LivingLongLife

Prolotherapy and PRP

2012-02-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Update: The original post was in 2008, since then a lot has happened. The latest advancement to Prolotherapy is the incorporation of Platelet-Rich Plasma therapy.

This is amazing stuff! I speak from experience. I didn't want this little known treatment to get lost, so I made a separate post. To find out more, go see my post entitled "In Pain?" Its all there.

Here are some decent links that can give you information on Prolotherapy. But please note, this is considered an alternative treatment and is often not paid for by insurance. But it worked 100% for me and cost less than my share of the insurance if I had back surgery; was much less invasive, no recovery time, no hospital stay, well, I could go on, but most of all - very little risk!
Caring Medical - go here and look under Prolotherapy; go explore!
GetProlo - Very rich resource - even find a doctor in your area!
Dr. Darrow - This facility is the one I went to; it changed my life overnight.

My experience and investigation says don't let them touch your back until you have explored this!

The American (USA) Medical $ystem - Di$ea$e for Profit

2012-02-14T11:24:00.004-07:00

As the Washington circus continues to grow and Obamacare looms ever menacingly all around us, I can't help but comment on sickcare in this country. Time and again I see our medical system little more than a money mill for corrupt doctors and drug pushing pharmaceutical companies. I grant a partial exemption for acute care however; they do a pretty good job of taking care of traumatic accident victims, although again, the overuse of worse than useless drugs in the rehabilitation of patients is appalling. My heart does go out to anyone in the system who has been mis-educated by BigPharma and is caught up in prescribing, dispensing, and using, and supporting the thousands of drugs that are ruining the future of this nation. Medical Costs (caution - look here to see who's who on this site)
Charts
More on BigPharma in Education

Any attempt by Washington or state bureaucrats to further extend the coverage and tentacles of this corrupt system are like giving protection money to the mafia - it fills the pockets of the greedy at the expense of the rest of us. Unless a major change is made in the drug pushing, pharmaceutical run sickcare system we are under, there will be little change in the horrible statistics piled up each year on all fronts relating to 'health' in this country.

Every time I hear the scapegoat of 'genetics' used to explain diseases and maladies that are becoming epidemic in our society the term epigenetics ecoes ever louder in my brain.

Here is a link to a fairly good overvue of the situation, although quite outdated: LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH

Health results when we eat, breath, and work in a healthy way. Sickness results when we stray from that. A return to health does not come by loading up on drugs that treat symptoms bur rather by returning to (or adopting for the 1st time) healthy practices. If you can, please see the documentary "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix if you have it, or get it from Amazon or other outlets.

Dandruff

2012-02-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

A remedy that has worked well for me to stop and prevent dandruff is to work a few drops of coconut oil into my scalp (you can buy coconut oil that doesn't have the coconut aroma if you prefer). Organic and cold pressed is best. Once or twice a week works well for me. Rinsing daily keeps my hair clean (no shampoo or soap - just warm water).

No Grains in Diet; 2nd Thoughts

2012-02-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of hype about excluding all grains from your diet these days. Here is a more balanced look: NO GRAINS?

Breast Cancer and all things related

2012-02-10T13:05:00.003-07:00

How does wearing a bra relate to breast cancer in women? Decide for yourself: BRA's & CANCER

Another issue related to female hormone balance and abnormalities in breast tissue is low progesterin and high estrogen caused by the overload of estrogen like substances in our poluted environment. All these 'xenoestrogens' are thought to contribute to both ovarian and breast cysts.

I'm looking for some good sites on the subject so this is another 'under construction' post.

1. Natural Progesterone
2. Cause of Ovarian Cysts 101 (Complicated, well documented, not well organized). Explore side links at this site too.
3. PCOS and Ovarian Cysts looks promising...
4. Cosmetics with estrogen mimicking properties (or worse!) Masquerade
5. Sunscreens
6. Estrogenic herbs promote or produce estrus. Herbs with estrogenic properties include blue cohosh, dong quai, false unicorn, fennel and licorice.
7. Progesterone Support in Pregnancy. (NaPro)
8. A good book to read from your library (or book dealer): Hormone Balance by Carolyn Dean, MD, ND.

Estrogen blocking herb - One of the most effective estrogen-blocking herbs is called puerarin, which is from Thailand. See Puerarin , also a possible herb in the treatment of endometriosis. Not sure about this - - -

Fake Honey

2012-02-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

The FDA says that if 'honey' doesn't contain any pollen, then it isn't honey. Apparently if it contains pollen it can also be analyzed to find out where it came from. Well, guess who doesn't want you to know where it came from? And all big chain grocery stores carry only this fake honey! I find this very disturbing! This fake honey may be made up of all kinds of stuff that have no association with real bee honey!!
See FAKE HONEY

High Pressure Processing

2012-02-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

High Pressure Processing (50,000 to 85,000 psi)has been around for some time but there are some new innovations and the technology is gaining in acceptance and use. For more see HPP

There may be other trade offs of this technology that have not been investigated so I think it's something to keep an eye on as more and more processed foods start showing up touting HPP advantages.

World Population Control and Bill Gates

2012-02-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates seems to be heavily invested in multiple methods of population control - some perhaps not so voluntary or civil. I've been following this theme for some time, particularly regarding the use of common vaccines to injure health and fertility. Here is the latest in a long list of articles:

GATES

Chorella, Cilantro and Niacin Detox

2012-02-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

Another Dr. Mercola post saved for further investigation and confirmation:

DETOX

Note: Since Dr. Mercola's articles usually end up supporting something he is selling and his articles seldom contain supporting documents, I read them with some skepticism.

Roundup making soil unproductive

2012-01-25T22:51:00.001-07:00

What's happening to most of the farm land in the US? It will soon be good for nothing but shopping malls and subdivisions because you won't be able to raise any crops on it! Hmmm - sounds like an 'abomination of desolation'. See ROUNDUP

Reduced Salt Intake - FDA wrong again

2012-01-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

Studies have found reduced salt intake to be marginally beneficial in hypertension. Those on a reduced salt diet are four times more likely to die!
For more information, see SALT

Prescription Drugs and Nutrient Depletion

2012-01-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Many prescription and over the counter drugs have the side effects of draining your body of vitamins and minerals. Here is a link to a table listing the drug type, vitamins & minerals they deplete, and the common symptoms:
Thornton

Mercury Free Dentistry

2012-01-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

I have long been a proponent of Mercury Free Dentistry. About 20+ years ago I had all my mercury laden amalgam ("silver") fillings removed. I then had all the mercury that had accumulated in my body removed by chelation. The doctor that removed my amalgam fillings used rubber dams in my mouth with a special vacuum device that removed all the toxic gases through a special filter then to the outside air so I wasn't breathing in the mercury released during the removal process. This is the only safe way to have it done. But then the resin composites used to replace the amalgams may have their own problems - guess you can't win!

For more background and information see Mercola-Amalgam or just browse the web under mercury fillings.

As a historical note, when amalgam fillings first came out they were recognized as the danger they were and the dental association of the time spoke out against the procedure - but they were cheap and fast (follow the money $$) so a new group was formed to promote the procedure and put the old organization out of business. Guess what the new organization was called? The American Dental Association. See ADA History

Epigenetics - notes

2012-01-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

(updated) I keep running across articles relating to Epigenetics as well as studies indicating what we eat can modify epigenes which in turn change how genes 'express' themselves. Here is a not so simple treatise at Wikipedia.
At this time, this is a scratchpad relating to the subject. If anyone has some good articles, let me know...

Epigenetics and obesity
49 pages of science
Nova - Good Video
More Hype than Fact
Marisa Bartolomei (technical)
Feb 2012 Journal devoted to health and epigenetics (technical)

Aluminum House Wiring

2012-01-02T17:44:00.001-07:00

Why is aluminum wiring of concern? Is it likely to return with increasing copper prices?
1. Problems: Aluminum expands and contracts with temperature - much more than copper. This means that wherever a wire is connected by a screw (most connections)it will eventually loosen. This leads to a bad electrical connection, overheating, arching, and a high chance of a fire.

This is particularly a problem with older houses wired when aluminum wiring first came out and they used new wire with old connection termination technology. The new wire used with compatable connection technology is supposed to be as good as copper. See Aluminum House Wiring for more info. Here is another semitechnical read - Hansen.

HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) Updates

2011-12-28T12:35:00.002-07:00

12-28-11: More junk to go along with the HFCS - Mercury. The corn growers association refutes this information, so indeed it could be a bad study skewed sideways - seems there are truth stretchers on both sides?
"The presence of mercury in processed HFCS was first revealed through the results of two little-known U.S. studies. Researchers from the two studies reported that about half of tested samples of HFCS contained mercury, a substance known to wreak havoc on the nervous system, neurological function, and overall biological function. Even more concerning is the fact that mercury was found in nearly one third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage items, which listed HFCS as the first-or-second-highest labeled ingredient. Of course these are only a sampling of popular products containing HFCS as a main ingredient, and it is a significant challenge to find processed food brands that do not contain HFCS as a major ingredient."

1-22-2011: A little history on HFCS. We really didn't have the stuff around until 1980. Now, its in everything (check labels folks). The rea$on$ for it'$ great $ucce$$? Follow the money!

Infertility and HFCS - The great American die-off.

The great hoax: HFCS is one of the greatest boons to mankind, and is a natural product. Go see what the manufacturers say. (follow the money?)

Of course there are always the naysayers who want to ruin a $weet thing - so if you are fat, can't get it off, and can't figure out why, check your labels and read this from Princeton University.

Then there is this highly suspect related story. Nah - can't be! BNET

Living a Long Life revisited

2011-12-14T16:41:00.002-07:00

Having spent a few years in Okinawa I was fascinated to find these native people are not only the longest lived, but also the healthiest long lived people on the earth. The Okinawa Centenarian Study. YouTube on Okinawa. Okinawa 2.

Baskin-Robbins ice cream. The original Robbins had one son; instead of following in his father's footstep$, he decided to seek for a better and healthier world. Here is a YouTube clip of John Robbins. He also has a website: Official Site

More coming?

Halides, Iodine and Thyroid Health

2011-12-14T10:55:00.008-07:00

Dr. David Brownstein part 1, part 2
Part 1 discusses the importance of bioidentical hormones, why we have $ynthetic hormone$, and the vital difference between the two.
Part 2 discusses the link between grain treatment (notabley wheat) and thyroid gland destruction due to iodine replacement.

New addition (12/20/11) Bromides in soft drinks. Mountain Dew, Fanta Orange, Squirt, some flavors of Gatorade and Powerade, as well as other fruit-flavored beverages contain brominated vegetable oil (BVO). Upon examination, the FDA removed the GRAS status of BVO used as a flavor additive, but in 1977 approved it as a stabilizer. Go figure($$).

Learn more:

If you search the internet with the terms 'bromine' and 'flour' you will find a lot is known about the health stealing properties of the halide group and the vital health promoting properties of the one good halide - iodine.
Here is a sample statement: "Fluorine, Bromine, Chlorine, Iodine---the four 'INES’ that affect the body (the Halogen family). The first three are the most active so they displace the only good one---iodine, throughout the body, and in so doing they not only poison us, they cause osteoporosis, arthritis, brain fog and other degenerative diseases. They destroy the function of the thyroid gland, add toxins to breast and prostate tissue, suppress the immune system and make the whole body susceptible to cancer." To read more where this quote was found, go HERE. Also at that site is the mention of Bergen Co., NY, that does not fluoridate their water and uses only minimal chlorination - instead, they use ozone pretreatment. Here is a link to a video presentation by United Water of NJ. Here is another clip on YouTube about ozone treatment of water

An excellent summary of Dr. Brownstein's work can be found HERE, with additional links there.

Iodine supplement sources (need to add more): Iosol; Optimox; GHC;

ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid) notes

2011-11-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

ALA is a naturally occuring substance in our bodies.

ALA recharges other antioxidants - c,e,CoQ-10, etc.
Made by body but decreases with age.
Needed to convert glucose to ATP for cell energy.
Both water and fat soluble so crosses brain barrier.
Good for diabetics. Helps with neuropathy pain.
ALA provides relief and helps repair nerves. IV & Oral; oral use give similar blood levels.
Take 800 or 1200 mg/dy.
Helps prevent NASH and liver damage.
No problems with overdose.
Counters kidney damage. Slows down cataract formation, prevents protein loss in diabetics. 300 mg minimum. 600-900 mg 3 times per day if problems with neuopathy. Helps cholesterol damage. Improves blood flow. Lessens reprofusion injury - heart attacks, strokes, etc. bedsores, dibetic foot ulcers, ministrokes.

Helps repair endothelium cells in blood vessels; Endothlial dysfunction from smoking, diabetes, etc. helped by ALA. Used as chelating agent and to prevent kidney/liver damage. Use befoe getting amalgam fillings out. Protects liver from poisons like tylenol, mushroom poisoning, pain meds, has reversed hepatic acoma. Age related mental decline, immune modulator, weight loss, combine with L-Carnitine helps noise related hearing loss. Use with B-12 & Zinc.

Magnesium, d-ribose, Omega-3, CoQ-10, ALA. D3. Dr. Becker show YH-1255

Pork

2011-11-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

All credit for the contents of this post go to Kristen Michaelis (The Food Renegade). I've copied the content here because stuff this good has a way of disappearing from the internet... Here is the link to her article before this one (Is Pork Bad for You?)

