Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Articles from Bette Dowdell | Selfgrowth.com
- The Endocrine System is King of the Hill - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2009 from Bette DowdellProblems of the endocrine system are everywhere, often unacknowledged and untreated by most doctors. People talk freely about the thyroid, and they should; it’s estimated 40% of us have thyroid problems. Adrenal fatigue is in style–and uglier than massive shoulder pads ever were–so we’re ...
Views: 1616 - ***The Misery of Nerve Pain - by Submitted on Sep 24, 2014 from Bette DowdellJane asks: "Will you please write about neuropathic pain and ways to alleviate it?" Neuropathic pain, a form of neuropathy, comes from nerve damage that causes pain, tingling, and burning–alternately or all at the same time. Some liken it to electrical shocks. It's estimated that more than ...
Views: 1606 - This Is Your Endocrine System: Adrenals - by Submitted on Mar 09, 2010 from Bette DowdellWe have two adrenal glands, each perched atop a kidney. With your spine dividing your back in two, you can locate a kidney in the middle of each half, with the bottom of the kidney right around the bottom of your rib cage. A few inches above that sits an adrenal gland, topping the kidney like a ...
Views: 1598(2 votes) - Autism Wars - by Submitted on Apr 03, 2009 from Bette DowdellWanna choose sides in the latest autism war? One side says the mother’s lack of Vitamin D during pregnancy causes autism, while the other side says it’s the glutamate that’s in the many immunization shots babies and young children receive. Let’s take a look-see. Autism comes from brain ...
Views: 1572(1 vote) - Talking About Aging and Disease - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2009 from Bette DowdellPeople in the health biz throw around the lingo as if everybody has a clue. Well, some do, but some don’t. And even those that do may recognize the word without understanding its meaning. So, lets talk some terminology. Especially about things that drag us down–including body parts that ...
Views: 1569(2 votes) - Six Ways to Get Your Energy Back - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2012 from Bette DowdellSo, there you are, dragging your patooty through one grey day after another, wondering where your brain went, why your body aches and if you’ll ever feel good again. Even if your doctor checked for thyroid problems, and the flaky blood tests actually found the problem, you probably ended up ...
Views: 1566(2 votes) - Thyroid Tests and Vaccines - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2009 from Bette DowdellThe latest thing in medicine is the ‘fact’ that all medicine is based on solid, scientific evidence. Excuse me? At least 70% of all medical practice has no scientific basis, relying instead on tradition, rumor and best guess. Meanwhile, doctors, according to the latest statistics available, ...
Views: 1566 - Thyroid Problems - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2009 from Bette DowdellBack in the olden days–say 1960–doctors diagnosed thyroid problems by asking about symptoms, then working to alleviate them. Simple system, that. And it worked for the 20% of the population with flaky thyroid glands. Ah, but then blood tests, purportedly able to diagnose thyroid ...
Views: 1561 - Phthalate: The Hidden Poison - by Submitted on May 26, 2009 from Bette DowdellHave you been reading about phthalate? (Phthal as in thal, rhymes with Hal.) Yikes! Talk about your basic poison! This stuff is murder! Phthalate is a “softener” added to plastics, cosmetics and everything else they can lay their hands on. It goes without saying that it knocks the ...
Views: 1557 - I Feel a Sigh Coming On - by Submitted on Nov 27, 2011 from Bette DowdellWe moved a lot, so I went to ten schools in twelve years. I was always the new kid. Take it from me, most teachers are a whole lot less than delighted when the new kid turns out to be a loud, energetic tomboy who doesn’t pay attention, but still scores the highest test grades. As if that ...
Views: 1552 - ***How Much Protein Do You Need? - by Submitted on Jan 06, 2015 from Bette DowdellThe government’s food pyramid and leading poobahs recommend that we eat very little protein, which is a no-science, no-facts recipe for disaster. In fact, most politically-correct thinking about health leads to poor health, even disease and death. How much protein you need is a case in ...
Views: 1549(1 vote) - It's Not Your Grandmother's Chicken Anymore! - by Submitted on Apr 21, 2010 from Bette DowdellDoesn’t just about everybody like chicken? And doesn’t it bring up memories of the family around the table, enjoying a wholesome meal and good family time? Chicken’s the inexpensive choice, with thousands upon thousands of recipes singing its praises. Well, those were the good old days. I ...
