Lorna Vanderhaeghe
by Lyle Hurd, totalhealth editor
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Lorna Vanderhaeghe
is an author, educator and
formulator who is focused
on natural health. |
totalhealth associate editor Lorna Vanderhaeghe is a medical journalist who has been researching and writing on nutritional medicine for over 20 years. She is currently completing her masters degree in Science and Human Nutrition. Her publishing credits include associate editor for Alive magazine in Canada, senior editor of the Encyclopedia of Natural Healing (winner of the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award in 1998), past editor-in-chief of Healthy Living Guide in Canada and working at the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. Lorna is also coauthor of the award-winning, best-selling book, The Immune System Cure, now published in six countries and four languages and Healthy Immunity, Scientifically Proven Natural Treatment for Conditions from A–Z, a national bestseller. Her latest book, No More HRT: Menopause Treat the Cause was released in September 2002. She is an internationally known lecturer who believes in empowering people with health knowledge so they can achieve optimal wellness.
Lorna’s background in biochemistry and her experience running her own supplement company, selling products to physicians, pharmacies and hospitals, provides her with the expertise to formulate high quality nutritional supplements. She is a consultant to numerous nutritional supplement companies and has formulated Multi-mune for Essential Phytosterolins Inc., a line of women’s supplements for Preferred Nutrition in Canada and Women’s Whey, a fermented soy protein supplement for Sisu Health in Canada.
My introduction to Lorna Vanderhaeghe was in early 2000 when totalhealth science editor Parris Kidd, Ph.D. suggested we review her new book The Immune System Cure. He added that the objectives stated in the book’s preface closely parallel the mission of the magazine: "For decades we have been searching for a cure for cancer, arthritis, the common cold and now AIDS. A magic drug, antibiotic or vaccine has been the focus of this research. Yet we have the most powerful curing machine hardwired into our body—the immune system. Nature eloquently designed the human body with the tools needed to prevent and fight most disease. It is only through neglect, abuse and overuse that we have altered the ability of the immune system to function optimally. This book is not about a magic cure; it is about treatments that boost and balance the immune system to give it the support it needs."
Lorna says "As we enter the new millennium, nothing will be as important to our health as adjusting our lifestyle and maximizing our immunity. Protect yourself and nourish your immune system and your body’s ability to heal will soar."
Dr. Kidd also suggested we invite Lorna to join the totalhealth staff of editorial contributors. Shortly after reading The Immune System Cure I had the opportunity to hear Lorna speak at a major health food trade show. After her presentation Dr. Kidd introduced us. Since that meeting, Lorna has been an invaluable asset to many facets of the growth of totalhealth magazine.
TH: Lorna, what prompted you to become interested in natural health?
LV: I became involved in nutritional medicine over 20 years ago when my oldest daughter had an illness that conventional medical doctors failed to find a solution for. Once I had exhausted all the treatments offered by my doctors, my daughter and I entered a health food store for the first time. The owner changed my life. She offered a treatment that worked in three weeks and I was converted. I started researching alternative medicine, left my very mainstream job and started working for Alive magazine. Then I returned to university where I studied nutrition and sciences. It has been a marvelous journey where I have been able to get to know some of the greatest thinkers in alternative therapies including the late Linus Pauling, Dr. Lendon Smith and Dr. Emanuel Cheraskin and other
great minds.
TH: How does your new book Healthy Immunity differ from the The Immune System Cure?
LV: When I wrote The Immune System Cure in 2000, it was designed to teach people why the immune system was key to overall health and longevity and how we could improve its function with nutrition and lifestyle changes. The book became a bestseller and I started receiving e-mails and letters from people wanting to know how to treat their specific condition or disease naturally. Healthy Immunity, Scientifically Proven Natural Treatments for Conditions from A-Z developed from the hundreds of answers written in response to those individuals. It was important to me that the recommendations for each disease be supported by scientific research.
Although it is slowly changing, all too often persons wanting to use nutrients to heal the body are told by their physician that there is no scientific data to support their use. Media reports also tend to expound on the negative, poorly designed nutrient studies and fail to broadcast the positive clinical trials.
To stop the misinformation, I decided that one of the main criteria for Healthy Immunity was that all the treatment suggestions for each disease be backed by either in vitro or human research and published in the last 10 years in peer reviewed medical journals. Even I was surprised at the wealth of research published around the world validating the use of food, nutrients and herbs as medicine. When I was a child my mom had the old home health guide where she looked up symptoms to see if we had
chickenpox or appendicitis. She would use that guide to determine if we should go to the doctor or just use chicken soup and lots of fluids. I wanted Healthy Immunity to be that type of a guide but one where you would look up the symptoms, causes and types of natural treatments. Or more importantly, look for ways to prevent disease before it begins.
TH: What do you want people to be able to take away from Healthy Immunity?
LV: I want them to feel empowered. Once we understand how easy it is to improve the way we feel by simply choosing healing foods, walking every day, taking some key nutritional supplements and reducing our stress or finding ways of dealing with the stress we can’t change in our life, we can take charge of our health. Healthy Immunity is written in a way that makes health easy.
TH: How is Healthy Immunity different from other A-Z health resources?
LV: Trust is a major factor when making decisions about which nutritional remedies to take. With all the misinformation perpetuated in the media the question is, "What can we trust?" Healthy Immunity’s major distinction is its requirement of scientifically-backed nutritional recommendations. All this science does not mean the book is a difficult read. It is written in simple language with each condition broken down into the symptoms, the cause, the treatment and the health tips and food recommendations to speed healing. Healthy Immunity also teaches the intricacies of the immune system, cardiovascular system and digestive system in simple language. It is important to understand the workings of the body so that we can start to treat the cause of disease. The book then provides information on nutrition, looking at which foods are harmful and which are healing. We must start to insist on organic foods; milk and meat where the cows have not been fed growth hormones and antibiotics; oils that have not been turned cancer-causing through processing; foods in their whole, natural state.
The average person is not aware of what really happens to our foods in the growing and manufacturing processes. Healthy Immunity exposes the truth. The last section of the book contains the most delicious tasting, healthy recipes. It teaches you how to take your old family recipes and substitute healthy ingredients. Readers will also learn how to use the good fats and oils.
TH: Are there other unique aspects of the book?
LV: Yes, Healthy Immunity also provides treatment recommendations and solutions for over 25 different autoimmune diseases. There are over 80 autoimmune diseases known to date including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes to name a few. They predominantly affect women and they are on the rise. Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system becomes confused and instead of attacking a virus or bacteria, it turns on the body’s cells, tissues or organs and attempts to destroy them. I have noticed that very few authors really evaluate the root cause of thesediseases and how to treat them naturally. With my extensive background in immunology I was able to pull out the facts from the scientific data and provide information as to why the immune system becomes confused and aggressive, something that just should not happen. Again, it was exciting to find so much science on the nutrients for the treatment of these diseases.
The book also contains many home tests including a home thyroid test, stress test, low stomach acid challenge and more. By periodically doing some home self-tests, people will become aware of how their body works and become tuned to it long before they become sick.
TH: Lorna, thank you for your time. .
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