Pacific Naturopathic
1580 W. El Camino Real, Suite 7 
Mountain View, CA 94040
(650) 961-1660
IN THIS MONTH'S NEWSLETTER:
☞ Dr. Connie muses on discernment
☞ Dr. Marcel reports on the erosion of medical freedom
☞ Dr. Connie writes about the importance of genomic testing
☞ Covid Antibody testing now available through Pacific Naturopathic
☞ Anandini offers a recipe for a relaxing, anti-inflammatory foot bath
☞ Jane offers strategies on finding joy in these challenging times
☞ Vitamin C, Myers Cocktail, Breast Thermography and more
We Are Open And Serving Our Patients' Needs!

  • We are doing most consultations via Zoom or FaceTime.
  • Intravenous therapy with strict safety guidelines is still being offered to non-symptomatic patients in our office. New IV patients are also welcomed.
  • Pharmacy pick-up rules are in effect.

Please phone for information: 650-961-1660
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What this newsletter is about...
The last three newsletters have all been about the virus —appropriately so. We have no financial stake in what we say about the virus and we feel we present a perspective that cuts through the misinformation and confusion (You can access the newsletters from our archive HERE ).

We have been warned by our national associations to be extremely careful in what we say about the virus. Our constitutional freedom of expression has been under attack by interests whose views are moderated by power and financial gain. We are in trouble as a society when offering a perspective contrary to party lines is forbidden by "executive order." Medical freedom and the use of discernment to cut through the misinformation is what this newsletter is about.

Let's take a historical perspective. Up until the mid-1800's people who were ill had the "bad humors" bled out of their veins. In the late 1800's, any physician who advocated sterile procedure in the operating room was ridiculed and kicked out of the medical profession. Midwives were persecuted when they insisted on washing their hands when delivering a baby. A physician in England was thrown into jail when he maintained that blood circulated. In the 1900's, when X-rays were introduced, physicians who cautioned against overuse were considered quacks. Present-day doctors and researchers have long warned about antibiotic abuse, yet prescribing behavior has barely changed. Microorganisms have adopted to antibiotics, leading to new infectious strains for which we have no remedies. The historical examples of medical bias and nearsightedness go on and on. The untenable situations persist. Dr. Connie discusses some present-day issues in her musings, below.

As naturopathic doctors, we are particularly vulnerable because our viewpoints often run counter to mainstream medical propaganda and push the buttons of those who would gain by our silence. We have received our share of harassment. Buttressed by science and the truth, we persist in offering the best evidence-based complementary care we possibly can.

The parting thought we would leave you with is this: no one holds a monopoly on creativity, intelligence and truth. Think carefully before surrendering the teachings learned through your own experience and intuition to another's version of reality.

Be Well! Be Safe!

Dr. Connie, Dr. Marcel, Dr. Sage, Jane, Anandini, Marisa, Anna, Ardell
Your Pacific Naturopathic Team
Quick Links


Our doctors have years of experience in helping provide information to our patients to help them make informed choices on which path to pursue.  We are experts in evidence-based alternative and adjunctive cancer care.  


Our lovely Hawaii vacation rental has woven its magic with our guests for 15 years!
Book through our office for special savings by phoning 650-961-1660.
Speak with Dr. Marcel for more information.

Serving the Bay Area since 1993. Experience counts in the field of medicine. We have also shared our knowledge by mentoring many other doctors over the years.

Dr. Connie Muses on Discernment
by Connie Hernandez, ND
• • •
"We are inundated with advertising, information, and misinformation. How are we to sort it all out?"
As the time we are living in is a time of chaos and confusion, it is also a time to exercise discernment. News media and politicians proclaim that their interpretation of reality is true, while other views are fake news. Medical pundits insist that treatments with which they happen to agree are the best and scientifically proven treatments, while other treatments are unproven quackery. If you research a topic on the internet, you may read on one website that a given thing is black, while another calls it white.   We are inundated with advertising, information, and misinformation. How are we to sort it all out? 

While we would like to believe that science is objective, there are unfortunate truths. What have been considered scientific absolutes in historic times, have been disproven as time marches on. We only “know” what we know when we know it. And how do we “know” what we know? Generally speaking, we believe what we have been told from sources we choose to believe. Belief, however, is not knowledge. Knowledge comes from direct experience, and we have very little direct experience of those things we like to believe that we know.