Views: 1548(2 votes) - ***Hypoglycemia: First The Truck Hits You, Then You Pass Out - by Submitted on Jan 13, 2015 from Bette DowdellMost of us know that our bodies create insulin to handle the sugary treats we eat. And most of us know we get diabetes if our insulin can’t get the job done. What few of us know is what happens when insulin does its job too well. It’s hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, and it’s the pits. I’ve ...
Views: 1544 - ***Vote For Your Health - by Submitted on Oct 27, 2010 from Bette DowdellBette Dowdell Medicine is a mess. Doctors don’t even try to heal chronic illnesses, content to treat symptoms instead. Probably because that’s all they learned in medical school. But it means their patients--that's us--drag through life, out of gas, running on fumes. Even worse, while some ...
Views: 1534(1 vote) - Vitamin C: Good for What Ails You - by Submitted on Jun 02, 2009 from Bette DowdellDid you know that some animals produce their own Vitamin C? They never get heart disease. No atherosclerosis. No heart attacks. Just singing a song all the day long. Sad to report, humans aren’t part of that happy group. Heart disease runs rampant amongst humans. Hark, Sherlock, might that ...
Views: 1523(1 vote) - What Causes Digestive Dismay? - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2012 from Bette DowdellPerhaps you’re familiar with setting modern indoor speed records to get to the bathroom. And maybe you know about foods racing through your system, stopping only long enough to liquify before demanding “Out! Out!” I could go on, but if you spend time thinking about your digestive activities, ...
Views: 1515 - The Case of the Sun Screen Killer - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from Bette DowdellSome years back, about thirty or so, the medicos labeled the sun an enemy agent. We all needed to slather on sun screen all day, every day, or risk dying of melanoma in slightly more than a trice. If, like me, you’ve lost a loved one to melanoma, you reacted quickly and positively, making sun ...
Views: 1510 - One Size Never Fits All--Especially in Medicine - by Submitted on Sep 15, 2009 from Bette DowdellI’m one of five siblings, and we’ve all had heart surgery. Like most people with heart problems, none of us ever had any of the so-called risk factors. No high cholesterol. No high triglycerides. No high blood pressure. Nothing. My ‘turn’ arrived on Christmas Eve, 2005. Of course, nobody ...
Views: 1490 - Could it Be Lyme Disease? - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Bette DowdellA dismayed grandmother said her precious grandson was diagnosed and treated as autistic–when, in fact, he has lyme disease. She reports that a recent study said 90% of California kids diagnosed with autism actually had lyme. Then she asked the jackpot question: How come doctors don’t know ...
Views: 1489 - ***The Problem With Medicine - by Submitted on Dec 10, 2010 from Bette DowdellSenator Patrick Lehman and Representative Henry Waxman rush about, day after day, year after year, to do Big Pharma’s bidding. Let’s talk about where this takes us. Big Pharma, the major pharmaceutical companies, is about money. They advertise their wares as wonders created especially to ...
Views: 1476 - ***Bette’s Excellent Adventure - by Submitted on Dec 02, 2014 from Bette DowdellMold is my enemy, and it’s everywhere! In fact, it lives in all the soil, in all the world. Well, you ask, if mold lives in the dirt, how can it jump up and attack? Ah, my little chickadee, it has no need to do anything. The gentlest breeze wafts mold spores into the air where they weasel ...
Views: 1472 - Vaccinate or Else! The Vendetta Against Health - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from Bette DowdellI read that the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill mandating vaccinations of all sorts. And if the good citizens of Massachusetts decline the honor, they get smacked with a $1000 a day fine. Now, Massachusetts proudly passed socialized medicine statutes a few years back, so the Senators ...
Views: 1472 - The Nutrition Powerhouse We Laugh At - by Submitted on Oct 02, 2009 from Bette DowdellSuper foods, by definition, have more nutrition per ounce than your average health food. Most health foods strut around, proud as a peacock of their power and glory, but when a super food shows up, they fold up their tails and take a back seat. Now, I’m talking a real super food. Some people ...
Views: 1465(1 vote) - ***Coconut Oil - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2014 from Bette DowdellWhat with all the publicity it’s getting lately, it probably won’t come as news to you that coconut oil’s pretty astonishing stuff. A medium-chain saturated fat, wondrous coconut oil blesses the socks off your body. First, since our endocrine system makes its hormones from saturated fat, ...
Views: 1457(1 vote) - In Praise of Cholesterol - by Submitted on May 24, 2009 from Bette DowdellCan we all get over our fixation on cholesterol? I mean, now that it’s clear that cholesterol isn’t what’s causing heart disease? But, but, but, if cholesterol is building up in my arteries, doesn’t that mean cholesterol’s the problem? Actually, no. Your cholesterol is simply trying to ...