The Definitive Guide To Pork:

Confused about the meaning of "cured," "uncured," & "marinated"? I’d never before considered that the world of pork labeling could be nearly as confusing as, say, the world of egg labeling. But it is. It totally is. As with egg labels, a lot of terms get thrown around on labels, and hardly anyone seems to know what they actually mean. Now you’ll know.

I’d never before considered that the world of pork labeling could be nearly as confusing as, say, the world of egg labeling. But it is. It totally is. As with egg labels, a lot of terms get thrown around on labels, and hardly anyone seems to know what they actually mean. Now you’ll know.
When I select pork, I consider first how the pig was raised and slaughtered. I know it’s hard to put any kind of factory farming on a sliding scale; it’s all bad (and arguably evil). But in my heart of hearts, factory pig farms are among the worst of the lot. Domesticated pigs are highly intelligent creatures, well adapted to living around people. This was, in fact, the common practice for thousands of years among pig-raising small homesteads. The conditions of the factory farm allow the pigs no expression of the “pigness of the pig” (to quote Joel Salatin).
How The Pig Was Raised?

Best Option: Know Your Farmer

The best way to buy pork is directly from a farmer you know and trust. These farmers usually have an open farm policy, allowing you to drop in and see how they’re raising their pigs. First, let me clear up a few misconceptions about well-raised pigs.
Everyone loves to throw around the term “pastured” in reference to pigs. While that’s a helpful term in that it implies that pigs get to spend the majority of their lives outside, it can also mislead people who don’t know very much about how pigs eat. Pigs don’t eat grass exclusively. They are not ruminants; they have but one stomach (much like our own). Pigs are omnivores who love to eat scraps, food waste, grains, and more. On a traditional homestead, pigs are fed “slop” — a mix of kitchen scraps, the whey leftover from cheesemaking, canning leftovers, you name it. My point? Don’t judge a farm by its feed. What may be unappealing or seem “unhealthy” to you is in fact what pigs love and thrive on the most.
Second, a well-raised pig gets to forage. Pigs like to graze. They like to use their snout to root around in the straw or dirt and find old acorns and other half-rotted goodies to eat. They like to eat plants like clover, oats, and rye. They like to maw on old tree roots, fermenting corn, and other jewels which you and I probably don’t find very appealing.
Good Option: Certified Humane or Animal Welfare Approved
If you don’t have a local farmer to buy from, your next best option is to buy pork that has the Certified Humane or Animal Welfare Approved label on it. According to the Certified Humane standards for pigs and the Animal Welfare Approved standards for pigs, pigs raised with these labels will:
•be fed a nutritious diet

•not receive non-therapeutic antibiotics or hormones

•be given appropriate shelter from weather

•not be confined unless its for short, necessary periods (like when they’re being examined or weighed)

•have resting areas with comfortable bedding like straw

•be allowed sufficient space in their resting areas to turn around and lie down fully stretched

•engage freely in natural behaviors

The more stringent of the two labels is the Animal Welfare Approved label, which actually requires outdoor foraging and rooting. With the Certified Humane label, there is no guarantee that the pig spends the majority of its life raised outdoors (although many with this certification are). But at least you know they were raised in a way that had outdoor access, respected their comfort, and allowed them to express their natural behaviors like rooting and mawing.
Fine Option: USDA Certified Organic Pork

Organic pork standards require that pigs be fed organic feed, prohibit non-therapeutic antibiotics or hormones, and have good standards for providing for the pig’s comfort, bedding, outdoor access, etc. The standards are less stringent than with the third-party labels above, but they’re still far superior to conventionally raised, factory-farmed pork.
Avoid: “Natural” and Factory-Farmed Pork

Unless your pork falls into one of the three categories above, it was raised in the conventional, factory-farmed system. The label “natural” often gets applied to factory-farmed pork products, but don’t be fooled by it. All the word “natural” means is that the pork was processed without the use of artificial ingredients, coloring ingredients, or chemicals. It strictly refers to how the meat was handled after the animal was dead, and has nothing whatsoever to do with how the animal was raised.
How The Pork Is Prepared

After considering how the pig was raised, the next major indicator of the healthfulness of pork is how it was prepared. In last week’s post on the healthfulness of pork, I argued that traditionally-prepared pork can be healthy for you while non-traditionally prepared pork may cause an inflammatory response in the blood.
What is traditionally prepared pork?

The large pork-raising cultures are mostly in Asian and Europe.
In Asian cultures, pork was traditionally cut up and marinated in something acidic prior to cooking. In India, pork is marinated in yogurt (Tandoori Pork). In Vietnam, it is marinated in a fermented fish sauce with lemon. In Thailand and China, pork ribs are marinated in a fermented fish sauce and wine (see these Thai Style Spareribs for an example).
In European cultures, pork was traditionally cured (think “preserved”) with salt, spices, and a sweetener to produce hams, bacon, and savory sausages like salami, pastrami, pepperoni, prosciutto, and more. Salt alone doesn’t make a good cure as it tends to harden the meat and make it dry. Added sweeteners, spices, and peppers do the magic of retarding the hardening, drying action of the salt and produce the well-rounded flavors we associate with these various cuts of pork. These pork cuts could also be smoked while being cured — a sort of double-whammy as far as imparting flavor and preserving the meat. Pork was generally slaughtered in the winter, and that’s because a good chill is necessary to arrest unfavorable pathogenic bacterial growth while waiting for the salt-cure and natural fermentation of good bacteria to set in. In warmer climates where the winter chill was not enough to fully retard the growth of pathogenic bacteria (particularly around bones and joints), it was typical to pickle the pork to jump-start the natural fermentation process so that the good bacteria could easily outnumber and out-compete the bad bacteria. Back then, pickling involved soaking the meat in a salt brine and allowing lactic-acid producing cultures to help ferment the meat. The curing process typically took 1 1/2 to 2 days per pound in the cut of meat — so a 10 lb ham would cure for 20 days, while a 1 lb link of pork sausage would cure for just 2.
Marinated Pork

In line with the traditional Asian recipes above, marinating is something you’d do at home after you purchase a raw cut of pork. The smaller the pork cuts, the less time they’ll need to spend in the marinade. Generally, an overnight marinade in an acidic medium will be enough for diced pork, while larger cuts like a pork chop or scored pork roast will need to be marinated for 24 hours. Look for recipes that have acidic marinades — lemon juice, wine, yogurt, vinegar, fermented fish sauces, etc.
Uncured Pork

Because of our strange labeling laws, traditionally-cured pork products are now labeled as “uncured” pork in retail markets. That’s because a new form of curing has evolved over the past couple hundred years that has become mainstream since the discovery of saltpeter (sodium nitrate) in the late 19th century. Saltpeter was used as a fertilizer first, then as a food preservative in place of salt. In the 1960s we created sodium nitrite in laboratories, and it swiftly became the preferred curing agent in meats as it keeps meat looking pink and fresh instead of allowing it to turn grey (as is natural in traditionally-cured meats). Now, most “cured” meats are cured with either sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, or both. The danger with these new forms of curing comes because these compounds turn into nitrosamines (a known carcinogen) when digested in conjunction with protein:
Like sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate forms nitrosamines, a human carcinogen, known to cause DNA damage and increased cellular degeneration. Studies have shown a link between increased levels of nitrates and increased deaths from certain diseases including Alzheimer’s, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson’s, possibly through the damaging effect of nitrosamines on DNA.[8] Nitrosamines, formed in cured meats containing sodium nitrate and nitrite, have been linked to gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer.[9] Sodium nitrate and nitrite are associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer.[10] World Cancer Research Fund UK,[11] states that one of the reasons that processed meat increases the risk of colon cancer is its content of nitrate. A small amount of the nitrate added to meat as a preservative breaks down into nitrite, in addition to any nitrite that may also be added. The nitrite then reacts with protein-rich foods (such as meat) to produce N-nitroso compounds (NOCs). Some types of NOCs are known to cause cancer. NOCs can be formed either when meat is cured or in the body as meat is digested. (source)
Because this new form of curing with nitrates or nitrites is so common in commercially-cured meats, meat cured using the traditional methods of curing without the use of these chemical compounds is now called “uncured”.
What to look for on the label

When trying to determine whether or not a pork product is traditionally-cured, look for the following on the ingredients label:
•The word “uncured” — This almost always means a traditional curing process was used.

•No “sodium nitrite,” “sodium nitrate,” “salt peter,” or “mono-sodium glutamate (MSG)” — If any of these words are on the label, it is NOT a traditionally cured meat.

•A “lactic-acid” starter culture — This is a known, safe way for giving the good bacteria a jump start to help preserve the meat during the smoking process and has its roots in our long history of traditionally-pickled meats. It will almost always mean that the meat was traditionally-cured, as meats cured with nitrites or nitrates don’t need the jump-start.

•A blend of salt, spices, and a sweetener — Traditionally-cured meats will contain a blend of these ingredients in order to create the complex flavor and texture associated with particular cuts or products.

Artificial Sweetener$

2011-09-08T09:10:00.000-06:00

(updated)
The big thing about artificial sweeteners is to cut down on the calories associated with sugar. So how come we keep getting fatter? There is a lot of controversy over these chemical demons. Many nutritionists have concluded that its best to stick with natural and avoid the fake stuff.

Aspartame approved based on falsified reports. FDA

And if the ingredient list has sugar (in any form) as the 1st item, or 2nd +5th +8th+etc., PUT IT BACK!

Aspartame is really good - if you want a lot of health problems. Click HERE for more sites and info. How do you come down with cancer? DNA of normal cells gets changed so they become cancerous. Formaldehyde, one of the breakdown components of aspartame or aspartate, attaches to DNA nucleotides and results in serious strand breaks leading to cancer. This substance builds up in cells and is hard to remove so it keeps working long after you've taken it! The problem labeling substances as carcinogens (cancer causing) is that it often takes 4, 8, or 10 years or more for the cumulative effects of DNA breakdown to result in cancer - and is highly dependant upon the strength of your DNA repair mechanisms.

Saccharin - linked to bladder and other cancers? See - Sherpa This was where Monsanto got it's start in the early 1900's (selling it to Coca Cola - great bed fellows!). Before it went on to poison the earth with PCB's; but that's another story...

The battle continues on Stevia. [Interesting update on Stevia] The sweetener taken from the whole plant has been used in native cultures for hundreds of years without problem. But, the FDA has determined it is not safe as a food additive and has banned its use. Then they turn around and approve two stevia derivatives as GRAS (generally regarded as safe): Truvia and PureVia patented respectively by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, those two world renowned health food companies! Both of these seem to rely on the extract rebiana for its sweetness. It seems to be just another story of 'follow the money' as to how these lucrative sweeteners (they're patented) got a GRAS rating but the natural sweetener did not! So you all are the mice in this experiment!
Me? I'll just stick to whole fruits, grains, veggies, and maybe a little honey. It's just hard to improve on mother nature.

Sorbitol - Here is an interesting reference linking sorbitol to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Xylitol seems to be good at cutting cavities (much better than fluoride!). I've been using it instead of toothpaste and it works great! I don't use it in food or drinks instead of sugar because I'm trying to cut out all sugar anyway!

CAUTION - Xylitol causes dogs to over-secrete insulin thus drastically lowering their blood sugar, causing liver damage and death - so keep anything with Xylitol out of reach of your pooch! Due to differences in metabolism, this doesn't occur in humans. Just search the Internet with "dogs Xylitol".

Sucralose (Splenda): Made from sucrose (sugar) by chemically changing the structure of the sugar molecules by substituting three chlorine atoms for three hydroxyl groups. Although the manufacturer claims this artificial sweetener is not absorbed and is passed through the digestive system unchanged, but according to the FDA's "Final Rule" report, 11% to 27% of sucralose is absorbed in humans, and the rest is excreted unchanged in feces. According to the Japanese Food Sanitation Council, as much as 40% of ingested sucralose is absorbed.
About 20% to 30% of absorbed sucralose is metabolized. Both the metabolites and unchanged absorbed sucralose are excreted in urine. The absorbed sucralose has been found to concentrate in the liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract. According to The Sucralose Toxicity Information Center, sucralose is broken down "into small amounts of 1,6-dichlorofructose, a chemical which has not been adequtely tested in humans.
Research in animals has shown that sucralose can cause many problems in rats, mice, and rabbits, such as:

Shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage)
Enlarged liver and kidneys.
Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus
Increased cecal weight
Reduced growth rate
Decreased red blood cell count
Hyperplasia of the pelvis
Extension of the pregnancy period
Aborted pregnancy
Decreased fetal body weights and placental weights
Diarrhea
See: Loren
I don't know about you, but if somebody lies about something I'm going to be putting into my body, I'm NOT going to be using it!
Here is a fairly good site MedicineNet that gives a rather comprehensive rundown. The trouble with these and other food additives is the accumulative and long term side effects. And neither you nor your doctor is likely to associate your problems with these additives. So you end up with a drug to treat the symptoms. Since it does nothing to treat the cause, you end up with more symptoms (from the drug) and get more drugs to treat those symptoms. Does it work? Yea - for the pharmaceutical companies! Follow the money!

And where is the FDA while we are being poisoned? FTM! (follow the money)

Vitamin Water and Power Drinks

2011-08-21T23:34:00.001-06:00

Vitamin Water (& Power Drinks) - Sounds like good stuff doesn't it? Look carefully who makes this toxic concoction. You may have to get out your magnifying glass, but if it is one of the big pop bottlers (like Coca-Cola) you have good reason to be suspicious! Here is one of many resources. Get yo SUGGA!!

