone or oxygen and cancer. It had to do with enzymes which turn glucose into energy and CO2. Dr. Warburg published his oxygen and cancer theories in the 1950s and 1960s - a good 20 years after his Nobel Prize win.

3) Having spent 8 years in the US, I can attest to the fact that ozone therapy is widely used in the States. The way it's administered in the US is actually often much more effective than how it's done in Germany.

4) Antioxidants have shown to be highly detrimental to a cancer diagnosis. At least one study which was treating cancer patients with high dose antioxidants had to be aborted because it turned out that the antioxidants made the cancers grow. So it's not recommended for cancer patients to take antioxidants. Most cancers do not produce anti-oxidative protection (unlike healthy cells) which makes them very susceptible to oxidative therapies (which chemotherapy and radiation are a part of). Antioxidant supplementation will negate the oxidative treatments and allow for the cancers to grow and to spread."

Paola is such a wealth of knowledge on this subject, I felt compelled to share an article that she had written on the subject, for her website, The Power of Ozone. Her piece is reproduced below in its entirety.

The worst mistake you can make

when doing ozone therapy

People who commit this mistake often end up with crushing depression, they become suicidal, or have panic attacks. They report “feeling like death”, loss of hearing, debilitating tingling and burning sensations all over the body, electric shocks, or crushing back pain. Those symptoms sometimes pass after a few weeks, some last for a year or longer. Some have reported losing the ability to walk.

To make matters more confusing, this mistake often leads to an initial improvement of symptoms, just to make the same symptoms worse later on. It often leads to the emergence of new symptoms.

Given that it’s a natural compound, produced by our own cells, people have a hard time accepting how dangerous it can be. Doctors and other natural practitioners seem to be completely oblivious to the often horrific adverse reactions. When patients complain about feeling worse, it’s often explained away as a Herxheimer reaction, or as a reaction due to a genetic mutation of the patient. Wrong.

The reason why you feel bad after the administration of this natural chemical has nothing to do with ozone therapy or with your genetic makeup. The reason why you have crushing headaches or “feel like dying” after the IV you received, is because your well meaning doctor has no clue about mercury toxicity.

What I’m talking about is glutathione (GSH). It’s a potent antioxidant which is often prescribed as an IV during ozone treatments.

Agreeing to glutathione IVs is one of the worst mistakes you can make when doing ozone, or any other therapy. Medical and naturopathic doctors alike seem to have an infatuation with glutathione nowadays. It seems to be a raging fashion in the health care business. It’s given for anything from supportive cancer treatments, to general detox, liver problems, or with ozone therapy.

What most practitioners don’t know is that glutathione contains single thiols (carbon bonded sulfhydryl groups), and is therefore able to go into a weak bond with mercury.

Why is this important?

Because mercury toxicity is probably the most widespread medical condition of our times. At the same time, it’s the most misdiagnosed one.

Whatever problem you went to see your doctor for, the underlying cause may be in fact mercury toxicity. But your doctor would never know.

Mercury is in vaccines. (Yes, it’s still being LEGALLY used in vaccines in the US and most other countries.)

It’s in our tooth fillings.

It’s in our mothers’ tooth fillings who passed it on to us through the placenta before we were born.

It’s in our homes in CFL light bulbs.

It’s in old thermometers.

It’s in the fish we eat.

It’s released from foundries, coal fired plants, and crematoriums.

…and many more places.

Our health-care systems and numerous industries rack up multi-billion dollar profits from the illnesses mercury creates.

Mercury can be the root cause of a significantly large number of health conditions listed in the medical literature including many psychiatric problems.

The brain fog, joint pain, and crushing fatigue your doctor misdiagnosed as Lyme disease? This could be the mercury you received from your flu, hepatitis, or tetanus shot.

The back pain you’ve been suffering from for years? This could be mercury from amalgam fillings you had removed 20 years ago.

The gluten intolerance, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), colitis, bleeding from your bowel? This could be from the mercury thermometer you crushed and played with as a child. You’re unable to conceive? This could be the mercury received from your mother. The Parksinson’s your father suffers from? Have you checked if he ever had amalgams?

Cancer, auto-immune conditions, autism, depression, anxiety, kidney disease, eczema, neurodermatitis, allergies, Multiple Sclerosis, ankylosing spondylitis, Alzheimer’s, Schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, endocrine problems, obsessive-compulsive disorder, arthritis, lupus, multiple chemical sensitivities, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, sciatica, gastritis, Crohn’s disease, sleep disorders, anorexia, bulimia, candidiasis – those and more are often caused by mercury. The list is endless…

What happens when you receive glutathione intravenously?

Most mercury in our bodies is firmly bound inside our brain, liver, adrenals, digestive tract. It can be everywhere, hidden in nearly every cell of every organ, muscle, tendon. That’s why urine (including challenge tests), blood and hair tests are mostly useless for the diagnosis of mercury toxicity.

When you receive glutathione intravenously, it mobilizes mercury from deep inside these various tissues. The mercury which was firmly bound inside your liver for example, is now out in the open, floating around, mobilized by glutathione.

But the glutathione does not bond to the mercury strongly enough since it has only one thiol group. Plus, your body metabolizes glutathione, so soon your GSH blood levels start to go down. The mercury will then become detached and swim around, looking to settle down again. Where will it land? Preferably, in an area where there is a lot of sulfur. That’s where mercury gets attracted to. Places like your brain, adrenals, or nerves.

So, after a course of glutathione IVs you can end up with more severe neurological symptoms like depression, inability to concentrate, inability to focus your eyes, increased brain fog, increased headaches, or body pain. Or you could lose your ability to walk or become suicidal.

Those are typical, often reported reactions to glutathione IVs in people who have mercury.

It’s not due to your genetic makeup.

It’s not due to a healing crisis.

It has nothing to do with ozone.

It’s because your well-meaning doctor forgot to do his homework.

Glutathione does not chelate mercury. It makes mercury toxicity worse.

Similar reactions take place in mercury toxic people who ingest chlorella, cilantro, MSM, DMSO, EDTA, or high thiol foods.

How to get rid of mercury the proper way?

In order to properly remove mercury from your system, you need true chelators. A true chelator is a chemical which satisfies the following criteria:

1) It has two thiol groups, also called a di-thiol.

2) It has a known half-life. (A half-life of a chelator is the time it takes half of the original dosage to still be detectable in the blood. Example: if you take 10mg of a chelator with a half-life of 3 hours at 12pm, then at 3pm you will have only 5mg of the chelator in your blood.)

There are currently only 3 drugs which satisfy these criteria: ALA, DMSA, and DMPS.

ALA, Alpha Lipoic Acid. It has a half life of 3 hours.

DMSA, Dimercaptosuccinic acid. It has a half life of 3–4 hours.

Cilantro is also a di-thiol, but its half life is unknown. Hence it cannot be used safely.

In order to chelate safely and effectively one needs to take true di-thiol chelators according to their half-lives. Glutathione is a single thiol agent, hence it cannot remove mercury, only mobilize it.

Please, learn how to chelate properly by reading Andrew Cutler’s book “Amalgam Illness”, or by joining the Facebook groups “Ozone, Chelation and Paleo Diet” or “Andy Cutler Chelation Think Tank”, or read HERE.

Oral glutathione

There are fewer reports of adverse reactions to oral glutathione than to IV glutathione. Why is that? Because oral glutathione is immediately broken down in the digestive tract. It’s like eating very sulfury food. People with low plasma cysteine levels (those who do better on high thiol foods) might do OK with oral glutathione. People with high plasma cysteine levels (those who do better on low thiol foods) will also do poorly on oral glutathione.

Both groups of people show high rates of adverse reactions to intravenous glutathione. Those should never be performed. But people who do better on high thiol foods usually have no or minor problems with oral glutathione.

There is a better way to raise glutathione blood levels than taking oral GSH: by taking precursors like NAC, glutamine and glycine in a 4 : 2 : 1 ratio.

