- Women should always have a physical examination before becoming pregnant.
- Anyone taking medications, including women on the Pill, should have annual physical examinations.
- Everyone should have a blood pressure check at least every two years.
- A TB Test should be every three to five years; and if you have been exposed to TB, it should be taken every year.
- A Pap test (Pap smear) every 6 to 12 months to screen for cervical cancer - completely curable if caught early.
- A glaucoma test (for pressure inside the eyeball, which leads to blindness) should be administered every two years after 35.
- People between the ages of 30 to 50, should be screened for bowel cancer every two years; and from the age of 50 on, every year.
- Heart attacks: The number of people who die each year could be greatly reduced by seeking medical care immediately, rather than delaying for hours.
- Cancer: Early detection and treatment could reduce the number of deaths each year.
- Massive bleeding that cannot be stopped.
- Major burns.
- Possible broken bones.
- Poisoning, or suspected poisoning.
- Severe pain.
- Cold sweats, especially if accompanied by light-headedness, or chest or abdominal pain.
- Severe shortness of breath (if not due to exertion).
- Unconsciousness, stupor, or disorientation as to time, place, or name.
- Running fever for more than a week.
- A lump in the breast.
- Unexplained weight loss.
- Coughing up blood.
- Blood in the stool or urine.
- Any physical problem which persists for an unusual period of time.
- If you are told by a doctor that you need surgery, always get a second opinion.
- Know what the drug is, both the brand name and the generic name.
- Know what the drug is supposed to do.
- Know precisely how you are to take the drug (swallowed, inhaled, etc.; with water, etc.).
- Know when to take the drug (how often, with meals, etc.).
- Are lifestyle changes required (no alcohol, don't drive, etc.).
- How long to take the drug (take all of them?, until the symptoms disappear?, etc.).
- What to do if you miss a dose.
- What side effects to expect.
- What the drug will cost, and if you can buy a generic.
- Are the staff in the doctor's office warm and interested, or busy and hurried? You should be made welcome and comfortable.
- Does the staff answer all your questions? You should not be left to wonder about anything.
- When you call, are you put through to the doctor when you ask to speak with him?
- Is the waiting room comfortable and cheerful, or crowded, not well decorated, or uncomfortable? Are you kept informed of delays?
- Does the doctor take a complete medical history on your first visit? Does he show a general interest in your well-being, as well as in your present problem?
- Does he use jargon, or words that you, as a lay person understand? Is he obese? Does he smoke? Is he a good listener?
- Are the purposes of all tests explained to you? Is the equipment modern, or shopworn? Are delays while in the examination room explained, or are you left and forgotten?
- While talking with the doctor, does he put you at ease, and encourage questions? Does he preach, talk down, give orders, or speak quickly? Does he summarize his findings, explain his conclusions, and encourage you to call in a few days whenever you feel the need?
- Plasmapheresis
- Estrogen Therapy
- Cell Therapy
- The "Youth Pill"
- Regeneresen Therapy
- Dietary
- Supplemental
- Organ-specific
- The Dietary Method simply consists of increasing the intake of foods that Dr. Frank has concluded are rich in nucleic acids: Liver, kidneys, anchovies, sweetbreads, sardines, and meat and fish extracts.
- The Supplemental Method consists of eating RNA supplements, refined from yeast.
- The Organ-specific Method consists of injecting into ourselves the RNA from whichever animal organ is weak in ourselves.
Carl Bourhenne's Fitness and Long Life Manual |
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Youthful and Attractive |
And Transplants, Bionics & Youth Treatments
Have regular health checkups.
See a doctor when you detect a problem.
Follow a doctor's advice when taking medications.
By now it is common knowledge that the best defense against major health disaster is early detection and early treatment. And the regular health checkup, if extensive and of good quality, is the most consistent means to early detection. The American Cancer Society in particular stresses the vital importance of regular health checkups for early detection and early treatment.
But how frequent, and how extensive should our health checkups be? The general guideline is that the older we get, the more frequent and the more extensive our health checkups should be.
From a cost-for-return point of view, annual physicals before the age of about 30 might not be necessary. Immediate action in response to suspicious symptoms might be adequate until that time.