Instead of this junk, try lemon or lime water. As strange as it sounds, this will tend to make your body more alkaline and healthier.

Additional links later?

Toxic Intestines and the link to Autism

2011-08-21T23:15:00.000-06:00

You won't find this making headline news - but I find it very informative.
Here is a link to a series of videos about the increase of toxic gut and how it leads to suseptability of brain damage from vaccines. Dr. Campbell-McBride

FAIR - A lot of interesting interviews and resources here.

Additional background that may be helpful to understanding how vaccines become toxic to one child and not another. Heal Your Toxic Child

80% of parents want FAT kids

2011-08-19T17:21:00.001-06:00

Do you want your kid to be obese? Must be since about 80% of children are now becoming obese.

But to take the guesswork out of it, here is how to do it:

How to make your kid fat and develop cirrhosis or the liver:
First and foremost, let them eat/drink sugar (or a lot of alcohol). READ THE LABEL! See just how much sugar is in almost every breakfast cereal, or processed food (hint - it comes in a box or container).

From a recent article by Dr. Mercola:

"HFCS is in the vast majority of processed foods—even those you wouldn't think of as sweet, such as ketchup, soup, salad dressing, bread and crackers. Even "natural" foods often contain fructose as a sweetener. So even if you don't drink soda, if you eat processed or packaged foods at all, you're likely consuming fructose—and a lot of it. Fructose accounts for 10 percent of the calories in the average American diet. Metabolically, it's the worst of the worst."

"How Consuming Fructose Can Damage Your Liver:

Fructose is very hard on your liver, in much the same way as drinking alcohol.
1.Liver burden number one: After eating fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests on your liver—ONLY your liver can break it down. This is much different than consuming glucose, in which your liver has to break down only 20 percent, and the remaining 80 percent is immediately metabolized and used by the rest of the cells in your body.

2.Liver burden number two: Fructose is converted into fat that get stored in your liver and other tissues as body fat. Part of what makes fructose so bad for your health is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar. For example, if you eat 120 calories of fructose, 40 calories are stored as fat. But if you eat the same amount of glucose, less than one calorie gets stored as fat. Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat! "

Classification of humans based on gut flora

2011-08-19T16:07:00.000-06:00

An interesting article in Nature reported there are three main types of enterotypes found across part of the world. Although the study was rather limited and only studied several countries, at least it is indicative of the increasing awareness that your gut flora is critical to good health and freedom from chronic diseases. Total ingnorance of this issue is leading most teenagers to a sad future - most doctors are in the dark too!
The number one cause of toxic gut? Antibiotics and prescription drugs!! Search for yourself - search on 'dysbiosis'.
More on enterotypes as the science advances.
Another related topic is clostridium diffcile or C DIFF. It has been increasing at an alarming rate among both children and adults. More on this as I have time to investigate. MedNews Doubled

Fructose Update

2011-08-17T12:04:00.000-06:00

High Fructose Corn Syrup has received so much negative press that they have changed the name to "Corn Sweetener", so don't be fooled. But HFCS isn't the end of the subject. Fruit of all kinds contain fructose. Fructose is metabolized (used by the body) different from glucose. The bottom line is excessive fructose leads to insulin insensitivity (type 2 diabetes) and the other big killers (heart, cancer, mental decline, etc.). Especially when consumed without the accompanying fiber associated with eating the natural fruit; i.e., fruit juices. Dr. Mercola expounds on this in this article.

Pancreatitis

2011-08-02T16:52:00.001-06:00

Most doctors have no idea what to do for pancreatitis other than guess as foods that might make it worse. There are studies that suggest eating a diet high in antioxidants and keeping away from soda and other 'high oxidizers' can greatly decrease the number of pain filled days and nights.
Links of interest: MedPage
Also note that most of your common grocery store household cleaners are high in oxidizers.
The four 'health berries'; Acai, Goji, Noni, and Mangosteen are also very high in antioxidants - acai being the highest with an ORAC value of over 1000.
The common spice cumin has also been found to have a number of benefits and is high in antioxidants, antistress, and memory enhancing properties. See CUMIN

Agent Orange

2011-07-17T11:13:00.003-06:00

Being a Vietnam veteran, I've had some interest in Agent Orange, the toxic herbicidal defoliant used during and since that war. This is really scary stuff! For details see MONSANTO

They have been experimenting with a new herbicide to rid the Rio Grande of an invasive reed that complicates border surveilance and control - but not to worry, the government says its safe(!?). FoxNews Although effects may not show up imediately (remember Agent Orange was 'safe' too) it may be combined with surficants which are know to be quite genotoxic. Mendeley

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - an alternative solution

2011-07-17T10:09:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not, this much less expensive & envasive device really works! This is a data point of one, but my wife tried it and found overnight relief. Stay tuned for long term results. MyCarpalTunnel

Why SUGAR makes you fat

2011-07-17T09:55:00.001-06:00

Well, not sugar, but more particularly FRUCTOSE:
Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, has been a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism. Here are a few important facts about fructose:

•After eating fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests on your liver. With glucose, your liver has to break down only 20 percent. The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance progresses to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
•Fructose converts to activated glycerol (g-3-p), which is directly used to turn free fatty acids (FFAs) into triglycerides that get stored as fat. The more g-3-p you have, the more fat you store. Glucose does not do this. When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose, however, results in 40 calories being stored as fat. Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat!
•The metabolism of fructose by your liver creates a long list of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.
•Glucose suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and stimulates leptin, which suppresses your appetite. Fructose has no effect on ghrelin and interferes with your brain's communication with leptin, resulting in overeating. For further confirmation on this, check out this 2008 study published in the Journal of Nutrition. The researchers concluded that fructose turned into body fat much quicker than glucose, and that having fructose for breakfast changed how the body handled fats at lunch.
Ironically, the food products that most people rely on to lose weight—low-fat diet foods—often contain the most fructose! So beware, and always read the content labels.

Ref: #1

Also of note is a study countering the incorrect notion we've all been slammed with that weight depends on calories in minus calories burned. Quality is More Important than Quantity (watch the potato chips) from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Aspartame

2011-04-09T22:13:00.001-06:00

A link for now. Aspartame
More quick read from Amazon reviews and summaries.
There is more elsewhere on this blog under Artificial Sweetners.

If it says "Diet", "Lite", or "Reduced calories" BEWARE! It'll probably make you fat!

GMO Update

2011-04-09T21:50:00.000-06:00

More research continues to reveal the damage done by GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms), as well as the assault on scientists who research in this highly lucrative field (follow the money once again).

Kidney & Liver Damage, etc. (note - long and technical)
Summary of above
Letter to Court

Fluoride - Update No. 2

2011-04-05T14:55:00.003-06:00

Having forgotten some of the research I'd done on fluoride/fluoridation/fluoride drugs, I dropped by the library and checked out a few books - some new, some old. I found some interesting research findings I'd not known or had forgotten.

1. There is much more to discuss about water fluoridation than what you drink. One factor not often discussed is absorption through the skin. In this article there are multiple scientists who have concluded that absorption via ingestion is less than through the skin when taking a shower or bath. The effects of Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) are also mentioned. Quickie

2. Dangers of fluoride drugs. Linked to Thicker Arteries. Prozac (and look-alikes) 49 Page Book, Index of fluorinated pharmaceuticals, site with easy links; lots of links and connection between fluorine and thyroid related problems.

3. Fluoroquinolone drugs can really take a toll on your digestive tract! The next time that a doctor recommends Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox or any other Quinolone or Fluoroquinolone antibiotic be sure to consider whether the risk of contracting a permanently disabling side effect such as tendon rupture, severe digestive tract damage or Fibromyalgia-like symptoms is worth it. See NN

Prostate Cancer Screening not valid for older men

2011-03-30T20:20:00.001-06:00

FYI: Reuters

Sodium Fluoride Drops for Infants - research

2011-03-28T15:31:00.006-06:00

Some dentists and pediatritions are prescribing sodium fluoride drops for infants - why?!
Research:
1. Presentation against fluoride in drinking water, Austin, TX (21 Mar 2011).
2. Natural Dentistry advice.
3. Scientists and Professionals against fluoridation due to adverse biological effects.
4. Fluoride results in better teeth - ops, maybe not.
5. Fluoride layer so thin that protection is questioned (PubMed 21 Dec 2010).
6. For The Record - The ADA recommendations.

Vaccine Update (again)

2011-03-24T21:43:00.002-06:00

In many countries, government officials and drug companies aggressively resist conducting studies that compare the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. But such studies have been conducted in Africa.

One such study, from Guinea-Bissau, shows a doubling of the mortality rate among infants vaccinated with a single dose of DTP vaccine. The mortality rate more than quadrupled after the second and third dose.

Ignore the data, if the fox (BigPharma) says everything is fine in the hen house, it must be!
Vaccination Study

Premature Birth Drug - FDA helps again

2011-03-23T11:18:00.003-06:00

A drug which the FDA approved more than half a century ago—which doctors have been prescribing for their patients with high-risk pregnancies through compounding pharmacies with great success—was designated by the FDA an “orphan drug.” Now KV Pharmaceutical has been given the exclusive right of production and sale (not to mention drug trial tax breaks!). They immediately raised the price from $10 per dose to $1,500—simply because they could.
See Details.

Midwifery/Natural Birthing/Diapers

2011-03-22T10:56:00.005-06:00

I really don't remember how I got off on this subject, but with all the dangerous and often unnecessary interventions now used in hospital births, I thought it would be good to include some information on alternatives.

Interesting Midwife site. Midwife Certification. Find a Midwife.

Diapers - What's this doing here?! How do you 'do' diapers? Disposables right? And what do you put the disposables in when done? Any idea the effect these have on the environment; how long this toxic mess takes to disentigrate?! (some of it doesn't). Of equal concern is what do these disposables do to your baby?
If you are the typical 'modern' mom - you really don't want to consider this, but there are some alternatives to disposables. Here is one of many online resources: Diapers

Here is a throw-in from the Environmental Working Group:
(This is not an endorsement of these products - make up your own mind)
EWG's baby gift list (links to Amazon.com):
Glass baby bottles
If you need to use plastic, buy BPA-free baby bottles
A natural wood, unpainted rattle
Chlorine-free disposable diapers or cloth diapers
Your favorite baby book -- in cardboard or wood (Alex is partial to Dr. Seuss!)
Organic cotton onesies

Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

2011-03-20T22:38:00.010-06:00

Although I've run across a lot of literature and information on the Internet on this subject, I've not posted anything here.

Since it is becoming epidemic I think I will spend a little time investigating natural cures and pharmaceutical drug dangers.

A start:

Jon Barron on diabetes.

Here is a LONG list of articles addressing various issues relating to diabetes. (Note, you may have to register for this site - it's a pain, but I've found the site safe and worth it.).

Oh, by the way, if your doctor has recently put you on statin drugs, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) is a frequent side effect!

A short summary is: Cut out sugar, particularly soda!! Diet, low calorie, fat free, etc., cut ALL pop and soda out of your diet. Try water. Next, cut back on processed foods [hint - it comes in a package and has more than 5 items listed on the ingredients label - most of which you can't pronounce!]; along with this, cut out processed carbohydrates, better known as junk snack food. Consider increasing your vitamin D3 intake and thiamine (a B-vitamin). Become very conscious of labels and read them - this takes some patience and study to get smart. DON'T get sucked into buying stuff just because it says "Fat Free", 'Low Calorie", or "Lite". These will sabotage your weight control every time! See my post on how to get fat.

Cholesterol

2011-03-18T13:47:00.001-06:00

Does your doc say you need to lower your cholesterol? And here's just the drug for it?
You may want to investigate the side effects of those drugs including the fact statin drugs (and others), block the same mechanism whereby your body makes coenzyme Q-10. Don't know what that is? Find out - your life depends on it!

Next here are some links that refute the whole cholesterol/cardio link. But research carefully, as there are many other factors that relate to heart disease.

THINCS - Note: This site is a little tedious to navigate, but don't give up.

Health Journal - He IS a doctor and almost always has something interesting to say; plus he isn't selling anything!

Also look on this Blog for information on Statin Drugs:
Statin Drugs - Updates
Statin Drugs - Muscle Problems
Statin Drugs - Or Niacin
Here is an OLD article on the ineffectiveness of Vytorin and Zetia in particular.

An interesting book to read on the subject is "The great American Heart Hoax" by Michael Ozner. You might try your local library. [ISBN: 9781933771540
1933771542]

Comments are welcome by the way.....

Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

2011-03-13T10:05:00.001-06:00

I got sidetracked on this one. Someone sent me a power point show of the Harbin, China Ice and Snow Festival. Here is the link to a photographer with beautiful work - and it includes several of the Harbin festivals - Enjoy! You might want to explore some of his other photo's.

Here is a 2010 update from the Boston Globe.

Bone Density/Ostioporosis Drugs and Osteonecrosis

2011-03-01T22:49:00.003-07:00

This is a placekeeper for further investigation - I gotta keep it somewhere!

Osteoporosis drugs such as Fosamax, Boniva, and Actonel are now being linked to osteonecrosis (bone death) in the jaw according to a new study by the University of Southern California's School of Dentistry.