People with a thiol sensitivity should not try to raise their glutathione levels.

How to know whether you’re thiol sensitive or not? Test it by excluding high thiol foods for 7 to 10 days, then introduce one high thiol food and observe your reaction. What happens when you are thiol sensitive is described on this page.

When mercury is not present, does it make sense to combine ozone with glutathione?

Some people might not have mercury toxicity to any clinically significant degree. Being completely free of mercury is impossible, since it’s part of our atmosphere and soil. But some people might have mercury levels tiny enough to not cause any pathologies. Would it then be safe to combine ozone with glutathione IVs? No, it still would not be safe nor would it make any sense.

Why?

1) We breathe tiny amounts of mercury every day, on average 2 mcg per day. This might vary depending on how close we live to a coal fired plant, a gold mine, or an active volcano. We also consume mercury in food. So even the healthiest person will have some amount of mercury in their body. Administering such a person glutathione IVs could lead to significantly larger concentrations of mercury in the brain, causing conditions which were not present before.

2) Some studies have shown that increasing the levels of antioxidants is detrimental to one’s health. Oxidative radicals like O-, OH, H2O, and nitrogen oxides are some of the most ubiquitous molecules in our bodies. They are crucial for every single function, from digestion, to proper brain or muscle function. Taking high powered antioxidants has been linked to increased cancer metastases and to decreased athletic performance. Oxygen is life, why destroy it by taking anti-oxygen (anti-life) supplementation? This makes no sense and never has.

3) Ozone is an oxidant, glutathione is an antioxidant. Ozone pioneer Dr. Shallenberger makes a case that glutathione does not cancel out ozone to any significant degree. Yet, at the same time he says that he liked to give glutathione right before or right after a DIV (Direct ozone IV) because he would observe less vein irritation. Ozone can irritate veins when given in too high concentrations. He observed that glutathione negates ozone’s vein corroding actions. Which is in fact a perfect example of how glutathione directly counteracts ozone. So what some people experience as glutathione minimizing Herxheimer reactions might be instead glutathione halting ozone’s necessary and therapeutic actions.

4) Ozone therapy is the best way to raise glutathione levels. The human body will naturally adjust glutathione production during ozone therapy.

Summary

Many people receive ozone IVs together with glutathione IVs. Often without full disclosure of the associated risks which are substantial. They then encounter troubling and debilitating symptoms which they attribute to a Herxheimer reaction from ozone. What is happening instead is they are experiencing a glutathione IV triggered mobilization of one of the most toxic substances on our planet, mercury.

[All mentioned adverse reactions have been taken from real life accounts posted on the “Ozone to Health” and “Andy Cutler Chelation Think Tank” groups on Facebook.]

Recommended reading:

“Amalgam Illness”, Andrew Hall Cutler, Ph.D.

“Hair Test Interpretation: Finding Hidden Toxicities”, Andrew Hall Cutler

“Mercury Poisoning: The Undiagnosed Epidemic”, David Hammond

“The Mercury Diaries”, Daniel Forsyth

Legal Disclaimer

Information provided is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. No health claims for these products have been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nor has the FDA nor any other medical authority approved these products to diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. Since every person is unique, we highly recommend you to consult with your licensed health care practitioner about the use of ozone products in your particular situation. Neither The Power of Ozone nor the manufacturers of these items are responsible for the misuse of this equipment. It is highly advised to receive professional council from a licensed doctor before using Ozone Therapy on yourself.

Respectfully submitted, researched and written by

Jane G. Goldberg Ph.D.

owner of

La Casa

Spa & Wellness Center

*Licensed Psychologist
*Certified Psychoanalyst
*Author and Blogger

*Stone Carrier Medicine Woman, Native American Traditional Organization

The rejuvenative effect of floatation on the brain is shown to be equivalent to five hours of sleep.

The detoxifying effect on the body is equivalent to a three-day fast.

More specifically, the benefits are:

• drop in blood pressure

• slowing of pulse rate

• allows the blood to circulate more freely throughout the body

• increase in alpha and theta waves in the brain

• synchronous and symmetrical rhythms are achieved throughout the body

• decrease in levels of the hormones associated with stress, the “fight or flight” hormones of epinephrine, norepinephrine, ACTH and cortisol

• pH levels and electrolytes are balanced; reduction of acidity

• heavy metals detoxification

• improvement of skin elasticity

• re-mineralization of skin

Endorsements continue to roll in for Jane's eighth book,

My Mother,

My Daughter,

My Self

which will be released in October 2016, through

Free Association Books.

“Goldberg’s remarkable capacity to recount her life from both subjective and objective points of view animates her journey toward self-discovery in such a way that it touches our hearts as well as our minds.

Her insights are brilliant; her language is elegant, accessible and well-crafted; her openness and revelations (about both herself and her patients) are moving and uplifting. For all these reasons and more, her ability to draw in the reader is remarkable and convincing.

This book should be required reading for all students and practitioners of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, all mothers, and all adult sons and daughters. Alan Watts wrote a book in the 60’s called The Book. His intention was to create THE book that would be so inclusive, so profound that if there were only one book in the world, this would be it. Similarly, if there were one book to read about being a mother, being a daughter or a son, being a person with an interest in the kind of self-discovery that is gleaned from the process of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, My Mother, My Daughter, My Self would be that book.

More than any book I have read, it captures the art, the beauty and the magic that is created when the internal work is done that leads to self-understanding and the consequent self-transformation.

When this book is published, it will become required reading for all psychoanalytic candidates and faculty members of each of the institutes that I founded. Reading it is like eating a scrumptious, nutritional, utterly satisfying meal. So satisfying, you will feel like you will never have to eat again.”

Phyllis Meadow, Ph.D.

Founder of the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies, New York

Paola answers the question

Does Ozone Remove Mercury?

in one of her fascinating YouTube videos.

You can watch it by clicking HERE.

Even though it's summer, you still may not be getting enough vitamin D3.

Read on...

Pollution blocks ultraviolet light, and creates a vitamin D3 deficiency.
The face and hands need at least 45 minutes in the sun every day.
If you're over 50, your skin is less able to make D3.
Sunscreen-blocks ultraviolet.
On cool days, more time in the sun is needed.
Poor kidney and/or liver function decreases D3 in the body.
Intestinal disturbance decreases absorption. If you were not breast-fed, or if you have been on a traditional western diet for any prolonged length of time, it is likely you have leaky gut. Leaky gut decreases D3 absorption. Colostrum helps to correct this gut disturbance.
2/3 of Americans are overweight. The higher your weight, the less able your body is to make D3, even if you are in the sun.
Toxins increase the need for D3.

Symptoms of D3 Deficiency:

Weak immunity
Aches and pains, especially of bones
Sweaty head
Low energy
Loss of vision
Mood fluctuations: depression, anxiety, irritability
Low energy
Memory problems
Most heart problems
Cancer
Premature Death

Needs:

Children need a minimum of 1000 units per day.
Adults need a minimum of 2000 units per day, though 5000 is ideal for under 140 lbs, and 10,000 for over 140 lbs.

Check out all of Jane's latest work for Huffington Post, by clicking

HERE

Introducing our latest promotion - Midweek Specials! Join us at La Casa Spa & Wellness Center Tuesday-Thursday for enticing deals on our self-healing services. Book any 60-minute service or package with us and add an additional service for an unbelievable discount - or book any three self-healing services for just $69 (save up to $211!)

La Casa Spa and Wellness Center was created out of the experience one woman had with her mother. Long before holistic medicine became widely known, Dr. Jane Goldberg spent the 1970s seeking alternative cancer therapies for her mother, who had been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. Following sound principles of holistic health, Jane's mother was able to reverse her cancer condition entirely, moving from her wheelchair to joyfully playing tennis again. This experience inspired Jane to specialize in her psychoanalytic practice to work with cancer patients, and to fulfill the need for a holistic healing center in NYC. Jane and La Casa invite you to partake of the restorative and profoundly cleansing therapies that have brought La Casa world-wide recognition.