One thing is for certain and that is that simple majority agreement about a particular assertion does not validate that assertion or in any way prove the truth of it. We know other things as well. We know that emotions cloud rational thinking. If you are emotionally involved in what it is you assert to be true, it is unlikely that you will be able to detach yourself enough to objectively listen to or research another viewpoint. You will find those viewpoints with which you agree, and you will argue vehemently for your truth and discard those viewpoints with which you disagree.  

Financial issues also come into play. If you are a company that wishes to sell your product, you will have a vested interest in promoting it in a favorable way. As a graduate student at a prominent university, I was naively heartsick to discover that research could be manipulated to say pretty much what you wanted it to say.

This all becomes quite problematic and even life threatening in the field of medicine. When we are told by the powers that be that the only way to treat a disease or manage health care  is their way, that they will ban the dissemination of alternative research, search out and prosecute those that question the agreed upon way, and that that agreed upon way will be mandated and forced on a population, we are in deep, deep trouble.

Well, we are in deep, deep trouble today, my friends. Dr. Marcel and I have long watched the erosion of our ability to educate our patients on alternative medicine and to offer to our patients treatment choices that were available in the United States, and are no longer available in the United States, while they remain available in other countries. We have seen this with homeopathy, bio-identical hormones, intravenous therapies, complementary cancer treatments, immunizations, and more.

We have been threatened by a government agency  in the recent past for publishing information on I.V. Vitamin C on our website and in our newsletter. We defended ourselves with studies written by the National Institute of Health, but have been warned. Our professional organizations have now cautioned naturopathic doctors not to mention the current virus by name in our publications, and not to even explore in writing the idea that one can protect oneself to some degree against this virus (as one can to all viruses) by strengthening the immune system; or that there are any therapies other than the officially recognized therapies that can make any difference in the treatment of virus; or to question the official stance on the development and potential efficacy of the vaccines being promoted as answers to our current crisis.

We are finding that medicine is now, more than ever, a mandated belief system, rather than a science. The repercussions are chilling and far reaching. It is up to each one of us to consider the sources of the information that causes us to believe, rather than to objectively question and research the truth. It is a time for great discernment.
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 Medical Freedom at Stake
by Marcel Hernandez, ND
In the article above, Dr. Connie muses on some of the major issues confronting the world of complementary medicine at this stage in history.  Looking at all the issues as a whole, it's clear that medical freedom is dangerously threatened.  

Medical philosophies have become religions and an inquisition is in progress.   On the one hand, you have the conventional paradigm composed of large pharmaceutical companies, medical corporations and most of the country’s legislators and regulatory agencies.  Their reluctant opponents are holistic medicine practitioners, herbalists, supplement suppliers, compounding pharmacies and healers of all persuasions.  Also in this latter group are the vast number of people who utilize natural therapeutic approaches as part of their personal health maintenance.   The battle is raging – guess who is losing.   

Although it has been estimated that conventional pharmaceuticals kill upwards of 500,000 people a year, as soon as one consumer experiences a negative reaction to an herbal medicine (that has most likely been improperly used), a government regulatory agency removes the medicine from the pharmacopeia of natural medicine practitioners.  Yet the same agency allows the herbicide, Round Up®, proven to be carcinogenic, to remain on retail store shelves.  Meanwhile, we keep losing effective, safe, natural medicines that have been used for generations.   

In our infusion center, a certain regulatory agency has forbidden us to use intravenous compounds of wormwood (for breast cancer), milk thistle (for liver conditions), curcumin (for cancer, inflammation) and others that we were safely administering via IV with positive results for our patients.  These herbs are safe and effective when infused by a skilled practitioner and NIH research supports their therapeutic value.  Yet, dangerous and largely ineffective chemotherapy drugs are routinely administered to patients who are already weakened by their struggles to attain good health.  

I hold very little faith in and have almost no patience for conspiracy theories, but I can’t help but wonder.  Those enforcing the dominant medical system in this country seems to primarily care about making money. Corporate philosophy to achieve this end includes squashing competition.  How do I know this?  I was once employed as medical director for an insurance company and discovered that accountants and lawyers were guiding insurance reimbursement decisions and medical care. The concept of providing safe, effective medical care is sometimes used as a rationale for greater suppression of basic human rights.

As a licensed naturopathic medical provider there are a couple of approaches I might take in helping my patients get the care and natural medicines they need to achieve their health goals.  An activist approach would entail putting my energy into already existing channels that are fighting for our rights.  That is not my path.  I would rather contribute funds to these channels to support their endeavors for medical freedom.   I think I best serve my patients by continuing to focus my energies on research that may help them address the serious conditions they are dealing with.