The study's findings

According to a study by the University of Southern California's School of Dentistry (USCD), osteoporosis (a bone disease that leads to an increased risk of fracture) drugs such as Fosamax, Boniva and Actonel that are prescribed to nearly 30 million Americans each year may be the cause of jaw bone death, or osteonecrosis. The drugs, also known as bisphoshonates, became part of a USCD study after patients taking the drugs started showing unusual jaw infections.

According to an article in Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com) and the April issue of the Journal of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (www.joms.org/), the USCD looked at microbial biofilms (which relates to bacteria) in the bones of patients taking these drugs and found a correlation between the drugs and jaw bone disorders.

Bisphosphonate manufacturers

The following companies manufacturer bisphosphonates:

•Fosamax - manufactured by Merck & Company.
•Boniva - manufactured by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline and made popular due to its celebrity endorser, Sally Field
•Actonel - manufactured by Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi Pharmaceuticals.
•Skelid - manufactured by Sanofi Pharmaceuticals
•Didronel - manufactured by Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals
•Reclast and Zometa - manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceuticals
What is Osteonecrosis?

Osteonocrosis is bone death resulting from poor blood supply to an area of bone. Often known as jaw death, it is a condition that has been linked to patients on bisphosphonate therapy and may also result in pain, swelling, infection of soft tissue, drainage, loosening of teeth, exposed bone, numbness, and heaviness of the jaw. The U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and pharmaceutical giant Novartis, warned dental professionals in 2004 about a possible link to osteonecrosis and bisphosphonates over Novartis's drug Aredia which is no longer available to U.S. consumers.

Fructose - update - how to get FAT

2011-02-28T23:05:00.004-07:00

This will change your life. Want to get fat? Eat more fat - right? WRONG! Eat FRUCTOSE! Whether it is high fructose corn syrup, or apple juice, or . . . . . almost any low fat packaged food. Look on the label - low fat -> hi sugar! Usually in the form of fructose. Also watch out for sugar substitutes - especially Aspartame!

Do you really believe calories in = calories burned + fat stored. Which means eat less and exercise more and you will lose weight. Does it work? Look around you - that's the story all the overweight people around you have swallowed. If it works why is the U.S. one of the most obese nations on earth? What is your experience?!

So do not watch any TV today and watch THIS
(WARNING - it takes 90 minutes - no commercials) and don't worry about all the technical, but informative, explanations - just listen for the message. And change your lifestyle for the better.

PCOS

2011-02-23T14:58:00.001-07:00

PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormone imbalance that can cause irregular periods, unwanted hair growth, and acne. PCOS begins during a girl’s teen years and can be mild or severe.

What are the signs of PCOS?
Teen girls and young women with PCOS commonly have one or more signs. Some of the most common signs include:
Irregular periods that come every few months, not at all, or too frequently
Extra hair on your face or other parts of your body, called hirsutism (her-suit-is-em)
Acne
Weight gain and/or trouble losing weight
Patches of dark skin on the back of your neck and other areas, called acanthosis nigricans (a-can-tho-sis ni-gri-cans)

The rates of PCOS among teens has skyrocketed since the 80's and is due to poor nutrition from processed foods and environmental toxins.

PCOS is caused by an imbalance in the hormones (chemical messengers) in your brain and your ovaries. Many girls also have higher than normal levels of insulin from the pancreas. PCOS usually happens when a hormone called LH or levels of insulin are too high, which results in extra testosterone production by the ovary.

In the 1980's, the fat-free philosophy reigned supreme. As fat in foods dwindled, sugar and artificial sweeteners came into ascendancy. So did obesity
Scientists & doctors at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, collected data for eight years and discovered that people who drank diet soda did not lose weight, but rather gained weight."

High fructose corn syrup arrived in the 1970's, made with cornstarch from genetically modified corn. Since that time, obesity and diabetes rates have soared. This 'engineered' fructose causes high triglyceride levels, fatty liver, insulin resistance, and seemingly unstoppable hunger since it also turns off your brain's ability to respond to leptin. Leptin is the hormone that lets you know when you're full.

An excellent site that further explains PCOS & natural alternatives to drugs:
http://www.sensible-alternative.com.au/female-hormones/polycystic-ovarian-syndrome

Do you drink bottled water? Use canned foods/soups? Microwave in plastics? These are all sources of BPA's which are known hormone disrupters.

Another gland involved with PCOS is the thyroid gland. The detrimental effects of fluoride on on this gland are well proven, but not well publicized. What's in your toothpaste? Read the warning label. The toxic effects of fluoride are magnified by aluminum.

Many PCOS teens suffer from sugar addiction characterized by a diet high in white flour products (white bread, bagels, cookies, pastries), potatoes & potato products like chips, French fries, etc. Closely related are corn based snacks.

Cataracts

2011-02-21T18:00:00.004-07:00

Here is some information on cataracts - some of which I wish I'd known many years ago!

What is a cataract? And what does it look like? Go HERE (good site with pictures).

I just had cataract surgery after having worn glasses for the past 50 or so years.

Here is a long audio (51 min) on what you can do to prevent cataracts. Or, go to the same website and read the important points below the audio player first.

Want to know what cataract surgery looks like today - check it out. (Video)

Do you have cataracts and wonder what to do?
1. Most insurance (US) will cover the surgery and lens replacement with a monocular lens.
2. If you have severe astigmatism, are extremely near sighted, or have other eye conditions other than presbyopia, nearsightedness, or farsightedness you may have to get a more complicated (and expensive) lens. Talk to your opthalmologist about what he recommends.
3. You may also opt to get a 'premium' ($$) lens such as:
. a. Multifocal lens (see below).
. b. Accommodating lens (also below).

c. Mix & Match, or a combination of the different lenses. One in one eye, another kind in the other eye.

Types of lenses:
1. Monofocal: Corrects vision for one distance - usually far vision, then you have to use reading glasses or similar for close up. But if you do most of your work up close you could get a monofocal lens that corrects for up close and glasses for medium and far vision. It is possible to have one eye focused for far and the other for near - this is called monovision. This has been successful with people using contact lenses, but I've not talked to anyone who has had monovision using implants or "IOL's". I was initially considering it, but decided to go for the more expensive multifocal ReSTOR lens.
2. Multifocal: There are three contenders here at this time - Tecnis, ReZoom and ReSTOR. For me it was a toss-up between the Tecnis and the ReSTOR. As I understood it, the Tecnis gave better near vision in dim light than the ReSTOR, but more glare from headlights in night driving. I finally went with the ReSTOR. And it may be the doctor just likes those better, it's a hard decision to make - especially since you can only do it once!
3. Accomodating: This is the Crystalens. It is supposed to work just like your lens did when you were younger and be able to change shape as it is hooked to the same muscles that focused your natural lens once upon a time. According to my doctor, he hasn't had such good luck with them and people end up with poor near focus as the lens tends to pop out of place and move forward. He will not use them.

Post-Op experience. As I'm writing this, I've only had my right eye done (next eye in a week) and I'm quite pleased with the results. At present (operation + 1 week) I can't see that well for reading. They say it will get better. My eye is not 20/20 far, 20/35 near, and the night glare of bright lights doesn't seem to be a bother. Before surgery I was in otherwise excellent health, not on any meds, and no other complications other than the cataracts.

State of Health

2011-02-12T13:04:00.004-07:00

So what is your state of health? Or more precisely, how does your state (of the U.S. States) compare? Fun site. Then check out counties in your (or any) state.

Antibiotics - is yours a fluoroquinolone?

2011-02-10T21:56:00.005-07:00

"The Fluoroquinolone Drugs are the most toxic and dangerous antibiotic in clinical practice today"

A very dangerous group of antibiotics known as fluorquinolones are given out like candy by ignorant physicians every day. Check here for the common names of many of them.

Then set back for a good read and check out the many side effects of these drugs. Many have been taken off the market due to the severe damage they cause, but many are still out there reaping havoc as well as profits for the pharmaceutical companies as they sell drug after drug to address the damage originating with these drugs - and most medical practitioners are totally unaware of this. Don't be as ignorant - the quality of life you save may be your own!

How about tendinitis or a ruptured tendon? Peripheral neuropathy? Sudden change in blood sugar? Tinnitus? Floaters? Fibromyalgia? The list goes on - and on - and ON!

Or just use your search engine and enter 'fluoroquiolone'. And next time you're at your doctor's office, ask them how often they have prescribed Cipro; then ask if they know what signs to warn them of in case of an adverse reaction.

Vaccine Resource Information

2011-01-26T13:50:00.001-07:00

1-27-11: More in from the Health Ranger. Although he comes across a little too candid, and sometimes opens his mouth before thinking (gee, I never did that..), many of the articles are well thought out and researched. Here's more on the Dr. Wakefield controversy:
Wakefield Research

1/24/11: Interesting article on link between SIDS and vaccinations.
6/3/10: Vitamin D has been scientifically proven to be five times more effective than vaccines at preventing influenza infections and without ANY complications or side effects. See double blind investigation. Note - these children were given only 1200 IU/day. When under stress, the body needs much more than this. It is quite suprising that the results were this good with these small amounts.
I try to take 10,000 IU/day, but sometimes forget, so I probably average 40,000 to 50,000 per week in the winter.

6/5/10: Once again, follow the BIG money to see WHO pulled some strings in the flu pandemic of 2009-2010. Will we fall for the same game in 2011?

4/11/10: Rotarix vaccine contamination.

4/11/10: Another voice in the wilderness: Doctors against vaccines.

4/?/09: Generation Rescue, Inc. Let's ignore these numbers OK?

4/10/10: Dr. Mercola interview with Dr. Wakefield on MMR shots, Bowel disease & autism.

Posted 4/5/10: Polish Health Minister Ewa Kopacz didn't fall for flu scam.

FDA info on Therosal content of vaccines (does not address other adjuvants such as squaline)

More on scam - Examiner

More goodies on vaccines - I'm trying to determine if this is real, not sure how I can actually do that. Deadly Immunity (part 1 of 3) Note -This only covers the thimerisol question - be sure to check Part II as well as Part III. Another admitidley biased source (willing to look at the evidence?) can be found here Put Children FIRST.

If the previous post (hep-b for newborns), makes you wonder about the motives of an industry protected from any kind of misconduct, guaranteed profits by laws they pushed into place, by pawns they placed in key positions - THEN here is a place to go where you can find out how to protect yourself and your child. State Vaccine Requirements Just scroll down and click on the state of interest. There you will find the requirements and the legal means to be exempt from those requirements.

And while we are on the subject, I've wondered why people are so paranoid about a few others in their midst who aren't 'fully vaccinated'. Like they are a time bomb waiting to explode or something. If vaccines are so great and do such a good job of protecting us from getting a disease, then they should be fully protected, right? So where is the problem?

More later.....

Organic Farming - Better Food

2011-01-22T08:57:00.002-07:00

The quantity, quality, and diversity of nutrients in fruits and vegetables is directly related to the health benefits of those who eat them. The amount of these health promoting minerals and nutrients in our food are decreasing due to 'modern' farming methods.

Here are some related supporting documents: The Organic Center ; eartheasy ; msnbc ;

- under construction -

Hexavalent Chromium in your water supply

2011-01-08T13:24:00.003-07:00

If you are one of the older generation, you may remember the movie Erin Brockovich staring Julia Roberts. It was about a little town just south of where I used to live - Hinckley, CA - that had twice the cancer rate of San Bernardino County. The problem was Hexavalent Chromium in the water supply that was causing the cancer. I'll not go over the movie, but its still a problem in spite of the popularity of the movie.

My attention was drawn to this by a recent study of 'Hexachrome' in city water supplies.

Here is a chart of what was found:

Wikipedia also gives an interesting post.

I think that is where I hunted down the chart.

Hinckley, CA had Hexachrome levels varying from 1.19 to 31.8 ppb (parts per billion).

The red vertical line is a proposed 'safe' level by the California EPA.

While poking around, I found the real Erin Brockovich is still fighting the battle.

And don't press the US EPA for any great wisdom. They have set a level of total chromium at 100 ppm and seem to be happy with that. And they don't seem to bother with the difference between the cancer causing hexavalent chromiun and the trivalent chromium essential for health. I've used it to reduce insulin resistance to ensure I am not one of those diabetes statistics.

Vit-D cancer and autoimmune diseases

2010-08-30T21:02:00.003-06:00

This year, as in years past, I choose to not fall prey to the flu vaccine hoax. I prefer to take my Vit-D3 which is more effective, has a long track record, is safe, and non-toxic. Since it strengthens your immune system rather than weakening it, I will be less likely to get the flu (regardless of the strain) or a cold. Vit-D3 is the only thing I have found that will stop a cold once it has a hold on me and I feel the initial symptoms. We are talking about 10,000 IU every 3 or 4 waking hours, then maybe 20,000 IU for the next couple of days. I also will not be a carrier of the flu as will many of those who get the flu vaccine.

Vitamin D may help prevent cancer and other autoimmune diseases including Chrons disease.

VIT-D

Help protect yourself.

Calcium - Got Too Much?

2010-08-09T05:16:00.003-06:00

Perhaps we've been brainwashed for too long to even consider this - but for those who might want to read an interesting article about calcium supplementation and how bad it is for us, check out this: TOXIC CALCIUM OVERLOAD

Quercetin - a natural

2010-06-12T17:52:00.003-06:00

Recent studies on the benefits of Quercetin.
I wonder if there is some way you could use it to help treat nasal mold, fungus, and infections?
Maybe I'll look into this some more.

