NatureWorks Health Clinic

09/15/2021

My office in Renton is closed. But if you want to see me, I’m part of a great integrative health clinic, Heart of Wellness in Tumwater. www.heartofwellness.org (360) 570-0401

Heart of Wellness is a group practice in Olympia providing primary care, acupuncture, physical therapy and massage. Healing for the Whole You.

09/16/2020

I am now certified in HeartMath. It's a great mental health tool relying on biofeedback ideas to synchronize one's heart and brain. It is a good natural treatment (or adjunct) for depression, anxiety, ADD, PTSD, and stress. Telemedicine appointment available.

07/21/2020

Stress, negative emotions, anxiety, scattered chaos -- these are all energy depleting states - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. In these extraordinarily stressful unknowing times fatigue and worry can swamp your nervous system so that your Lizard Brain is constantly in charge. We all have access to a switch we can flip to turn off the activated (sympathetic) system and turn on the relaxing (parasympathetic) system. I have learned a biofeedback-type tool for one's emotional toolbox. I can teach it to you. Synchronize your heart and mind and regenerate your energy and mental and spiritual calmness, even in these trying times.

07/09/2020

Your risks from covid-19 remain extremely high regardless of age. Note in this report how they are using “whatever might work and won’t cause harm” including Vitamin C & D

Natural medicine still sees prevention as the best pathway to health and you cannot get any more preventive than masks, social distance, and avoiding unnecessarily exposing yourself.

Please note: lung damage is showing on x-rays of asymptotic carriers. The important take-away being: this is NOT "just the flu."

From: SCPD@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 11:53 AM
To: SCPD@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [SCPD] Info from 7/2 from Eisenhower Dr.

Begin forwarded message: From Donald Williams. A Sun City resident

From Dr Rick Loftus, MD
Virology-trained hospitalist and HIV researcher
July 2 update about Covid-19:

I'm in a hotspot hospital in a hotspot region (Coachella Valley, Inland Empire, CA). We just converted the entire second floor of our hospital to COVID-19 care yesterday, July 1. We have 65 inpatients with COVID-19 in a hospital with 368 beds. It is the same at our other 2 hospitals in the Valley.

We spent yesterday deciding the ethical way to divide up limited remdesivir (30 patients' worth) for the hospital patients.

My 20 incoming interns for our IM residency were exposed to COVID 2 weeks ago during their computer chart training; apparently 100% of our computer trainers had COVID19. One intern tested positive 7 days later and I insisted we re-test them all again, as there are almost certainly other cases with minimal symptoms.

I raided my household and took my entire supply of face shields to the hospital for the residents to wear on their first day, and I paid $1000 of my own money to equip all of my residents with medical-grade face shields. I require all residents to wear a surgical mask or N95 with face shield if they are within 6 feet of another human, patient or coworker.

Roughly 20% of our inpatients die. Only 30% of our ventilated patients survive. (We try to avoid ventilation at all costs. Some people insist on being full code and decompensate despite high flow with face mask, proning, dexamethasone, antibiotics, and a cocktail of famotidine, zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, NAC, and melatonin--we throw everything we can at each case, so long as it won't hurt them.)

My administrative assistant, who sits adjacent to the interns, just went home with COVID symptoms. Her test is pending.

In the Southwest, we are experiencing catastrophic exponential growth. I have had multiple families--siblings, parent-child, spouses--admitted with COVID-19. I had a 31 year old come in satting 78% on room air; he had been sequestering himself in his bedroom for a week to avoid infecting his elderly parents, with whom he lived. His sister, the only person he saw outside his immediate household in the 10 days prior to onset of fever, cough, and dyspnea, had also had fevers but had tested "negative" at our other large hospital so he thought it was safe to visit her. (Sigh. The Quest PCR test is about 80% sensitive, we think--it had emergency approval, so sensitivity data was not required. The Cepheid rapid COVID PCR test is 98.5% sensitive but is in short supply due to limited reagent availability.)

I'm glad some of you are sheltered from what unbridled COVID-19 looks like. It's a hell show. This is *July*. What do you think my hospital will look like in winter?...

