"Ohio reported that 24,000 cases of flu treated allopathically had a mortality rate of 28.2% while 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%."
Here's a good resource for more infomation.
Read more about homeopathy and FLU
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Natural Ways to Help Stop Smoking
A reader was looking for natural alternatives to Chantix/Champix, so I thought I'd provide some information based on methods I've suggested to people over the years that have been very helpful.
I generally suggest that if you are a smoker you add vitamin C to your daily routine. Each cigarette you smoke causes you to lose 100 mg to 500 mg. Vitamin C does help protect your lungs and your health in general.
I also suggest vitamin A (a combined A/beta-carotene product because many cannot convert beta-c to A) because it protects the mining of your respiratory system.
And of course vitamin E (natural only, not soy based or the artificial type, dl tocopherol acetate) because it helps oxygen cross the from the lungs to blood.
Start with a switch to no-chemicals-added tobacco. Many reservation tobacco stores offer these cigarettes under tribal brands. American Spirit is a commercial and pricey brand sold in most stores.
Smokers who use menthol cigarettes do seem to have a harder time quitting according to studies I have read.
We have offered a variety of products:
Homeopathic tablets or drops
Herbal liquid drops and Herbal capsules
Light-activated drops and soaks to help remove the nicotine from the body
If you're interested in learning more about any of the options we have available, just get in touch with us for more information.
Read More...
I generally suggest that if you are a smoker you add vitamin C to your daily routine. Each cigarette you smoke causes you to lose 100 mg to 500 mg. Vitamin C does help protect your lungs and your health in general.
I also suggest vitamin A (a combined A/beta-carotene product because many cannot convert beta-c to A) because it protects the mining of your respiratory system.
And of course vitamin E (natural only, not soy based or the artificial type, dl tocopherol acetate) because it helps oxygen cross the from the lungs to blood.
Start with a switch to no-chemicals-added tobacco. Many reservation tobacco stores offer these cigarettes under tribal brands. American Spirit is a commercial and pricey brand sold in most stores.
Smokers who use menthol cigarettes do seem to have a harder time quitting according to studies I have read.
We have offered a variety of products:
Homeopathic tablets or drops
Herbal liquid drops and Herbal capsules
Light-activated drops and soaks to help remove the nicotine from the body
If you're interested in learning more about any of the options we have available, just get in touch with us for more information.
Read More...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Dr. Levy on Vitamin C
Viral Poppycock - "For a population of seven million people, Hong Kong has stockpiled 20 million treatment courses of Tamiflu, a medicine to which the new swine flu virus has not yet developed resistance but it’s a toss up which is more dangerous, the swine flu or Tamiflu. Dr. Russell Blaylock writes, “I was in the military during the first swine flu scare in 1976. At the time it became policy that all soldiers would be vaccinated for swine flu. As a medical officer I refused and almost faced a court martial, but the military didn't want the bad publicity. Despite the assurance by all the experts in virology, including Dr. Sabin, the epidemic never materialized. What did materialize were 500 cases of Gullian-Barre paralysis, including 25 deaths-not due to the swine flu itself, but as a direct result of the vaccine.”Courtesy Mark Sircus
Originally posted: Saturday, October 28, 2006
VITAMIN C AGAINST THE FLU (and bird flu) SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY©
Dr. Thomas Levy is one of the world’s experts in effects of vitamin C on viruses. Here’s what he says “Regarding the bird flu, I have not found any virus for which vitamin C does not exert a virucidal effect, as long as enough vitamin C reaches the virus, such as in any acute infection. I don't know about Tamiflu, but the vitamin C is virtually devoid of negative side effects.”
Although there no studies yet published specifically treating Asian bird flu with vitamin C, immune expert Dr Robert Cathcart, who has treated thousands of cases of life threatening infectious diseases with high dose vitamin C says “Treatment of the bird flu with massive doses of ascorbate would be the same as any other flu except that the severity of the disease indicates that it may take unusually massive doses of ascorbic acid orally or even intravenous sodium ascorbate. I have not seen any flu yet that was not cured or markedly ameliorated by massive doses of vitamin C.”
Antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu, work by inhibiting something called neuraminidase, produced by viruses and essential for their ability to replicate. So too does vitamin C but this is only one of more than ten ways that vitamin C knocks out viruses, both by inhibiting the virus itself, and by strengthening the body’s own immune response, for example by improving the number of function of immune cells (eg macrophages, lymphocytes and neutrophils), upping interferon and nitric oxide and making more antibodies which target viruses. Vitamin C also has direct antiviral effects and has been shown to inhibit viral replication in laboratory studies, such as HIV-infected immune cells. In the case of HIV viral infection was inhibited by 99% within four days, according to research published by the National Academy of Sciences. (It is really a tragedy that this research hasn’t been followed up with a large scale human trials, but the sad truth is that, even though vitamin C has been shown to outperform AZT in lab studies , there’s no money in it. So it appears that there is sufficient biological plausibility for its role against the flu, but since we don't have the controlled human trials, it’s not proven. It’s a tragedy that these studies aren’t done for life-threatening diseases such as HIV and bird flu, but the sad truth is there’s no money in it because vitamin C is cheap to make and not patentable – unlike drugs such as Tamiflu. Vitamin C, in high doses, has been well proven to be non-toxic in both adults and children over many years. The same cannot be said for this new generation of antiviral drugs.
However, we do know that vitamin C reduces the severitiy of colds and flu. Over 20 controlled trials using at least 1 gram a day against the common cold have been published, showing that the duration is typically decreased by about 25% and symptoms are much less severe. You are going to need much more than this if you contract any kind of flu. One recent human trial found that students who took hourly doses of 1,000 mg of vitamin C for the first 6 hours and then 3 times daily had a decrease in symptoms of 85% compared to students in the control group. In the case of bird flu that might well be the difference between life and death.