Heart - Statin Drugs - CoQ-10 and more

2010-06-10T14:45:00.001-06:00

Note: The following is a commentary only, and is not meant as medical advice. And if after further study you are of the opinion that you may want to get off your statins - also be aware that to go off any medication suddenly is not advisable - find out the correct way to do it!

Have you been to a cardiologist? Does he (she) have you on a statin drug? Or maybe its 'just as a precaution'? You may want to investigate just what these were meant to do and what they do that they weren't intended to do - or 'side effects'.

But first, what are some of the 'statin' drugs; their names? Notice the pharmaceutical term always has 'statin' in it.

•Advicor® (niacin extended-release/lovastatin)
•Altoprev® (lovastatin extended-release)
•Caduet® (amlodipine and atorvastatin)
•Crestor® (rosuvastatin)
•Lescol® (fluvastatin)
•Lescol XL (fluvastatin extended-release)
•Lipitor® (atorvastatin)
•Mevacor® (lovastatin)
•Pravachol® (pravastatin)
•Simcor® (niacin extended-release/simvastatin)
•Vytorin® (ezetimibe/simvastatin)
•Zocor® (simvastatin)

Now, what are they meant to do? They lower your cholesterol level.
So what? Why do I want to lower my cholesterol level? Because high cholesterol is supposed to be linked to cardiovascular disease.
But PLEASE note - there are a lot of studies out there that show this is NOT the case; that high cholesterol may be present in some of those with cardiovascular disease, but it is highly contested as to weather or not it causes the problem. Also, as mentioned in the article to follow, the benefits of these statin drugs is limited to those in their 50's and the absolute risk reduction is only about 2% - yes, 2%!! That's like putting an additive in your car's fuel tank that helps keep the tip of your spark plugs a little cleaner - but oh, by the way, it puts holes in your gas tank!

What do statins do that they weren't meant to do? These are the side effects that you are not usually told about or the doctor is not aware of.

READ ALL ABOUT IT! (and while you are there, notice there are many other articles about statins and cholesterol)

Brief list of possible side effects:

Statin drugs have a remarkably diverse set of side effects which may take months or even years to surface:

•Heart failure
•Alzheimer's disease
•Sepsis
•Cognitive and memory impairment
•Reduced libido
•Muscle pain and weakness
•Increased risk of:
•Diabetes
•Multiple sclerosis
•Hemorrhagic stroke
•Cancer
•ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known commonly as Lou Gehrig's disease)

Beef plus

2010-06-01T20:23:00.003-06:00

What are your kids eating at school? Or, what's in that meat you get at the store?
M E A T

I need to start putting some good stuff here. All this bad news is depressing.
The bigger question is - - how do you do a major make-over of Washington!?

Walnuts - CAUTION

2010-05-30T19:27:00.003-06:00

This FDA WARNING LETTER was received by Diamond Food, Inc. (nuts). Please take this warning seriously as no known food is good for your health!

Just to be balanced, here is a little known group that debates what the FDA is warning about -
. . . . University of Maryland Medical Center.

Vitamin C - a study link

2010-05-21T19:20:00.002-06:00

I made the mistake of checking out The Skeptic's Health Journal Club' and got caught up in Vit-C research and work done by Dr. Klenner. I don't want to lose that thread so here it is:

AscorbateWeb

Dr. Klenner (Digest by Dr. Lendon H. Smith)

Where it all started today -> Skeptic's

More on Cancer and Vit-C megadosing: Sunridge . . . NIH Study . . . .Rebuttal . . . .

Interesting Canadian: Zoltan P. Rona, M.D. . . Dr Rona .

Note: Need to spin off aonother post on WATER - Starter: See Dr. Rona etc.

Who Runs Washington?

2010-05-13T13:00:00.001-06:00

This has nothing to do with health. Or does it? I heard a statement recently that there are two lobbyist for every US congressman, most paid big money, from the pharmaceutical industry alone!

Not to accept this at face value, I sleuthed down the following site: OpenSecrets they have a nifty Site Tour for a quick introduction. I've not fully explored it, but just the information on how much pours into Washington through the lobbyists is daunting! Think your congressman will pay attention to your letter? One has to wonder.

To save you a little frustration, here is a page on the BigPharma sector: BigPharma and wonder why 2010 is so low? That's just the first quarter! If you do a little simple math (calculators allowed), divide $200 Million (BigPharma Lobbying $) by 115 Million (number of households in US) that comes out to $1.7 Million per household! Gee that can't be right. Wow, talk about a stimulus plan! I'll take that over Obamacare any day!!

Omega 3 fatty acids - a plant source

2010-05-13T09:14:00.002-06:00

The fiddlehead fern is a plant source of Omega 3's and other goods: Wiki The Star

The Whole Way

Fresh Plaza

Modern Medicine - a $ad commentary

2010-05-11T05:37:00.002-06:00

This is why Obamacare is just more of a bad thing. Marcia Angell

C A N C E R - update on cancer

2010-05-10T12:11:00.007-06:00

I've been interested in cancer for some time. One, because they said I might have it (faulty diagnosis with a less than optimum testing method); and Two, because I've lost a lot of friends to it. The PCB* method, by observation, is little more than legalized torture of the worst kind and sucks individuals, nations, and to some extent insurance companies, out of a lot of money; not to mention life! Where does all that money go? I'll let you figure that one out (hint, its not rocket science). Its also the reason there has been almost no progress made in the 'fight against cancer' in the past 30 years.

Audio clip from interview with Dr. Gonzalez: INTERVIEW (added 17 Aug 2010)

Well so much for the soapbox. For the UPDATE: My recent investigation and reading has again led me to Dr. Nicholas J. Gonzalez in New York City.

For more, click here , notice the heading of who partially funded this work and why....

Balance: To add balance to the investigation here is a long read that to some extent invalidates some of the work of the more commonly touted alternative cancer cures. NoGo

I don't really know how I happened upon this fellow and don't know his credentials or background - but his view of the cancer 'industry' is intriguing. Valentine . I need to investigate more if I can....

* PCB = Poison (chemo), Cut (surgery), Burn (radiation)

GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) - spiked junk?

2010-05-04T16:13:00.003-06:00

My appologies. Upon further investigation, it would appear that the great benefits attributed to GSE may not be true. Until proven otherwise I am discontinuing use of it.

Just because its sold in health food stores and has great claims on the internet, you can't believe everything you find! According to this REPORT, its laced with a chemical antibacterial agent (triclosan) and one that is now incriminated in causing other PROBLEMS. And while you are at it - check your antibacterial soap. As for me, plain old soap (if it isn't made in Mexico). Or, maybe I'll just make my own.

But then the report could be a bunch of fabricated lies as well. . . . . .

Truth, a slippery gem!

Cervical Cancer

2010-05-02T16:42:00.000-06:00

This is only tangentially related to cervical cancer. It is more concerned about the junk science used to justify and perpetuate the use of the very profitable vaccine Garda$il. Should you be interested in the full explanation - continue:

Part I - A Bad Idea

Part II - VAERS, Not the place to start!

Unfortunately, this is the tip of the iceburg. The deeper you dig into the deception of the pharmaceutical industry the worse it gets.

But then it is quite possible that they are immune to the influence of money because they have invented a vaccine for that and take it regularly.

Milk vs White Junk Food

2010-05-02T05:35:00.003-06:00

I thought this an interesting article about milk. Since I live in a moderately health ignorant state, the information on raw milk isn't particularly helpfull; but the information on why the milk we buy at the store is less than desirable I find it very informative. Want more? Go here: MMM (Mark McAfee Milk).

A little sidelight - 2% milk, what is it? That means the liquid, by weight is 2% fat. A little marketing slight of hand. What is it in understandable terms?

Whole Milk ~ 51% of the calories are fat. 2% Milk ~ 38% of the calories are fat.

Commonwealth Fund Statistics

2010-04-25T06:32:00.004-06:00

An interesting source of statistics and perhaps increasingly - propaganda.
Website

Background (Wikipedia)

More comment and questions to follow. This is a placekeeper for now...

Statin Drugs - Update

2010-04-23T08:23:00.005-06:00

Statin Drugs - the other side....

Despite all their reassurances about the safety of statin drugs, the alleged "life-saving class of drugs" can cause a host of serious negative side effects. In addition to things like nausea, diarrhea, and irritability, statins lead to much more serious problems like liver and kidney failure, nerve damage, amnesia, and the destruction of CoQ10 in the body.

Drug companies rake in more than $34 billion a year from statin drugs so it is no wonder that the damage control brigade is out in full force to defend statins against studies that paint them in a not-so-good light. Educated individuals will continue to supplement with things like cod liver oil that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C, non-irradiated cinnamon, and other nutrients that naturally keep cholesterol levels in check.

For the long version, try $tatin

Vaccine Reaction List

2010-04-11T21:44:00.001-06:00

Following are signs and symptoms of a mild to severe vaccine reaction:
•Rash, hives or severe itching
•Swelling, redness and pain at the injection site
•High fever over 103F
•Difficulty breathing or wheezing
•Rapid heart beat or chest pain
•Dizziness or sudden collapse/fainting
•Paleness or changes in skin or lip color
•Muscle weakness or limpness
•Excessive sleepiness or lack of responsiveness
•Loss of vision or speech
•Nausea and vomiting
•Severe diarrhea
•Unusual irritability or other behavior changes
•Prolonged crying (especially high-pitched screaming in infants)
•Seizures or convulsions (shaking, twitching, jerking)
•Joint and body pain
•Head pain
•Excessive bruising under the skin
•Numbness or tingling in hands, arms, feet
•Paralysis

Mercola housekeeping - Part I

2010-04-09T05:45:00.006-06:00

A recent mailing received from Dr. Mercola had a lot of references that I had difficulty keeping straight. Here is some bookkeeping for my benefit:

A. Modern Health Care System is the Leading Cause of Death, Part 1 of 6. With links to all 7 parts of the article. (July 2004): DEATHCARE

B. The Fatally Flawed Medical System (2010)
. FLAWED-1 ; FLAWED-2 ; (no part 3 yet)

Note: I did some preliminary browsing on Dr. Barbara Starfield (One of the coauthors). If it was the right Starfield, it seems she was quite enamored with Obama and his charisma. I wonder what she will say in a year or two.... BARBARA More here: Nordic Congress (click link 'Find the lecture here' for powerpoint slides)

A little goodie on accountability in healthcare: Dr. Marshall (UK)

Osteoporosis. . .take a drug

2010-04-08T08:33:00.004-06:00

An interesting and amazing thing has happened in the medical world! Its almost transformative! Take a term that describes a condition and then use the same noun as the name of a disease! Isn't that the most creative thing you have ever heard of?! And it makes it so much easier to invent another disease for which we can come up with another wonder drug! So what shall we call this world changing creation? Hmmmm how about Etymorphing! Yes, Etymorphing!

For the latest word to be etymorphed, just watch the TV commercials informing you what you need to tell your doctor what drug you need (isn't that practicing medicine without a license?).

One of the earlier words to be etymorphed was 'Osteoporosis'. Somewhere in a galaxy far away - whoops wrong plot! Anyway in the distant past osteoporosis went from a word describing a bone condition to a word describing a disease. OK, we now have a disease. The only way to treat a disease is with a drug, surgery, or radiation. The drug of choice - lets try Fosamax (with the funny 'r' - not sure how to make that on this blog). There seems to be a tiny side effect for long term users however - they tend to break their femur. But rest assured, Merck has thoroughly inve$tigated it and found no correlation. Anyway here is the story: FRACTURE

Rebutal: Reuters

Genetically Modified Foods & Organisms

2010-04-01T19:30:00.001-06:00

Monsanto & GMO Soy - Where did all the people go?? Well, maybe just the hamsters...

Monsanto toots own horn. But . . . SuperWeed blasts foghorn. . . 4/18/10

GMO's - 1/6/2010 Update: The dangers of GMO's are once again spotlighted in this article.
OpEdNews.

It appears that genetically modified foods are not the great boon they promised to be. As usual, Wikipedia has an interesting section on GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) that is somewhat laborious. The premier anti-GMO activist group, with lots of info and links can be found here.

Here is a good GUIDE on buying GMO free food plus interesting background. (12/2/08)

Would you like to sign a petition to get GMO products honestly labelled? Petition (12/2/08)

While the jury is still out on the connection between GM foods and various disorders, here is another ingredient in the brew - Pharma Corn. They are now using altered crops to produce drugs. So the question is, what happens when Pharma Crops get into the food supply? This can happen via 'gene flow' as genetic traits are spread to other plants and microorganisms with unforseen consequenses. For a good article discussing pros and cons you might try this. Scroll down to the blue background stuff, or read it all.

The latest in from Australia linking GM crops to reproductive disorders. Combine that with this interesting tidbit on US premature birth statistics. (added 11/14/08)

But you don't eat GM foods do you? Check your ingredient labels! Got some corn in it? Corn syrup? or High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - yep, your eating it! But it doesn't say it contains any GM ingredients. You can thank the FDA for that. They want to protect the food industry - not you! See FDA (only if you like to read). Some countries have banned GM plants in recognition of the shaky science as to their safety and evidence of problems in 2nd and 3rd generation offspring with a moderate intake of GM food. Etc.

Another goodie:
Labelling is the key issue ... If you put a label on genetically engineered food, you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it. -- head of Asgrow, Monsanto seed subsidiary.