This is real. Doctors in places with proper public health responses will see few cases in their hospitals--like UCSF--but let me tell you something: The laws of physics and biology don't change. If you're in an unaffected region, an introduction and poor governance and low use of physical distancing and masks will give you an exponential increase in no time flat (i.e. 2-4 weeks). That's pandemic math.

And 20% of the population infected needs a hospital. You *will* run out of beds with an unbridled pandemic.

There is almost ZERO pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2. There may be some "priming" of T-cell responses due to exposure to other "benign" beta-coronaviruses, but we have no idea if that explains the 20-40% of people who seem to get minimal symptoms. Asymptomatic infected persons, however, can, and do, spread COVID to those who die from it.

By the way: I've seen scary looking CT scans of the lungs that look like terrible interstitial pneumonia in a patient who had ZERO symptoms and SaO2 94% on room air. She came in for palpitations and the intern overnight got a chest CT for cardiac reasons. We didn't know it was COVID until her test came back 36 hours later. So "asymptomatic" does NOT mean "no biological activity." The virus replicates furiously in people who feel fine. Kids can spread this as easily as grown ups, even if they feel okay.

Related: I've talked to two previously healthy patients ages 32 and 44 who are 3 and 4 months, respectively, post their acute COVID. They continue to have cough, nightsweats, fever, fatigue. How many survivors have "post-COVID syndrome"? We don't know. Less than 20% but we're not sure. I've asked my hospital to allow me to establish a post-COVID clinic to care for and study survivors. Both NIH and UW are planning similar efforts based on my dialogues with them.

Autopsies show anoxic brain injury in many patients who died of COVID, not to mention microthrombi throughout the lungs and megakaryocytes in massive infiltrations in their hearts and other organs. People get heart failure, lung fibrosis, and permanent kidney injury from COVID-19. This is a disease of the vascular systems, and it can affect any organ, with lungs and kidneys being especially at risk.

In early May, thanks to lockdown, our census of 55 came down to 10 COVID cases, and for a brief moment, I actually had hope that the worst nightmares I had about COVID, as a biohazard virology-trained hospitalist, would not come to pass.

Then we re-opened, without test/trace/isolate systems anywhere close to adequate. Eight weeks ago my county decided to make masks "optional," despite 125 doctors begging them not to do that. Now we're worse than we were in April. And it's getting worse every day.

You wanna see if COVID is real? Come walk on my COVID ward with me. It's real. Hearing people talk about it as if it's an exaggeration is, well, rage-inducing, honestly. Denial is the most common reaction to a pandemic. Denial is how the US will wind up with 1.1 million deaths instead of 30,000.

I saw AIDS denialists get killed by their belief that HIV "isn't real, it's a pharma conspiracy of the medical industrial complex." Yeah, right, if you say so. I watched patients with those beliefs die.

The hardest part about this is, every new case I treat exposes me. I have assiduous hot zone technique. But no technique is bulletproof. If you keep exposing me to case after case, eventually, the virus will get through my defenses. I'm a 50 year old hypertensive. I don't expect to do well if I get infected. For now, I keep going to work.

I'm one of the few pushing forward on COVID clinical trials, basic science, public health messaging, and diagnostic studies at my hospital. I feel a responsibility to keep going. I wake up with nightmares every morning at 4am. But I'm going to keep going for now. I feel very alone a lot of the time. People are not taking this seriously, and it's costing lives. -R

"Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after a pandemic will seem inadequate. This is the dilemma we face, but it should not stop us from doing what we can to prepare. We need to reach out to everyone with words that inform, but not inflame. We need to encourage everyone to prepare, but not panic." — Michael O. Leavitt, 2007

--
Richard A. Loftus, MD
--

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05/12/2020

The US has surpassed 1.35 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. All these cases are not for naught. Very smart natural medicine scientists/clinicians have been busy putting together cogent, effective medical approaches to reducing COVID-19 misery. For instance, we've learned we have to approach the virus in 4 phases - prevention, infection, modulating inflammation, and recovery. Each phase requires different supplements and approaches to impact separate distinct disease processes. The naturopathic community has identified these stages and they take us a step closer to having treatments for the illness.

04/26/2020

The impression left by listening to any news is that there is very little that can be done about COVID-19 other than hide in your house and wait to see how you do when you get it. The main treatment for it that we hear a lot about is an ICU with a ventilator. But we are not just sitting ducks. There is a great deal you can do proactively to help yourself and your family.

