Dr John A. Briggs N.D.

08/13/2022

08/11/2022

I’ve had some strange cats but these take the prize.

06/17/2022

Summer Sunshine

Here in the Northwest we’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of summer. The long wet winters can dampen moods and greatly impact health.
The prospect of more intense sunshine gives rise to improved vitamin D levels. This being the case, we tend to see better immune function. With the challenges of the last couple years the importance of vitamin D has been on the minds and in conversation between physicians and their patients.
Cholecalciferol is the only usable vitamin D our bodies can use. This is made only in animals and not plants. We produce it in our skin when the cholesterol in our skin is exposed to UVB rays of the sun. These rays are blocked by glass, so sitting in front of a window will not allow your body to produce this vital fat. All other vitamin D’s are synthetic unless produced by an animal.
Fish oil is void of this critical element unless it’s derived from the liver, thus cod liver oil for excellent vitamin D. If that cod liver oil has been pasteurized, the vitamin D has been destroyed, and many brands add synthetic vitamin D to their product. Unfortunately the E.U. and CODEX has made rules to where all oils are to be pasteurized. This is why we are adamant that we obtain only raw cod liver oil.
Cholecalciferol, vitamin D3, once either created by irradiation of the skin or consumed in an animal fat is then acted on by the liver and turned into Calcidiol. This is the storage form of vitamin D, but not the active form. It is the pre-hormone made from the cholecalciferol. This calcidiol is then converted by the kidneys into the active form called calcitriol.
Calcitriol is quantitatively the most powerful hormone in the body. This controls serum calcium levels as well as the ability to transfer vitamin D into the cells as a means of drawing calcium into the cells as an anti-cancer activity. As calcidiol increases, so does the calcitriol. Calcitriol promotes the process of apoptosis, cellular death. This is how the body destroys cancer.
After just one week without vitamin D the level of calcidiol (the storage form) is reduced by 50% in just one week. This is why we need exposure to sunlight or to consume fats containing this vitamin. When cells begin to mutate as a cancer, we don’t want to feed them things like sugar, but deliver ionized calcium into the cell with active vitamin D.
The vitamin D deficiency epidemic of the past and present causes compensatory parathyroid hormone release to pull calcium from the skeleton to restore levels in the blood as a means of preventing symptoms of vitamin D deficiency for so long that chronic pain and lower extremity weakness is then created. Women low in vitamin D are often misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Promoting low fat diets has reaped a boat load of sickness. We need fats in our diet, especially omega 3 fatty acids like fish oils. Here we get DHA for healthy nerves and brain as well as EPA which helps reduce inflammation. A major problem is the mass of people who’ve given their gallbladders to the medical establishment. Without bile we can’t emulsify and absorb these healthy fats. Your liver produces bile while you sleep, and without a gallbladder to store it, it is gone by the time you eat.
Without healthy DHA for the brain, we see far too many children with ADD, Depression, and Anxiety. These aren’t due to drug deficiencies, but diets lacking healthy animal fats. Both the brain and the eyes require omega 3 fatty acids. The long chain omega 6 fatty acids in formula will not nourish the brain and eyes. Breast milk is loaded with DHA if the mother is consuming good fats.
The first three months of life is critical to get these omega 3 fatty acids, especially the DHA to prevent depression, memory loss and vision loss. Seeing very young children wearing thick glasses makes me question if the child was breast fed or formula fed. Was the mother consuming a good grade of cod liver oil as well?
Vitamin D damage is something often overlooked. I see those taking mega-doses of this wonderful vitamin, and not realizing the potential of interfering with the 1% of ionized calcium in their body. 99% of the calcium is found in the bones. The 1% in the serum must be able to be ionized and delivered into the cells with the use of fats with multiple double bonds. These are called polyunsaturated fats.
Polyunsaturated fats are unstable and can go rancid easily, therefore must be consumed relatively soon after extraction. This would be wheat germ oil, flax seed oil, borage seed oil, and evening primrose oil. When vitamin D levels are elevated as in a long exposure to the sun without the unsaturated oils, the vitamin D can pull the calcium out of the tissues, allowing virus to flourish. This would be the herpes outbreak around the mouth or anywhere else after high vitamin D.