Unintended proteins consistently appear in GM crops, and many unsettling occurrences have been linked to these crops. Including increased death rates among cattle grazing on GM crops, and serious allergic reactions among agricultural workers.

Tens of thousands of acres of Monsanto's GM cotton ended up with deformed roots and other unexpected problems. Monsanto had to pay out millions of dollars in settlements.

There has been a war raging for several years now over the protection of normal, unmodified and organic crops and fields (no modified bacteria) from contamination by GMO's. Like nuclear radiation whose insidious effects have only been discovered after many years, the effects of GMO's may be worse; even catastrophic and irreversible. Attempts to create 'GMO Free Zones" has met with industry (BigPharma & BigBusiness & BigBucks) resistance and the normal dirty politics common to the pursuit and protection of BigBuck$.

For example, did you know that Japan has banned long-grain rice imports from the U.S. because of GM contamination?

The European Union has a weird way of looking at things - in many instances they take the attitude that something is unsafe until proven by independent and exhaustive research that it is safe. Much different than the U.S. approach that something is safe (as 'proven' by the developer), until thousands are maimed, killed, or their health is seriously compromised. As a result, the EU just flat doesn't allow GM stuff as related in a similar U.S. rice ban there.

Monsanto and others are in deep trouble as a result of contaminating crops in Mexico. These companies are also suing farmers for illegally growing their patented crops, even though these crops came about by contamination from neighboring fields. Mexico has outlawed such suits saying it is the farmers who should be suing the companies for contaminating their crops! Gee, why don't we think like that?! Follow the Buck$ maybe?? Another related FDA report. The contaminated soil from this renegade experiment could last for centuries. But then, hey - we might just get another life form!

Statin Drugs or Niacin - ask me no questions...

2010-03-30T10:39:00.003-06:00

The New England Journal of Medicine published a recent study which showed that niacin (a low-cost B vitamin) out-performs Merck's drug Zetia for preventing the build-up of arterial plaque, a symptom of cardiovascular disease.

The study revealed patients taking niacin showed a "significant shrinkage" in artery wall thickness, while those on Zetia showed no such improvement. At the same time, the rate of "cardiovascular events" in the niacin group was only one-fifth that in the Zetia group, demonstrating that niacin is far more effective at preventing heart attacks and other similar events than Zetia.

But curiously, as soon as niacin started to show a real benefit over Zetia, researchers cancelled the study.

Merck, the maker of Zetia, reportedly brings in over $5 billion. It's no wonder: Zetia sells for as much as $3.89 per pill.

Niacin, on the other hand, costs as little as 6.7 cents per pill, even in a "no-flush" time-release formula.

[Taylor AJ, Villines TC, Stanek EJ, et al. Extended-release niacin or ezetimibe and carotid intima-media thickness. The New England Journal of Medicine. Published online 16 November 2009]

Other references: Merck Liver Damage? Examiner

HRT. . .the end of an era?

2010-03-25T09:04:00.002-06:00

Not that many years ago HRT (hormone replacement therapy) was the answer to many woes. But quite by accident, a huge study turned up and unexpected finding. There seemed to be a strong correllation between HRT and breast cancer. But the finding may have flaws - Check for yourself: Drop in Breast Cancer

But just to be sure, check with your doctor for a Mammogram - after reading THIS.

Then see if your health in$urance company covers this: Thermography

7 ills that don't need pills

2010-03-25T08:55:00.002-06:00

Here is an interesting older post by Dr. Mercola on common chronic conditions that may not need a pharmaceutical remedy. Well, come on folks, we all know that the more pills the better!
But here it is: NO PILLS?

Hep-B for newborns - insanity.

2010-03-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

If anyone can explain to me why a newborn needs a hepatitis-b vaccine when the mother is a healty monogomous married woman I would certainly be interested.

But on the other hand, if you (Big Pharma) are able to mandate more vaccinations ($$$$$), earlier to birth, the damage done is less likely to be associated with the vaccine and more likely to be attributed to unknown causes associated with birth and infancy. Pretty neat, huh? Unless you are the parent of the damaged or killed infant! And we call ourselves civilized as we offer human sacrifice to the god of Big Pharma!

Another vaccine resource.

Fluoride - more

2010-03-02T11:00:00.007-07:00

Rather than a long expose' in the blog, here is a fairly good rundown on the simple facts of why we DON'T need the neurotoxic drug, fluoride, in our water. Fluoride .

From The (Skeptic's) Health Journal Club: (Aug 2010) Why we don't need fluoride

Here is an interesting paper by a scientist who thought nothing of fluoridation, but who became involved in a study of the effects of fluoride in the water supply almost by accident. Going into the study they assumed they would find nothing and be able to go on to more interesting work. What they found and tried to tell the rest of the world about cost them their jobs.
Central Nervous System Damage from Fluorides

Also see previous post: Fluoride - XX

Interesting study using deer antlers to evaluate historical fluoride in the environment: Germany

Nazi use of fluoride: Mind Control (emphasis added)
Excerpt:At the end of World War II, the US government sent Charles Eliot Perkins, a research worker in chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and pathology, to take charge of the vast Farben chemical plants in Germany. The German chemists told Perkins of a scheme which they had devised during the war and had been adapted by the German General Staff. The German chemists explained of their attempt to control the population in any given area through the mass medication of drinking water with sodium fluoride, a tactic used in German and Russian prisoner of war camps to make the prisoners “stupid and docile”(Stephen 1995). Farben had developed plans during the war to fluoridate the occupied countries because it was found that fluoridation caused slight damage to a specific part of the brain, making it more difficult for the person affected to defend his freedom and causing the individual to become more docile towards authority. Fluoride remains one of the strongest anti-psychotic substances known, and is contained in twenty-five percent of the major tranquilizers. It may not seem surprising that Hitler’s regime practiced the concept of mind control through chemical means, but the American military continued Nazi research, exploring techniques to incapacitate an enemy or medicate an entire nation. As stated in the Rockerfeller Report, a Presidential briefing on CIA activities, “the drug program was part of a much larger CIA program to study possible means of controlling human behavior”(Stephen 1995). See Connections for more - LOTS more!

American Cancer Society

2010-02-28T17:36:00.003-07:00

Ever wonder why cancer hits more and more people, treatment is barbaric and worse than torture in a prison camp, and secondary cancers (a result of the treatment) continue to rise?
It's a toss up which is worse - news that you are having your finances audited by the IRS, or finding out you have cancer. Of course both can be financially devistating. Here is a headline you may find interesting:

Reckless Indifference Of The American Cancer Society To Cancer Prevention

CHICAGO, IL, December 28, 2009 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- Early this month, top Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley sent letters to the American Cancer Society (ACS), besides the American Medical Association (AMA) and 31 other medical advocacy groups, asking them to provide detailed information on tax-deductible funds that they have received from drug and device makers.

Lots of provacative questions and info here - CANCER

So that's the BAD news, what can you do? Here is one idea Vitamin D3 (More to come).

HeathNews - A Rerun

2010-01-12T09:35:00.002-07:00

For the one or two of you out there who check this blog once in a while, you've notice I use Mike Adams and NaturalNews a lot. I like it and find that Mike and his team do a lot of valuble research. So here is something from Mike that is buried elsewhere in my blog that I think needs repeating and helps us realize there are good people everywhere - even in unscrupulous organizations. Please reread "Why Ethics Don't Trickle Up"

Body Scanners - Messing with the gene pool?

2010-01-11T07:18:00.003-07:00

Body Scanners - The Plot Thickens (1/12/10 update) NaturalNews Update.

Are there alternatives? How about this? Israeli Security

(NaturalNews) In researching the biological effects of the millimeter wave scanners used for whole body imaging at airports, NaturalNews has learned that the energy emitted by the machines may damage human DNA.

Millimeter wave machines represent one of two primary technologies currently being used for the "digital strip searches" being conducted at airports around the world. "The Transportation Security Administration utilizes two technologies to capture naked images of air travelers - backscatter x-ray technology and millimeter wave technology," reports the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a non-profit currently suing the U.S. government to stop these electronic strip searches. (http://epic.org/privacy/airtravel/b...)

In order to generate the nude image of the human body, these machines emit terahertz photons -- high-frequency energy "particles" that can pass through clothing and body tissue.

The manufacturers of such machines claim they are perfectly safe and present no health risks, but a study conducted by Boian S. Alexandrov (and colleagues) at the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico showed that these terahertz waves could "...unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication."

In layman's terms, any time you're talking about interfering with "gene expression" and "DNA replication," you're essentially talking about something that could be a risk to human health.

Never approved as safe for humans
"At first glance, it's easy to dismiss any notion that they can be damaging," reports TechnologyReview.com (http://www.technologyreview.com/blo...). "But a new generation of cameras are set to appear that not only record terahertz waves but also bombard us with them. And if our exposure is set to increase, the question that urgently needs answering is what level of terahertz exposure is safe."

And yet no such long-term safety testing has ever been conducted by a third party. There have been no clinical trials indicating that multiple exposures to such terahertz waves, accumulated over a long period of time, are safe for humans. The FDA, in particular, has never granted its approval for any such devices even though these devices clearly qualify as "medical devices."

(If you try to sell an X-ray imaging device yourself, without FDA approval, you'll be arrested. So why do these TSA suppliers get away with selling human body imaging equipment that has never been adequately safety tested or approved by the FDA?)

The study cited in the TechnologyReview article mentioned above is visible at: http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.5294

There, study authors conclude: "Based on our results we argue that a specific terahertz radiation exposure may significantly affect the natural dynamics of DNA, and thereby influence intricate molecular processes involved in gene expression and DNA replication."

In other words, millimeter wave scanning devices may damage your DNA.

Tinnitus - an interesting find

2010-01-05T20:20:00.002-07:00

I ran into this quite by 'accident':

Tinnitus can be eased by listening to modified music

A study of 23 patients with chronic tinnitus found that the loudness of the ringing in the patients' ears could be reduced through music therapy.

Researchers at the University of Münster, Germany, led by Christo Pantev, PhD, exposed tinnitus sufferers to their preferred music after the music was "notched," or modified, to remove certain notes that matched the of the ringing in their ears.

After 12 months of listening to the modified music, the target group reported significantly reduced tinnitus loudness. Researchers also observed reduced activity in the auditory cortex areas corresponding to the tinnitus frequency.

Maladaptive auditory cortex reorganization may contribute to tinnitus, according to the researchers. Because cortical organization can be modified by behavioral training, the researchers surmised that listening to the notched music may have re-wired parts of the over-active auditory cortex, or deprived certain auditory neurons, making them less active.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

African Medicine

2010-01-05T08:53:00.002-07:00

Here is one you have probably not thought of - natures sutures.

Soldier Driver ants (Dorylus) or siafu (found in Africa) have a bite so strong and persistant that they are sometimes used to suture wounds; just apply an ant while you hold the wound together and let it bite, then rip the body off. It should hold for a few days.

But then most of you would not want to travel to Africa to find them. . .

Vaccination - Faulty Science?

2009-12-30T19:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some interesting observations about mass vaccination programs of the past. Or as the saying goes, he who does not learn from history is bound to repeat it. Or, H1N1, here we come!

• In the USA in 1960, two virologists discovered that both polio vaccines were contaminated with the SV 40 virus which causes cancer in animals as well as changes in human cell tissue cultures. Millions of children had been injected with these vaccines. (Med Jnl of Australia 17/3/1973 p555)

• In 1871-2, England, with 98% of the population aged between 2 and 50 vaccinated against smallpox, it experienced its worst ever smallpox outbreak with 45,000 deaths. During the same period in Germany, with a vaccination rate of 96%, there were over 125,000 deaths from smallpox. (http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/020...)
The Hadwen Documents

• In Germany, compulsory mass vaccination against diphtheria commenced in 1940 and by 1945 diphtheria cases were up from 40,000 to 250,000. (Don't Get Stuck, Hannah Allen)

• In 1967, Ghana was declared measles free by the World Health Organisation after 96% of its population was vaccinated. In 1972, Ghana experienced one of its worst measles outbreaks with its highest ever mortality rate. (Dr H Albonico, MMR Vaccine Campaign in Switzerland, March 1990)

• In 1977, Dr Jonas Salk who developed the first polio vaccine, testified along with other scientists, that mass inoculation against polio was the cause of most polio cases throughout the USA since 1961. (Science 4/4/77 "Abstracts" )

• In the UK between 1970 and 1990, over 200,000 cases of whooping cough occurred in fully vaccinated children. (Community Disease Surveillance Centre, UK)

• In the 1970's a tuberculosis vaccine trial in India involving 260,000 people revealed that more cases of TB occurred in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. (The Lancet 12/1/80 p73)

• In 1978, a survey of 30 States in the US revealed that more than half of the children who contracted measles had been adequately vaccinated. (The People's Doctor, Dr R Mendelsohn)

• The February 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 90% of obstetricians and 66% of pediatricians refused to take the rubella vaccine.