It’s highly likely that vitamin C would be effective against bird flu if you can get the dose high enough. Dr Mark Levine, who works for the National Institutes of Health in the US, has shown that you can get plasma levels up to 200mcmol/l with 3 grams of vitamin C six times a day, at which point vitamin C becomes profoundly anti-viral. However, with intravenous infusion of 100g a day concentration goes up to 15,000mcmol/l. No virus has yet been shown to survive at that level.
The ideal amount of vitamin C for any flu is up to ‘bowel tolerance’. Start with 1 gram an hour. If you get diarrhoea halve this dose. If you don’t, double it. There are some forms of vitamin C, notably sodium ascorbate with riboperine, and lipospheric vitamin C that allow even more to be absorbed without reaching bowel tolerance. They are marginally better than straight ascorbic acid. Some people find ascorbic acid too acidic, in which case an ascorbate, such as sodium ascorbate, can be taken. It might be useful to have a supply at hand if an epidemic does break out. There is no harm in having 100 grams a day short-term, stopping once all symptoms are gone. If even this didn’t stop the flu I’d find a doctor who could administer intravenous sodium ascorbate. The trick with any infection is not to get it in the first place by keeping your immune system strong. I take 1 gram of vitamin C twice a day. If Asian flu breaks out I’m doubling that to 4 grams – one every 6 or so hours, and taking 1 gram an hour if I get any symptoms.
Patrick Holford interviews Dr. Thomas Levy –
Despite hundreds of published studies, the true power of vitamin C as an infection fighter is vastly under-appreciated. Dr Thomas Levy, a doctor from Colorado, has painstakingly reviewed all of the research in his book Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable. Here, he tells me of the true proven power of vitamin C.
PH For which infectious diseases has vitamin C been proven to both cure and prevent, if given in sufficient amounts?
TL In the medical literature, more than enough evidence and data has been published to conclude that vitamin C, administered properly, has cured and can continue to cure acute viral hepatitis, measles, mumps, viral encephalitis, chickenpox and herpes infections, viral pneumonia, influenza, diphtheria, tetanus, streptococcal infections, pseudomonas infections and staphylococcal infections. Prevention against the contraction of these infections and other infections involves the daily dosing of lower amounts of vitamin C than the amounts needed to cure a given infection. This prevention can almost always be overwhelmed, however, when a large enough acute exposure of an infectious agent is encountered.
PH Let's take a look at mumps, for example, which is very much in the news as more parents choose not to have their children given the MMR vaccination. What would you recommend?
TL This is a subject of great controversy. In general, I am opposed to vaccinations, since it is clear to me that the proper use of vitamin C can easily cope with the many different agents for which vaccination is offered. However, having a good specific, antibody-armed immune system is desirable as well. Therefore, when the vaccine is preservative-free (particularly from methylmercury in the form of thimerosol), the child is old enough to have a reasonably mature immune system (2 years or older), and the child is not acutely ill and has not recently been ill, then immunisation may be of benefit. However, before the vaccination, I would give the child a gram of vitamin C a day per year of life (2 grams or more) for at least a week before the vaccination and continuing for at least a week after the vaccination. This has the effect of protecting against any acute toxic insults associated with the vaccination, while maximizing the vitamin C-augmented antibody response to the vaccine.
PH How strong is the scientific evidence to support what you are saying and why is this evidence not being acted on?
TL The scientific evidence is very strong. I can only speculate as to why it seems to be ignored, but the entire medical system worldwide is based on doctors regarding very specific and limited sources of information as being the only reliable sources of medical information. Insurance companies generally only cover mainstream treatments. A great deal of money is spent, directly and indirectly, to convince doctors and the public that anything not learned directly in medical school or later provided through very specific channels is simply not to be trusted, much less even properly evaluated.
PH If a person, or child, contracts any of these diseases, how does one know how much vitamin C to take?
TL As Dr Klenner repeatedly described in his many papers, vitamin C must continue to be administered in appropriately high doses until a positive clinical response is seen, and then lower doses can be given. In other words, Dr Klenner would use whatever dose necessary to see a positive clinical response. This meant anything from 35 to 65 grams for a first dose, given intravenously. In terms of oral supplementation, take as much as you can tolerate, starting with 2 or 3 grams every three to four hours.
PH Is there any danger in taking these kinds of amounts?
TL Unless you are a patient with advanced renal failure, the answer appears to be no. In fact, very large studies have clearly defined that vitamin C not only does not cause kidney stones in patients with normal kidney function, it will often help to dissolve stones that were already present before the vitamin C administration began.
PH Your book is immensely thorough and well researched. How are we going to get this vital, life-saving and inexpensive treatment taken seriously? How many more people have to suffer and die unnecessarily?
TL I wish I knew. I wrote the book from both a medical and a legal perspective. I wanted physicians who are brave enough to do what is best for their patients to have as much scientific backing as possible for the vitamin C-based therapies that they choose, especially if they end up having to defend what they are doing in a court of law.
PH What types of vitamin C should be taken?
TL Vitamin C comes as mineral ascorbates, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, and in a liposome-encapsulated form. If administered intravenously, the sodium ascorbate form is always desirable for an acute illness. When not available, the liposome-coated form, called lipospheric vitamin C, appears to have a very high bioavailability with virtually no bowel tolerance dose [ie diarrhoea inducing], which typically impedes the very high oral dosing of vitamin C.
Originally posted: Saturday, October 28, 2006
VITAMIN C AGAINST THE FLU (and bird flu) SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY©
Dr. Thomas Levy is one of the world’s experts in effects of vitamin C on viruses. Here’s what he says “Regarding the bird flu, I have not found any virus for which vitamin C does not exert a virucidal effect, as long as enough vitamin C reaches the virus, such as in any acute infection. I don't know about Tamiflu, but the vitamin C is virtually devoid of negative side effects.”
Although there no studies yet published specifically treating Asian bird flu with vitamin C, immune expert Dr Robert Cathcart, who has treated thousands of cases of life threatening infectious diseases with high dose vitamin C says “Treatment of the bird flu with massive doses of ascorbate would be the same as any other flu except that the severity of the disease indicates that it may take unusually massive doses of ascorbic acid orally or even intravenous sodium ascorbate. I have not seen any flu yet that was not cured or markedly ameliorated by massive doses of vitamin C.”
Antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu, work by inhibiting something called neuraminidase, produced by viruses and essential for their ability to replicate. So too does vitamin C but this is only one of more than ten ways that vitamin C knocks out viruses, both by inhibiting the virus itself, and by strengthening the body’s own immune response, for example by improving the number of function of immune cells (eg macrophages, lymphocytes and neutrophils), upping interferon and nitric oxide and making more antibodies which target viruses. Vitamin C also has direct antiviral effects and has been shown to inhibit viral replication in laboratory studies, such as HIV-infected immune cells. In the case of HIV viral infection was inhibited by 99% within four days, according to research published by the National Academy of Sciences. (It is really a tragedy that this research hasn’t been followed up with a large scale human trials, but the sad truth is that, even though vitamin C has been shown to outperform AZT in lab studies , there’s no money in it. So it appears that there is sufficient biological plausibility for its role against the flu, but since we don't have the controlled human trials, it’s not proven. It’s a tragedy that these studies aren’t done for life-threatening diseases such as HIV and bird flu, but the sad truth is there’s no money in it because vitamin C is cheap to make and not patentable – unlike drugs such as Tamiflu. Vitamin C, in high doses, has been well proven to be non-toxic in both adults and children over many years. The same cannot be said for this new generation of antiviral drugs.
However, we do know that vitamin C reduces the severitiy of colds and flu. Over 20 controlled trials using at least 1 gram a day against the common cold have been published, showing that the duration is typically decreased by about 25% and symptoms are much less severe. You are going to need much more than this if you contract any kind of flu. One recent human trial found that students who took hourly doses of 1,000 mg of vitamin C for the first 6 hours and then 3 times daily had a decrease in symptoms of 85% compared to students in the control group. In the case of bird flu that might well be the difference between life and death.
It’s highly likely that vitamin C would be effective against bird flu if you can get the dose high enough. Dr Mark Levine, who works for the National Institutes of Health in the US, has shown that you can get plasma levels up to 200mcmol/l with 3 grams of vitamin C six times a day, at which point vitamin C becomes profoundly anti-viral. However, with intravenous infusion of 100g a day concentration goes up to 15,000mcmol/l. No virus has yet been shown to survive at that level.
The ideal amount of vitamin C for any flu is up to ‘bowel tolerance’. Start with 1 gram an hour. If you get diarrhoea halve this dose. If you don’t, double it. There are some forms of vitamin C, notably sodium ascorbate with riboperine, and lipospheric vitamin C that allow even more to be absorbed without reaching bowel tolerance. They are marginally better than straight ascorbic acid. Some people find ascorbic acid too acidic, in which case an ascorbate, such as sodium ascorbate, can be taken. It might be useful to have a supply at hand if an epidemic does break out. There is no harm in having 100 grams a day short-term, stopping once all symptoms are gone. If even this didn’t stop the flu I’d find a doctor who could administer intravenous sodium ascorbate. The trick with any infection is not to get it in the first place by keeping your immune system strong. I take 1 gram of vitamin C twice a day. If Asian flu breaks out I’m doubling that to 4 grams – one every 6 or so hours, and taking 1 gram an hour if I get any symptoms.
Patrick Holford interviews Dr. Thomas Levy –
Despite hundreds of published studies, the true power of vitamin C as an infection fighter is vastly under-appreciated. Dr Thomas Levy, a doctor from Colorado, has painstakingly reviewed all of the research in his book Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable. Here, he tells me of the true proven power of vitamin C.
PH For which infectious diseases has vitamin C been proven to both cure and prevent, if given in sufficient amounts?
TL In the medical literature, more than enough evidence and data has been published to conclude that vitamin C, administered properly, has cured and can continue to cure acute viral hepatitis, measles, mumps, viral encephalitis, chickenpox and herpes infections, viral pneumonia, influenza, diphtheria, tetanus, streptococcal infections, pseudomonas infections and staphylococcal infections. Prevention against the contraction of these infections and other infections involves the daily dosing of lower amounts of vitamin C than the amounts needed to cure a given infection. This prevention can almost always be overwhelmed, however, when a large enough acute exposure of an infectious agent is encountered.
PH Let's take a look at mumps, for example, which is very much in the news as more parents choose not to have their children given the MMR vaccination. What would you recommend?
TL This is a subject of great controversy. In general, I am opposed to vaccinations, since it is clear to me that the proper use of vitamin C can easily cope with the many different agents for which vaccination is offered. However, having a good specific, antibody-armed immune system is desirable as well. Therefore, when the vaccine is preservative-free (particularly from methylmercury in the form of thimerosol), the child is old enough to have a reasonably mature immune system (2 years or older), and the child is not acutely ill and has not recently been ill, then immunisation may be of benefit. However, before the vaccination, I would give the child a gram of vitamin C a day per year of life (2 grams or more) for at least a week before the vaccination and continuing for at least a week after the vaccination. This has the effect of protecting against any acute toxic insults associated with the vaccination, while maximizing the vitamin C-augmented antibody response to the vaccine.
PH How strong is the scientific evidence to support what you are saying and why is this evidence not being acted on?
TL The scientific evidence is very strong. I can only speculate as to why it seems to be ignored, but the entire medical system worldwide is based on doctors regarding very specific and limited sources of information as being the only reliable sources of medical information. Insurance companies generally only cover mainstream treatments. A great deal of money is spent, directly and indirectly, to convince doctors and the public that anything not learned directly in medical school or later provided through very specific channels is simply not to be trusted, much less even properly evaluated.
PH If a person, or child, contracts any of these diseases, how does one know how much vitamin C to take?
TL As Dr Klenner repeatedly described in his many papers, vitamin C must continue to be administered in appropriately high doses until a positive clinical response is seen, and then lower doses can be given. In other words, Dr Klenner would use whatever dose necessary to see a positive clinical response. This meant anything from 35 to 65 grams for a first dose, given intravenously. In terms of oral supplementation, take as much as you can tolerate, starting with 2 or 3 grams every three to four hours.
