Health and longevity is everybody's number one concern, and with millions being spent everyday on healthcare, it is essential to know what solutions are available. From massages to mushrooms, meditation to marijuana, there are literally millions of perspective antidotes to any and every health problem. In this blog, I will carefully accentuate or expose a different alternative medical solution in each post.
"You don't take Ibogaine and party: You take Ibogaine and throw up on yourself."
-Anonymous Ibogaine Therapist
This Ibogaine situation is oh too similar to the Pscilocybin mushroom situation. The reporter said it perfectly: The stigma associated with these hallucinogenic substances is stopping legislators from making progressive changes. Just because a few degenerates are willing to poison themselves for a cheap high, mushrooms and ibogaine are not being used in American medicine. These preconceived notions of negativity surrounding drugs are preventing us from researching their remarkable healing abilities.
Tabernanthe Iboga
Much like Psylobin mushrooms, Ibogaine can be found throughout nature. The acting psychedelic chemical is prevalent in many African plants -- mainly the Iboga -- and indigenous Africans have been using these plants for centuries. In 2000, the Tabernanthe Iboga was declared a national treasure by the nation of Gabon, so it seems not everyone shares America's view on the plant.
Of course, Ibogaine's legal status is not stopping people from experimenting. Just like marijuana and mushrooms, Americans are using Ibogaine medicinally behind closed doors. Although the market may not be as large as the others, there are dozens of Ibogaine therapists practicing in the US today. One instance of Ibogaine treatment in the media is in the award winning documentary Facing The Habit. This documentary follows "Dave", a former Wall Street millionaire, as he battles his heroin addiction with Ibogaine therapy. Dave's story is not glamorous; he fails to recover after his first therapy session due to lack of dedication, but eventually, focused therapy cures his addiction.
Ibogaine, not as 'natural' as it sounds
So why is Ibogaine still illegal? One key argument -- that I fully support -- is the lack of testing and research concerning the drug. The long term effects are simply unknown. If these potentially life threatening long-term effects are discovered after Ibogaine treatment is legalized, there will be dire consequences. There is still much to be learned, but this simply amplifies the importance of research. Hopefully we can uncover the mystery surrounding Ibogaine, before more Americans travel to Mexico for a potentially fatal treatment.
What are these people doing? Rebounding -- but that's just the short answer; I'll let Albert Carter, head of the American Institute of Reboundology, explain the long answer... "With Rebound Exercise, you also oppose gravity, but you also utilize two other natural dynamic forces found within our environment. Two forces which, for the most part, have been overlooked by other exercise methods. These forces are acceleration and deceleration. When your body stops its downward movement at the bottom of the bounce, the force of deceleration and gravity come into play. When the body begins its upward motion, acceleration is added to the other two forces. The physical human body doesn’t recognize these three different forces but simply accept the combination of the three forces as an increase of the gravitational pull of the earth. Logically, we know that increasing gravity is impossible, but the cells of the body don’t. Because all of the cells of the body have the capability to adjust to their environment, all of the cells of your body begin toadjust by becoming individually and collectively stronger.
Old fashioned exercise programs teach how you can strengthen the muscles of the body. Rebounding is an advanced exercise in that it is a cellular exercise. All cells of the body will become stronger. This includes all muscles, bones, skin, all connective tissues, all vital organs, muscles of digestion and elimination. Even the cells of the eyes are strengthened by rebounding.”
You must be thinking: "That's quite the statement, Al." Even I, an open book to exercise oddities, question his final statement: "Even the cells of the eyes are strengthened by rebounding." Sure, all that jumping around is great exercise, but for your eyes? This is one alternative exercise that needs some scientific evidence to supports the claims of the creator.
After reading many studies about the benefits Rebounding Exercise, I can safely say Rebounding is one of the most beneficial exercise options being practiced today. Some supporters go as far to say: it is the only exercise you will ever need, but these enthusiastic bloggers are about as reliable as Al Carter. But after further reading, the benefits of rebounding are hard to dismiss. Obviously all the lateral movement is terrific for your muscles and cardiovascular system, so it is the other benefits that truly intrigued me.