• In 1979, Sweden abandoned the whooping cough vaccine due to its ineffectiveness. Out of 5,140 cases in 1978, it was found that 84% had been vaccinated three times! (BMJ 283:696-697, 1981)

• In the USA, the cost of a single DPT shot had risen from 11 cents in 1982 to $11.40 in 1987. The manufacturers of the vaccine were putting aside $8 per shot to cover legal costs and damages they were paying out to parents of brain damaged children and children who died after vaccination. (The Vine, Issue 7, January 1994, Nambour, Qld)

• In Oman between 1988 and 1989, a polio outbreak occurred amongst thousands of fully vaccinated children. The region with the highest attack rate had the highest vaccine coverage. The region with the lowest attack rate had the lowest vaccine coverage. (The Lancet, 21/9/91)

• In 1990, a UK survey involving 598 doctors revealed that over 50% of them refused to have the Hepatitis B vaccine despite belonging to the high risk group urged to be vaccinated. (British Med Jnl, 27/1/1990)

• In the USA, from July 1990 to November 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration counted a total of 54,072 adverse reactions following vaccination. The FDA admitted that this number represented only 10% of the real total, because most doctors were refusing to report vaccine injuries. In other words, adverse reactions for this period exceeded half a million! (National Vaccine Information Centre, March 2, 1994)

• In 1990, the Journal of the American Medical Association had an article on measles which stated " Although more than 95% of school-aged children in the US are vaccinated against measles, large measles outbreaks continue to occur in schools and most cases in this setting occur among previously vaccinated children." (JAMA, 21/11/90)

• In the New England Journal of Medicine July 1994 issue a study found that over 80% of children under 5 years of age who had contracted whooping cough had been fully vaccinated.

• On November 2nd, 2000, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) announced that its members voted at their 57th annual meeting in St Louis to pass a resolution calling for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution passed without a single "no" vote. http://www.wellnesschiro.com/physic...
(Report by Michael Devitt)

Courtesy Natural News

72 page pdf document on the history and legality of mandated vaccination

Water - what is pure?

2009-12-18T08:55:00.005-07:00

This is another research project. What is pure water and how can you get it?
Distilled water - not so pure
Hype - where is the analysis to back up the claims?!

More on Water - an update (12/31/09): Drugs on Tap; Bottled Water - Check it out!

BigPharma and Genetic Polution

2009-12-18T08:02:00.003-07:00

Now that the 'worst pandemic the world has ever seen' has failed to materialize (but guess who got rich off the hoax?), there are millions of vials of H1N1 vaccine that will shortly have to be disposed of. Ever wonder where it goes? Does your government care? NOPE!

(NaturalNews) Polluting the environment with H1N1 vaccines:

There's a huge environmental concern in all this, of course: What's the effect of dumping millions of doses of H1N1 DNA / RNA into the public sewer system? No one really knows. It's yet another grand Big Pharma experiment. And how about the chemical additives, preservatives and adjuncts added to the vaccines? What impact will all those chemicals have on the environment?

It's a startling fact that the sewage expelled by one city ends up in the public drinking water of the next city downstream. Sewage is treated, of course, to achieve EPA-regulated "safe" status before it's dumped back into the rivers, but the EPA doesn't regulate something called "DNA pollution." DNA and RNA can be dumped into the sewage systems in virtually unlimited quantities, without any regulatory oversight (the FDA doesn't regulate drug disposal either).

If you think about it, then, this whole swine flu fiasco has been a huge scam of paying money to the drug companies in order to flush swine flu genetic material down the drain. This is the brilliance of government-led health policy, by the way: Spend good money to pollute the planet with potentially dangerous genetic material that might one day end up recombining with some other opportunistic viral candidates circulating in the wild.

What a clever way to help cause the next great pandemic, huh? It's almost a perfect recipe for vaccine repeat business: Take today's most virulent pandemic strain, replicate it in pharmaceutical labs around the world, then dump it into the environment for mass distribution. That's essentially what's happening here. It sounds insane, but it's exactly what's about to take place when the H1N1 liquidation sales are over and medical retailers just start flushing all these vaccines down the drain.

No EPA regulations
There are no EPA regulations that limit the dumping of vaccines directly into the public sewage system, by the way. Dumping excess pharmaceuticals down the drain is routine in modern medicine. Hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and patients routinely flush pharmaceuticals down the drain. This is why you can now find HRT drugs, antidepressants and blood pressure drugs in the fish near any major U.S. city.

So many drugs are now dumped into the sewers that rivers have become Big Pharma runoff zones that poison the fish and destroy aquatic life. No wonder the world's oceans are dying -- they're all being bathed in Big Pharma's chemical waste!

But that's not the end of this story: In places all across America, sewage waste is used to make fertilizer that's spread on crops. The solid sewage waste is called "biosolids" or "black gold," and it's used by farmers and gardeners as a soil additive. What the people using this toxic sludge don't realize is that it's contaminated with Big Pharma's toxic chemicals. And soon, it may be contaminated with H1N1 vaccine material from all the millions of unused doses that pharmacies couldn't manage to peddle to consumers.

In the end, all those unused vaccines will eventually end up as crop fertilizer. It's yet another reason to avoid monoculture crops and grow your own food using biodynamic gardening methods, huh?

Plant essential oils - removal

2009-12-17T09:20:00.002-07:00

This is a research project
Ref-1 Ref-2 Ref-3 Ref-4

Ref-5

Globesity - World's Ten Fattest Countries

2009-12-17T06:40:00.003-07:00

We have been inundated with the word 'pandemic' which seems to dull the word 'epidemic', but the epidemic of obesity is becoming worldwide. So much so that the World Health Organization has coined the word Globesity. From WHO studies and statistics here is the latest:

The World's 10 Fattest Countries

1) American Samoa, 93.5 percent (of population that's overweight)
2) Kiribati, 81.5 percent
3) U.S., 66.7 percent
4) Germany, 66.5 percent
5) Egypt, 66 percent
6) Bosnia-Herzegovina, 62.9 percent
7) New Zealand, 62.7 percent
8) Israel, 61.9 percent
9) Croatia, 61.4 percent
10) United Kingdom, 61 percent (Interesting sidelight)
Canada comes in at 59% (2004)

For more, see F A T and should that disappear, try More FAT.

Well, So What? Here is some additional information on what you can do about it and how to reduce your waste-line (pun intended): Fructose and Metabolic Syndrome

Or, keep up that "Low Fat Diet" and see where it will get you: U of M

H1N1 etc.

2009-12-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

A general collection of articles about the great flu hoax of 2009

Come and Get it! Tamiflu will do! Or . . .maybe jellybeans are better.

The Plague, the Flu, and YOU - More of what you CAN do besides getting shot!

NOW WHAT! The Ukrainian Flu - We've seen how very expensive and inefficient the H1N1 has been. When are we going to get smart and start to rely on what we were intended to do to combat these illnesses. If you don't think the writing is plain, take notice - your government is totally unable to throw enough money at this to help YOU. But they are able to throw YOUR MONEY to BigPharma to make them richer!

Are flu shots safe & effective? Mounting evidence says NO! Dr. Gary Null
(There are those who would discredit Dr. Scheibner, a major resource quoted by Dr. Null. She is actually a geologist. But how she and her husband discovered a connection between SIDS and vaccines is most compelling GoSee or More) of course the CDC has also discredited this connection(!). This is really interesting - a MUST HEAR!

Problems with premature viral treatments: CDC Dr Shelton It appears the CDC is encouraging treatment with Tamiflu or Relenza even though the physician doesn't know exactly what he is treating. Dr. Shelton reveals the dangers of these drugs that aren't very well known to doctors who use them.
Suicide, hallucinations, etc. indications of neurological side effects of these drugs. Many doctors attribute these side effects to the flu, not the medicine. Whoops, Dr. Shelton is an interesting case by herself. I guess you don't embarrass the law in cook county! Here is another link for similar info. Tamiflu

H1N1 a 'dud' pandemic

The Canadian shuffle - at least they are checking some of the real research. And you might just want to consider a little exercise and Vitamin D. U.S. not so smart...

How do they know if anyone really has the flu, much less the H1N1 strain? Here is a well researched article by the New York Times.

Lancet Study Flawed Vaccination Studies Problems continue with Mercury!

(The majority of flu shots contain 25 micrograms of mercury, an amount considered unsafe for anyone weighing less than 550 pounds.)

An excerpt from a CBC article "In both Canada and the U.S., health authorities are reporting that influenza-like illnesses are running higher than normal these past four weeks, though they have largely given up tracking how much of this is H1N1 related." hmmm . . want to read between the lines on that one? And with the scare tactics being promulgated, why wouldn't there be more reported "influenza-like illnesses? You used to stay home and get over a cold - now you run to the doctor!

Since governments have been suckered into buying so much of the stuff on the false pretense there will be one of the worst pandemics in history (I wonder who started that rumor?! - wouldn't have been BigPharma by any chance?) there is not only a mass media blitz pushing 'the shot', but every means possible is being taken to generate the expected number of hospitalizations, deaths, and sickness resulting from the H1N1. It's the new-news generation: if there ain't any news, make it up! Or did that happen when most phone lines were party lines? (most people don't know what those were).

Interesting site

Sun, Vit-D, Skin Cancer, Heart Health, Gene Health

2009-12-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Is sun exposure to be avoided and sunscreens used at all times? That might be killing you!

There may be a health link between Vit D and your Genes

So . . . Whatcha Gonna Do!?!?! (Update) Get natural antibiotics (Antimicrobial Peptides) - your own body should make them. But maybe its not doing a very good job. See how to rev-it-up with Vitamin-D.

See the D-Council. A good read. Its not a vitamin - its more a hormone.

You need sunlight on your skin for your body to make vitamin D. And many are vit-D deficient because they have become sun-o-phobic. Much to the detriment of their overall health.

Dec 08 Update: U.S. News (heart health) and JACC . Other references: UC-San Diego & Harvard Medical

The key is daily sun exposure of 5 to 15 minutes to lots of skin (not just your big toe) and avoid sunburn. This will keep your vit-D up and your risk minimal. Winter will really cut down your vit-D if you live farther North because the sun is at a lower angle. More on this later (I hope).

UPDATE: Quest Labs give inaccurate results for Vitamin D lab tests. More than you ever wanted to know!

New addition - Mushrooms, when exposed to UV-B make Vit-D, just like we do. LINK

There is the additional problem of toxins found in sunscreens/sunblocks; plus a lot of them just don't work! There are alternatives on the market, but you have to hunt them down! Here are a few:

CaribbeanBlue (highly recommended by HealthRanger)
Burnout

In the name of medical 'Science'

2009-12-04T08:31:00.002-07:00

Are you the next 'Guinea Pig'?! This is a bit of an eye-opener!
Human Studies Advance to what is going on the past 20 years!

WHO says cell phones cause brain tumors.

2009-11-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

You cell phone users will not want to hear this; but the World Health Organization says cell phones cause brain tumors. Info Check the last reference at the end of the article. Mention it to your oncologist.

Magnesium

2009-11-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

Magnesium is a vital mineral - unfortunately most of us are deficient because intensive farming has depleted it from the soil. Growing a home garden? Put some Epsom Salts in the soil so you will then get more from your vegies.

Here is another site with some good information and includes a list of symptoms often associated with low magnesium (see Magnesium part 2)

Sore muscles, tired, try soaking in a warm bath or foot soak with Epsom Salts.

Your body just doesn't work right without a good supply of Magnesium. Regular blood tests won't show up a deficiency either - your body will do anything to keep the magnesium in your blood at a normal level, so it takes it out of your cells and bones first.
Here is a summary of Magnesium:

Good Site
You need magnesium to make over 300+ enzymes in your body
Helps protect neurons from mercury
Critical for heart health (long list including arrhythmia's)
Don't absorb calcium, potassium and other vitamins/minerals if low on Magnesium
Since magnesium is necessary for proper nerve and muscle function, sub clinical indication of deficiency include muscle ticks and cramps. For more deficiency symptoms go HERE and scroll down to Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency.
If your low, it may be hard to take supplements to get it up. Try using a topical gel. I get mine at Bio Innovations, but you might try a health food store. Untried Source
Dr. Russell Blaylock states "It is ironic that doctors prescribe drugs that cost thousands of dollars to treat the complications of heart disease, yet rarely pay attention to one of the most versatile, powerful and least expensive weapons in their arsenal: magnesium."
RDA's are based on the 'Sick-Care' model, not the 'Optimum Health' model, but there is some good background information at the BigGov site: BigGovMag

Hope this helps somebody - upping your magnesium has a high return on investment value!
You might also want to see if your local library has a copy of the book "The Magnesium Miracle" by Carolyn Dean.

Depression Drugs - Beware (SSRI's and SNRI's)

2009-11-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

As is frequently the case, modern drugs often exacerbate the problem they are given to treat. Depression drugs are one of these.

For a glimps into the dangerous side effects of these drugs go HERE.

High Fructose Corn Syrup - a honey bee connection?

2009-10-20T11:38:00.000-06:00

HFCS might be what is killing off the honey bees. It might also scramble your genes. There is more investigation needed, but here's the info: Bee-Ware-HMF

BigPharma - You want to trust these guys?

2009-10-19T08:50:00.006-06:00

Pulling strings and doing shady things.

The Merck Rap-Sheet (and this ain't music baby!)

Pfizer Pays Record $1.3 Billion Penalty for Drug Misbranding

Off-label marketing makes a mockery of modern medicine
So-called "off-label" marketing of drugs is rampant in the pharmaceutical industry. Although the FDA, drug companies and many conventional doctors claim the drug industry is guided by a "gold standard" of scientific scrutiny, the truth is that pharmaceuticals are routinely marketed and prescribed for health conditions for which they have never even been studied... much less actually approved by the FDA. The fact that this continues today makes a mockery of any "scientific credibility" the pharmaceutical industry claims to possess.