Views: 1441(1 vote) - ***The Unknown Glands of the Immune System - by Submitted on Nov 19, 2014 from Bette DowdellOur thymus gland, leader of the immune system’s world, starts out strong, but as the years go by, sayeth the poobahs, it becomes a shadow of its former self, ending as just a few, lonely fat cells with no power, no glory. And that’s when cancer and other bad guys take us down. This is just ...
Views: 1440 - ***The Reach-Out-And-Touch-Everything Immune System - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2015 from Bette DowdellDid you ever wonder how your body protects itself from disease? More important, did you ever wonder how you could help get the job done? Well, you probably know that your immune system leads the battle against diseases. And you may even know this defense system is the most complicated system ...
Views: 1435 - ***The Wonder of Parsley - by Submitted on Oct 25, 2014 from Bette DowdellParsley is the Rodney Dangerfield of herbs; it gets no respect. Probably not even from Rodney Dangerfield. We’re talking NO respect. Once upon a time, most restaurants used parsley as a perky, colorful accompaniment on your plate, whatever you ordered. Most eaters ignored it, though, pretty ...
Views: 1432 - ***Death by Caffeine? - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2014 from Bette DowdellPerhaps you read about the death of John Jackson, of West Midands, England. The 40-year-old Mr. Jackson, unable to work because of advanced liver cirrhosis, the result of years of heavy drinking, is said to have died from eating mints. How could mints, specifically Hero Instant Energy ...
Views: 1406 - Ice Your Muscle Pain Away - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2009 from Bette DowdellMuscle problems tend to accompany endocrine issues, especially adrenal glands that can’t or won’t keep up. Of course, they also tend to accompany life as a jock or a do-it-yourselfer. But with endocrine people, muscles act up without a cause. As the song says, that’s life. Our muscles get ...
Views: 1405 - ***THIS SOUNDS WEIRD, BUT . . . - by Submitted on Jun 27, 2014 from Bette DowdellThe immune system is kind of a mystery. We don’t hear much about where any of our immune system parts are, what they do, how they do whatever it is they do, etc. Well, maybe you’ve heard of lymph glands. Perhaps a huge lump showed up on the side of your neck–which, you decide, ...
Views: 1384 - The Fluoride Fraud - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2009 from Bette DowdellEnough with the fluoride already! Communities began adding fluoride to our drinking water based on “scientific” studies–which turned out to be bogus–claiming fluoride would protect our teeth from cavities. Based on the same “science,” companies put the stuff in toothpaste. Fact is, fluoride ...
Views: 1374(2 votes) - The Mercury Contradiction - by Submitted on May 04, 2009 from Bette DowdellDid’ja ever get the feeling you’re in Wonderland looking for Alice? Where two plus two doesn’t equal four any more, and too much of what you see offers only puzzlement? For instance, our powers that be outlawed mercury thermometers. Better you shouldn’t know your temperature than risk ...
Views: 1374 - ***Facing Down Ebola - by Submitted on Oct 04, 2014 from Bette DowdellI tell you true, this Ebola thing is a mess, and the reactions to it are not promising. Medicine has nothing to offer, so they’re in a panic. Which means the media is beating a very loud drum about death and mayhem marching in shortly. Meanwhile, the President has sent soldiers, trained ...
Views: 1372 - Do-It-Yourself Brain Damage - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2009 from Bette DowdellEvery day of every year, people across the fruited plain engage in do-it-yourself brain damage. Sadly, they have no idea. How can this be? I’m glad you asked. First, some background: Along the bottom of the brain is a small, sort of pancake-shaped thingy called the hypothalamus. And ...
Views: 1368 - The Standard of Care Catastrophe - by Submitted on May 12, 2009 from Bette DowdellThe latest Big Thing in medicine is “Standard of Care.” It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? The name alone makes you believe that no matter what doctor you go to, there’s a Standard of Care ensuring a quality outcome. What a comforting thought. Clever name, that. The sad truth is ...
Views: 1365 - ***The Blank Slate Myth - by Submitted on Jun 05, 2014 from Bette DowdellHave you ever met people committed to the idea that babies arrive as blank slates. Beyond body parts, a lot of noise at one end and foul deeds at the other, babies, they believe, have nothing. No personality. No talents. No will. No inbred likes or dislikes. Just pure nothingness, a blank ...