Legal Disclaimer

Information provided is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. No health claims for these products or therapies have been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nor has the FDA nor any other medical authority approved these products or therapies to diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. Since every person is unique, we highly recommend that you consult with your licensed health care practitioner about the use of products or therapies discussed here as it relates to your particular situation.

Think of your body as part of the earth,

Think of the earth as part of your soul

La Casa Spa & Wellness Center

41 East 20th Street,

New York, NY. 10003

212-673-2272

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Ozone Therapy: A Powerful Cancer Treatment and Healing Protocol

8/3/2016

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Musings from 20th Street

I was asked to write the following (very long!) article for The Truth About Cancer's website. Because of the overwhelmingly positive response it received on their website, I wanted to share it, in its entirety, with our Musings readers.

If you're short on time, you can check out a shorter version HERE.

Ozone Therapy: A Powerful Cancer Treatment & Healing Protocol

As a practitioner who has specialized in working with cancer patients for over 40 years, I’m often stunned when some cancer patients talk to me about their health. They say something to the effect of, “I am perfectly healthy except for the cancer.” Of course, this is a nonsensical statement.

Cancer is caused by many divergent factors; it is a complex process that operates on many levels of the body/mind constellation. There may be some systems in the body that are still functioning properly in a cancer patient. A woman with breast cancer may have a perfectly functioning heart, for instance. But the one thing that cannot be said accurately is that the person is perfectly healthy “except” for the cancer. There is no “except” in cancer.

Did you know that the lack of health that exists in every single cancer condition, without exception (no matter the location or stage of the cancer), has to do with impaired, oxygen-less respiration of the body’s cells? We've known about this causative factor in all cancers for almost 100 years. In fact, this discovery was awarded a Nobel Prize.

The treatment for this cancer-causing condition – Ozone Therapy – has been available for many decades. Yet, there are very few practitioners who offer it in the Unites States, and most people (including those suffering from cancer and their families) have not even heard of it.

We’ve All Experienced Ozone

Have you ever noticed that after a thunderstorm the air has a poignant, fresh smell? You may recognize the fragrance in the air as familiar, but one that you’ve never been able to place. It’s the same fragrance when there are ocean waves and waterfalls, as well as when sunlight falls on fields of snow. This smell is ozone, a gas that is produced during all these natural circumstances.

However, we don’t have to wait for nature to make this substance. Modern technology has enabled us to be able to produce ozone at will. This machine-made artificial ozone is exactly the same ozone as nature’s own.

Ozone has the feel of being cleansing… and indeed, that is precisely what it does. It cleanses the atmosphere when nature produces it. And when we are exposed to it, it similarly cleanses our bodies.

Why then does the weatherman pronounce the “ozone count” in such a dire, dismal tone? Why does he warn those of us who are healthy to not jog and those of us who are sick or old to not even go outside? And why does he blame car emissions for the high ozone count?

That’s because not only is ozone produced by natural phenomena, it’s also produced by pollution. When sunlight, moisture and temperature meet the chemical molecules that we call pollution (mostly hydrocarbons formed by incomplete burning of fuel in engines of cars and other vehicles, but also carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide), atmospheric oxygen (O2) is chemically transformed into ozone (O3).

In other words, the more pollution there is, the more ozone is generated. So, on polluted days there is likely to be a high ozone count. But what the weatherman is not saying is that without ozone, the pollution levels would be so great that our cities would be uninhabitable.

In spite of its bad reputation, ozone has recently received serious attention in alternative medical and research circles because of the remarkable healing potential of ozone therapy.

Ozone therapy is one of the most versatile forms of therapy available today – because it can be applied both through medical treatments as well as via home applications. It can be administered through the skin, into different body organs including the intestines and lungs, through the ears, in the blood, on teeth and gums, as well as in painful or damaged body parts.

As a 2004 review of ozone therapy states:

“During the past decade, contrary to all expectations, it has been demonstrated that the judicious application of ozone in chronic infectious diseases, vasculopathies, orthopedics and even dentistry has yielded such striking results that it is deplorable that the medical establishment continues to ignore ozone therapy.”1

Since the time when ozone was first used medically, it has consistently proven itself to be a hearty fighter in a myriad of disease conditions and afflictions. These include cancer, liver disease, auto-immune disease, heart disease, allergies, diabetes, Lyme disease, macular degeneration, viral diseases, rheumatism/arthritis, geriatric conditions, SARS and AIDS.

Ozone and Oxygen

Ozone, like its progenitor, oxygen, is a gas. Oxygen (known chemically as O2), likes to travel in pairs.

When a third atom of oxygen binds, O2 becomes O3. Because O3 is inherently unstable, it always wants to give away that extra atom. At the same time, any cell that comes into contact with O3 will take this third atom. When this happens, oxygen’s traditional properties become more powerful and more energized.

Ozone’s most amazing property is that it is an extremely powerful oxidant. It will break down any chemical into that chemical’s basic component parts. Vehicle fuel pollution generally consists of water, carbon dioxide, sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen, all of which combine together to form what we call smog. When naturally occurring ozone comes into contact with this soup of smog, these chemicals are released in their basic or elemental form – and none of us could survive without them.

Expelling Parasites Using Ozone Therapy – One Woman’s Experience

Lena, a 30-year-old woman was diagnosed with cervical cancer. A holistic nutritionist, she is well-versed in the relationship between cancer and diet/nutrition. She believes her cancer is unrelated to her near-perfect nutritional program – and that, rather, it is mold-induced after discovering her apartment was replete with mold.

Lena chose ozone therapy as a healing protocol, which includes sitting inside an ozone steam cabinet. With only her head popped out of the top, all of the pores in her body (except those in her head) absorb the molecules of oxygen along with their friendly molecular companion, the additional atom of oxygen that converts O2 into O3.

Following rectal insufflation of ozone, Lena expelled a dead 12-inch worm. It is unknown how long the worm had been living in her intestinal tract and how long it had been dead. It’s probable the worm was only recently deceased, killed by the ozone therapy. Worms, parasites, viruses, bacteria – all early evolutionary forms of life – thrive in low oxygen environments. By suffusion of ozone into the rectum and colon, in all likelihood the worm died from the duel saturation of oxygen and ozone.

Lena's worm looked like these. The ruler shows the length.

The problem with parasites is that they can indirectly cause cancer because they drain their host body of nourishment and produce carcinogenic waste products. Aflatoxin is one of them. The most common parasite in the human body is yeast. Although yeast is not necessarily problematic, when it reaches a point of excess, it can cause serious health issues: candida, fungal infections, pathogenic microbes, amoebas, tapeworms, and fluke. It has been estimated that at least 20% of cancer patients have a parasite. The true statistic is probably much higher.

A Brief History of Ozone

The history of ozone use for health purposes is old. The Native Americans consumed fish as a major component of their diet. They recognized that, after a storm, the fish would emit a strange but pleasant odor, and they began to prefer fishing right after the end of a storm.

Across the ocean, the Greeks noticed the same odor (and called it “ozein”), and like the indigenous peoples, preferred fishing after a storm. Today, the positive influence of ozone on the digestive system of different species of fish has been scientifically documented.

Ozone has been used medically to disinfect and treat disease since its discovery. In 1896, Nikola Tesla patented the first ozone generator in the United States. Ozone has been used as a safe and effective water purifier for more than a century. Ozone deactivates pathogenic microbes in the human body in much the same way it does in water, unsurprising since our bodies are made up of 70% water.

During WWI, physicians applied ozone topically to infected wounds because of its antibacterial properties. Later they discovered it had broader therapeutic applications, thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties. In the late 1980s, German physicians began successfully treating HIV patients with ozone. Although there are some practitioners within the U.S. who administer ozone, it remains a relatively uncommon treatment even today.