Drug companies take advantage of this gaping hole in regulatory oversight by getting their drugs approved by the FDA for one health condition, then heavily promoting it for numerous unrelated conditions. A drug approved for high blood pressure, for example, could be openly marketed for diabetes or Alzheimer's disease even though there is no evidence whatsoever showing the drug to be either safe or effective for such conditions.

The same is true with the intended demographics of pharmaceuticals: Drug companies often get their drugs approved for adults, then they market those drugs to children even though the drugs have never been tested with children.

The result is a pharmaceutical industry that appears to be highly regulated, but isn't. Virtually any drug can be pushed for any disease for almost any reason -- all with virtually no oversight by the FDA. In fact, in this Pfizer case, even with the Justice Department filing criminal charges against Pfizer, the FDA has stood by and done absolutely nothing to prevent such actions from being repeated in the future by Pfizer or another drug company.

See Full Story

Your Government At Work

2009-10-15T06:49:00.002-06:00

More evidence of corruption in high places (what's new).

Follow The Money - or - What's the FDA sold you down the river for now?!

B-12

2009-09-15T04:58:00.002-06:00

I have no opinion or supporting evidence on the following - but put it here to keep track of it for further investigation.

Posted by: Dr. Mercola
September 15 2009

The common picture of a B12 deficient patient is an elderly person with pernicious anemia. But B12 deficiency may be caused instead by food-B12 malabsorption.

Food-B12 malabsorption is the inability to release B12 from food or its binding proteins. Unlike pernicious anemia, it’s more likely to be associated with mild, preclinical B12 deficiency.

B12 deficiency is common in elderly patients. One study revealed a prevalence of 12 percent among elderly people. Other studies, focusing on those who are in institutions or who are sick and malnourished, have suggested a higher prevalence of 30 percent to 40 percent. Unfortunately, B12 deficiency is often unrecognized because the clinical manifestations can be very subtle. In fact, one of its manifestations -- mild memory loss -- can mimic the early stages of dementia.

Food-B12 malabsorption is caused primarily by atrophic gastritis. More than 40 percent of patients older than 80 years have gastric atrophy that can be related to h. pylori infection.

Sources:

The Journal of Family Practice July 2007; 56(7): 537-542

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The studies mentioned in this article are further proof of a situation I’ve been warning my readers about for at least a decade: vitamin B12 deficiency is a pervasive and growing health crisis in the U.S. and other countries around the globe.

And the primary cause of the deficiency might shock you (more about that shortly).

I’m very happy to see a mainstream medical publication like the JFP acknowledge not only the prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency and its primary source, but also the fact that oral supplementation is a simple, cost effective treatment for most people.

This is great news for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with the discomfort, inconvenience and cost of injections to treat a B12 deficiency.

Why Vitamin B12 is Essential

Vitamin B12 fuels many of your body’s most important functions, literally from your head to your feet. Among them:

•proper food digestion and absorption
•healthy nervous system function
•formation of red blood cells
•proper circulation
•healthy immune system function
•mood regulation
•mental clarity, concentration, memory function
Your body was simply not built to function without a sufficient supply of vitamin B12 throughout its lifetime. I can’t overemphasize the importance of insuring you are getting adequate B12.

What are the Odds YOU are B12 Deficient?

The above article primarily addresses B12 deficiency in the elderly, but you shouldn’t assume you are not at risk just because you’re under a certain age or eat foods containing vitamin B12.

It’s true if you’re over 50 or a vegan/vegetarian, your chances of being vitamin B12 deficient are higher than average. But no matter your age or diet, if your body isn’t absorbing the B12 you’re giving it, you, too, could be lacking in this vitally important nutrient.

Surprising Causes of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Since vitamin B12 is present in natural form only in animal sources of food, strict vegetarians and vegans are very high on the list of those who can expect to be B12 deficient.

Other sources of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

•Inadequate production of stomach acid -- The older you are, the less able your stomach is to produce the hydrochloric acid necessary to release B12 from the food you eat.
•Long-term use of antacid/antiulcer drugs -- Since hydrochloric acid is a requirement for the absorption of vitamin B12, it follows that if you’re taking an antacid, your stomach won’t be able to digest B12 out of your food. This class of drugs includes H2-receptor antagonists like Zantac and Tagamet, and proton pump inhibitors like Nexium and Prilosec.
•Use of the drug metformin for Type 2 diabetes -- Use of metformin (brand names include Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Fortamet, Riomet, and Glumetza) may inhibit your B12 absorption, especially at higher doses.
•Infection with H. pylori bacteria -- If you suffer from a chronic Helicobacter pylori infection, you might be B12 deficient.
•Coffee consumption -- Four or more cups of coffee a day can reduce your B vitamin stores by as much as 15 percent.
•Gastric bypass surgery
•Exposure to nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
•And the LEADING cause of vitamin B12 deficiency: food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome -- This condition results when your stomach lining loses its ability to produce intrinsic factor, a protein that binds to vitamin B12 and allows your body to absorb it into your bloodstream at the end of your small intestine.
The Role of Intrinsic Factor in B12 Absorption

The reason your body needs intrinsic factor is because vitamin B12 is a very large molecule. It is actually the largest vitamin we know of, and the way it gets absorbed into your body is complex.

Intrinsic factor is a molecule protein made by your stomach. It grabs onto the B12 molecule and together they move through your stomach to your small intestine. When they reach the end of your small intestine, the intrinsic factor is absorbed first, pulling the B12 with it into the cells of your large intestine, where they are absorbed for use by the rest of your body.

If your body doesn’t produce enough stomach acid, then you’re not producing enough intrinsic factor either. Since the only way vitamin B12 can be absorbed into your system is through bonding with intrinsic factor molecules, it’s easy to understand why so many people are not getting adequate B12 into their bodies.

Warning Signs and Symptoms of B12 Deficiency

There are a wide range of symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, from mild to severe, which can affect your body, mind and mood.

In general, look for signs of:

1.Fatigue, lack of energy, muscle weakness, tingling in your extremities
2.Mental fogginess or problems with your memory, trouble sleeping
3.Mood swings, especially feelings of apathy or lack of motivation
Even though vitamin B12 is water-soluble, it doesn’t exit your body quickly like other water-soluble vitamins. B12 is stored in your liver, kidneys and other body tissues, and as a result, a deficiency may not show itself for a number of years.

This time lag is a serious concern, because after about seven years of B12 deficiency, irreversible brain damage can result.

Other symptoms of long-term, chronic B12 deficiency can include:

•depression
•dementia and Alzheimer's
•anemia
•neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions
•female fertility and childbearing problems
•heart disease and cancer
Sources of Vitamin B12

As I mentioned earlier, B12 is available in its natural form only in animal food sources. These include seafood, beef, chicken, pork, milk, eggs.

If you don’t consume enough of these animal products to get an adequate supply of B12, or if your body’s ability to absorb the vitamin from food is compromised, there’s good news.

Science has recently developed a technology that can reduce the effective size of the vitamin B12 molecule and help you absorb this molecule into the fine capillaries under your tongue. The delivery system for these microscopic droplets of vitamin B12 is a fine mist you spray into your mouth.

This delivery system bypasses the intrinsic factor problem and is much easier, safer and less painful than a vitamin B12 shot.

What to Do If You Suspect You Have a B12 Deficiency

Blood tests for vitamin B12 deficiency aren’t as clear cut or helpful as they are for other nutritional deficiencies. Standard tests to assess vitamin B12 concentrations are limited because the clinical severity of vitamin B12 deficiency is unrelated to vitamin B12 concentrations.

Getting your B12 and MMA serum levels lab tested is one way to go, especially if you have a compelling reason to have “official” test results.

However, it is probably a more practical approach if you suspect or are concerned you are vitamin B12 deficient, to simply supplement your diet with B12 and see if your symptoms improve.

Vitamin B12 supplementation is completely non-toxic and inexpensive, especially when compared to the cost of laboratory testing. If you aren’t getting sufficient B12 in your diet, or you suspect your body isn’t able to efficiently absorb the vitamin, I recommend you begin supplementation immediately with either an under-the-tongue fine mist spray or vitamin B12 injections.

LINK: MERCOLA & Vitamin B-12

Antioxidant ratings

2009-09-09T16:55:00.004-06:00

I use cloves instead of breath mints and wondered if they had much value. This article in Natural News seems to indicate they are off the chart with an antioxidant rating (ORAC) of 314,446!

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Goji Berries score 25,300, and raw elderberries are 14,697. Apples score 6,681 on the ORAC scale, and raw blueberries score 6,552. (Source: ORACvalues.com)

(NaturalNews) If you follow the news on superfoods, you're probably familiar with the term "ORAC" -- Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. It's a measure of the antioxidant power of a food or substance. You may not be aware that there's a new, more advanced ORAC test available today: ORACFN.

ORACFN measures the food's ability to protect against oxidative damage caused by five common radicals: hydroxyl, peroxyl, peroxynitrite, singlet oxygen, and superoxide anion. This is designed to provide a more accurate assessment on how the substance being tested might function in the human body.

The highest ORAC value on record for a common food is cloves, which score an amazing 314,446 (cloves are also an ingredient used in Traditional Chinese Medicine formulas, as is cinnamon, another high scorer on the ORAC scale).

For the complete article see NaturalNews

Statin Drugs and Muscle Problems

2009-08-28T10:34:00.002-06:00

Statin drugs have been known for some time to cause depletion of CoQ10 in the body, but research has discovered it also depletes selenium. This may cause irreperable muscle deterioration, sore aching muscles, tiredness and other symptoms common to seleniun deficiency. Atricle

H1N1 Flu pandemic - What Ya Gonna Do?

2009-08-27T02:10:00.002-06:00

Try Vitamin D. A wimpy 400 IU/day gives little or no protection. 2000 IU/day or higher is recommended.
It is a well-known medical fact, of course, that influenza always gets worse during the winter months North of the equator and the summer months South of the equator (which are really called their "winter" months). This is because as sunlight hours lessen during the winter, the people living there become vitamin D deficient and are susceptible to influenza infections of all kinds.

Source 1
Resource 1

H1N1 - Sorry, You Lose - or - your government at work

2009-08-20T08:10:00.002-06:00

Legal Immunity Set for Swine Flu Vaccine Makers

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius has not only given immunity to the makers of Tamiflu and Relenza for injuries stemming from their use against swine flu, she has granted immunity to future swine flu vaccines and “any associated adjuvants”.
The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu, thousands filed claims contending they suffered side effects from the shots. This time around, they will have no recourse.

The 2006 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (the PREP Act) allows the DHHS Secretary to invoke almost complete immunity from liability for manufacturers of vaccines and drugs used to combat a declared public health emergency.

The PREP Act removes the right to a trial jury unless a plaintiff can provide clear evidence of willful misconduct that resulted in death or serious physical injury -- and gets permission to sue from the DHHS Secretary.

But once the PREP Act is invoked to shield manufacturers from liability, the pharmaceutical firms have no financial incentive to make the safest product, and have a negative incentive to test it for safety. As long as they do not deliberately harm consumers of the product, they will not be liable for damages.

Meanwhile, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hoping to have 120 million doses of H1N1 swine flu virus vaccine ready before flu season this fall, some are raising concerns over what they see as an effort to rush the drug through safety trials.

The source of many of these concerns is the probability that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal will be an ingredient in some of the doses of the new vaccine.

Groups opposed to current vaccination practices condemn thimerosal as a toxin responsible for the development of autism and related ailments in children. Additionally, the possibility that the swine flu vaccine could also contain an adjuvant, an ingredient that would allow more doses to be created from existing supplies of the vaccine, has also worried these groups.

Sources:

Anthrax Vaccine July 27, 2009
ABC News July 30, 2009
Prisonplanet.com July 30, 2009

Heart Health - Viscosity Test

2009-08-14T04:42:00.002-06:00

Has your doctor ever mentioned this test? Does he know the significance of it? Probably not, as it is one of the tests one would like done BEFORE having a heart attack or stroke and as one of the indicators of cardiovascular health.

In the U.S. we deal largely in Sick-Care (don't do anything until there is a problem) rather than Health-Care (optimize health and prevent problems/illness). That is why putting a few trillion more bucks in our $ick-care system just isn't going to help! . . that's the commercial, now on with it.

From Wikipedia: "elevation of plasma viscosity correlates to the progression of coronary and peripheral vascular diseases. Anemia can lead to decrease blood viscosity, which may lead to heart failure."

From Vilastic Scientific: "Variations in blood viscoelasticity are seen in such conditions as cardiovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, stroke and other conditions." (Note: rather technical site - probably more than you want to know)

The double whammy of 'thick blood' and high iron levels leads to trouble! Experts say your ferritin (iron) level should be around 100 ug/ml or lower. Your blood viscosity and elasticity is a rather complicated test, best understood by a qualified cardiologist. At this point I'm not sure how you determine who is qualified - I would start with one that is F.A.C.C. trained.

So what if you have high iron and high viscosity. Best remedy is to give blood - it will lower both of them! And if you don't take a lot of meds, haven't been to certain countries, it should be free.
If you can't qualify as a donor, most blood banks (Red Cross, etc.) will take a pint and throw it away, but it will cost you..... "It makes sense for everyone over age fifty (or men over 30) to give blood one to four times per year." This doesn't apply to those who are anemic or iron deficient.