06/17/2022

Summer is almost here!!!

The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared.” I may not be a scout, but in so many areas of life, we need to prepare for whatever life has in store. Last summer, although I’ve not had a boat or been skiing for over ten years, while on vacation in Washington I took my ski and suit from years ago just to be prepared for the potential of finding someone to give me a pull.
Maintaining fitness at 70 allowed me to take advantage of the opportunity when it arrived, and I wasn’t disappointed in how my body performed.
Because life can happen at a moment’s notice, we need to realize the importance of maintaining good health to enjoy life during every stage of life. This is why I live on the side of preventative medicine. Trying to fix things after they’re broken is a difficult way to live.
Sometimes we get a curve ball thrown at us and we have to deal with the consequences of that. This is when we have to resort to regenerative therapies.
Recently I’ve had the honor of treating a couple patients suffering from ALS, (Lou Gehrig's disease, which is a neurodegenerative disease resulting in the progressive loss of motor neurons affecting control of voluntary muscles. The therapeutics at my disposal were stem cell therapy derived from healthy umbilical cords. This can assist in the regenerative process of the body.
Seeing those who can’t act on spontaneity breaks my heart. The use of stem cell therapy is amazing, but it’s still important in those conditions to identify the underlying cause. If the cause fails to be addressed, all the regenerative therapies can eventually fail.
One of the stem cell recipients is a farmer in an area where massive amount of chemicals are added to the soils and sprayed on the plants and trees. This area gets weather inversions which trap these chemicals in the air. When this happens we see an increase in tissue toxicity.
This patient has tested for massive chemical toxicity. After giving the treatment, I advised him to find a doctor locally who uses the Standard Process purification protocol to assist in removing these toxins from his body. The advise wasn’t just for him but his family who accompanied him. Here is where the be prepared comes into play.
When there’s the potential of damage from environmental toxins, the smart thing to do is to clear any and all of these from the system so as to prevent eventual cellular degeneration. This is when the use of this purification protocol can be critical to avoid any unwanted and unexpected cellular damage.
Dr Hans Heinrich Reckeweg proposed the principles of homotoxocosis, which is the progression of disease when cellular respiration is interfered with. Every cell in our body has a means of secreting an end product. Nerves secrete neurotransmitters. When this process is overloaded with any kind of toxin, there’s a chain of events which eventually leads to degenerative disease.
Usually when this gets to the degenerative stage, enzyme systems in the cells have been damaged and regeneration is halted. The clearance of any interfering chemicals needs to be addressed then the use of regenerative treatments like stem cells can begin to rebuild the area.
Being prepared involves identifying any blocks to vitality and addressing them. When there’s genetic potential, eliminate the elements which could manifest the disease. For example, if diabetics are popping up in your family, evaluate your dietary intake and get rid of the refined sugars and begin to increase the protective nutrients like chromium and vanadium. Boost the B vitamins which assist in the metabolism of carbohydrates. Begin appropriate measures to lose weight, and protect your adrenal glands.
Over driving the adrenal glands with stress sets up elevated cortisol which increases glucose release from the liver, aggravating diabetes. This is just one of the many diseases initiated with stress. Cortisol from driving the adrenals increases many cardiovascular complications. It also causes a weakening of the immune system and thinning of the mucous membranes, leading to multiple allergies and chemical sensitivities.
Don’t let life stress you out, get good nutrition, clean up your system, get adequate rest and exercise. You should be fully capable of taking on any activities life presents you this summer. Get out and enjoy life. God loves you and His desire is for your good.

05/13/2022

Where's your Trust?

