>> "No form of vinegar changes body pH or has any effect on toxins. The body's natural processes, mediated largely through the liver and kidneys, eliminate waste products and toxic substances." It's as if you are still rejecting the efficacy of Cinchona bark for treating malaria because the Amazonian Indians haven't discovered the formula for the quinine it contains. Instead, they say that the bark of the Cinchona tree contains the spirit of the God Xohopichulato, which destroys the evil spirit that causes malaria. If you want to rest in your beliefs that there is no Xohopichulato and therefore Cinchona cannot help with malaria, fine. Just don't pretend it is science. It is arrogant ethnocentrism, not scientific empiricism. Your arguments are based on an arbitrary and artificial definition of the word 'toxin'. You are ignoring the fact that ordinary substances can build up to toxic levels under many conditions - for example, glucose can build up to toxic levels when there is insulin resistance. In such a case, anything that reduces insulin resistance or lowers glucose levels would in fact be a 'detoxification' process. Likewise, immune hormones like the interferons and interleukins are necessary under certain conditions, but at higher doses (ie when there is infection or chronic inflammation) they often cause side effects that range from unpleasant to lethal. In SARS, H5N1 bird flu, and other killer influenzas, the body's immune system destroys the body. Immune hormones that might sometimes be beneficial are produced at toxic levels. This is quite different from your idea of metabolic toxins that are normally handled by the kidneys and liver. The short chain fatty acids present in vinegar (acetate, proprionate, butyrate) have been repeatedly shown to lower inflammatory cytokines (which have been implicated as a contributor to migraines). These simple compounds also affect levels of leptin, adiponectin and other compounds that regulate glucose, and there is research implicating this in the pathogenesis of migraines. You have stooped to pseudoscience by refusing to look at the evidence that vinegar can dramatically change certain chemicals in the body. You seem to take comfort in linguistic tautologies about 'toxins' that have little bearing on the underlying facts of the matter. Here is a link that might be useful: Glucose, Adiponectin, Immune Hormones and Migraine.

Michael Moore's website has a detailed repertory that tells you exactly which herb to use, depending on your constitution and symptoms, as well as safe dosage (but if you are not a trained herbalist or medical practitioner, you may need to spend some time with a medical glossary as well). Google on "herbmoore" and "clinical manuals". Check the repertory as well as tinctures in clinical practice for differentiation. Be careful with Aesculus -- it can be toxic. An example from the repertory: Legs, inner thighs, from diet or chronic poor fat digestion - Collinsonia, Fouquieria Legs, inner thighs - Aesculus (both) with relaxed tissues, sense of fullness - Hamamelis VARICOSITIES (during pregnancy) Hamamelis (external fomentation) Achillea (fresh plant poultice)

My son has been itchy all over, ever since he went to college this fall. He saw a dermatologist, who wasn't much help. He has psoriasis also, but this is different. He's tried just about everything. He's even been on a gluten-free diet for over a month, and it hasn't helped. He's wondering if its the chlorine in the water. He was taking too many showers, and so we told him to cut back to only about 5 a week. He uses creams, but feels that they can actually make it worse. He's taking a multi-vitamin and flax seed oil capsules, in case that might help. He's going to try a different dermatologist, and also maybe an allergist. He's tried Zyrtec too, and that didn't help. So you might try everything he's tried, to see if that helps. Are you on any meds for anything else? I actually get a very itchy neck, if I consume too much milk or ice cream. I think its a whey protein allergy-type thing. Do you use a humidifier and drink lots of water? I would start using a food diary, to see if something you're eating is the culprit. Do you have any varicose veins? Good luck to you. I know it can drive you crazy!

practigal-oddly enough, I have pretty much completely given up the diet pop and the issues are worse than ever. I'm still on the hunt for figuring out why I am having so many issues. Oddly enough, a Workmans Comp agent called me today (I have an open case due to a minor fall in the field) and she noted she may have connected the dots that the further issues I've had (the MRSA, and the blood clot) may be related to the fall-since they occurred right after. So who knows how that will all work out-it is rather curious-but with the lymphedema that I have, all it would do is to take a scratch and infection sets in-and who knows, maybe the fall could have triggered a clot. The gout-if indeed that is what it is, could also have been triggered.