The most well-documented evidence supporting Rebounding's internal benefits concerns the lymphatic system. For those of you who are unaware of your body's mechanics: the lymph system is much like the cardiovascular system, but it serves as your body's metabolic disposal -- which is directly related to the immune system. While your cardiovascular system has a heart to pump blood, the lymphatic system relies purely on your movement to circulate its fluid. Therefore, the constant bouncing motion during Rebounding helps to stimulate the lymph fluid's circulation, thus cleansing and strengthening your body.
I first heard about this practice from my sister Emily. Her great condition supports the claims of Rebounding enthusiasts like Al, because Rebounding is her sole source of physical activity. Living in a one-room apartment in Washington, D.C., she has little room for an elliptical or treadmill, but her mini-trampoline fits in perfectly.
Ah, Yoga -- Squatting Dog, Standing Tree -- there is nothing like it. Although I must admit, calling my personal experience with Yoga "Limited" would be a stretch; there are many people in my own life who swear by Yoga's healing powers. And now, science confirms what the Indians have been saying for years (approximately four-thousand years).
As researchers continue to probe this ancient form of meditation, hundreds of studies are being released -- all praising the positive effects of Yoga. From the obvious, like stress relief, to the obscure, Yoga can have tremendous effects on the body. With these effects now well documented, many professional athletes are inviting Yoga into their lives; even our University of Rhode Island Rams football team includes Yoga in their rigorous conditioning regiment. I can safely say, no activity benefits both body and mind like Yoga, and with literally hundreds of forms to choose from, it is a healthy activity for everybody.
Unfortunately, not every girl in Yoga Pants is coming from their weekly session, but those who are will swear by its life-changing powers. Personally, it is these genuine testaments that prove the power of Yoga -- not the ground breaking research. During her own battle with cancer, my mother dedicated herself to a life of Yoga. Alongside traditional therapy, she used daily meditations, and the occasional retreat to Kripalu, to overcome her life threatening disease. Although modern medicine is the true savior, perhaps her "Oms" had an equal part in her amazing recovery. Now cancer-free, my mother claims she owes her life to this ancient exercise.
Dr. R. Andrew Sewell and Dr. John H. Halpern, Harvard researchers, are studying the effects of two substances -- psilocybin (found in certain mushrooms) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) -- on cluster headaches. Their work will be published in an upcoming issue of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In February, Dr. Sewell presented "The Effects Of Psilocybin And LSD On Cluster Headache: A Series Of 53 Cases" at the National Headache Foundation’s Annual Headache Research Summit. - About.com
The above video is a brief segment from an episode of National Geographic's Drugs, Inc. As a healthy young man, I cannot even begin to fathom the level of excruciating pain people like Dan are forced to endure day-in and day-out. He sums up just how serious these Cluster Headaches are when he says:
"I was trying to figure out what I was going to where when I put a bullet in my head -- that was a bad day."
Although I cannot empathize with Dan, stories like his formed the foundation of this blog. Cast aside by doctors and their traditional treatments, Dan's wife turned to the Internet, where she discovered this alternative solution to her husband's depression. Her independent pursuit of a cure is the reason Dan now lives headache free -- not some doctor's prescription. Because of his wife's willingness to try anything, Dan now swears by this treatment; as he discusses later in the segment, mushrooms literally saved his life.
The effects of Psilocybin (the active ingredient in these mushrooms) are truly miraculous, but with Dan's inspirational story comes larger questions. In the eyes of the law, Dan is a criminal. Technically, he could be arrested for felony possession of narcotics and even imprisoned for manufacturing this outlawed fungi. This, my friends, is absurd. Luckily, scientists have recently began to document the effects of Psilocybin on men suffering from Cluster Headaches. Just this past February, Harvard researchers, Dr. Andrew Sewell and Dr. John H. Halpern, presented their findings on this topic at the Annual Headache Research Summit; the details of the duo's study can be viewed by clicking the above link.
Now, with legitimate scientific research backing these claims, it will be interesting to see how the government's stance on Psilocybin Treatment is effected by the medical world's new outlook on the subject. Like I have said before, ignorance is the only thing stopping treatments like this from being integrated into the professional medical world.