When you look at this psalm, the part we’re responsible for is to speak and claim our trust and faith in God. Verse 2: “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
These days I continually see where the trust people have is directly related to what they’ve been focusing on. In the book of Hebrews we see where faith comes from hearing. So with this fact in place, consider where your faith lies. What have you allowed to be your truth? Is it pharmacy and vaccines? If so, consider the source of input allowing that to be what you rely and depend on.
When I was younger there were television shows like Dr Kildare back in 1938 (no, I’m not that old), and Ben Casey, in which these doctor shows portrayed doctors glorified, being like Gods. These shows failed to show the true nature of all the failures from medical treatments and medications. The reliance on doctors and drugs quickly directed people to put all their trust in these areas.
Today, we’re closely tuned to the words of medical directives with hopes of staying well and not succumbing to whatever sickness is going around. Unfortunately, the present medical advice is coming from a direction of greed. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the pharmaceutical companies are getting rich over the fear mongering propagated by the likes of Fauci and the rest.
Our bodies have been created with great wisdom, and the function of our immune system can’t be compared to anything pedaled by drug companies. As I uncover more and more information regarding the dangers of these present shots, and the intent behind these campaigns, and then share this information, even with loving family members, they refuse to hear any of it. I think of the term used in the movie Bambi, they’ve been twiterpated.
It’s critical we align our hearing with truth. When we hear the term ‘follow the science’ what I really hear is ‘follow the money’. The pharmaceutical industry always has an answer to our health challenges, but their answer comes with a hefty price tag. That’s not just the price in dollars and cents, but in damaged health.
It’s not uncommon to see each drug given followed by another and then another. When I visited the VA after going on medicare I think it surprised the doctor after he saw how abundantly healthy I was. He wanted to know what medications I took. I told him I’ve never taken any medications. That’s God’s best for us.
God’s medicines are found in foods created from the earth as well as the thoughts and intents of the heart. When we allow the thoughts of the world to invade and take up residence in our hearts and minds, it opens a door to any and all sicknesses and disease. One of my favorite proverbs is #17:22. This is how it reads in the Passion Translation: A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul. But the one whose heart is crushed struggles with sickness and depression.
This is so true for the multitudes that are having to take anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs. Their focus is on issues they can’t control. To see the unlimited joy often seen in kids with Down’s Syndrome, baffles people. Most would see the problem and allow that to impact their outlook on life, yet these kids must not be pondering over the stressors of life.
Can you give up your control on the issues around you and allow God to be God? All too often we find ourselves trying to save the world when we’re doing a rotten job just caring for ourselves.

05/10/2022

Avoid the sugar high and the crash later.

With more cases of illness being reported, we have to be proactive to stay healthy. It’s common to see a sharp rise in the cases of flu and colds around the time of Halloween.
Since sugar consumption tends to greatly increase as our little monsters bring home their trick or treat bags, we have to have a plan some strategies for disposing of their bounty before they totally infuse themselves with this illness causing garbage.
Often, we see mom and dad with their hands in the sugar bowl as well. Many can’t pass up these sweets when they’re readily available. Sugar can be every bit as addicting as he**in. Often times when an alcoholic tries to get off of alcohol, which is truly a form of sugar, they go for sweets.
I grew up in a household where it was considered a sin to waste anything. Trust me, throwing out this harmful stuff isn’t a waste. Just think about how much you’re going to have to spend on doctor visits and medication if you don’t get this out of your house.
In the past, the candy we purchased for the kids was what we would like, so that whatever was left over we might consume. Not anymore. Sugar creates inflammation in the body and the response involves increased immune surveillance.
When this happens, our natural defenses become taxed and are weakened. Confiscating the candy and trashing it is the best thing you can do for you and your family. No one enjoys being stuck at home with a fever. Besides the prospect of weakening the immune system, increased sugar consumption puts a much greater burden on the pancreas, manufacturing insulin to offset the rise in blood sugar.
Isn’t it interesting that zinc is instrumental in the production of insulin. The reduction of this mineral has been connected with diabetes, as well as loss of the sense of taste and smell. Deficiency is also connected with increased infections.
Sugar increases burden on liver function and is connected with fatty liver disease and gallbladder stones and infection. With all these issues, sugar doesn’t look so sweet anymore.
With the dramatic rise in childhood obesity, by taking authority over the consumption of sugar in our homes we can impact how our kids grow up. Educating them on good health and nutrition, with an understanding of why we avoid excessive sugar in our homes can go a long way toward their future.
An experiment was done with rats where there were two groups, being fed differently. One group got healthy rat chow, like they would find in nature. The other group was given only refined carbohydrates and sugar. Both groups were given the choice between either water or alcohol to drink. The group given the healthy foods completely avoided the alcohol, whereas the poorly fed rats avoided the water and drank the alcohol.
I know this may sound strange, but those addicted to unhealthy lifestyles could be due to unhealthy lifestyles regarding something seemingly simple as Halloween candy? We need to manage boundaries with our kids when they are still moldable. This means that the example we give them is huge. We can’t tell them one thing and then violate the very thing we told them. Our kids hear loudest with their eyes.
Grateful that we live far enough out in the country that we don’t get the trick or treat crowd, and don’t have to buy any of that stuff. I’d hate to hear that I’m drumming up business. Hand out candy and a business card with it.
I remember as a kid when people were honorable and wouldn’t ever consider harming a child. The good stuff was popcorn balls and Carameled apples. Unfortunately there had been many incidents of these items being tampered with, and injuring children. Helping Mom in creating these was half the fun of the event.
Handing out Immune system health packs to the kids would be a great idea, but a kids concept of that wouldn’t be much of a thrill. So just what can we do as concerned citizens who desire to spread wellness instead of sickness? I’m still trying to figure this one out for myself.
When the town would open business doors to the kids durning the day for their rounds, we’ve handed out pencils to the kids in the past. After all, they can use these in school. Balloons can also be something which kids like.
After their sugar high, bring them back down to earth with a good protein dinner with healthy fats followed by some immune supporting herbs like Echinacea or our cold and flu tincture.