The greater personal issue is how I respond emotionally and spiritually to the challenges we face.  Frustration, anger, outrage and self-righteousness are not my path.  I observe these reactions happening all around me and they are largely ineffective in inspiring change.   I do feel an inner sadness as I think of how greed and bias have subverted right action.   I feel compassion for the suffering humans are undergoing during these times.  I pray that the forces of light and truth will eventually prevail.  

In my own little corner of creation, I will continue, to the best of my ability, to be a radiant channel of service and positive energy. 
COVID ANTIBODY TESTING NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH PACIFIC NATUROPATHIC
COVID antibody testing has been described as the “Wild West” of antibody testing, with as many as 75 labs now offering antibody testing, either as finger prick testing, or as testing via blood draw. Pacific Naturopathic has made the decision to use KBMO Diagnostics for testing. The testing provides IgG and IgM antibodies. A power point presentation on the KBMO website discusses the technology of the testing, the sensitivity and specificity of the testing, and the numbers of people for whom this testing technology has been used. See  KBMODiagnostics.com

Be aware that this is NOT the testing you would use if you are experiencing acute symptoms and want to know if you are suffering from the COVID virus, although a positive IgM could add information.  Acute testing is nasal swab testing (RT-PCR-COVID-19 testing), administered  through major medical centers and several other sites.

Antibody testing can help determine: 

  1. If you are an asymptomatic carrier
  2. If you have been recently exposed to the COVID virus and are not yet symptomatic, but are mounting an immune system response
  3. If you want to confirm a RT-PCR COVID-19 test result, especially when a false negative result is suspected
  4. If you have developed immune system resistance to COVID.  

Note that it has not yet been definitively determined whether a person can be re-infected with COVID after having shown immunity through antibody testing. 

If you chose to do testing, you will receive a link and a Physician Reference Number from Pacific Naturopathic. You can then direct order either a finger prick test kit to be sent to your home, or a blood draw test kit and a home-based blood draw.  You will pay KBMO lab directly for processing the finger or the blood draw testing, and for the blood draw if applicable.

The cost from KBMO for lab kits and processing of the self-administered finger prick testing is $150, including overnight shipping of test kits.  If you choose phlebotomy services, in addition to the $150 kit and processing cost, phlebotomy can be arranged through KBMO for a fee.

Test results are expected to be sent to Pacific Naturopathic within 72 hours. You will receive notice from Pacific Naturopathic when results are in, and you will be scheduled for a 10-15 minute discussion of results and general options for immune system support.  The charge from Pacific Naturopathic for ordering and interpreting the test results is $50 (discounted down from our usual $75 fee).

Call or email our office for the link you will need to order a test kit from KBMO, and for the required Physician Reference Number.  pacnatstaff@gmail.com  or 650-961-1660

If you would like to further discuss testing prior to ordering a test kit, please schedule a phone appointment with Pacific Naturopathic, billed at our usual rates. 


Optimize Health through Genomic Testing 
by Connie Hernandez, ND
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  • Are you concerned about the health challenges your child or grandchild may face, due to genomic variability?
  • Do you want to proactively prevent potential problems?
  • Do you have a health concern that has not responded as expected to indicated treatment?
  • Would you like to know if genomic variability contributes to that health concern, and how you might adjust your treatment plan?
  • Would you simply like further information on your genomic profile, so that, moving forward, you might better address your own health?
  • Do you need more guidance as to which dietary and exercise choices are indicated for you, based on genomic variables?
  • Are you on pharmaceutical drugs and concerned as to your body’s ability to handle those drugs? Do you wonder whether a similar drug might be more indicated, based on your own unique genomic profile? 

Over time, various DNA tests have been popular with our patients, and many patients have brought in testing results.  The problem has always been as to what to do about those results. As our patients know, I’m not a big fan of testing that provides information, but that  doesn’t change the way you are thinking about your health or what you plan to do about it. 

We’ve recently become involved with a lab that does help patients make changes.  Various test combinations are available. General testing can provide information on variables affecting general health. Testing is available with recommendations around optimal dietary, skin health, and sport regimes, and considerations in the realm of estrogen metabolism and mental health. Specific panels address methylation genes, genes affecting bone health, insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism and detoxification.  A pharmacogenomics test is available to help understand what drugs are contra-indicated for you because of genomic variables.

If you have an interest in genomic testing, please schedule a short consult with Dr. Connie to ascertain which panels would be most likely to give you the information you are seeking. When the test results are in, you will receive an in depth written analysis, and you can schedule with Dr. Connie for help in understanding how these results apply to you. 

