For a few weeks the lumps in my throat were driving me mad. To make them go away I was eating more, just to try to push them down!! Of course this is the time when all kinds of crazy things go through your mind, especially as a close friend had died recently from thyroid cancer.

I finally summoned up enough courage to go and see a recommended ENT specialist, only twenty minutes from my house. The tests he did were amazing. I had a very small tube inserted in my mouth to the back of my throat, which wasn't at all uncomfortable. He then switched on what looked like a TV, and lo and behold he could see right down my throat in close up, by looking at the screen.

"There is no cancer" was his immediate reaction. The long sigh of relief I breathed must have been a record.

After doing a few more tests he prescribed various tablets and explained in his opinion the best way to solve the problem. After leaving his surgery and looking at what he's prescribed, I decided I wasn't going to take antacids, or other drugs I knew would cause side effects and could play havoc with my body.

For years I have been advising people to take natural remedies and have become an expert on lowering cholesterol. Certain drugs such as statins can make people very ill, feeling even worse than their original complaint.

Suppressing the acid from your stomach in cases where people have ulcers, or acid reflux, is unnatural. Food needs the acid for efficient breakdown in the body. I am aware of two people who developed stomach cancer, after taking a particular drug for six months, even though it was prescribed.

Many doctors are brainwashed by the drugs giants and dish out tablets to unsuspecting "lab mice". We are all quite individual and the long term effect of a particular drug is totally unknown - as we all react differently. The reason is greed by the multinationals - they want to charge the highest possible amount of money and force people into taking tablets for long periods of time and well, never mind if the initial problem is never solved!

I went to visit my friend Tony, whose uncle in India, 20 years previously had cured a family friend who had just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and told he had limited life expectancy. Tony's uncle suggested he took a massive dose of vitamin C tablets - 7 grams a day. It worked and the chap who was told he had six months to live, outlived Tony's grandfather by 10 years.

Tony listened to the facts and advised me to go to a laboratory and have some thyroid tests and "bring them back to me." The lab technician glanced at the test results and comfortingly told me they were OK.

Tony looked like a wise owl as he studied the slips of paper and pronounced his verdict. "I would suggest you increase your iodine as the levels are OK but a bit on the low side. You could try eating bitter gourd".

I started laughing - well they say laughing is very good for the body. "I'm not used to eating that vegetable, unlike you I haven't been brought up on it". I went away musing on the fact that every country and its people have their own version of healthy fruit and vegetables packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Then it hit me - spinach. The French have their Sorrel which they add to soup and omelettes, the Japanese have Seaweed and the Arabs use Jarjir in salads, very similar to Rocket lettuce.

All these have something in common - a very bitter taste - that's the iron and iodine. Clever people will find a way of making them more palatable and I've always said a sign of intelligence is when you hear someone saying "I love spinach."

Three weeks later, eating a reasonable amount of spinach and rocket, the lumps disappeared as if by magic.

I did observe that it was just at the time when my husband's brand of cigarettes changed packaging and became smellier. The company denied this of course, but we did prove we were correct in our belief that the tobacco had been changed, by comparing an "old" and "new" packet.

I would suggest all smokers increase intake of iron and iodine and also my own personal theory- although not a smoker myself -is to switch to a lower tar cigarette. Many smokers need the habit to control their stress levels and by stopping smoking and eating more, could make matters even worse.

Alternatively, to lower stress levels and in order to achieve a calming influence in your life, as many already are aware, get a cat or dog. They are amazing in their capacity to soothe, calm and make you smile a lot and even laugh at their antics, better than television, we often say.

If you have a pet already just take a look at what you could give them as a reward for their companionship and trust.

http://pawspetproducts.vstore.ca

Janine Paule