05/10/2022

Real Vitamin C

In the past I talked about how the government labels vitamin C as Ascorbic acid. Understanding all the amazing qualities of real vitamin C is important to the degree you won’t rely on synthetic counterfeits.
As I shared, the toxic byproduct of plants being oxygen is only one element we require to live. If we continue to get hung up believing we need antioxidants, we’ll miss the true beauty of what the plant world provides for us. Is it any wonder that God put mankind in a garden?
If the act of taking a concentrated antioxidant can interfere with cellular respiration, we need to understand the amount of these, as they exist in nature, isn’t damaging to our systems. There are many elements we consume which are actually beneficial to metabolism in minute doses. This would include many toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
I often like to use the example of the watch, which has a main spring to power it. To try and force more than one mainspring into the watch wouldn’t work, but instead would interfere with it’s function.
When we analyze the content of a high vitamin C food like the rose hips shown in the picture, we find there are many components within it which our body requires to function properly.
For the body to manufacture collagen, the glue which holds our cells together, we need the complete vitamin C structure, not just ascorbic acid. Taking collagen as a supplement is a futile process, as this has to be fully ripped apart to access the basic elements for your body to use in creating your own collagen. Smearing a collagen product on your body hoping it will absorb it into the skin is another fallacy, and something the seller would like you to believe so you’ll waste your money on these products.
If you want to restore collagen production in your body, you must first digest protein with adequate hydrochloric acid in your stomach, and consume the complete vitamin C structure. Where do you find this? Think about the rose hips, this is something which is growing and producing cellular components which it has to protect against the oxygen it produces. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in all these components.
When we think of building bones and every other component of our body, we can often think of one of the first foods we consume. Vitamin C is greatly diminished in milk after it’s pasteurized. Breast milk is rich in this component along with a host of other nutrients. It’s been proven that if you feed a calf pasteurized milk it will die. Destruction of critical nutrients in a living food limits its benefit to our cellular structure.
If you were to stack a bunch of bricks for a bulkhead, it wouldn’t be near as strong as the bricks which were placed properly with mortar. This is the difference between trying to build bones with calcium and no vitamin C or calcium with vitamin C. Here again is the value of real, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Poor nutrition is the source of rapid aging.
Szent-Gyorgi is the original discoverer of vitamin C. In and article in the Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1937, he’s quoted saying, “In repeated tests found that Citrin or vitamin P from lemons or red pepper in fourteen days would clear up a hemorrhagic condition when pure vitamin C (ascorbic acid) from some other source was useless.” As he describes it, “The extracts were fractionated. The active substance, vitamin P, was found in the end as a fraction consisting of practically pure flavon or flavonal glycoside. Forty milligrams given daily for two weeks fully restored capillary resistance. Spontaneous bleeding ceased and capillary walls lost their fragility towards pressure differences.”
Recently I saw a patient who experienced an intracranial vascular hemorrhage. This would not have happened provided he had enough of the P factor from natural vitamin C.
When a chemist begins the study of any material, he has to dissect it to map the molecular structure. When finished, he tries to synthetically reproduce it’s construction. Natural vitamin complexes contain closely related principles found together in foods. The more we study these complexes, the more complex they appear. This is why synthetic and chemically purified vitamins are really not vitamins at all. They are only fragments of vitamins.
Just as highly refined foods create nutritional deficiencies, so it is with high potency low nutrient dense vitamin supplements. When someone comes in with a “Stress B Complex” bragging of 50mg of every B vitamin. What I see is a chemical cocktail which disrupts metabolism.