Naturopaths have been dealing with viruses and working with people to improve their health resilience for decades. We have learned from sages of old as well as from modern science,and we are uniquely prepared with a wide arsenal of tools at our disposal to help you avoid, prevent, and address this virus in our midst as well as lengthening your longevity.

The beginning place is to address underlying "comorbidities" such as heart disease, diabetes, or lung/digestive weaknesses. Many of my patients were working on these issues prior to virus outbreaks and they are health issues that continue needing attention. There are steps to take to improve immune responsiveness and methods to reduce inflammatory or toxic stresses that keep a person rundown. Improving your nutritional status and increasing your physical stamina also will be beneficial on many levels.

Make an appointment with me to talk about all this and let's put together a wellness strategy. You don't even have to leave your home. I can do a video conference with you wherever you are. So, stop putting it off and let me hear from you.

04/09/2020

One of the glaring curiosities I've observed about the pandemic is how easily dealing with a virus came to occupy everyone's attention while other kinds of health concerns seemed to vanish.

What are you doing to improve your health during this distancing time? Are you feeling healthier due to more exercise, easier schedule, cooking more whole foods? Or, are you sitting a lot in front of a screen passing the time of day munching on junk food?

It might be a good time to do a little age check. This is one of several self-assessments I suggest to those I coach on health: Estimate your biological age vs. chronological age: https://growyouthful.com/gettestinfo.php?testtype=quizb

Biological Age Test Is your mind and body biologically younger or older than most other people of your calendar age? This free biological age test will estimate your body's real age, compared to your chronological age. This Real Age Test asks 140 questions to estimate your biological age in years. T...

04/01/2020

Telemedicine has to be the best thing since the internet. You can stay at home in your pajamas and you don't have leave your house. You can get a caring conversation with me instead of laying awake worrying or searching the internet for answers. We can discuss anything bothering you or we can develop a "You Specific Plan" to build your (and your family's) immunity or start a get healthier plan you've been putting off. Call for details or to make an appointment

03/21/2020

I'm just letting you know that, even though I am not seeing patients face-to-face during the pandemic restrictions, I am scheduling telemedicine appointments via ZOOM. You can arrange an appointment with me via e-mail, text, or phone.

03/19/2020

As life with COVID-19 winds on, many scientists are gaining ground on understanding many more of the specifics and idiosyncrasies of this never seen before virus. Some of the immune system's interactions with this particular virus are becoming clearer and some of the info runs counter to our usual approaches to addressing viral infections. In a very literal way, COVID-19 is a smarter more clever trojan horse that sneaks past, and even uses, parts of our immune system against us. Chris Masterjohn, PhD has written a long article about these findings. I give the briefest of a practical summary here..

New information reveals that classic anti-viral approaches relying on Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Vitamin C are not as effective against this novel virus as they traditionally have been against Colds and Flus. This virus is a different beast -- which again raises the point that coronaviruses are in no way "like a cold or flu." Based on Masterjohn's information, I am taking back what I posted previously about preventive supplements. It appears that Vitamin C, D, and A are not helpful.

What does look lots more helpful now is:
ELDERBERRY: 700-1000 mg a day in lozenges, tablets, or syrup. Elderberry appears to inhibit the virus' ability to adhere itself to lung cell surfaces.

ZINC: 40-90 mg per day in divided doses through the day. Zinc does retain it's charm as a interference to viral replication, so it slows the virus down. Zinc supplements or any form except oxide or picolinate is one way to get this. If you like oysters you can get the minimal level of zinc from them 2 eaten 4x a day. It is also good to include part of the zinc from lozenges that you suck on as this allows zinc to wash over mouth and throat affecting those entry points for the virus. Whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes impair zinc absorption, so do not consume them together.

COPPER: Copper needs to be supplemented alongside zinc in a 1:15 ratio -- 1 mg copper to 15 mg of zinc. In addition, while the virus can survive on most surfaces for as much as 9 days, on copper/brass surfaces it lasts only 5-30 minutes. Some zinc supplements also contain copper. You can also get 2 mg of copper from: 25 gm of spirulina, 50 gm of cocoa powder, 50 gm of 90% dark chocolate, or 40 gm of sh*take mushrooms.