PH Is there any danger in taking these kinds of amounts?
TL Unless you are a patient with advanced renal failure, the answer appears to be no. In fact, very large studies have clearly defined that vitamin C not only does not cause kidney stones in patients with normal kidney function, it will often help to dissolve stones that were already present before the vitamin C administration began.
PH Your book is immensely thorough and well researched. How are we going to get this vital, life-saving and inexpensive treatment taken seriously? How many more people have to suffer and die unnecessarily?
TL I wish I knew. I wrote the book from both a medical and a legal perspective. I wanted physicians who are brave enough to do what is best for their patients to have as much scientific backing as possible for the vitamin C-based therapies that they choose, especially if they end up having to defend what they are doing in a court of law.
PH What types of vitamin C should be taken?
TL Vitamin C comes as mineral ascorbates, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, and in a liposome-encapsulated form. If administered intravenously, the sodium ascorbate form is always desirable for an acute illness. When not available, the liposome-coated form, called lipospheric vitamin C, appears to have a very high bioavailability with virtually no bowel tolerance dose [ie diarrhoea inducing], which typically impedes the very high oral dosing of vitamin C.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
SWINE FLU PRECAUTIONS
UPDATE: 10 August - Since this article was posted in April we have added numerous articles regarding this issue so please that the time to look for these new and important posts: Search for Flu, Swine Flu, Vitamin C, Dr. Levy, FluMist, Tamiflu, Relenza, Flu Shot or related titles.
---------------------------
Suggestion from orthomolecular expert Dr Phil Bate -
Masks get moist and this creates a breeding ground for bacteria.
Both vitamin C and vitamin A are good to have on hand. Vitamin A in the proper high dose range for short periods will protect you from pneumonia that often accompanies flu.
Otherwise, take all precautions and avoid using Tamiflu and Relenza
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2007/11/warning-tamiflu-and-relenza-hazards.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2005/10/beware-tamiflu.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/flu-news.html
Meanwhile the FDA and CDC are pushing Tamiflu and Relenza as reported in Medscape News.
---------------------------
Suggestion from orthomolecular expert Dr Phil Bate -
SWINE FLU PRECAUTIONS AND POSSIBLE AID TO RECOVERY
Besides washing your hands and wearing a mask (which isn't much good).
Vitamin C is a viricide, but it has to be taken often and in amounts to kill the virus. That means that it has to be taken at least every four hours if you are possibly exposed, and in at least 2000 mg to saturate the bloodstream.
Of course, avoid places with lots of people during this period. If you are going out during the day, take 2000 mg of C before any exposure. During exposure and immediately exposure, take C every two hours, and at the end of possible exposure.
If you get any flu symptoms, start taking 2000 mg every two hours until you get diarrhea, and then back off to just below this amount for that time until the diarrhea stops. (Start with 2 every 3-4 hours, etc)
Masks get moist and this creates a breeding ground for bacteria.
Both vitamin C and vitamin A are good to have on hand. Vitamin A in the proper high dose range for short periods will protect you from pneumonia that often accompanies flu.
Otherwise, take all precautions and avoid using Tamiflu and Relenza
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2007/11/warning-tamiflu-and-relenza-hazards.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2005/10/beware-tamiflu.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/flu-news.html
Meanwhile the FDA and CDC are pushing Tamiflu and Relenza as reported in Medscape News.
FDA Okays Emergency Use of Antiviral Drugs, Diagnostic Test for Swine Flu
by Robert Lowes
April 28, 2009 — State and local public health agencies will have more leeway to treat swine influenza with antiviral medications under an emergency order issued yesterday by the US Food and Drug Administration. The order also will authorize and widen the use of a diagnostic test that, unlike others in use, can precisely identify the new strain of swine flu.
To date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed 64 cases of swine flu in the United States. Worldwide, confirmed cases have emerged in Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, Israel, Spain, and Mexico, which appears to be epicenter, since travel to Mexico figures into many infections elsewhere. In addition, Mexico is the only country where the influenza has resulted in death; authorities there say 152 deaths were likely caused by the virus. In the 6 other countries, infected patients generally have experienced only mild symptoms.
The FDA's Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) relaxes current restrictions on 2 antiviral medications — zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu) — that the CDC recommends for preventing and treating swine influenza A (H1N1). Oseltamivir currently is approved for patients aged 1 year and older. Under the EAU, healthcare providers can administer oseltamivir to patients younger than 1 year and provide alternate dosing to patients aged 1 year and older.
The EAU did not alter the age parameters for zanamivir, approved to treat acute, uncomplicated cases of influenza in adults and children older than 7 years who have been symptomatic for fewer than 2 days, as well as prevent influenza in adults and children aged 5 years and older.
However, the FDA order allows both drugs to be distributed by a wider range of healthcare workers, including volunteers, in accordance with state and local law. In addition, both medications can be distributed without complying with the usual label requirements.
The FDA order follows a decision by the Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday to distribute one fourth of its stockpile of oseltamivir and zanamivir to state governments.
The EUA also authorizes the use of a diagnostic test called a reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swine influenza panel to test for the virus and allows the CDC to distribute it to public health agencies. Two other available tests — rapid influenza antigen and immunofluroscence — can detect the new swine influenza virus, but they only identify probable cases because they cannot distinguish between seasonal influenza A and swine influenza, which is a subtype of A. In contrast, RT-PCR can conclusively confirm a case of swine influenza.
Journalist Robert Lowes is a freelance writer for Medscape.
Medscape Medical News © 2009 Medscape, LLC
Monday, April 27, 2009
What's Keeping You Healthy and Protected from the Flu?
“There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza. The producers of these vaccines know that they are worthless, but they go on selling them anyway.”- Dr. J. Anthony Morris (former Chief Vaccine Control Officer of FDA)
Here are some helpful things I suggest -
Homemade chicken soup with garlic and carrots is a very good food.