03/24/2021

The Gut Rules!

When you boil down the majority of issues patients suffer from, it’s not hard to see that a dysfunctional gut is usually the root of the greatest number of doctor’s visits, even when it doesn’t appear that way on the surface.
Since we must nourish our body with food, disruption of the ability to receive, digest, and absorb vital nutrients will ultimately have an impact on our health and vitality.
With acid blockers being a major component in so many peoples lives, it’s no wonder we see complaints arising from these areas. Top that off with various stressors in life, and now we double the potential. Add in foods with antibiotic content, and the destruction and alteration of normal intestinal flora tips the scale.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a very common disorder where the enteric nervous system, (a division of your autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for governing the function of the GI) is altered. This includes the contraction of muscles in the bowel, secretion and absorption of ions, as well as blood flow through and to the GI tissues.
Stress can trigger IBS. This stress can be anything which stimulates the GI tract including mental, physical and chemical, including dietary changes. These are seen to increase response of enteric nerve activity.
Our liver is intimately connected with these functions. Liver enzymes like ALT and GGT are usually elevated in patients with IBS. These elevations are frequently seen when undigested, or partially digested foods decompose improperly in the intestines with the created toxins being shunted to the liver, causing various degrees of damage.
Since the liver is important in creation of critical nerve repairing components like the phospholipids, neuronal damage without repair is a common occurrence. A poorly functioning liver is unable to remove toxins from the blood, ultimately affecting function of the nervous system. When the entire nervous system is impaired in it’s repair, there can arise increased hypersensitivity of the entire enteric nervous system as well as in the spinal cord and brain. This is why we often see issues of impaired memory, headaches, ADD, ADHD, anxiety, and depression when the gut is malfunctioning. Unfortunately, these issues are often addressed with symptom suppressing drugs.
Bacterial infections of the GI tract or SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) is a major factor in the cause of IBS. This is caused primarily due to foods not being fully dealt with in the mouth and stomach. This leaves food matter feeding intestinal bacteria to a point of overgrowth.
A statistical study showed that among examined IBS patients, 84% of them had SIBO and 66% of children diagnosed with IBS have SIBO. In SIBO or bacterial infections of the GI tract, the gut microbiome becomes altered, establishing changes of a pathogenic nature.
Intestinal pathogenic or unfriendly bacteria and the resulting bacterial toxins often affects the enteric neural function leading to disruptions in the coordinated rhythm of the intestinal muscles which contract and relax as food moves through. Constipation is presented way too often in my office.
Bacterial overgrowth produces a number of toxic compounds (peptidoglycans, D-lactate and serum amyloid A), which promote inflammation. The resulting inflammation can be systemic, affecting muscles, joints, nerves, and even the brain. This is why I often hear patients claim they experience relief in pain throughout the body when they finally fix the gut.
Studies have shown increased levels of intestinal permeability in both small and large intestines in IBS patients, regardless of the sub-type. A leaky gut allows increased antigen loads to enter through the intestinal epithelium. This is the border that’s supposed to selectively allow nutrition into the bloodstream while keeping bacteria out.
When these pathways are corrupted, it leads to altered gut function, minor inflammation, autoimmunity, and increased mucosal sensitivity seen in IBS patients. Leaky gut conditions allow bacteria and viruses to pass through the epithelium, resulting in irritated enteric nerves causing abnormal smooth muscle contraction with chronic diarrhea or constipation.
Protecting your digestive function and elimination is critical to every cell in your body. If you can’t deliver nourishment to your cells, you’re bound to have problems.