Where Is Ozone Therapy Used?

Ozone is a well-respected therapy in many parts of the world. In Germany, it is the standard of care and is used by 70-80% of practicing physicians. One of the leading anti-cancer ozone therapy practitioners from Germany, Dr. Horst Kief, first came to the U.S. over 30 years ago when he was invited to speak at a conference organized by the Foundation for Advancement of Cancer Therapies. He has since reported reversal of AIDS with ozone, as have other physicians in Germany.

There are over 3,000 references in the German medical literature referring to the use of medical ozone therapy. In fact, it is considered medical malpractice to not use ozone pre and post-surgery instead of antibiotics!

Cuba and India have whole facilities devoted to ozone treatment and research. Russia, too, is a fan of ozone. Altogether, there is no therapy studied as much as ozone worldwide, with only cortisone and prednisone coming in close seconds.

Why Isn’t Ozone Therapy Available in the U.S.?

Why is ozone used in other countries and not routinely in the U.S.? In the United States, ozone therapy operates as a poor cousin to the more traditionally accepted mainstream (and more toxic) treatments.

It all boils down to profit margins. Russia and Cuba have socialized medicine, which is not about making a profit. Germany, after the war, was poor, and India is still considered a developing nation today.

Oxygen is cheap. In fact, oxygen is free. To make ozone from oxygen one only needs a small generator, and an oxygen concentrator. Neither is expensive – and neither offers the possibility of massive profit margins.

The Healing Power of Ozone

Ozone is the most powerful and rapidly-acting oxidizing agent on earth. One molecule of ozone is equal in its activity to between 3,000 to 10,000 molecules of chlorine. It is the best killer of harmful, pathogenic organisms.

Did you know that ozone only takes 10 seconds to kill 99% of bacteria, fungi, yeast, mold, and viruses – 3,500 times faster than chlorine?

Last but not least, it has been shown to kill cancer cells upon contact.

Ozone therapy’s many healing mechanisms of action are believed to include:

Inactivation of bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast and protozoa
Stimulation of oxygen metabolism
Activation of the immune system

Ozone is very effective at fighting so many afflictions because it operates at the foundational level of the body: the body’s cells.

The Biochemistry of Oxygen and Cancer

Otto Warburg’s Nobel Prize winning discovery in 1925 changed forever what we know about cancer, its causes, and cures. He understood that when the body’s cells are deprived of 40% of their normal supply of oxygen, pathogenic changes begin to happen inside them.

In Warburg’s own words: “Cancer has only one prime cause. The prime cause of cancer is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of body cells by an anaerobic (oxygen-less) cell respiration.”2

Similarly, Albert Wahl said, “Disease is due to a deficiency in the oxidation process of the body, leading to an accumulation of toxins. These toxins are ordinarily burned in normal oxidation.3

Glucose is the standard food for all healthy cells in the body, which burn glucose through oxidation. Warburg understood that when the cell is deprived of its normal supply of oxygen, it has no alternative but to change to an inferior method of energy processing and production known as fermentation.

Because the respiratory ability of the cell is damaged, it begins to ferment sugar anaerobically – in other words, “without oxygen.” Instead of giving off carbon dioxide (CO2), which is normal for a healthy cell, the damaged cell now consumes sugar and gives off lactic acid. The reduction of CO2 is a critical stage in this pathogenic process because hemoglobin, the carrier of oxygen in the bloodstream, cannot release oxygen without first receiving CO2.

Thus, the damaged cell is no longer able to get oxygen from its usual source and is now in the unfortunate position of being deprived of its oxygen nourishment, while simultaneously being poisoned by the proliferation of toxic pathogens. As a result, the acute, short-term damage of the cell becomes permanent damage.

Research since Warburg has shown us that a healthy cell, receiving its necessary supply of oxygen, manufactures an enzymatic coating around the cell. This protective layer prevents pathogenic agents such as bacteria and viruses from invading the cell. The enzymes in this protective layer include catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and reductase.

However, when the cell is oxygen-starved, it can’t produce enough enzymes to maintain a strong cellular wall. As a result, invaders enter (like a Trojan horse) ready to wreak havoc, destruction, and eventual death.

This lack of protection becomes a real problem when viruses come into the vicinity of a cell wall. Viruses are not actual cells, but are made up of either RNA or DNA, both of which are types of genetic material. By themselves, viruses lack the ability to reproduce.

When healthy cells become stressed and their cell walls become permeable, viruses rush in and attach themselves to the genetic machinery of the host cells. They take over this machinery and start replicating their own genetic material. The metabolic wastes of the viruses – which are now in a state of constant replication – overwhelm the body’s ability to eliminate these waste products.

The reasons for oxygen deficiency in the body’s cells are many. For instance, the cell may be poisoned by a toxic chemical (there are so many in our environment today) that prevents oxygen uptake. Ducts or glands may become blocked. Lymphatic fluid may not be carried efficiently to the lymph glands that run throughout the body. Waste material generated by the body’s natural functioning may collect in the body’s tissues, causing auto-intoxication or self-poisoning.

When we come to the understanding – as Warburg documented – that the fundamental cause of cancer is oxygen depletion, how to reverse it becomes obvious: to rid the body of cancer, we must flood the body with oxygen. And just as there are many ways that the body can become starved for oxygen, there are also many ways that they body can be flooded with oxygen.

The Biology of Freud’s Death Instinct: Apoptosis

The Austrian neurologist and the so-called “father of psychoanalysis” Sigmund Freud postulated an unpopular theory – the ‘death drive,’ or the notion that we are all driven to return to our origins. As well as being a sophisticated student of the psyche, Freud also was a true “biologist of the mind.”

Although the biological sciences had not yet discovered the biological equivalent of Freud’s death instinct, eventually science caught up to Freud’s deep prescience. Contemporary science now understands that on a cellular level we are all programmed to be able to do ourselves in.

All of our body’s cells have a built-in suicide pact. Scientists call this suicide agreement “apoptosis.” Apoptosis serves the purpose of protecting all other cells in the body from the damaged and dying cells. When there is merely brief exposure to pathogens or stressing agents, cellular suicide is often the choice made by the cell: quite literally, an act of sacrifice for the greater good of the entire organism.

When for some reason the cell doesn’t self-destruct, it begins the process of reproducing itself – because that’s what cells do. They are in a constant state of reproducing themselves. The damaged cell lives on, reproducing, in its damaged and damage-creating state. These cellular copies don’t have the same self-correction mechanism of apoptosis. They remain as damaged as the progenitor cells from which they are born.

One of the damage-creating consequences is that the cell (that should have died already) loses its ability to govern its own growth. Unlike normal reproduction, which has a natural shelf-life that ends the cell’s tendency to keep copying itself, this abnormal process of reproduction now becomes wild and out of control.

This pathogenic process of growth is infinite; it will go on forever, as long as the host organism lives and provides the abnormal cell an oxygen-deficient environment in which it can continue to thrive. We have a name for this cellular situation. The name applies to all cases of cellular overgrowth arising from inadequate cellular respiration: the name is cancer.

The two choices for a damaged cell are, then: immediate suicidal death through apoptosis; or, alternatively, a slow death through the fatal damage inflicted upon its host, and dying only when the host itself dies.

Ozone and Cancer

Dr. Robert Jay Rowen is a graduate of Johns Hopkins and has been involved in integrative medicine since 1983. Dr. Rowen calls ozone a “miracle healer.”

Another leading proponent of ozone, Dr. Frank Shallenberger, speaking at the 40th Annual meeting of the Cancer Control Society, explained the difference between ozone and oxygen therapies (as performed, for instance, in hyperbaric chambers), and why ozone is specifically preferable as a treatment for cancer.

According to Dr. Shallenberger, the problem with cancer is not that the cells are not actually “getting” enough oxygen. Rather, he thinks it is that the mitochondria – the cell’s energy factories – aren’t able to use the available oxygen efficiently.