We are also suggesting the following use of the ALLI-C and ALLI-DERM garlic products we use and recommend - ORDER ALLI-C AND ALLI-DERM ON REFERRAL FROM DR. GAYLE EVERSOLE VIA THE LINK IN THE RIGHT COLUMN ON THIS PAGE.
“Although this is a new flu virus strain it appears to be related to a simple H1N1 virus line. Symptoms in patients infected in the USA and Europe appear to be relatively mild and include a sore throat, sneezing and coughing. Swine flu appears to be very easily spread by coughing, sneezing or coming into contact with someone who is already infected. Stabilised Allicin as found in Alli-C is an excellent natural antiviral agent that has been proven in double-blind placebo controlled studies to both PREVENT the onset of viral disease and to remove symptoms in people already infected.
I would ask people to supplement with 4 Alli-C capsules daily to act as a preventative. Try to avoid contact with those who are showing active infection and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and then apply a protective layer of Alliderm gel. This has been proven to prevent infectious organisms from populating the hands and face. You may also take some Alliderm gel and rub it around your nose and then insert a little into each nostril for further protection. Taking these simple and cost effective actions each day should prevent the onset of infection and keep your immune system boosted whilst this pernicious virus is trying to infect us all.”
Peter Josling
Director and formulator of Alli-C and Alliderm
and from Randall Neustaedter OMD
The flu is in the news again. This time it's the swine flu, scarier sounding than bird flu. Scary enough to cause worldwide panic. The news is brimming over with dire reports. And mega-pharmacy Hoffman-La Roche is ready in the wings with millions of doses of its drug Tamiflu to sell for a hefty profit.
The best preventive for the flu is to eat a healthy diet of whole foods and to take a few supplements that maintain a strong immune system.
For children - Immune System Supplements for Kids
Children can take a few simple, specific supplements to maintain a strong and vital immune system during the fall and winter months when colds and flus predominate.
An omega-3 fat supplement in the form of fish oil capsules or liquid fish oil will establish healthy cell membranes that prevent inflammation and resist toxins and attack by pathogens.
Vitamin D is essential for kids as well as adults to maintain immune function. Vitamin E will ensure that fatty acids are maintained at optimum efficiency once they are absorbed into cells. In addition, vitamin E has anti-inflammatory effects and increases resistance to infection. Use only natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol), not the synthetic form (dl-alpha-tocopherol). A mixed tocopherol form of vitamin E is best because children need the gamma as well as the alpha forms. An appropriate dose is 100 mg for children under two and 200 mg for children aged 2-12.
Vitamin A is needed for proper mucous membrane function. It is essential for the growth and repair of body tissues, and for efficient digestion of protein. Vitamin A promotes good eyesight, strong bones and teeth, and a vital immune system. White blood cells, T -lymphocytes, and every cell in the important mucosal barriers of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary tracts require vitamin A.
A diet containing significant amounts of fruit and fat will help ensure adequate vitamin A intake. Whole milk products, butter, and free range eggs will help maintain necessary levels of this important nutrient. Use organic sources. For those who may not be getting enough vitamin A, a supplement is essential.
The recommended daily amount (RDA) of vitamin A is 1,000-2,000 IU for children, depending on their age (1,000 at one year of age, 2,000 by age nine). Primitive diets probably maintained 10 times that amount. One egg contains 300 IU, one cup of whole milk or whole milk yogurt contains about 225-250 IU of vitamin A. One tablespoon of butter contains 350 IU of A. The amount of vitamin A may vary by the season and the feed of the animals.
Colostrum is great for children as well as adults.
Zinc stimulates immune function, prevents infections, and acts as a cofactor in many enzyme reactions, including the creation of antioxidants. Normal dosage is 10-20 mg. per day. If zinc supplementation is continued over a prolonged period of time, it should be given in conjunction with copper in a ratio of ten to one to prevent copper deficiency.
Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory effects, antioxidant activity, and antibiotic qualities. A daily supplement of vitamin C during the winter months will round out the immune system prevention program. Use 500 mg for children under 3 years old and 1,000 mg for older children.
The easiest way to give supplements to children is through powdered sources mixed in a blender with fruit, fruit juice, yogurt or milk (rice milk for younger children and children with milk sensitivities), and honey (for children over 12 months old). Capsules can be opened and dumped into the blender. Children can chew oil-based supplements in soft gels or you can stick a pin into them and squirt out the contents onto something they will eat.
Immune Supplements for Children—Daily Dosage
1- to 2-year-olds, 3 to 12-year-olds
Fish oil 1 tsp per 50 pounds body weight
Vitamin D 1,000, IU 2,000 IU
Colostrum ½ teaspoon, 1 tsp
Zinc 10 mg, 20 mg
Copper 1 mg, 2 mg
Vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol or mixed tocopherols)
100 IU, 200 IU
Vitamin C 500 mg, 1,000 mg
Profiteering from Flu Pandemonium
Swine Flu: Bringing Home the Bacon
— By James Ridgeway | Mon April 27, 2009 Mother Jones
As the world gears up once again for a flu pandemic that may or may not arrive (it actually seems possible this time), we might want to remember some of the lessons of the last flu scare. One of these is that there are winners as well as losers in every high-profile outbreak of infectious disease. First and foremost among them, of course, is Big Pharma, which can always be counted on to have its hand out wherever human misery presents an opportunity to rake in some cash.
In 2005, I reported on the bird flu scare for the Village Voice in a piece called “Capitalizing on the Flu.” We can realistically hope that our current federal government will improve upon the bungled effort made by the Bush Administration to prepare for the onslaught of avian flu—which fortunately didn’t materialize. But certain aspects of the crisis are likely to be repeated, and profiteers will surely waste no time in gathering at the trough.