Allicin from garlic - 180 mcg. You can get this from crushing 1 clove of garlic or 4 gm of garlic powder and letting it sit in a small amount of water for 5 minutes.

Echinacea (500-900 mg daily in divided doses) and no more than 150 mg of Vitamin C daily are also his recommendations.

If you would like Masterjohn's 41 page article with his references message or email me.

,

03/14/2020

There is almost a stampede panic brewing for testing of the COVID-19 virus. And if you’re one of the people obsessing over having to know if you “have it,” take a deep breath and let me introduce you to your upper logical brain.

The Test, so many are demanding, does no any one individual a whole lot of good. There is no (conventional) treatment. The only conventional treatment there is is to quarantine the positives. Sadly, going to the hospital, even with severe disease, is not going to net you treatment for the disease- it will mainly just pallatively sustain your breathing functions long enough for your body’s immune system to cure you.

Testing is valuable for the epidemiologists and researchers to understand the spread, means of disease transmission, degrees of contagion, characteristics of the disease, and hospital planning — info important to eventually getting the pandemic under control. It doesn’t inform (right now) what you “can take” to fix it for yourself or loved one.

Those who know me & how I practice know that I’m not a big lab testing oriented dr. I’ve always gone by the axiom that if a lab test will change or inform the treatment, then do it. If there is no treatment, or if a treatment will fix whatever may be causing the symptoms then just do it- why waste time & money on getting a precise diagnostic label?

COVID-19 is a virus. It does what a Coronavirus (and flu and colds) does. They attack cellular processes in the sinuses, nasopharynx, and lungs. While there are a handful of anti-viral medications for specific viruses (e.g. Tamiflu), there are none that work for COVID-19. So, the two approaches to care are conventional or naturopathic.

Conventional care involves use of bed rest, fluids, NSAIDS for fever/body aches, and cough remedies. Basically, symptom management until your immune system gets antibodies built to wipe the virus out.

Naturopathic medicine uses some of the same for symptoms. We add herbal & nutritional support that increases immune fighting capacity. Toxins, sugar, smoking, excess weight, poor lifestyle all devastate immunity and organ function. There are at least 100 different ways to fight a bacterial/viral/fungal infection. None of them require knowing the result of a COVID-19 test.

In fact, you can start some of them now while you’re still free of symptoms so the virus, if it comes your way, has an uphill fight of its own to cause you grief. Simple basics:
1. Don’t eat any sugar
2. Get more rest
3. Eat lots of vegetables and 1/4 of your body weight in grams of lean protein.
4. Increase Vitamin C, D, and Zinc. 4,000 mg C, 10,000 IU D, 30 mg Zn.

And since public health has the public quarantine train leaving the station, listen to it and take advantage of it to stay out of the contagion’s way.

Stay well!
Mark

03/12/2020

There are a number of people who still believe that all the measures state governments are taking to stem the COVID-19 pandemic are overkill. The fact of the matter is nobody in the United States knows just how bad we have it. Had our global surveillance programs not been defunded, or the CDC leadership decimated we MIGHT have had the testing and monitoring in place to have avoided this abysmal situation where everyone is now flying blind by the seat of our pants. Staying with the flying metaphor, we don't where the nearest landing strip is, so we have no choice but to take extreme measures. The more we all do our part to make all the measures work, the sooner we'll see the end of this mess. Here are some thoughts to protect yourself -
1. Wash your hands has been said ad nauseum. Every single place where you think other people's hands could have been is a surface from which your hands can transfer viral particles into your nose, throat, and lungs. I don't think it's going too far to wash off all items you buy at the store while you're washing your hands when you come home.
2. Vitamin C has been used effectively in China to treat COVID-19. They were using intravenous C however. That is different from oral, but the fact they could treat it that way suggests that keeping one's vitamin c level up may impair viral replication. The better it can be slowed the better chance your body's immune system has to make the antibodies it needs.
3. Colloidal Silver kills viruses and bacteria. You can put it in a nasal spray bottle and spray it up your nose, swish it in your mouth and throat to kill any virus you might pick up from hands.
4. If you're sick or feeling like you might be getting sick -- stay home, isolate yourself until you know for sure. Better safe than sorry.

