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Family Health

Information, News, & Resources

Alternative Medicine  -  Cancer  -  Drugs & Medication

Health Insurance  -  Health News  -  Health Risks & Threats

Illness, Injury, & Diseases  -  Wellness

 Good Food & Healthy Eating  -  Emotional Health

Back to Family Health

Alternative Medicine

• The Alternative Medicine Homepage ~ Information on unconventional, unorthodox, unproven, or alternative, complementary, innovative, integrative therapies from the Falk Library of the Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh.

• Choosing Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Questions to Consider

• Choosing a Health Practitioner for Your Child

• The Cure Zone ~ Information on nutrition, diet, cleansing, alternative and noninvasive approaches to "incurable" diseases.

• HealthWorldOnline ~ Information on self-managed care, healthy living, and alternative therapies.

• Ten Commonly-Asked Questions About Alternative Medicine ~ Excellent article!

• Understanding the Differences Between Conventional, Alternative, Complementary, Integrative and Natural Medicine

Cancer

• Bacteria Can Lead to Cancer

• The Cancer Cure Foundation ~ Information about alternative cancer treatments, therapies, and clinics.

• Cancer Industry Spreads Fear and Disinformation ~ There is a war taking place in the cancer industry. It is an information war, and on one side is the established cancer industry, which wants to control the flow of information and censor any information that doesn't agree with their official position.

• Cancer Tutor ~ Information on alternative cancer treatments.

• Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer ~ Information on abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer.

• One Answer to Cancer ~ The metabolic process must be addressed, rather than the product of a defective metabolism.

• "War on Cancer": Why Does The FDA Deny Access To Alternative Cancer Treatments? ~ This article, winner of the 2002 Scribes Award, was originally published in the Fall 2001 edition of the California Western Law Review.  It discusses the folly of allowing the federal government to make medical decisions for millions of cancer victims especially children, the fallacies in the government's reasoning, the actual reasons for this centralized control, and the death and injury that results.

• You Are Never Told the Truth About Cancer

Drugs and Medication

Take Positive Action!  Give your doctor and pharmacist a list of all the medicines that you take, including non-prescription medicines.  Tell them about any drug allergies you have.  Ask about side effects and what to avoid while taking the medicine.  Read the label when you get your medicine, including all warnings.  Make sure your medicine is what the doctor ordered and know how to use it.  Ask the pharmacist about your medicine if it looks different than you expected.

• 200 Top Prescriptions ~ Top prescriptions by number of U.S. prescriptions dispensed.

• Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online ~ Information on how you can take advantage of the convenience and privacy of online buying while still protecting your health and your money.

• Drug Interactions:  What You Should Know (pdf) ~ Learn more about protecting yourself and your family from drug and common food interactions.

• Drug-Specific Information ~ Information from the FDA.

• Pharmacies jeopardizing patient privacy ~ Your medical information is being used, bought, and sold.

• Playing Chicken with Antibiotics ~ Overtreatment is creating dangerously resistant germs.

Health Insurance

Take Positive Action!  Know what your medical benefits cover.  If you have a managed care plan know about the plan’s grievance procedure and use it if you don’t feel you are getting adequate care.

• Finding Coverage Gaps in Health Insurance Policies

• Health Insurance Cost ~ U.S. health care spending is expected to increase at similar levels for the next decade reaching $4 TRILLION in 2015, or 20 percent of GDP.

• Insure Kids Now ~ Low-cost or free health insurance for children and teens.  Call 1-877-KIDS-NOW.

• Making a Killing: HMOs and the Threat to Your Health ~ Buy the book or read it online.

• The Myth of Health Insurance ~ The policy we choose to call "health insurance" is, in fact, a system of cost-shifting masquerading as a system of insurance.

• Simple Care ~ Health care program where physicians and allied health care providers can charge a lesser fee when the patient pays them in full at the time of service.

• Ten Ways to Reduce Health Care Costs ~ How to add value to the quality of your health care while reducing cost.

• Why Managed Care Hurts You ~ Managed care limits either the time or type of psychotherapeutic services offered you and also seeks to limit your choices in who you can see.

Health Risks & Threats

Take Positive Action!  Test your drinking water.  Eliminate the use of pesticides in your home and community.  Do not allow community mosquito-spraying programs.  Buy organic and non-genetically-modified foods.  Test your home for radon.  Use non-toxic household products.  Do not use toothpaste that contains fluoride.  Flu shots don't work -- don't take them!

• Avoidance of Toxic and Unhealthy Exposures ~ Sampling of unhealthy substances and hazards rating.

• Fluoride: The Deadly Legacy ~ Fluoridation is neither essential for good health nor protective of teeth. What it does is poison the body. We should all be asking how and why public health policy and the American media continue to live with and perpetuate this scientific sham.

