Some ideas on dealing with stress:

1) If you can’t reduce the stress you are now under in the short term, you must start the ball rolling to reduce the stress long term. It will eventually kill you.

2) Recognize all events in life can be categorized into 2 categories: a. things you can’t control b. things you can control. On the things you can control, you have to decide which ones are worth the battle, and let the others go. Sometimes you need a confidant to help with these tough decisions.

3) Release the stressors you can release.

4) Learn stress-reduction techniques–prayer, meditation, massage therapy, Jin Shin Jyutsu, biofeedback.

5) If the stress has been going on for a long time, and adrenal and other hormone exhaustion may have taken place, you may need to see an Integrative Medicine Practitioner to do lab work and prescribe natural products to support you.

As you can tell, there is much subjectivity in the practice of medicine. However, the science of Fosamax is this: it improves the DEXA scan score by interfering with the repair process of normal bone. This means that the score improves while the strength of the bone diminishes because it can no longer repair itself.

This is why there is an increase in jaw and hip fractures in people taking Fosamax (or Actonel).

My approach is this: supply the minerals (nutrients) needed for bone repair. These are all found in a potent multivitamin (about 6 per day, as the 1 to 2 per day can’t have sufficient calcium or magnesium because they take up too much space) except strontium and silicon. I sell these out of my office because it is so hard to find them. Vitamin D is a good idea, although levels should be obtained if you maintain that high dose for an extended period of time. Vitamin K is also important.

What you have brought up is a major issue that is widely misunderstood.

There is no scientific correlation between total cholesterol level and heart disease. Total cholesterol levels in the 300s and above still have no correlation with heart disease. A good study done on elderly women demonstrated that levels of 272 (how coincidental is that?) imparted the longest longevity, inferring those levels were the most healthy.

Statin medications do reduce cholesterol levels, and (in a very minimal way) reduce heart disease, but not because of the reduction in cholesterol levels. It is because statins are antioxidants, albeit expensive antioxidants.

The statin medications also interfere with the production of energy in the body, which is why people on statins typically become fatigued after a few months on the medication. The muscle pain is related to the production of insufficient energy production, and the deaths associated with statins are related to muscle breakdown leading to kidney failure when the muscle proteins are excreted out the urine. You should not be on statin medications.  Talk with your physician or get one who understands how our body energy, cholesterol, statins, and inflammation are interconnected.

Certainly a vitamin shake is going to do you well. However, with the serious conditions you are describing, if you want the best possible assistance with care, you will want to add an Integrative Medicine physician to your health care.

Crohn’s disease is a serious gastrointestinal disorder which requires a practitioner familiar with a wide variety of techniques, the most important of which is dietary expertise. Because this health issue involves cells and their dysfunction, I have several options that may be able to help in this setting.  I maintain that this problem is potentially curable, despite what you may have been told.  It may take patience and time, but a practitioner who is trained can help tremendously.

Congratulations on losing weight, even though it took a surgical procedure to do it. I am sure you have tried a vast number of things to try to help you, but here is a list you may be able to choose from:

1. Low carb diets. Carbohydrates  become sugar in the body, which become fat if the levels are high.  There are many low carb diets, of which Atkins is the most strict and best known.  These diets are not healthy long term, but may be tried over the short term.

2. Long term low intensity exercise, like walking an hour or more, will burn fat while you are walking.  However, if you want to burn fat for hours after exercise, you will need to do 4 to 8 high-intensity interval trainings a day for 3 or 4 days per week.

3.  A HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), or burst, or spurt, is done by exerting maximal effort for 30 to 60 seconds.

4. Be sure you are getting good sleep, eating real food, and taking supplements so your body is not craving food for nutrient deficiencies.

5. The HCG diet has been helpful for many, but you must be willing to follow it strictly.  You will still need to maintain proper eating and exercise habits long term, no matter what you find successful for the short term.

Lead burden or poisoning affects many systems.  One of them is the muscles, causing weakness, which of course could affect walking.  Whether your high lead levels are a cause of your walking difficulty or not, they should be chelated out.

There are oral chelating agents, so chelation does not need to be done intravenously, but it is certainly faster with IV.

If you also have amalgam fillings and mercury burden in your body, then the combination of mercury and lead burdens magnifies the symptoms of either one by itself, and they both may affect muscles.  Cilantro and chlorella are herbal chelators, zeolite is a mineral chelator and DMSA and EDTA are only available through a practitioner.

As you know, autism is a complex neurological, gastrointestinal, biochemical and neurological/behavior disorder.  There are many national and local agencies who supply information about diagnosis, treatment and support.  Nationally, check the DAN group (Defeat Autism Now).

In Utah, check Autism Journeys, Inc., 3130 West Maple Loop Drive, Suite 110, Lehi, UT 84043-5784 (They’re located at Thanksgiving Point).  For best results for treatment, you will want to find a practitioner who specializes or sees a lot of these children, as the potential treatment options are many, and some are just trail and error.  I have some tricks up my sleeve that have proven quite effective, but each case may stem from different triggers and I have not found a  “one size fits all” treatment option.

My son Steve Gardner has worked with thousands of teenagers on three continents.  He has taught honor students, students with special needs, and regular classrooms full of high schoolers.  He has worked as a councilor for youth.  He inspires greatness wherever he goes.  He is a currently a motivational speaker and his Superpowers Conferences help teens and pre-teens awaken to their true, divine potential.  Now his book is on the verge of becoming an amazon.com bestseller.

In order to bump up to best-seller status, he is discounting his book significantly to $9.95 for only one day– Tuesday, March 20th.  In addition to the discount, each person who buys on that day will receive free gifts worth hundreds of dollars.  Incredibly, for those of you with MORE than ONE youth in mind, the first 50 people who order the book on March 20th will receive an additional copy of the book, free of charge.

This is really an incredible opportunity, this book can connect with youth in ways that parents and teachers often can’t.  Mark your calendar!

Check out what others have said about the book:

“Your Superpowers is a great primer to teach your children how to use the natural powers they have to create the life that they want.”

Jack Canfield, featured in the movie “The Secret”

“Your Superpowers is truly transformational– alive with possibility, passion, and inspiration!  There is something special in your child just waiting to come out!  your Superpowers will help you ignite that magic!”

Brian Biro, America’s Breakthrough Coach and author of “Beyond Success”

Here are a few things that have helped others with their sleep that you have not already mentioned you are doing:

1. Reduce stress on body before going to bed.  This includes not eating just before going to bed, not watching the news or action movies  before bedtime.

2. Be sure your environment is sleep-conducive–quiet, dark room, cool temperature.  Use a proper mattress, pillow, bed sheets and covers and bed clothes.

3. Try calming herbs at bedtime–valerian, chamomile, hops, passion flower.

4. Try melatonin, which is the hormone secreted by the pineal gland to help induce sleep.  Take 3 to 15 mg before concluding it does not help you.

5. Relaxation techniques–energy work before bedtime or daytime (Jin Shin Jyutsu, acupuncture, massage therapy), hypnosis, biofeedback.

6. Try 500 mg of magnesium before bedtime, or better yet, epsom salt (which is magnesium) bath before bedtime.