Then, as now, one of the two effective antidotes was a drug called Tamiflu. But this silver bullet came with side effects, as well as a high price tag. As I reported in 2005:
A report by Citicorp at the time described which pharmaceutical manufacturers and other comapnies stood to make money:
Of course, that was then, and this is now. In the coming days we’re bound to discover who’s pulling in the pork this time. But even before the U.S. markets open this morning, early indications aren’t hard to find: “Fears of a potential pandemic are bringing down stock markets around the world today,” public radio’s “Marketplace” reports from London, ”but two big pharmaceutical companies are getting a boost from the news”:
http://www.motherjones.com/print/23404
— By James Ridgeway | Mon April 27, 2009 Mother Jones
As the world gears up once again for a flu pandemic that may or may not arrive (it actually seems possible this time), we might want to remember some of the lessons of the last flu scare. One of these is that there are winners as well as losers in every high-profile outbreak of infectious disease. First and foremost among them, of course, is Big Pharma, which can always be counted on to have its hand out wherever human misery presents an opportunity to rake in some cash.
In 2005, I reported on the bird flu scare for the Village Voice in a piece called “Capitalizing on the Flu.” We can realistically hope that our current federal government will improve upon the bungled effort made by the Bush Administration to prepare for the onslaught of avian flu—which fortunately didn’t materialize. But certain aspects of the crisis are likely to be repeated, and profiteers will surely waste no time in gathering at the trough.
Then, as now, one of the two effective antidotes was a drug called Tamiflu. But this silver bullet came with side effects, as well as a high price tag. As I reported in 2005:
With no vaccine in sight, the U.S. government, along with others, is belatedly stocking up on Tamiflu, a drug that supposedly offers some defense against bird flu. But last week Japanese newspapers told how children who were administered Tamiflu went mad and tried to kill themselves by jumping out of windows. In a cautionary statement the FDA noted 12 deaths among children, and said there are reports of psychiatric disturbances, including hallucinations, along with heart and lung disorders. Roche, the manufacturer, is quoted by the BBC as stating that the rate of deaths and psychiatric problems is no higher among those taking its medication than among those with flu. The company is increasing Tamiflu production to 300 million doses a year to meet demand.
There are other reasons people are leery of Tamiflu. Given the rip-offs in Iraq and after the hurricanes, people are understandably interested in knowing just who is going to get rich off the plague. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, himself former CEO of drug company Searle, currently owns stock in the one company that owns Tamiflu patents—to the tune of at least $18 million. Rumsfeld says he understands why people might question his holdings, but selling them would raise even more questions. So he is hanging on to what he’s got.
A report by Citicorp at the time described which pharmaceutical manufacturers and other comapnies stood to make money:
Winners could include drug makers such as Gilead Sciences, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi-Aventis. Other possible winners are hospital chains such as Rhoen Klinikum, cleaning-products makers such as Henkel, Ecolab, and Clorox, as well as home entertainment companies such as Blockbuster and Nintendo….
In order for the pharmaceutical companies to profit from making flu vaccine in the administration’s $7.1 billion pandemic flu plan, Bush now is proposing to ban liability suits against them except in cases of willful misconduct. As for those injured by a flu vaccine, possible lawsuits remain an open question….
With a worldwide market estimated at more than $1 billion, there’s big money in a flu plague. Kimberly-Clark’s Chinese subsidiary is already ramping up manufacture of new lines of medical masks, wipes, and hand-washing liquids, according to Business Week, with consulting firms Kroll and Booz Allen Hamilton selling flu preparedness advice to companies and governments. “Crisis is an opportunity as long as you see it first,” Pitney Bowes’s Christian Crews tells the magazine.
Of course, that was then, and this is now. In the coming days we’re bound to discover who’s pulling in the pork this time. But even before the U.S. markets open this morning, early indications aren’t hard to find: “Fears of a potential pandemic are bringing down stock markets around the world today,” public radio’s “Marketplace” reports from London, ”but two big pharmaceutical companies are getting a boost from the news”:
Shares in Switzerland’s leading drug maker, Roche, are up nearly 4 percent this morning. The company says it’s scaling up production of Tamiflu. The drug’s been show to be an effective vaccine against the virus.
In the U.K., GlaxoSmithKline, which manufacturers its own vaccine against deadly flu viruses, is also gaining in the markets. Glaxo’s drug is called Relenza….
Both drug makers have been approached by the World Health Organization about their readiness to deploy stocks in the case of a pandemic. Roche says it stands ready with 3 million treatments, but warned further production could take up to eight months.
http://www.motherjones.com/print/23404
FLU: Recombinant Preparedness Alert
We suggest you consider keeping lemon and thyme essential oils for diffusion in your home and at work, you may contact us to purcahse high quality pure therapeutic essential oils. Keep adequately hydrated.
Use the SEARCH window to locate the many articles we have posted on flu and flu vaccines at Natural Health News
Use the SEARCH window to locate the many articles we have posted on flu and flu vaccines at Natural Health News
Swine Flu Epidemic & Avianized Flu Pandemic
Dr Bill Deagle MD DABFP AAEM A4M
4-26-9
Zoonotic Vectors of Swine and Avian Flu
The swine flu is common in the agribusiness, and antibodies to swine flu are present in 20% of vetenarians and 5% of pig farm workes, and rarely kills pigs. However, this swine flu that has presented in Mexico, Texas, California, Queens NYC, London, Italy, etc. has genes of swine, avian, human, and asian flu.
This is without any doubt a pandemic flu with a current case fatality estimated at
10% plus, and rapidly is leaping across North America and to Europe.
Since 1997, the H5N1 flu has spread to all continents. Genetics showed that six strains had high pathogenic case fatality rates in the range of 70% average from 25% to 100% case fatality rates in humans, with some clusters of human to human spread, with close physical contact.
Defiencies in two amino acids needed to allow rapid attachment to human cells was found in all strains, but can be acquired by recombinants with H9N2 or H7N3 or H3N2 etc. endemic human stains that can also coinfect pigs, birds, agricultural animals, and animals in the wild.
Until fall 2008, the avian flu did not optimally replicate unless it was at 106 degrees or higher, but now it has acquired the capacity to replicate easily at 98.6 Farhenheit.
Drug resistance to Amantadine, Tamiflu also are the predominant strains. The current swine flu is analagous to a early 20th century steamer trunk, with stickers showing the visited countries and coastal cities. It has stamps from Asia, North America, Avian, Swine and Human genetics. This is a "Lab Creation".