Please phone the office to schedule with Dr. Connie: 650-961-1660

Relaxing, Anti-Inflammatory
Foot Bath
by Anandini Wadera, LAc



Hello friends,

With shelter in place carrying on, I’d like to remind everyone to carve time out in their days to care for themselves in the form of relaxation and pleasure. It’s important to find small joys that feel big and solely yours in
a time where emotional and physical boundaries are blurring. 

To help inspire you, here’s a lovely foot soak you can do while watching TV, reading a book, sitting in a meditation or just quietly before bed. Or whenever you feel inspired!

1 oz dried chamomile
1 oz dried lavender 
1 oz dried calendula flower
1 oz dried rose petals
4 cups of water, boiled

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then add 1 oz of each ingredient above and let it steep for a good 15-20 minutes. These 15-20 minutes bring a lovely color and light aroma to the steep, and the water has cooled enough to hop right in.

The flowers in this decoction provide healing properties systemically as well as topically. Chamomile is a natural anti-inflammatory, cooling, soothing and benefits sleep. Lavender is anti-inflammatory and anti-septic, and works to calm anxiety and depression. Calendula also has anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal qualities, and rose petals are a rich source of vitamin C, soothes and cools, and opens the Heart chakra. 

I hope this foot soak brings you some sweet moments of peace!

Warmly,
 Anandini

 To schedule with Anandini, please contact her directly at 
anandiniw@gmail.com or 650-922-1129
Visit Anandini's web site: http://anandiniwadera.com



 3 Tips to Find Joy
During These Times
by Jane Hernandez, CCHT
It’s a sure bet that things have not gone your way lately. Many of us feel trapped…but there are engaging ways to do more than wallow.

We used to spend our time in a day in, day out, usual state of emotional normalcy. This included highlights of the best of times and unfortunately, the times when nothing seemed to go right. You know what I mean?

And all this uncertainty and fear is magnified as we listen to the news or even go out and encounter so many who are now masked. This situation is before us every day and threatens to strip of us our joy. 

So perhaps it’s time to take control of your own joy and well-being.



Maybe you can’t control what happens in the outside world but you CAN control yourself. There are things you can do to maintain a positive and even joyful mindset.

Here are 3 tips for doing just that:

1. Surround Yourself with The Right People

It is often said that we are the sum total of the five people we surround ourselves with most often.  If that is the case, making sure you get the right people around you, especially when going through a difficult period, is critical to holding on to your joy. Often times when life is really beating us up, we retreat into the solitude of our home, wanting to throw the covers of our heads and be left alone with our thoughts. 

It’s true that sometimes periods of solitude are healthy and necessary. However,  when you find yourself feeling low, robbed of your joy, connecting with those who make you happy is a no-brainer. 

And the opposite of that is also true. Negative individuals are especially important to keep out of your life when you are struggling to find joy. 

Technology is your friend when you are sheltering in place at home.

  • Face Time on iPhones and Video calls on Android
  • A simple phone call
  • Email
  • Text
  • Zoom and other video conferencing software can bring together friends and family while staying safe and following health official’s orders. 
  • Good old-fashioned letter writing - remember that?

2. Remember That Nothing Is Permanent 

The Buddhists have it right when they say:  Nothing in life is permanent
And it was the Sufi poets who taught us:  This too shall pass -  when they were asked  to imagine the  thought most truly and universally applicable to human affairs. 

Fortunately ,  nothing in life is permanent! Let’s state that again, this will pass.

When we experience happiness and joy, thinking about the temporary nature of this state is not something we choose to dwell on. Let the good times roll, right?

On the contrary, during the low times, no matter how bad it is, it WILL pass. 

Most of the time, TIME is the only remedy for tough situations.  If you want to maximize your joy during this time, remember that your situation is not the way things are, only the way they are RIGHT NOW. 

3. Base Your Happiness on Yourself

Since we have discussed how life is divided into highs and lows and the fact that nothing will last forever, this leads to another thing to keep in mind during the best AND the worst times of life... 

If you want to experience joy on a consistent basis, your joy absolutely cannot be dictated by your circumstances. 

If you let every good thing that happens to you leave you soaring on cloud nine and every negative situation send you crashing to earth, you will find yourself emotionally exhausted! Stable, consistent, sustainable joy can only be created and found within yourself. That means you’re in charge.

Life is far less about what happens to you than it is how you react to it. Don’t fall into the routine of letting happiness get to your head and failure to your heart. Hey, that’s not fair…to yourself.