• Free drugs from your faucet ~ How did tiny amounts of nearly every drug under the sun get into our drinking water -- and what are they doing to us?

• How to Protect Your Children from Environmental Health Risks ~ Scientists and health experts are increasingly concerned about the role environmental toxins play in childhood diseases. Asthma rates tripled in the 1980s, and childhood cancer rates have increased 10 percent over the last 20 years. Here are steps parents can take to protect their families from the five worst environmental threats to children's health.

• Our Children at Risk: The 5 Worst Environmental Threats to Their Health ~ This report identifies the special vulnerability of children to environmental hazards and highlights the growing evidence pointing to a link between pollution and childhood illnesses.

• Preparing for Biological and Chemical Terrorism:  A Practical Guide to Antibiotics and Their Usage for Survival ~  Comprehensive and informative article by Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz.  The antibiotic applications against germ warfare are intended to provide self-help strategies under emergency circumstances where professional care is unavailable.

• Recalls and Safety Alerts ~ Up-to-date information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

• Scorecard ~ Enter your zip code and find out what pollutants are being released into your community -- and who is responsible.

• Toxic and Nuclear Risks in Your Backyard? ~ Learn more about the potential risks you and your family may face from toxic chemical accidents and releases and nuclear waste in your community where you live, work and play.

• Trade Secrets ~ This PBS report reveals how the public's right to know the truth about the thousands of chemicals that surrounds us has been compromised.  On this site, you will read documents from a secret archive uncovered during a lawsuit against chemical companies.  Their own words show how they hid the truth about the health implications of their products from the public.  You will also see how chemicals pervade your daily life.  And, you will learn the right questions to ask and what steps to take to protect yourself and your family.

• What To Do in a Pesticide Emergency ~ Information from the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides.

Illness, Injury, & Diseases

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Youth ~ Chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) is a complex illness characterized by incapacitating fatigue, neurological problems and symptoms that can resemble many other disorders (including mononucleosis, childhood migraine syndrome, and Lyme disease).

• Chronic Neurotoxins ~ Information on chronic human illness (depression, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Sick Building Syndrome, Bell's Palsy, learning disability, endometriosis, sensory-neural deafness, low vision, Chronic Soft Tissue Injury and Post-Lyme Disease) caused by exposure to toxins produced by living organisms (biotoxins).

• Emotional Resistance to Physical Health ~ We know that stress can cause disease and that suppressed anger or fear can make us sick. Negative thoughts and emotions can depress us and affect our immune system.

• Germ Theory ~ Can you catch a heart attack?  Is cancer contagious? The conventional answer is no; these diseases are caused by bad genes and bad diet. But a revolutionary band of scientists thinks these sicknesses are actually caused by infections. If they’re right, it will be a medical revolution.  So why is the medical establishment dragging its feet on this issue?

• HIV Infection in Adolescents ~ The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is commonly believed to cause AIDS, ranks seventh among the leading causes of death for U.S. children 5- to 14-years of age and sixth for young people 15- to 24-years of age.

• Tired Children, Teenagers in Pain ~ Unexplained tiredness is oxygen deprivation in brain and other tissues.  Muscle pain is oxygen deficiency in muscles.

Wellness

• 7 Steps to Optimal Wellness ~ It's all a matter of choice.

• HealthWorldOnline ~ Information on self-managed care, healthy living, and alternative therapies.

• Herbal Care of Teeth and Gums ~ Your teeth are a reflection of your whole body.  If you are healthy, your mouth will be healthy.

• Make Health Your Priority -- You Deserve It! ~ The importance of attitude, nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, trust, air, rest, and temperance.

• Think Positive and Fight Disease ~ People who are moody, nervous and susceptible to stress tend to have a weaker immune system.

• The International Travel Medicine Clinic

BACK TO:  Family Health

Disclaimer:  Information contained in Focus Adolescent Services or on any linked sites is not intended as medical advice.  Its intent is solely informational and educational.  The information is not a substitute for talking with your health professional.   Readers are advised to exercise their own further informed review, judgment, and evaluation in the selection of any and all programs,  services,  and health information.

Health Resources

Alliance for Natural Health ~ Works to protect health freedom and the future of natural healthcare in Europe and beyond.

Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics ~ Non-profit, international organization solely dedicated to preserving the power of antibiotics.  Information on when and how to take antibiotics.

Alternative Medicine Foundation ~ Provides responsible and reliable information about alternative medicine to the public and health professionals.

American Association for Health Freedom ~ AAHF is the politically active voice at the federal level for Americans to have the right to access a full range of health care treatment and prevention methods.