Now, we must understand that this virus is behaving as if it is more lethal per case that usual flu, and can recombine in pigs, wild and domestic birds, and other animals and can thus acquire PB2 deletions, NS1 gene polymorphisms, and the polybasic six amino acids that allow it to grow in brain and CNS as well as any other target organ in human and animal hosts.
The NS1 deletion of four amino acids bypasses IL4, and thus is much more lethal with massive cytokine release at end stages. Because Avian H5N1 and the 1918 Swine Flu targeted young healthy people, the release of cytokines was more violent in the most healthy.
This first wave is likely to recombine and after Phase 1 gene to population insertion, Phase 2 will result in new superstrains with additional genetic polymorphisms allow transfer efficiently to humans. Phase 2 is the bioreactor phase.
In the emergent or Phase 3, new viral Clades of Swine /Avian hybrids will then have more efficient spreading and higher spontaneous lethality.
WHO Watchdog and Author of Pandemic FLU!
Human Life International invited Dr Bill Deagle MD to speak, March 1997, to the International Board of Doctors and Scientists. After a two hour talk, the board sat me down for a presentation of a foot of documents. Included were three distinct biological programs. The first was a plasmid anti-HCG contaminated Tetanus Vaccine, to cause first trimester sterility by spontaneous induced miscarriage in the target populations of Subsharan Africa, Phillipines, and other target WHO UN high density population countries. The second program was the US Special Virus Project, with mycoplasma RNA oncogenic viruses to cause immune failure, and premature death. It was knows as the AIDS syndrome, and was a recombinant of Visna, Green Monkey and Feline leukemia retro-RNA viruses carried by host mycobacteria. Most important as the large packet of documents on the Avian Flu Project, funded by the Rothchilds and oversean by the WHO and UN. They were in process of obtaining gene fragments from deceased whalers in Alaska with the CDC and Natl Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, supercomputer remodeled and bioengineered resurrection of the 1918 Swine Flu. They planned to insert into the genome Avian genes and spray into Asian bird populations, which would later be a gene pool when spread was complete to all continents for a new Swine-Avian Flu Pandemic.
We now see the H1N1 flu in Mexico, Canada, UK, Italy, USA and perhaps other locations, rapidly evolving. This wave is quite lethal, but with the H5N1 genetics in the wild, it is likely to come in future waves with yet more lethal genes and more rapid spread. Certainly, in the next 7 days, the presence in multiple countries, US Pandemic Flu Alert, WHO raised from 3rd to 4th level, and the pronouncements for a decade plus of coming Pandemic Flu, this was totally a UN WHO plot to release a virus that would cull the human herd.
This is - Global 2000, NSSM 1974 population threat alerts, 1996 UN Population control documents - all calling for massive reduction in World Human Populations. Last week, the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a reduction from 60 to 30 million.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Vitamin D and Viral Protection
Vitamin D Prevents Common Cold, Flu
by Jeffrey Dach MD
Are you sneezing, with a runny nose, and aches and pains? You may have the common cold. Rather than go through a week of misery, better to prevent Colds with Vitamin D.
A new study published Feb 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that Vitamin D prevents the common cold. In this study, patients with low vitamin D levels had 40% more flu episodes.
These findings suggest Vitamin D helps the immune system fight off viral illness like the flu. Vitamin D is actually a hormone which attaches directly to cellular DNA and is involved in prevention of autoimmune diseases. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and increased rate of cancer. In fact, low vitamin D levels have been associated with increased over-all mortality. Read more about Vitamin D, click here:
Vitamin D Deficiency, the Ignored Epidemic of the Developed World
by Jeffrey Dach MD
References and Links
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/169/4/384 Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Adit A. Ginde, MD, MPH; Jonathan M. Mansbach, MD; Carlos A. Camargo Jr, MD, DrPH Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):384-390.
Background Recent studies suggest a role for vitamin D in innate immunity, including the prevention of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). We hypothesize that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are inversely associated with self-reported recent upper RTI (URTI).
Methods We performed a secondary analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a probability survey of the US population conducted between 1988 and 1994. We examined the association between 25(OH)D level and recent URTI in 18 883 participants 12 years and older. The analysis adjusted for demographics and clinical factors (season, body mass index, smoking history, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
Results The median serum 25(OH)D level was 29 ng/mL (to convert to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 2.496) (interquartile range, 21-37 ng/mL), and 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], 18%-20%) of participants reported a recent URTI. Recent URTI was reported by 24% of participants with 25(OH)D levels less than 10 ng/mL, by 20% with levels of 10 to less than 30 ng/mL, and by 17% with levels of 30 ng/mL or more (P < .001). Even after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics, lower 25(OH)D levels were independently associated with recent URTI (compared with 25[OH]D levels of 30 ng/mL: odds ratio [OR], 1.36; 95% CI, 1.01-1.84 for <10 ng/mL and 1.24; 1.07-1.43 for 10 to <30 ng/mL). The association between 25(OH)D level and URTI seemed to be stronger in individuals with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 5.67 and 2.26, respectively).
Conclusions Serum 25(OH)D levels are inversely associated with recent URTI. This association may be stronger in those with respiratory tract diseases. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to explore the effects of vitamin D supplementation on RTI.
Adit A. Ginde; Jonathan M. Mansbach; Carlos A. Camargo Jr.
Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2009; 169 (4): 384 DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2008.560
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090223221242.htm
Vitamin D Deficiency May Increase Risk Of Colds, Flu
ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) — Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, report investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children's Hospital Boston.
Study participants with the lowest vitamin D blood levels – less than 10 ng per milliliter of blood – were about 40 percent more likely to report having a recent respiratory infection than were those with vitamin D levels of 30 or higher. The association was present in all seasons and even stronger among participants with a history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema. Asthma patients with the lowest vitamin D levels were five times more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection; while among COPD patients, respiratory infections were twice as common among those with vitamin D deficiency.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/24/health.vitamind.cold/
Vitamin D may protect against common cold.
