Chemical Exposures or Manifesto for a New Medicine

Chemical Exposures: Low Levels and High Stakes

Author: Nicholas Askounes Ashford

Chemical Exposures: Low Levels and High Stakes explains how day-to-day variations in chemical exposure may cause unusual and seemingly unpredictable symptoms, including many that have been termed psychosomatic in the past. It describes how everyday, low-level chemical exposures may cause fatigue, memory impairment, headaches, mood changes, breathing difficulties, digestive problems, and a host of chronic unexplained illnesses including chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War syndrome, and sick building syndrome. The authors are the first writers to clearly describe and document the process of adaptation, a concept that provides a rational and scientific basis for understanding these symptoms. In the Second Edition of this professionally acclaimed work, the authors offer evidence for an emerging new theory of disease-toxicant-induced loss of tolerance-which may have far-reaching implications for medicine, public health, and environmental policy. Based on a report commissioned by the New Jersey Department of Health that won the World Health Organization's Macedo Award, Chemical Exposures is the most comprehensive book ever written on sensitivity to low level chemical exposure and the many health effects associated with it. This work clarifies the nature of chemical sensitivity, shows how it differs from traditional allergies and toxicity, and suggests how federal and state governments can help those who are affected. The book identifies four major groups of people with hypersensitivity to low levels of chemicals: occupants of tight buildings, industrial workers who handle chemicals, residents of communities exposed to toxic chemicals, and individuals with random and unique exposuresto various chemicals. The fact that similar symptoms are being reported by members of these demographically diverse groups not only points to a serious problem, it may also contribute to a better understanding of chemical sensitivity. Included are a number of features that will be invaluable to health professionals: * Clear, concise explanations of technical material * The most extensive bibliography to date on the subject * Tables contrasting different medical approaches * Descriptions of recent research and proposed mechanisms * An annotated bibliographical appendix highlighting illnesses that have been linked to environmental exposures * Policy recommendations for federal and state governments "Clinicians and policymakers would do well to read and heed the advice of this book."-Journal of the American Medical Association "Clinicians, researchers, and policymakers in this field would be well advised to read this landmark book."-American Public Health Association Newsletter "A milestone in the evolution of multiple chemical sensitivity."-Chemical and Engineering News ".groundbreaking and accessible.balanced and scholarly.essential reading for risk assessors, physicians, psychologists, attorneys concerned with toxic torts, public health officials, regulators, government decisionmakers, medical and environmental researchers, as well as laypersons."-Journal of Risk Analysis

Booknews

Focuses on the origins and possible mechanisms of the condition of chemical sensitivity. The authors identify ways in which federal and state government can help those who are affected. They discuss the emerging theory of toxicant-induced loss of tolerance, and the patient exposure groups of sick veterans from the Persian Gulf War and women with adverse reactions to silicon breast implants. They do not address questions of therapy or provide a rationale for intrusive therapies. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Interesting book: The 3 Hour Diet or Style and the Man

Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies

Author: James Samuel Gordon

More than a third of Americans have already begun to explore alternative techniques such as yoga, meditation, nutritional therapies, massage, acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbalism, and prayer, but we don't know which approaches to trust, or what accounts for their effectiveness, and our doctors are not able to tell us. We want an authoritative guide to separate what's truly worthwhile from what's simply well promoted, to help us to see what's right for each of us. James S. Gordon is that guide, and Manifesto for a New Medicine is that guidebook. For the last twenty-five years, Dr. Gordon has pioneered an approach to healing that synthesizes the best of modern, scientific medicine with the best of the alternative techniques. Here he leads us step by step through convincing and absorbing case studies of the successful use of these alternatives, presenting clearly and simply the scientific bases for them. He also shows us how each of us can incorporate alternative therapies as an integral part of our health care and our daily lives.

Library Journal

Gordon, chair of the advisory council to the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine, takes aim at the current abyss between the orthodox biomedical community and alternative practitioners. Advocating a compassionate partnership between the two, he builds a case for collaboration through client studies and persuasive personal testimonies of healthcare victories. Gordon encourages communication and cooperation between these two worlds to address the drawbacks of an illness-oriented medical model burdened with the costs of chronic care. Historical forces of the wellness movement, principles of self-help, and concepts of teamwork are woven into a tapestry he calls the "therapeutic partnership." Gordon issues an important mandate for an integrated and individualized biopsychosocial medicine to meet the future clinical needs of the nation. Written for the medical and allied healthcare communities, this book is recommended for any healthcare provider interested in comprehensive care.Rebecca Cress-Ingebo, Fordham Health Sciences Lib., Wright State Univ., Dayton, Ohio

Table of Contents:

	Acknowledgments
1	Time for a Change	1
2	Biomedicine and Beyond	19
3	A Healing Crisis	33
4	Physician, Heal Thyself	44
5	We Are All Unique	56
6	Whole People in Their Total Environments	63
7	The Healing Partnership	75
8	Self-Care as Primary Care: The Power of the Mind (I)	92
9	Self-Care as Primary Care: The Power of the Mind (II)	116
10	Self-Care as Primary Care: Touch, Movement, and Breathing	130
11	Self-Care as Primary Care: "When I Eat, I Eat"	149
12	Other Medicines	165
13	Helping One Another	199
14	The Healing Path	218
15	Creating the New Medicine	241
16	Next Steps	284
	Notes	300
	Resources	329
	Index	347