Between the ages of 30 to 40, complaint-free individuals and
those not taking any medication should have a physical examination every five years.
Between the ages of about 40 to 50, a physical examination is
recommended every three years.
Between the ages of 50 to 60, a physical examination is
recommended every two years.
After 60, an annual physical is recommended.
Everyone might have their teeth cleaned and cared for every three to six months. Of course, at any age, unusual symptoms should be investigated immediately.
Also, there are certain circumstances under which physical examinations
should be performed:
In addition, there are specific items that should be checked regularly:
See a Doctor When You Detect A Problem.
The determination of whether or not to see a doctor is not always an easy one
to make. There are such a variety of circumstances and conditions which might
call for such action that they could not possibly all be addressed here, but
there are certain conditions which should be attended to immediately:
Follow a doctor's advice when taking medications.
The first precept in dealing with your doctor regarding medications is to advise your doctor of any medications you are already taking, and of any allergies that you might have.
Once your doctor has prescribed medication for you to take, use the following
guidelines to assure that you have all of the information that you need to
follow your doctor's advice in taking them:
Remember, if your doctor prescribes a drug, fill it and take it. Never take a drug prescribed for someone else, and always throw out old medications.
Before proceeding further, I will point out the need for each one of us to keep an eye on our own bodies in order to treat problems at the earliest possible moment. This can very often be the difference between life and death:
Self - Examinations
Self - Examinations might be a regular process for each of us - men and women. I will not delve here into each of the many self - exam techniques for men and women, but I will provide an excellent source of information:
National Self - Help Clearinghouse
184 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10010
Telephone: (212) 354-8525
Once you have concluded that you do need professional medical help, the first step is to select the individual with whom you will entrust the care of your body. The most important factor here is to make sure that you go to a medical doctor first, then accept referrals to other specialists.
To provide you with some basic guidelines in evaluating a doctor for yourself, we offer the following check list:
Even when you, after self-examination, detect no medical problems, and have no immediate, noticeable need of medical care, you should make your regular check-ups one of the most important commitments to yourself.
Even a check-up every six months is not a waste of time, and even every three months if there is any history or pre-disposition to cancer in your family.
Are you thinking of the cost? How much would you be willing to pay for an additional month, or year of life; or of being youthful, healthy, and attractive instead of incapacitated and/or hospitalized? How much would you pay for five years, or ten years? Of what use will the money be if you are not here?
Some people make the mistake of going to their family physician for their annual physical, or to a specialist whom they've seen for some other illness.
Wrong.
Most doctors not only do not know how to give a proper and complete annual physical, but also do not have the equipment needed to do it. We recommend that you contact your local office of the American Medical Association for the name of a clinic that specializes in giving complete annual physical examinations.
Transplants
Transplants, or "spare parts surgery" as it is becoming known, is giving many additional years of life to many people who are healthy except for, perhaps one body part. Often these people are young, attractive, and active; or could be active and normal if only that one body part could be successfully replaced (assuming it cannot be repaired).
Many people are presently receiving replacement body parts from donors but the pervading problems continue to be availability of organs, and rejection of these transplanted parts by the immune system of the recipient. The immune system must reject invaders, or germs and disease would enter and run rampant throughout the body.
The job of the immune system is to destroy and reject all invaders. The transplanted body part is recognized as an invader, so it attacks the transplanted body part. Procedures have been developed to suppress the recipient's immune system, but if it is suppressed too much, then germs and disease will run rampant, and eventually kill the recipient of the transplant. Research continues, of course, to solve this serious problem; but a problem it remains.
The most prominent successes in transplants are seen in cases where the donor's blood type and biological make-up are most similar to that of the recipient, so that the transplanted part is more acceptable to the recipient's immune system. If the donor was biologically identical to the recipient, there would be no rejection and the transplant would be successful, barring other types of complications.
The better successes have been with transplants between relatives, the closer the better, because of the biological similarities. In fact, the best successes have been with transplants between identical twins. Since they are biologically identical, there is no rejection factor.