Back in 1925, Otto Warburg wouldn’t have suspected the special role of mitochondria in cancer. They had been discovered during his lifetime, but the importance of their role had yet to be documented. Ozone, as a treatment, doesn’t simply send more oxygen to the cell; it stimulates the mitochondria in the cell to use the oxygen that’s already available more efficiently.

Ozone’s effect on damaged cells is quite specific. It attacks the pathogenic materials that don’t have a protective coating; it assaults diseased cells that proliferate but exist without adequate cell wall enzymes. Pure oxygen does not do this in quite the same way. Unlike oxygen, ozone selectively kills cancer cells.

Herein lies the major difference between ozone, as a natural treatment for cancer, and traditional medical therapies. Ozone ONLY kills the pathogenic cells. Chemotherapy and radiation are just as efficient at killing cancer cells, but they kill healthy cells too.

Because ozone possesses an extra atom of oxygen, it is “electrophilic.” In other words, it is unbalanced electrically and it wants to balance itself by finding another unbalanced charge.

All diseased cells, including cancer cells – as well as viruses, harmful bacteria, and other pathogens – are also similarly electrically imbalanced. Because of the imbalance that ozone shares with all diseased cells, they find each other. Quite beautifully, it is a mutual attraction dance between the disease (the pathogenic cells) and the remedy for the disease (ozone).

Ozone is particularly important for helping to control viruses, which are about the most unkillable entities on earth. Only a few viruses have been linked to cancers, including human papilloma virus, Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus, human herpes virus 8, and human T-lymphotrophic virus-1.4

We don’t yet know if they cause cancer directly or help to create the right circumstances for cancer to develop – but as stated previously, when viruses populate the human body in excess their waste is always a problem. Viruses mutate constantly, so any vaccine developed for them is typically useless by the time it comes to market.

Viruses last forever, it seems, with no natural lifespan. Bacteria, on the other hand, live for a while, get old and die. Viruses can go to sleep (often next to your spinal cord) for decades – but under the right circumstances, they wake up again and can cause painful inflammations.

Both oxygen and ozone are enemies to viruses. Because viruses are anaerobic, blasts of high concentration of oxygen and ozone are very effective in killing them.

Shallenberger describes the specific methods by which ozone helps to fight cancer:

It treats the cause of cancer.
It maximizes the patient’s vitality and immunity.
It controls cancer cell growth.
When ozone is directed to the diseased area, cancer cells are forced to go into apoptosis, and so they die off.

Ozone Therapy Safety Issues

In terms of safety, the first thing to understand is that ozone cannot react with healthy cells. Healthy cells possess both a balanced electric charge and a strong enzymatic protection wall. Ozone doesn’t “see” healthy cells. In this regard, ozone is equivalent to other so-called “targeted therapies”. It only notices, then communicates with, and finally destroys diseased cells.

The only known side effect of ozone is that it can bring about a healing crisis, referred to as the “Herxheimer effect.” This is when there is a detoxification reaction in the body. Although symptoms may be flu-like joint pain, body aches, sweating, or nausea, this reaction is indicative of the pathogenic entities being killed.

Endotoxins are being released from the cell walls of the dying pathogens and one should feel assured that the treatment is working. This reaction lasts between a few hours to a few weeks. Once the pathogens have been released from the body, the symptoms disappear – and the body is left healthier than before because detoxification and cleansing has occurred.

Methods of Administering Ozone Therapy

There are various ways of utilizing ozone therapy, including:

1. Autohemotherapy

Medical grade ozone gas is mixed with a patient’s drawn blood and then infused back into the person, or
Ozone is injected directly into the vein.

*This must be done by an experienced intravenous (IV) practitioner.

2. Ozonated saline therapy

Infuses saline solution that has been mixed with ozone gas.

*This must be done by experienced IV practitioner.

3. Transdermal ozone sauna

Ozone gas is administered through sauna spray, which is less invasive than IV but equally effective.
This approach has the additional advantage of augmenting the ozone treatment with the healing effects of heat.
The fan should be turned toward the sauna to eliminate any direct breathing of the ozone that might escape from the hole in where head pops out.

*Available at healing centers.

4. Insufflation

Essentially an ozone enema or douche in which the patient gets ozone through a catheter inserted in either the rectum or the vagina.
Can be self-administered.
If rectal insufflation is done, it is important to have the colon thoroughly cleansed first. A series of colonics with a qualified colon therapist is recommended. If the bowel is impacted with fecal material trapped within the folds of the intestines, the ozone can also get trapped. As a result the belly can becomes bloated, making the patient feel uncomfortable and possibly nauseous.
Ear insufflation may be a potential preventative remedy for Alzheimer’s. (While there is anecdotal evidence to support this, there is no scientific proof that this approach works.) It also may be helpful in brain cancer.

5. Dental application

Dentists have regularly been utilizing ozone for periodontal therapy, root canal treatment, tooth sensitivity, and bone infections.
Some practitioners believe that applying ozone into a decaying tooth can halt or even reverse the decay process altogether.

6. Sauna bag

The patient gets into a sauna bag or suit (with the head out) after taking a shower.
Next, the suit or bag is filled with ozone gas for absorption through the skin for a duration of 45 minutes.
A fan is used to blow away any escaping ozone.

7. Topical ozonated oils

Oils that have been successfully ozonated include olive, jojoba, sesame, coconut, and many more.
These ozonated oils are desirable for their antibacterial properties as well as their healing properties.
They can also be used as skin moisturizers.
When used as massage oils, these help to clear lactic acid from tissues.
Topical ozonated oils are readily available online.

8. Breathing ozonated oil

Breathing ozone filtered through olive oil is not only not irritating to the lungs, but also helps to clear sinus infections and lung distress.
If your lungs contain microbes that don’t belong there, breathing medical grade ozone may cause minor and temporary irritation to the lungs as the microbes are oxidized and cleaning up occurs.
Ozone is only dangerous to breathe when mixed with nitrogen, but medical grade ozone is perfectly safe and even desirable to breathe through oil.

9. Direct injection into the cancerous tumor

For breast cancer, direct injection of ozone into the tumor is possible.
For liver cancer, injection into the portal vein can be done.

10. Drinking ozonated water

Drinking ozonated water begins the process of killing digestive pathogenic microbes.

How to Prepare for an Ozone Treatment

Before engaging in ozone therapy, it is useful to take a mix of antioxidants. The suggested adult dose is as follows:

Vitamin C – 3,000 mg three times a day.
Vitamin A – 25,000 i.u. daily.
Vitamin E – 400 i.u.
Beta-carotene – 50 mg twice a day.
Pycnogenol or grape seed extract – 60 mg twice daily.

Once ozone therapy is started, vitamin C should be reduced to 1,000 mg daily. All antioxidants and other dietary supplements should be given two hours or more before or after the ozone treatment.

Benefits of an Oxygen/Ozone Sauna

Inactivates bacteria, viruses, yeast, protozoa, mold & fungi
Enhances circulation
Increases production of collagen and cartilage
Purifies blood & lymphatic system
Stimulates oxygen metabolism
Disrupts malignant tumor metabolism
Reduces inflammation & pain
Excretes heavy metals
Normalizes hormone & enzyme production
Improves brain function
Excellent free radical scavenger
Relaxes muscles by reducing buildup of lactic acid & increasing muscle flexibility
Oxidizes toxins so they can be eliminated through skin, lungs, kidneys and colon
Stimulates vasodilatation of peripheral blood vessels, thereby accelerating healing
Speeds up metabolic processes of inner organs and endocrine glands, resulting in a loss of 200-450 calories in a 20-minute session
Reduces clumping of red blood cells, thus reducing viscosity of blood that leads to buildup of arterial plaque
Changes carbon monoxide (CO) – the worse free radical in the body – into essential carbon dioxide (CO2).