There is something important called mindset. Sometimes it’s a way of thinking and being that comes naturally and sometimes we can choose to cultivate it. Change the way you are thinking and it changes your life.

So how can you change your mindset? Well, you can download visualizations and listen to them; you can meditate; you can get a life coach; you can learn self-hypnosis; you can, well, do something you LOVE on a consistent basis. 

The fact is, you can choose to enhance each day while you wait for these times to pass. Then you and possibly your family, can come though this with something of value.

If you are ready to take control of your mindset please email me for FREE instructions for doing self-hypnosis.

For more information about Jane Hernandez and her work, click  HERE

Jane is available virtually until the time when it is safe to resume face-to-face therapeutic work. Schedule directly with her at 510-676-1460
Intravenous Vitamin C Infusions at Pacific Naturopathic
Why Hesitate?
Protect Yourself and Your Family Now!
The reason most people give for not receiving a vitamin/mineral infusion is that needles are "yucky." Almost every single person who has come to Pacific Naturopathic for intravenous therapy prefaces their first infusion by saying they are averse to needles. I tell them that if they had told me that they couldn't wait to get stuck by a needle I would have denied them service. But after a few infusions, most repeat patients just babble away as I am setting up to start the drip. Many barely notice when the drip has started. The procedure is surprisingly easy and much less uncomfortable than the imagination makes it.

We offer several IV therapy formulas at Pacific Naturopathic that contain therapeutic amounts of vitamin C:

  • Vitamin C infusions in doses from 10 to 100 grams per IV. 
  • Vitamin C infusions in 2 to 50 grams per IV that also contain vitamins (all the B's) and minerals (selenium, zinc, magnesium, calcium, potassium) and trace minerals.
Interested? Please phone to schedule an appointment  650-961-1660 .
Want more information before scheduling? Dr. Marcel offers 10-minute free phone chats to address your questions.

(Please note that a 30-minute safety and informational intake is required before beginning your IV program. The intake and your first infusion can be held on the same day. Also, any infusion greater than 10 grams of vitamin C requires a special blood test called a G6PD as a safety measure.)
Safe, Easy, and Effective
The Myers Cocktail – For Colds, Flus, Immune System Support & Much, Much More...
Myers Cocktail:
Safe, Powerful, Effective
The Myers Cocktail has been around for more than 40 years and is the most popular IV cocktail in our clinic. Read this detailed information sheet and you will see why.



Want to learn more about the Myers Cocktail? Alan Gaby, MD, has written the definitive, easy-to-read  MONOGRAPH  about it.

Please phone  650-961-1660  for more information.

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Breast Thermography at Pacific Naturopathic
In speaking to other medical professionals about breast thermography, I’ve too often heard the statement “I don’t believe in breast thermography”.  I have to ask what it is that they do not believe.  I assume that they are under the mistaken impression that breast thermography is a diagnostic for breast cancer. It is not. (Nor, for that matter are mammography, ultrasound evaluation, or magnetic resonance imaging.) Breast thermography provides us with a risk assessment for breast disease. It gives us an idea as to who might benefit from further screening or from interventions to lower risk. It is a tool that helps us evaluate and optimize breast health and monitor the efficacy of therapies.  

Breast thermography is offered on most Wednesdays at Pacific Naturopathic.

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Read more about 
breast thermography at
Pacific Naturopathic   HERE .
To schedule an appointment: 650-961-1660
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New in Our Clinic Boutique: Organifi Drinks
Use first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. When you wake up and drink a glass of Organifi Green Juice, you kick-start the body’s processes of daily detoxing, producing natural energy, and managing stress. To read more about this wonderful products, go HERE.
Use to prevent afternoon energy crashes. Organifi Red Juice is packed full of extra-strength superfood power to provide long-lasting natural energy in a sweet punch. 5 different berries, 4 exotic adaptogens, and a blast of antioxidants are perfectly balanced to keep you moving - without caffeine - and with just 1 gram of sugar per serving.
More HERE .
Use an hour or so before bed. Organifi Gold is an all natural, organic superfood tea with superfoods to boost immunity through deep sleep. Fall asleep faster. Sleep deeper, and increase immunity, with all natural superfoods. More information HERE .
We use these every day and love them. They make us feel good! These drinks are available in our clinic boutique for $70 each or $60 each if you purchase all three. Call before coming and we'll get them ready for your pickup in our parking lot.
Medical Humor: A Break From Reality
Inspiration
Pacific Naturopathic
&
The Hernandez Center
for Adjunctive Cancer Care
1580 W. El Camino Real, Suite 7
Mountain View, CA 94040
650-961-1660