American Chiropractic Association ~ Professional organization representing Doctors of Chiropractic.  Website includes health tips for consumers.

American College for Advancement in Medicine ~ ACAM's goals are to improve skills, knowledge and diagnostic procedures as they relate to complementary and alternative medicine; to support research; and to develop awareness of alternative methods of medical treatment.

American Holistic Health Association ~ Promotes holistic principles: honoring the whole person (mind, body and spirit) and encouraging people to actively participate in their own health and healthcare.

American Holistic Medical Association ~ Consumer information, AHMA Doctor Finder.

Americans for Free Choice in Medicine ~ AFCM promotes the philosophy of individual rights, personal responsibility and free market economics in the health care industry, and advocates a full, free market health care system by promoting medical savings accounts (MSAs) and tax equity for the individual.

Aspartame Victims Support Group ~ E-mail group where victims of aspartame poisoning discuss the issues of aspartame recovery and aspartame activism.  Visit Self-Help & Support Groups.

Center for the Advancement of Health ~ Health care should direct its energies toward treating the person, not simply the disease.

Center for Complex Infectious Diseases ~ Research and education on the  detection and characterization of viruses which have undergone a "stealth" adaptation to avoid elimination by the immune system.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ~ Federal agency that develops and applies disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities.

Center for Science in the Public Interest ~ CSPI’s primary focus is to educate the public and policy-makers about the critical importance of nutrition and food safety.

Coalition for Safe Minds ~  Information and advocacy organization founded by parents to investigate and raise awareness of the risks to infants and children of exposure to mercury from medical products, including thimerosal in vaccines.

Families for Natural Living ~ A source of information about more natural methods of birth, healthy living, and healthcare.

Gesundheit! Institute ~ Building a hospital/healing center that is based on generosity, compassion and interdependence.

Health Privacy Project ~ Dedicated to raising public awareness of the importance of ensuring health privacy in order to improve health care access and quality, both on an individual and a community level.

Holistic Pediatric Association ~ Supports parents and professionals for the pursuit of a safe, nurturing, and sensible holistic health care system for children.  Website includes articles and Parent Forum.

Institute for Health Freedom ~ Its mission is to present the ethical and economic case for strengthening personal "health freedom," defined as: The freedom to choose one's health care providers and treatments, and to maintain confidential relationships with one's providers, without interference from government or private third parties.

International Chiropractic Pediatric Association ~ Family health and quality chiropractic care for children.

International Coalition for Drug Awareness ~ Physicians, researchers, journalists, and concerned citizens dedicated to educating others about the dangers posed by many prescription medicines.

National Center for Homeopathy ~ Information about homeopathy for professionals and the public.

National Coalition on Health Care ~ Non-partisan organization working to improve America's health care.

National Foundation for Alternative Medicine ~ Research and education on alternative therapies for the treatment of degenerative diseases.

National Health Federation ~ Consumer-education, health-freedom organization working to protect individuals' rights to choose to consume healthy food, take supplements, and use alternative therapies without government restrictions.

NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

NIH National Center for Sleep Disorders Research

National Vaccine Information Center ~ Provides assistance to parents whose children have suffered vaccine reactions; promotes research to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness as well as to identify factors which place individuals at high risk for suffering vaccine reactions; and monitors vaccine research, development, policy-making and legislation.

Noise Pollution Clearinghouse ~ National non-profit organization with extensive online noise-related resources.

PACE - Protect All Children's Environment ~ Support for pesticide victims.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine ~ Excellent site featuring preventive medicine, diet, health, nutrition,  articles and research.

ProMED--mail ~ Global electronic reporting system for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases and toxins, open to all sources.

Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of Columbia University ~ Informed research and practice of complementary and alternative medicine and the development of a more comprehensive and inclusive medical system.

Vitamin C Foundation ~ Information about Vitamin C and health advocacy.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing:   A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and Food Supplements

Health News

Alternative Health News Online ~ Alternative, complementary, and preventive health news updated daily.

Free medical journals ~ Free access to medical journals over the internet.

Gary Null's Natural Living ~ The popular Pacifica Network talk show host, consumer advocate, investigative reporter, environmentalist, and nutrition educator explores the nature and politics of medicine, health, nutrition, and the environment.

Healthfinder ~ Health information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Spanish version is healthfinder® español.

Medline ~ Free and unlimited access from the National Library of Medicine.

Reuters Health Information ~ Comprehensive health news and professional medical news.

World Health News ~ A news digest from the Center for Health Communication of the Harvard School of Public Health.

World Health Organization (WHO) Disease Outbreak News ~ Breaking news on major epidemics and outbreaks.