In summary, ozone has the impressive talent of being toxic to unhealthy, damaged and dying cells while being non-toxic to healthy cells. For cancer, it is an important adjunctive therapy to a good nutritional program combined with aggressive detoxification procedures.

Ozone can selectively kill cancer cells amongst all the other sick cells in the body. It is important to understand that repeated exposures to ozone, whatever the mechanism of delivery utilized, is necessary to reverse any disease. In addition, it is useful to expose oneself to various methods of application of ozone. Small, infrequent exposures will be ineffective.

Other Advantages of Ozone Therapy

Regular use of ozone has many benefits beyond suppressing cancer activity. Because it enhances circulation, it provides an oxygen-rich environment for cellular rejuvenation. It can clear plaque from arteries, restore acid/alkaline balance, improve nutrient assimilation, and remove toxic deposits from the intestines and colon. All these actions of ozone make it a profoundly powerful tool for life extension and anti-aging.

The Official NCI and FDA Position on Oxygen/Ozone and Cancer

It took the National Cancer Institute (NCI) a couple of decades – but in 1952, they finally endorsed Otto Warburg’s findings and understanding of cancer.

In spite of much of the rest of the world using ozone safely and efficaciously, the official position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding ozone therapy still stands today. In the Federal Register dated February 1976 and amended in September 1989, the FDA proclaimed: “Ozone is a toxic gas with no known medical uses.” This position remains unchanged.

Where to Get Ozone and How to Buy Equipment

Ozone therapy treatments and equipment is available through some practitioners, although not widely promoted. Ozone generators have come down appreciably in price over the last few years making them more affordable for home use.

If you’re not doing IV, you need only an additional oxygen concentrator, as opposed to tanks that give pure oxygen. The concentrator delivers 98% concentrated oxygen. With this equipment, you can give yourself rectal insufflations for digestive issues; vaginal insufflations for urinary tract infections (UTIs) and herpes; and ear insufflations for ear infections.

Respectfully submitted by:

La Casa

Spa and Wellness Center

and

Jane G. Goldberg Ph.D.

*Licensed Psychologist

*Certified Psychoanalyst

*Stone Carrier Medicine Woman, Native American Traditional Organization

After our Blue Light Good; Blue Light Bad issue, I heard from my cousin, Steve Goldberg. His email might be of interest to those of you who share concerns about the effects of Blue Light on sleep patterns:

"Your 'Blue Light' article really caught my attention (and I do read all your postings).

In Houston, the power company plans to install 170,000+ new 4000K LED street lights. A group of us have been fighting to get that stopped since Apr 2014. The city and the power company CenterPoint Energy keep saying they are meeting the requirements of the contract. That contract is seven or more years old and the 3000K and 2700K lights came out after the contract. Several of us have talked multiple times at the Comment Session before City Council. But yet, nothing has changed. We are at wits end trying to get the new 3000K or 2700K lights installed. We’ve quoted excepts from the AMA report, had people from the International Dark Sky Association speak to the City council. Offered to have a free consultation with the lighting engineers from Davis CA and Tucson AZ speak with the CenterPoint engineers. That hasn’t happened yet. We have numerous links to newspaper articles from around the country and Canada talking about how bad these 4000K lights are, both from the medical aspect that you talk about and the visibility aspect."

Another message I received about Blue Light was from fellow concerned citizen, Debbie M. Here is her letter:

"The article on your site is one of the better ones I have seen that explains the blue light issue. It helps to have the anecdote about one of your clients, too. We may be able to refer people who need to be educated on the issue to your article. You may also be aware of the efforts in New York to stop the white LED street lights.

There is some response in Brooklyn to install less intense lights, but we don't know if they are also going toward warmer color.

For your information, here are some links to articles about the New York area including the now famous essay from novelist Lionel Shriver:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/opinion/sunday/ruining-that-moody-urban-glow.html

And follow up letter which is excellent from former Chief of Staff of the Dept. of Public Transportation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/opinion/new-led-streetlights.html

Thanks again,

Best,

Debbie M.

And, Blue Light is once again the subject of serious medical research. Hokkaido University researchers have designed a crystal material that continually flips between two positions like a paddle, propelling an attached structure, when stimulated by blue light. It could lead to bio-inspired microrobots that deliver drugs to target tissues.

Musings From 20th Street is always in the forefront of cutting-edge news, as evidenced by the fact that the very next day after we sent out out our article on Blue Light, The New York Times weighed in on the issue of LED street lights:

"Residents of Corona may have embraced the LEDs as a crime deterrent and a pedestrian safeguard, but those in more upscale neighborhoods are fighting them. Many have argued that the lights’ rays blast through windows and ruin the charm of the night."

You can read the full article

HERE

What people are saying about Jane's eighth book,

My Mother,

My Daughter,

My Self

coming this October through

Free Association Books:

"Read Jane’s words of wisdom and learn how to be a loving parent."

Bernie Siegel, M.D.

"…incredibly moving and

lyrically written… hugely ambitious—and altogether successful.Deserves attention of all those who are mothers and all those who have or had mothers."

Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.

"...touches our hearts as well as our minds. Her insights are brilliant; her language is elegant, accessible and well-crafted; her openness and revelations (about both herself and her patients) are moving and uplifting… like eating a scrumptious, nutritional, utterly satisfying meal. So satisfying, you will feel like you will never have to eat again."

Phyllis Meadow, Ph.D.

"…a tour de force, a stunningly smart body of work that should be required reading for all mothers and all daughters."

Mimi Crowell, Ph.D.

“This wonderful book by Dr. Goldberg is warm, moving and so very true about the relationships of mothers ourselves and our daughters. Who would think a psychoanalyst could write so beautifully and yet clinically about the relationships of mothers and daughters?”

Vicki Semel, Ph.D.

Earlier this month, popular fashion and pop culture blog Man Repeller featured a glowing review of the colonic experience at La Casa:

"The first thing I noticed after leaving the office was how incredibly light and healthy my body felt. It was as if I had only eaten salads and juices for the past week — the complete opposite of how I felt when I walked into La Casa’s door. I also had a mini endorphin high, kind of like finishing a great spin class.

And when I got home, my skin was glowing… I maintained that post-facial radiance in the days that followed..."

Siraad Dirshe

In 2009, Jane recorded a series of group therapy sessions that came to be titled The Really Real Reality Show. The series has proved to be enduringly popular on YouTube, thanks to the multitude of psycho-analytical issues explored. You can check out the full series

HERE

Jane has been a blogger for Huffington Post for many years. She has written on such diverse topics as the brain, the meaning of language, holistic health, skipping (yes, the kind you used to do as a child), and more. To read her articles, equal in interest to her own Musings, click

HERE

Introducing our latest promotion - Midweek Specials! Join us at La Casa Spa & Wellness Center Tuesday-Thursday for enticing deals on our self-healing services. Book any 60-minute service or package with us and add an additional service for an unbelievable discount - or book any three self-healing services for just $69 (save up to $211!)

La Casa Spa and Wellness Center was created out of the experience one woman had with her mother. Long before holistic medicine became widely known, Dr. Jane Goldberg spent the 1970s seeking alternative cancer therapies for her mother, who had been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. Following sound principles of holistic health, Jane's mother was able to reverse her cancer condition entirely, moving from her wheelchair to joyfully playing tennis again. This experience inspired Jane to specialize in her psychoanalytic practice to work with cancer patients, and to fulfill the need for a holistic healing center in NYC. Jane and La Casa invite you to partake of the restorative and profoundly cleansing therapies that have brought La Casa world-wide recognition.

Think of your body as part of the earth,

Think of the earth as part of your soul

La Casa Spa & Wellness Center

41 East 20th Street,

New York, NY. 10003

212-673-2272

lacasa@lacasaspa.com

lacasaspa.com

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Blue Light Good; Blue Light Bad (and all the tips you need for a good night's sleep.)