03/05/2021

When a pharmaceutical giant opts out of the billion dollar market.

The pharmaceutical giant Merck stopped it’s pursuit of a Covid-19 vaccine because statistics showed that people were better off catching the virus and recovering than taking the vaccine, and there were already vaccines out there.
It always amazes me when drug commercials rattle off all the potential side effects in their ads, many of which are worse than what the person is taking the drug for, that people would be open to taking these drugs.
When people will play the lottery hoping for a shot at being one in millions, can’t they see the odds of having the terrible side effects from these drugs is much greater than them striking it rich winning the lottery.
Here is a quote directly from CNN. “Pharmaceutical company Merck announced Monday it is discontinuing development of its Covid-19 vaccine candidates after early studies showed immune responses were inferior to natural infection and other Covid-19 vaccines.”
And from another source, “Merck said the decision followed data from a Phase 1 trial of its V590 and V591 vaccine candidates, which showed immune responses that were inferior to those seen in patients who were infected naturally, as well as those dosed by other COVID-19 vaccines. Merck said it will continue to develop its other coronavirus therapies, including its MK-7110, which received Emergency Use Authorization approval from the Food & Drug Administration late last year.”
When we continue to pursue chemical therapies over support of our bodies natural functions, we’re in for problems. Natural immunity is something our body is good at, provided we give it what it needs to function. This is why we see those promoting vitamins D and C, as well as immune strengtheners like zinc. These are just a small few that usually are depleted in today’s society.
All elements found in our body contribute to wellness. Sometimes we get more focused on one or two areas and over support them while ignoring the whole system. Trace minerals are those which aren’t in large concentrations like calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium. Some are so minimal they’ve taken years to be eventually realized as playing a major role in our health and life.
Minerals like chromium and vanadium don’t look all that impressive until we see insulin resistance and type two diabetes as a result of deficiency. The key which allows you to unlock your door or start your car may be small and insignificant until you finally need them, and can’t find them.
Modern agricultural practices have created soil conditions where the nitrogen fixers in the soil have been killed and the soil sterilized to the point the microorganisms are no longer viable to allow these minerals to be assimilated by plants. This is one reason why organic fruits and vegetables can be the difference between having these present or absent in your diet.
Because of this, I’ve relied heavily on things like Manganese B12 or Trace minerals B12 for patients who’ve displayed deficiencies in these areas. Manganese is a mineral which our bodies require, but only in trace amounts. This mineral is critical for the function of the pituitary as well as to strengthen cartilage and ligaments. Without it, we can have endocrine disruption as well as easily injured and degenerated joints. The rise in joint replacement is testimony of deficiency.
Minerals which aid in blood sugar balance like chromium and vanadium are found in mineral supports like Cataplex GTF. Often times, restoring these minerals is like finally discovering the missing key to unlock your sugar metabolism. Years of poor food choices can gradually strip these away.
When considering overall immune strength, each and every one of these elements play a role in prevention. As we’ve seen, diabetics are among the more susceptible when it comes to fatal outcomes from Covid. Since cellular metabolism is regulated by insulin’s ability to transport glucose into the cell, lacking these minerals opens the door to tragedy.
Zinc isn’t just for support of the immune system, but it’s critical for the production of bio-available insulin. This is just one area why zinc deficiency has been included as important in the defense against Covid. Zinc is one of the minerals found in the trace mineral and manganese product above. These I use for supporting endocrine function as well as immunity and structural integrity.
Obviously, our diet is primary in defense against any and all immune assaults. Depleted foods not only fail to provide these elements, but they rob the body of those contained in the cells of your body. Processed foods like sugar will, over time, strip these from your body.