The art and science of "spare parts surgery" has come a long way since the first real kidney transplant in 1949 by David Hume, from Harvard Medical School. Since then over 57,000 kidney transplants have been performed, and many people are alive today as a result of them. Over 190 lung transplants have been performed, over 590 heart transplants, over 475 liver transplants, about 350 pancreas transplants, well over 350 bone transplants since the discovery that the immune system will accept bone transplants if the bone is frozen, then thawed; over10,500 cornea transplants, with a very good success rate.
The serious problem of rejection of transplanted parts, however, still prevents the transplant operation from being the complete solution for those who could continue normal life with the replacement of some one worn or damaged body part.
The ideal donor is someone who is biologically identical to the recipient (such as an identical twin), and that in this way there is no rejection factor. Unfortunately, we do not all have an identical twin and so perhaps the future most promising, but morally debated method of obtaining spare body parts for yourself is the actual growing of your own spare body parts for yourself, from your own cells.
This process is called "limited cloning" of yourself. By this method, you might live much longer than is presently possible because you would have a full complement of spare body parts for yourself, with no rejection factor.
In "limited cloning" you are cloned, but only your vital body parts are allowed to develop. As we mentioned above, this process is a hotly debated moral issue. As yet, contrary to some sensational publications, no human has ever been cloned; only organisms such as frogs have been successfully cloned. The process is so well founded in scientific research though, that modern scientists say that it is only a matter of time before human cloning is technologically possible. The difficulty has been in the delicacy of the human egg in withstanding the injection of a new nucleus.
Bionics
The most important advantage of bionic implants at this time, is that bionic organs and limbs, when implanted, are not usually rejected by the body's immune system. The immune system recognizes only proteins, and bionics are not made of proteins, but of synthetic materials.
The word "Bionics" was coined from the Greek words "BIOS" (life), and "ICS" (having the nature of), in September of 1960 by a meeting of scientists.
A Bionic organ or limb is one which is artificial, but is implanted or biologically attached to the recipient's body, and has electronic controlling devices.
Some of the bionic body parts which have been successfully developed and used to date are:
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Bionic Limbs (arms and legs) Blood Kidneys Pancreas Heart Liver Lungs Tendons |
Heart Valves Seeing Devices Hearing Devices Bones Joints Ligaments Muscles |
These bionic parts are made of synthetic materials and utilize electronics, electric motors, and miniature battery systems. In some cases the motor switches are connected directly to nerves, and use the natural electric output of the nerve itself to start and control the motorized bionic part. These are called "myoelectric limbs", which are actually "thought" into action by the brain.
Bionics is considered by scientists to be a fascinating field with a rapidly growing future. The Society of Biomaterials was formed in 1972, and other supportive activities are being formulated to advance the art and science of bionics for better living, longer.
Biological Youth Treatments
The most popular current "youth treatments" being offered in various health resorts for the rich around the world, and details regarding their application and effectiveness are described in detail in the following pages.
The five most popular biological youth treatments are:
( 1 ) Plasmapheresis
Based on the concept that the blood is the supplier of life and the cleanser of the body, Dr. Norman Orentreich, one of America's most renowned plastic surgeons and dermatologists, began experiments on this process in 1964 using laboratory animals. In 1966 he began experiments on a human volunteer, and observers say that the sixty year old man has the appearance of a much younger man. Once per week the man arrived at Dr. Orentreich's clinic in New York. Two pints of his blood were withdrawn from his arm and processed through a machine by centrifugal spinning, at below freezing temperature. The red blood cells were separated from the plasma. The red cells were then returned to the man's body, minus the plasma. The process took about 90 minutes. The belief is that, along with the plasma, the "aging acceleration factors" (the toxic effects of metabolism) are thus removed from the blood.
There is not sufficient evidence at this time to support a conclusion as to whether or not plasmapheresis is truly a preserver of youth. You may wish to experiment yourself, and if you are so disposed, the opportunity may be readily accessible to you. Your local blood bank might accept donations of platelets only, for leukemia victims. This is done by withdrawing 2 pints of your blood, then returning the red blood cells to your body. They might, however, try to talk you into simply donating your whole blood instead of just the platelets, since the plasmapheresis process is more troublesome. This, of course, would not accomplish your objective.
( 2 ) Estrogen Therapy
This treatment is performed by a physician prescribing supplements of the female hormone, estrogen.