8/3/2016

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Musings from 20th Street

BLUE LIGHT GOOD; BLUE LIGHT BAD

and all the tips you need for a good night’s sleep

(including petitioning your local government)

La Casa now has a large Blue Light, which we have used, quite effectively, on many of our clients for the traditional use of it—to clear up acne. One of our clients used it for a stress-induced acne breakout, but she could only come in after closing time—at 9pm. She was so desperate, we decided to let her come in at that time. She called the next day, and complained that she was up practically all night—hardly any sleep. She felt it was related to the Blue Light. I decided to investigate to see if her intuition could have been right. As it turns out, Blue Light is quite extraordinary, in several ways that I was unaware of. But it can be easily misused, as happened with this.

A Blue Light treatment at La Casa.

It was discovered in 2001 that the light receptor in the retina that processes Blue Light is different than for all other light. Unlike all other light waves, the light/dark sensors in your brain for Blue Light do not connect with your vision center. Rather, Blue Light connects to our biological clocks, and this internal time mechanism resets itself every day. When we are in sync with the rhythm of the earth, exposure to the specific wavelength of Blue Light retunes the body to a natural circadian rhythm. This rhythm includes the sleep/wake cycles. Blue Light tells us when the day is beginning. This attribute gives it the unique ability to wake up your whole body, and it can do this even when your eyelids are closed (presumably sleeping). (Your eyelid is moderately transparent: close your eyes and look at the light in the room where you’re sitting—you can tell when you’re looking toward, or away from that light).

But even more interesting (for me, as a psychoanalyst, as well as a holistic healing practitioner) than the discovery of the connection between Blue Light and the circadian rhythm is research showing that it also affects the emotional center of the brain. Thus, we now refer to our Blue Light also as the “Happy Light.” Exposure to it has been suggested as an effective therapy for depression. One study from researchers of the Light Research Program at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia) found that the Blue/Happy Light strengthens and stimulates connections between areas of the brain that process emotion and language. The researchers concluded that Blue/Happy Light can help people to better handle emotional challenges and regulate moods, and that it is even more effective than the bright white light often used in light boxes to treat SAD and other forms of depression.

Blue/Happy Light is prevalent in outdoor light. Your body absorbs greater amounts of it in the summer, and less in the winter. Because of this, the researchers of the study suggested that exposure to Blue/Happy Light may help boost mood and productivity year-round, but is most effective during the winter.

Blue/Happy Light is a part of the UV light spectrum, and acts as a potent disinfectant of your environment. (Its disinfectant quality is why it cures acne.) Research has found UV light can reduce the spread of tuberculosis in hospital wards and waiting rooms by 70 percent, and kills 90 percent of drug-resistant bacteria in hospital rooms. Also, UV light can kill drug-resistant strains of S. aureus and E. faecalis in as little as 5 seconds. UV light can even be used to disinfect water without the addition of other harsh chemicals. La Casa, since our inception, has been using UV light, coupled with ozone, as the method we use to disinfect and cleanse the water in our Floatation chamber.

We Need Light; But We also Need Dark

Light is essential to the process of setting circadian rhythm. But so is darkness. Our biological clock can only reset after it has had a surfeit of darkness. Many people with depression, and specifically those who suffer from bi-polar disorder, have lost their connection with their body’s natural circadian rhythm.

Light intensity is as important as color. It is measured in lux units. Outdoor lux units will be generally around 100,000 at noon. Indoors, the typical average is somewhere between 100 to 2,000 lux units. Obviously, this is a large gap that between the two—the natural light you are exposed to outside, and the synthetic light you are exposed to inside. When you spend most of your day indoors, you essentially enter a state of “light deficiency.”

The Dark Side to Blue Light

But, as our trusty client discovered in her Sleepless in Brooklyn night, there is a dark side to Blue Light—exposure to it at the wrong time.

Prior to light bulbs, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. Today, most of us get less than seven hours of sleep. The reason has to do with artificial light (thank you very much, Mr. Edison). And, it is mostly the Blue Light that is the culprit. Any time we expose our bodies to Blue Light at night, we are tricking our brains into thinking it is daytime.

Blue Light is emitted from many of the electronic and digital devices that we depend so heavily on: TV screens, computers (especially laptops), cell phones and reading devices (Kindle and Nook). The problem comes in when we use them before bed. Blue Light specifically interferes with the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps (among other of its beneficial effects) to put us to sleep.

The pineal gland produces melatonin, and the amount produced is affected by the contrast of bright light exposure during the day and complete darkness at night. If you’re in darkness all day long, your body can’t make the necessary distinction between day and night; if you’re in artificial light long into the night, similarly, your body can’t make the distinction. In both cases, melatonin production will be out of balance.

One study of e-readers, published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, showed that the e-readers had significantly less rapid eye movement (REM) during sleep; and even if they had eight hours of sleep, it took longer for them to fully wake up the next day and attain their normal level of alertness.

Another study compared melatonin levels in individuals exposed to standard room light (<200 lux) vs. dim light (<3 lux). Exposure to room light before bedtime shortened the time of elevated melatonin levels by about 90 minutes. This hour and a half of decreased melatonin means that it could take an extra hour and a half of lying in bed before you reach snooze-land.

Chronic suppression of melatonin not only leads to sleep deficiency, but is also linked to a myriad of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, as well as breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers.

The following is an excerpt from the Melatonin Summary from the National Cancer Institute:

“At pharmacological concentrations, melatonin suppresses cancer cell growth and multiplication. At physiological and pharmacological concentrations, melatonin acts as a differentiating agent in some cancer cells and lowers their invasive and metastatic status by altering adhesionmolecules and maintaining gapjunction intercellular communication. In other cancer cell types, melatonin, alone or with other agents, induces programmed cell death.”

Another important study documents the effects of external nighttime light on sleep quantity and quality. Researchers at Stanford University conducted extensive interviews over an eight-year period with 16,000 men and women. Questions were asked about sleep, eating and stress. Findings were mapped against geographic satellite data showing the intensity of nighttime light near each participant’s home. The effects of nighttime radiance on sleep were striking. Those with the most artificial night lighting:

-went to sleep later and woke up later

-were more tired during the day

-were more likely to be unhappy with the quality of their sleep

-were more irritable and less functional during the day

Blue Light in Cities

In spite of these findings, new super-bright light-emitting diode (LED) street lamps either have been or will be installed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, New York City, and many other municipalities throughout the country. These new lights sometimes make residents feel safer, but the jury is still out on whether they actually reduce crime or help to prevent car crashes. They do use less energy, a definite benefit for the environment. But, there is a cost: they also emit more Blue Light that then interferes with natural melatonin production and good sleep.

Blue Light streetlamps in Glasgow, Scotland's city center.

On June 14, at the annual meeting in Chicago, the American Medical Association adopted an official policy statement about street lighting: cool it and dim it. The AMA’s statement recommends that outdoor lighting at night, particularly street lighting, should have a Color Temperature of no greater than 3000 Kelvin. Color Temperature is a measure of the spectral content of light—that is, how much blue, green, yellow and red there is in it. A higher CT rating generally means greater blue content, and the whiter the light appears.

You can see what Harvard Medical School has to say about blue street lights, by clicking HERE.

Various petitions have been passed around in US cities, as well as other countries, employing local governments to change their policies and plans about blue street lights. You can see NYC’s petition to Mayor de Blasio by clicking HERE.

What to Do to Protect Yourself:

It is most useful to get at least 10 to 15 minutes of first-morning light when Blue Light is strongest. This light exposure sends a strong message to your internal clock that day has arrived. Later in the day, around noon, another dose of at least 30 minutes' worth of sunlight is useful (lunch outside?).

General Tips for Good Sleep:

I find that I sleep infinitely better when my bedroom is on the cold side. I am not alone in this. Studies have shown that the temperature most conducive for sleep is between 60 and 68 degrees.

