Randi Allaire was an Information Management Specialist in the military for almost four years. Three and one-half years were spent with the Air National Guard as Information Management, the previous five and half was with the Army Guard as a Flight Operations Specialist.

As part of the military's program to protect their troops from chemical and biological weapons, Randi was required to take the anthrax vaccine. On March 14, 1999 she was given her fourth anthrax vaccine. It was after that shot that she has suffered chronic fatigue, memory lapses, migraines, pain in the forearms, and other aches and pains. She received no help with her condition and only denials that the anthrax vaccine could cause any of these problems and that the cause of her problems was likely the "flu" or too much "stress". She was eventually thrown out of the military because she refused to take the fifth anthrax vaccine shot in fear for her own personal health.

Aluminum is the most commonly licensed adjuvant that is added to a large number of vaccines. An adjuvant is a substance added to a vaccine to amplify the immune response. Aluminum compounds, which were identified over 90 years ago as adjuvants, are considered by the pharmaceutical industry and various government agencies as safe. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has continued to approve the use of aluminum as an additive to vaccines for many years.

Despite these assurances that aluminum and all vaccine ingredients are safe, large numbers of military veterans who suffer from Gulf War Syndrome as well as parents of children who suffer from various neurologic conditions including Autism strongly believe that the vaccines were often at least in part a cause of their health problems.

Three years ago a film came out of Hollywood that was conceptually great even if the execution was fatally flawed. Called Idiocracy, this comedy follows the mishaps of a character named Joe Bowers who is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but who, through a government hibernation experiment gone wrong, awakens to a society in the year 2505 that has become so stupid because of mass commercialism that Joe shines as a genius in comparison. After a predictable series of mishaps, the point is clear: We are on the wrong track in pushing dumbed-down, ‘me too' concepts and products. Society will only worsen, not improve.

Organic vs. Artificial

It is a lesson that modern-day fighters for individual liberty learned decades ago. In ensuring and protecting freedom for the individual, we create a better society. On a pragmatic level, individual liberty is a concept that sees the health and happiness of the parts as leading to the health of the whole - not the reverse. Put another way, individual liberty is organic - when not blocked artificially, it flows naturally and creates healthy relationships in an ever-expanding web of mutually-beneficial interactions among people.

On the other hand, much of today's political and economic structure is not organic but artificial. It comes from the Top down, not the bottom up. It does not flow naturally, easily, and quickly but with artificial constraints that are marked by dissension, delays, and waste. It is, by nature, coercive. ‘You do what we say because you have to and at the ultimate point of a gun. You do not do it voluntarily.'

photo by Julia Smith

If your baby were suffering from colic, would you treat him with artificially dyed and sweetened simethicone (the chemical in drugs such as Mylanta and Mylicon) or first try an emulsion of fennel seed oil? If your young daughter developed a persistent rash, would prefer the doctor to prescribe antihistamines or a diet rich in omega fatty acids?

More and more, it's likely you'd give the second choice a try. The big news is that mind-body pediatrics has come of age over the past generation. (Focus on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume XIV, No. 1: Winter 2007.) It's a trend that seems very appropriate for a generation of parents looking for foods without pesticides and cosmetics without solvents.

A major symptom of its acceptance is the publication of the first textbook book on Integrative Pediatrics, edited by the avuncular and reassuring Dr. Andrew Weil, the U.S.'s best known nonconventional medicine practitioner and spokesperson (Integrative Pediatrics, Oxford University Press, 2009). The august National Institutes of Health has set up a center devoted to its study (www.nccam.nih.gov/health) while the American Academy of Pediatrics has formed a practitioners' Section. And you can now find pediatricians across the nation who will use integrative practices to care for your children (www.aap.org/sections/CHIM/ParentResources.html, click on hyperlink to members, select Section on Complementary and Alternative, for a listing by zip code.; also, www.aaemonline.org).

Like many seniors Dolly made periodic visits to the doctor. During one visit she was put on Lipitor for what the doctor said was high cholesterol. A short time later Dolly experienced joint pains that the doctor said was age related. The doctor said that he could prescribe pain medication if necessary for her "touch of arthritis". When she spoke with her daughter Dolly found out that these medications could be the cause of the muscle aches. She decided to stop taking the Lipitor and the pains went away.

Years later Dolly was again put on another cholesterol medication called Zocor. Again she had complained to her daughter that she was having pains and trouble getting out of bed and walking. Her daughter took her to the new doctor and they talked about the problem. Dolly's daughter pointed out that these medications can cause muscle pains where upon the doctor said to immediately stop the medication. Interestingly a review of Dolly's medical records showed she did not have high cholesterol to even justify the use of these medications. Dolly is again pain free and is living her life with a normal cholesterol level.

Statin medications are among the most prescribed drugs in the world. Muscle pain, or Myalgia, is often considered by doctors and patients as a minor adverse consequence of taking statin medications. Observational studies have shown that 10% to 15% of statin users have some amount of muscle pain. A study in Canadian Medical Association Journal examined to determine if this statin associated pain was connected with any underlying muscle damage.

Postextubation cough, or PEC, although not life threatening causes considerable discomfort to the patients and can be associated with increased rate of postoperative problems. Adverse side effects can include increased blood pressure, increased and abnormal heart rate, and increased pressure in the skull and eyes.

Licorice, which is derived from the root of the Glycyrrhiza glabra has been used as an alternative medicine for the treatment of inflammation, allergies, and gastric and duodenal ulcers. Licorice has been shown to have anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory, and cough suppressive properties.

His parents, Denise and Jose, took their son to the pediatrician. After several visits he was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and more specifically with autism. PDD refers to a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication skills.

After his diagnosis, a pediatric neurologist saw Jonathan and performed and EEG. An EEG or electroencephalogram is a test to detect abnormalities in the electrical activity of the brain. Although there were no petit mal or grand mal seizures detected, as you would see in epilepsy, there was clear evidence of brain seizures.