It is used primarily to help ease some women through menopause and after, and is grossly over-used - mainly because so many women today have an enormously overrated view of its potential merits. Less than 50% of women in menopause can benefit from estrogen therapy. The rest will encounter no benefit, and may well experience extremely unpleasant and unhealthy side effects. We must not overlook the fact, though, that to some women estrogen therapy does provide great relief from severe menopausal and post-menopausal distress.
The reason for the over-use and abuse of estrogen therapy is a result of the determination of some women to either talk their reluctant doctor into prescribing it, or go from doctor to doctor until they find one who will prescribe it.
The average age of the onset of menses is now about twelve years, and the average age of beginning the twelve to thirty-six month stage of menopause is just over fifty years; and this may be delayed by a daily injection of 100 IU. of vitamin E three times per day.
The best means of controlling tension, anxiety, and emotional balance during menopause is an excellent diet, and most especially, regular exercise programs.
Only after proper lifestyle habits have been applied to one's daily life, should a patient or her doctor even consider estrogen therapy, and then the doctor's decision (perhaps after a second opinion) should be accepted. And this decision should not be finalized as a result of testing for estrogen levels, since there are no dependable tests known at this time which will provide an accurate reading of estrogen levels. The readings of estrogen levels are often strongly affected by the offsetting action of progesterone in the system.
Research has shown that prolonged periods of estrogen therapy can be damaging to the health. If the patient has been taking birth control pills, she has already had exposure to estrogen therapy. The best and the healthiest way to raise the estrogen levels, and thus receive increased benefits to health and attractiveness, is through an exercise regimen which should be accompanied by a nutrition and diet program.
( 3 ) Cell Therapy
The process of injecting into people, the cells - either fresh or quick-frozen (fresh are preferred), - of shredded sheep organs into the buttocks, has been offered by rejuvenation centers around the world since the 1940's. My research turned up many reports of favorable results, but without controlled tests or post-treatment results-measuring exams. So, there are no confirmed reports of favorable results, and no scientific reason to accept cell therapy as a valid rejuvenating method in and of itself.
Cell therapy treatment is followed by a period of rest, then good nutrition and exercise.
The follow-up procedures themselves are very rejuvenating, but there is no conclusive evidence that cell therapy really works, in spite of the numerous and vociferous supporters who espouse its wondrous effects against old age. Perhaps that is the reason the process is not approved by the American Medical Association, and is not legal in the United States.
( 4 ) The Youth Pill
(Gerovital)
Procaine, a relative of the drug Novocain, is the chemical base for the "youth pill", a product of Dr. Ana Aslan of Romania. Dr. Aslan is director of the Bucharest Geriatric Institute, and developer of the "youth pill", also known as H-3, GH-3, or KH-3 when a blood derivative called "hematorporphyrin" is added in an attempt to make the oral version as effective as the injection is said to be.
Another common name for this "youth pill", is "Gerovital". The claimed benefits are very many indeed, and the number of people around the world who claim to have received benefits from the "youth pill" are very, very numerous. This is not surprising, since its base is a derivative of a major drug. No impressive results have ever been seen in any legitimate geriatric study, and special U.S. Government authorization is required to import the KH-3 capsules.
Most of the known "youth doctors" around the world deny any significant effectiveness of the "youth pill". They suggest that the most important factor for the belief by people in the effectiveness of this type of product is the belief itself. A belief, itself, in a youth product causes those using it to take much better care of themselves, and the better care itself is an effective youth treatment.
( 5 ) Regeneresen Therapy
This "youth treatment", also known as "RNA Therapy", is based on the concept that, as we grow older the RNA (ribonucleic acid) in our cells gradually loses its ability to accurately direct the production of the various kinds of protein necessary to sustain our life. This treatment was developed by Dr. Benjamin S. Frank, in New York. Dr. Frank proposed three methods for RNA therapy:
For example, if our liver is weak we inject into ourselves the RNA taken from the liver of an animal, and thus also the heart, kidney, etc.
There is no convincing substantiation for these treatments. In fact, any form of RNA or DNA which is ingested orally is entirely destroyed by the digestive system, and none of it is utilized as planned.
Carl Bourhenne, MA