I always—both in the summer and the dead of winter—sleep with my window open as well as with a fan blowing on my face. It is my head that most of all wants to be cool. When it is winter, and my bedroom gets quite cold, my body stays warm covered with blankets, but my head stays cool and comfortable. The fan has the additional advantage of being a white noise machine. This is useful, especially in New York. But even in my country house, the sounds of nature (birds, geese, crickets) can be quite loud and distracting, and interfere with sleep.

For Houses:

Don’t have any outdoor lighting that shines near your bedroom window. Globe lights shine in all directions, and should be avoided.

For Apartments:

Black-out shades will cut out most of the light. The only problem I’ve had with these is the crack where the shade meets the window, and a sliver of light shines through from outside if there are near-by lights. It’s better to have the shades installed in such a way that they overlap the wall half an inch or so, rather than their being situated inside the window opening. To get really creative, you can get a programmable timer that will lift them early in the morning. Wear an eye mask. This will help, but, again, any light coming in that hits any part of your body interferes with melatonin production. One study found that aiming a green light behind the knees of sleepers diminished melatonin.

At Sunset:

Dim all lights after sunset with a low-wattage bulb with yellow, orange or red light. Use amber colored glasses that block blue light (available on Amazon) whenever you use digital equipment for two hours before bedtime. Consumer Reports tested three different kinds of glasses: the Uvex Skyper eyewear cut out almost all blue light ($8); gaming glasses by Gunnar Intercept were only able to cut blue light absorption by half ($53); Spektrum glasses blocked only a third of blue wavelengths ($40).

Me, in my amber glasses.

At Bedtime:

Turn off all electronic screens 30 minutes to an hour before going to bed.

Keep light-emitting devices out of the bedroom entirely.

Lower room-darkening shades or curtains in the bedrooms.

Make sure there is nothing plugged into the wall by your head. Not only will it affect your over-all health, it will keep you awake. I have nothing plugged it AT ALL in my bedroom when I go to sleep. I have an extension cord that is plugged into the wall outside my bedroom, and all electronic devices are plugged into that cord. My lamp, my fan—all things that are INSIDE my bedroom—are plugged into an outlet OUTSIDE my bedroom. I’ve tested my bedroom with a gauss meter—and the difference is significant. And I FELT the difference. I was unable to sleep in my country home until I took these steps. My bed, which has outlets both at the head and the side, was literally a HOT-BED electromagnetically when I had my fan and lamp plugged inside the room.

Turn off wi-fi. You’ll be asleep. You won’t be looking at emails or doing any internet surfing while you’re asleep. Admittedly, it’s hard to live without wi-fi. And I don’t. It’s just too convenient to be able to use my computer anywhere in my home. But there is a price to pay. I know people who have such extreme electromagnetic (EMF—electromagnetic field) sensitivity that they react immediately to wi-fi, or even cell phones in their homes. There is a vast literature on electromagnetic sensitivity.

Researchers have found a link between multiple chemical sensitivities and hypersensitivity to EMFs. Both conditions have, not only low melatonin levels, but also elevated histamines, free radical damage, stress protein release, and disruption of the blood-brain barrier. These unfortunate souls have had to resort back to the dinosaur age of cable connection.

For Computers:

Use a blue light screen filter.

Use an anti-blue light app. One of the most popular is called f.lux.

Back off. Keep the screen at least 14 inches from your face.

When Traveling:

I find that most hotels don’t have drapes that completely close. I always travel with an eye mask.

All hotels have clocks next to the bed, and they have the time in red light usually. I simply unplug the clock. (I also unplug any electronic devices that are plugged in under or next to the headboard so I don’t expose my brain to electromagnetic pollution. I have to be a bit of a detective sometimes to uncover where things are plugged in—even resorting to moving the bed away from the wall to see if there are plugs behind my head.)

I also find that often there are blinking red or green lights in hotel rooms up by the ceiling. Again, I go to great lengths to cover them, finding cloths (like my jackets) that will hide the lights.

I do not take these steps to make the room completely dark because I am worried about the effect on my body. I FEEL the effect on my body. I can’t get to sleep if I do not take these remedial steps.

If AlI That Fails, How Else to Get a Good Night’s Sleep:

If after all these remedial steps are taken, and you still have trouble sleeping, you might try some of the other solutions.

I have personally used homeopathic remedies to help me sleep. My sleep ability fell completely apart when I was going through menopause. Two of these remedies saved me: I was averaging two hours a night until I discovered them.

Coffea cruda; Yes, just as you would think from its name, it is the frequency of coffee.

When my insomnia developed, I felt like my brain had lost the switch that turned it off. My mind just wouldn’t shut down, wouldn’t shut up. This remedy is especially useful when we need help calming an overactive mind.

Muriatic acid is a special homeopathic preparation of hydrochloric acid. It helps when we’re tired but can’t get to sleep.

Arsenicum album can relax us when we’re anxious or restless.

Lycopodium clavatum is recommended when we wake frequently from hunger.

Nux vomica is the other remedy I used. It is specifically for those who fall asleep at first—but then wake up around 3 am (yes, the remedy is that specific about the wake-up time, and 3 am was precisely the time I would wake up), and can’t get back to sleep.

There is one other sleep solution I like a lot. I was introduced to it by Issac Eliaz, MD, who is known for his research into Modified Citrus Pectin. Recently, he has researched an herb that has used for centuries in ancient China: Honokiol, which is extracted from Magnolia bark. Honokiol is known to support a healthy mood, relaxation, and restful sleep. One pre-clinical study found that it extends non-REM sleep. Honokiol is also a powerful antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety agent; it functions as a neurological protector, and research shows it to be a remarkable anti-cancer compound, as well.

Before taking any of these remedies, consult a homeopathic practitioner or holistic MD to guide you. Homeopathic remedies don’t work unless you have the right dosage, and that need to be evaluated by a practitioner.

Respectfully submitted by:

La Casa

Spa and Wellness Center

and

Jane G. Goldberg Ph.D.

*Licensed Psychologist

*Certified Psychoanalyst

*Stone Carrier Medicine Woman, Native American Traditional Organization

I am excited about the upcoming release of my eighth book, this October, through

Free Association Books.

Here's what esteemed cognitive psychologist

Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.

had to say about

My Mother, My Daughter,

My Self:

"What do we know about the relationship between mothers and daughters? In this incredibly moving and lyrically written "memoir," psychoanalyst Jane Goldberg has answers that resonate and make you think twice about your own family connections. It is a hugely ambitious—and altogether successful—endeavor at co-mingling theory with beautifully drawn stories—both clinical from her practice, and personal from her family, blending the two in an eloquent and compelling voice. Deserves attention of all those who are mothers and all those who have or had mothers."

The membership of our MakeItTo120 Club is growing by the day. Click the image below to watch a video from my long-lost friend, and La Casa client, Rose - an ex-Olympian gymnast, who, at the age of 84, is still in great shape and hoping to

Make It To 120!

Here's how Rose and I looked 24 years ago (she was 60 then), enjoying the beautiful wildlife at the soon-to-be-reopened

La Casa de Vida Natural,

Puerto Rico:

Malcom Ing, MD was recently a guest on Think Tech Hawaii, where he discussed a new pain management treatment technique. Dr. Ing also demonstrated the use of the bio modulator device and shared background on its development.

To watch this fascinating video in full, click:
HERE

Another fantastic review from a loyal client of

La Casa Spa

& Wellness Center:

"I don't trust anyone else with my colon therapy. Cher and Gaia are excellent at putting you at ease (I have shy bowels) and getting to the root of your health issues. Then Greg gives you a nice piping hot cup of tea afterwards to help you relax before you hit the road."

Tamara T.

Think of your body as part of the earth,

Think of the earth as part of your soul

La Casa Spa & Wellness Center

41 East 20th Street,

New York, NY. 10003

212-673-2272

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Jane G. Goldberg, Ph.D.

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