We'll get through this. We are not the first population that has had epidemics with which to cope.

03/03/2020

There are a number of different Coronaviruses (for which there are tests.). They all tend to be attracted almost exclusively to lungs. COVID-19 is a new variant, which required a new test that is still only marginally available in the U.S. The human immune system has not encountered COVID-19 before. Once a person is exposed the immune system begins constructing the antibodies against it. This is a process that takes time - often a week or more. These viruses, like rhinoviruses (common cold), are easily transmitted person-to-person by respiratory droplets that linger on surfaces for as much as a week.

Managing this illness is almost identical to the way natural medicine addresses all viruses, Avoid sugar. Increase zinc (as it slows viral replication.) Include the many different immune system tonifiers. Focus on including lung specific herbals - elderberry, lungwort, thyme, and rosemary with essential oils including eucalyptus, conifers, tea tree, and menthols. Drink lots of water. Use over the counter cough remedies if needed.

Public health advice for preventing transmission should be adhered to. Cheap paper masks do not filter the tiny viral particles and it adds to the waste stream. Think about using scarves or handkerchiefs/bandanas over your nose and mouth mostly to remind yourself to keep your hands away from your face. Your hands are the primary transit system viruses hitch rides onto to get inside you. Wash them often and be conscious of where other people's hands may have been.

Call me if you need help or more specific advice to your situation.

02/15/2020

"Food is consciousness -- concentrated, intelligent energy that nurtures our body, mind, and spirit." - Deepak Chopra

Take a hard look at a few of the ingredient lists of foods you have sitting in your refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards. Count the ingredients and then count the number of them that are not recognizable food items or sugar(s). Sugar and chemicals are not intelligent energies. They are drains on your health. They steal away your organ reserves opening you to the creep of chronic illness. This creep is the "curse of aging." Nobody needs to go down that road, and if you are already down that road a ways, you can reverse it. Naturopathic medicine always begins with diet.

11/21/2019

We're deep into Autumn soon to be buried in holiday foods and parties. Right after the New Year a lot of people have on their To-Do list addressing their neglected health. An excellent way to kick start that is through some diet changes, weight loss, and detoxification. I have a program to set you up for success with those goals. So if you're interested, get hold of me and I can go over the basics with you on the phone.

08/17/2019

A little NWHC manifesto: You won't find many clinics that state this out loud - or even believe it:
1) You are the world's leading authority on your health - on your healthy experiences, on how your body works, on what you want put in your body, on what health goals you seek and how to arrive there.
2) To the best of my ability, I will protect the sanctity of the office from political and profit-motivated interlopers who try to weigh in on your health care decisions. (Limitation: they do have a few pretty powerful thumbscrews.)
3) There is zero judgement about the choices you have made or will make - past, present, or future. All your healthcare choices -- including those concerning lifestyle, pregnancy, and vaccination -- are acceptable because patients here are intelligent, knowledge-seeking, and they take responsibility for their choices and seek the best options for their and their family's spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health.

08/12/2019

To fly in the face of widespread health concepts -- coffee is not bad for your health. In fact, according to hundreds of scientific studies coffee acts as an excellent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and even an anti-microbial. Studies show benefits to the cardiovascular system and biliary (liver) system; acting as a cancer preventive substance in breast, colon, and prostate cancers. Toxins creep into coffee - like mycotoxins and acrylamide -- so it's important to get organic and gently roasted coffee. Interesting part of many of the studies: most health benefits are not related to caffeine; it works in either caffeinated or decaffeinated.

For an excellent organic, medium roast without mycotoxins check out www.puritycoffee.com and if you order some use MARKF in the coupon box and get 10% off.

04/20/2019

A recent study out of Canada found that 1 in every 5 children ages 4-17 have mental health problems. Worse, less than 1/3 had access to mental health care. I'm sure the stats are no different in the States, and perhaps worse.

Mental health care must stop being viewed as a rare aberrant stigmatized condition. What would it be like if instead it was seen as simply another health condition like what happens in any other part of the body?

There ARE ways to effectively prevent mental health issues in all ages, and like most illnesses: the sooner they are addressed the less impact they will have personally, familially, and socially.