Views: 1357(1 vote) - Is It Endocrine Problems? - by Submitted on Oct 15, 2009 from Bette DowdellChances that you have endocrine problems are fifty-fifty. It could well be that’s why you feel lower than a snake’s belly. How can that be? How do endocrine problems happen? Let me count the ways. First, let’s look at the pituitary, the master of the endocrine system. The Pituitary Society ...
Views: 1328 - A Shortage of Grownups - by Submitted on May 11, 2007 from Bette DowdellBabies show the world what selfish looks like. On a whim, they set up a wail loud enough to wake the dead–or at least it sounds that way at 2:00 a.m. No matter that others may be tired or sick or have to go to work. Babies want what they want when they want it. So stop sniveling. Some ...
Views: 1327 - How Good Timing Affects Your Health - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2014 from Bette DowdellFiguring out what we need to do for good health can get pretty complicated, but here are a few, easy-to-implement tips that pay big dividends for not so much effort. • If you’re still trying to lose the Freshman Fifteen after all these years, you’re more likely to get the job done if you ...
Views: 1313 - ***We Are Seriously Doomed - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2014 from Bette DowdellA while back, Dr. Steve Nissen, president of the American College of Cardiology, along with ten other prominent physicians, offered an outstanding proposal that would immeasurably improve medical care in this country. And what is this great idea? Take control of medicine back from Big Pharma, ...
Views: 1310 - The Cause of Constant Fatigue - by Submitted on Jan 22, 2009 from Bette DowdellI’ve been dealing with an underperforming pituitary gland most of my life–possibly from a seemingly minor head injury when a drunk driver hit my parent’s car during my eleventh month. However it happened, the deal is this: When the pituitary ain’t happy, ain’t ...
Views: 1310 - Job's Comforters - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2007 from Bette DowdellSo there you are in the middle of one of life’s train-wrecks–dazed, wounded, wondering what shoe–or bomb–will drop next, and up walks Job’s comforter. You may remember Job from the Bible. A rich, powerful man, a great father and good in every way was Job ...So ...
Views: 1307 - This Is Your Endocrine System: Thyroid - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2010 from Bette DowdellOur most well-known endocrine gland is the thyroid. Not nearly as well known is the fact that half the population has thyroid problems, mostly undiagnosed or mistreated. The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located by your Adam’s apple, controls metabolism and affects everything else. You ...
Views: 1296(4 votes) - One-Diagnosis-Fits-All Medicine - by Submitted on Apr 23, 2009 from Bette DowdellHere’s the scene: You go to the doctor dragging your patooty behind you. Your body got fat, but your hair got thin. Overwhelmed by a whole new definition of tired, you find yourself doing beached whale impressions while life goes to pot. Well, who could cope anyway? For all you know, your ...
Views: 1294 - Coffee: The Health Drink - by Submitted on Jun 16, 2009 from Bette DowdellConventional wisdom says coffee’s bad. Doctors agree. Magazines second the motion. You can hardly find a kind word about coffee. Which is just a tad bizarre because coffee is a health drink. Since nearly 90% of the U. S. population drinks the stuff, this comes under the heading of good ...
Views: 1281 - Does God Understand Life in a Cubicle? - by Submitted on Mar 02, 2009 from Bette DowdellOr, for that matter, does God understand what’s going on in the life of a road warrior sales person? Or life on a clanging, banging, push, push, push assembly line? Or on an oil rig? As part of a building crew? To tell the truth, the God of our Sunday School days kind of comes across as a ...
Views: 1262(1 vote) - ***A Closer Look at Protein - by Submitted on Apr 25, 2014 from Bette DowdellAll proteins are not created equal. For instance, animal protein provides more health benefits than plant protein. To make the imbalance larger, a lot of plant protein comes from soy. Besides not having the oomph of animal protein, soy is really hard on the body. It beats up your thyroid, ...
Views: 1261(1 vote) - ***Enemies Are Everywhere! - by Submitted on May 23, 2014 from Bette DowdellHave you been reading about phthalate? (Phthal as in thal, rhymes with Hal.) Yikes! Talk about your basic poison! This stuff is murder! Phthalate is a toxic “softener” added to plastics, cosmetics and everything else they can lay their hands on. For starters, it throws the endocrine ...
Views: 1259(2 votes) - What to Do When Life Dumps Lemons All Over Your Head - by Submitted on Jun 20, 2007 from Bette DowdellWe’ve all heard the old saying that goes, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Now there’s a thought. We surely have to do something with the lemons as they come along. Sucking on lemons takes the enamel right off your teeth, so we don’t want to do that. Letting ...
Views: 1255