Deficiency of vitamin D is common, particularly in winter. People with low blood levels of vitamin D more likely to report a recent cold By Theresa Tamkins,Vitamin D may protect people -- especially those with asthma and other chronic lung conditions -- from colds and other respiratory tract infections, according to the largest study to date to look at the link.
People with low blood levels of vitamin D were more likely to have had a recent cold.
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cold-and-flu/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100233622
Too Little Vitamin D May Mean More Colds and Flu
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) --
Forget the apple. The largest study of its kind to date shows that vitamin D each and every day is what will keep the doctor away when it comes to the common cold or the flu.
http://jeffreydach.com/2007/06/10/vitamin-d-deficiency--by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx
Vitamin D Deficiency, the Ignored Epidemic of the Developed World
by Jeffrey Dach MD
by Jeffrey Dach MD
Are you sneezing, with a runny nose, and aches and pains? You may have the common cold. Rather than go through a week of misery, better to prevent Colds with Vitamin D.
A new study published Feb 23 in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that Vitamin D prevents the common cold. In this study, patients with low vitamin D levels had 40% more flu episodes.
These findings suggest Vitamin D helps the immune system fight off viral illness like the flu. Vitamin D is actually a hormone which attaches directly to cellular DNA and is involved in prevention of autoimmune diseases. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and increased rate of cancer. In fact, low vitamin D levels have been associated with increased over-all mortality. Read more about Vitamin D, click here:
Vitamin D Deficiency, the Ignored Epidemic of the Developed World
by Jeffrey Dach MD
References and Links
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/169/4/384 Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Adit A. Ginde, MD, MPH; Jonathan M. Mansbach, MD; Carlos A. Camargo Jr, MD, DrPH Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):384-390.
Background Recent studies suggest a role for vitamin D in innate immunity, including the prevention of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). We hypothesize that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are inversely associated with self-reported recent upper RTI (URTI).
Methods We performed a secondary analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a probability survey of the US population conducted between 1988 and 1994. We examined the association between 25(OH)D level and recent URTI in 18 883 participants 12 years and older. The analysis adjusted for demographics and clinical factors (season, body mass index, smoking history, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
Results The median serum 25(OH)D level was 29 ng/mL (to convert to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 2.496) (interquartile range, 21-37 ng/mL), and 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], 18%-20%) of participants reported a recent URTI. Recent URTI was reported by 24% of participants with 25(OH)D levels less than 10 ng/mL, by 20% with levels of 10 to less than 30 ng/mL, and by 17% with levels of 30 ng/mL or more (P < .001). Even after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics, lower 25(OH)D levels were independently associated with recent URTI (compared with 25[OH]D levels of 30 ng/mL: odds ratio [OR], 1.36; 95% CI, 1.01-1.84 for <10 ng/mL and 1.24; 1.07-1.43 for 10 to <30 ng/mL). The association between 25(OH)D level and URTI seemed to be stronger in individuals with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 5.67 and 2.26, respectively).
Conclusions Serum 25(OH)D levels are inversely associated with recent URTI. This association may be stronger in those with respiratory tract diseases. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to explore the effects of vitamin D supplementation on RTI.
Adit A. Ginde; Jonathan M. Mansbach; Carlos A. Camargo Jr.
Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2009; 169 (4): 384 DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2008.560
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090223221242.htm
Vitamin D Deficiency May Increase Risk Of Colds, Flu
ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) — Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, report investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children's Hospital Boston.
Study participants with the lowest vitamin D blood levels – less than 10 ng per milliliter of blood – were about 40 percent more likely to report having a recent respiratory infection than were those with vitamin D levels of 30 or higher. The association was present in all seasons and even stronger among participants with a history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema. Asthma patients with the lowest vitamin D levels were five times more likely to have had a recent respiratory infection; while among COPD patients, respiratory infections were twice as common among those with vitamin D deficiency.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/24/health.vitamind.cold/
Vitamin D may protect against common cold.
Deficiency of vitamin D is common, particularly in winter. People with low blood levels of vitamin D more likely to report a recent cold By Theresa Tamkins,Vitamin D may protect people -- especially those with asthma and other chronic lung conditions -- from colds and other respiratory tract infections, according to the largest study to date to look at the link.
People with low blood levels of vitamin D were more likely to have had a recent cold.
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cold-and-flu/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100233622
Too Little Vitamin D May Mean More Colds and Flu
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) --
Forget the apple. The largest study of its kind to date shows that vitamin D each and every day is what will keep the doctor away when it comes to the common cold or the flu.
http://jeffreydach.com/2007/06/10/vitamin-d-deficiency--by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx
Vitamin D Deficiency, the Ignored Epidemic of the Developed World
by Jeffrey Dach MD
Supplements 'reduce malaria toll'
UPDATE: Stephen Fisher, a missionary in Zambia is very successful using iodine to treat people with malaria. He used 20 drops of Iodine in a half glass of water given 4 or 5 times during the first day and then decreased the dose to 10 drops of Iodine 4 times a day for 3 more days. Higher dosages can be administered for much longer since iodine is a nutritional medicine that is needed by the body. Such a protocol can be used for the swine flu or any other type of influenza. Many natural and integrative providers use higher dosages of other iodine forms, namely Lugol’s and Iodoral for cancer treatment.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Quincy Jones, Oprah, Ryan Seacrest, Ted Turner and CNN all chipped in to purchase mosquito nets. Nets have been known for a very long time to be very useful in the prevention of malaria. The One World Campaign against malaria is underway, yet there is an important missing piece.
In addition to mosquito nets, two inexpensive vitamin and mineral supplements reduce the incidence of malaria by one-third.
Think of how much impact mosquito nets along with vitamin A and zinc could have.
Note that vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin and it is rare that it is taken in large enough quantities to be poisonous to the human body. In certain instances very high doses of vitamin A are used to fight lung infections and pneumonia or other similar health issues. This can actually be up to 250,000 units daily over no more than 3 days. In excess, zinc may have untoward effects. Because it is a difficult mineral to absorb, it is best taken with food and in frequent small doses, usually up to about 50-60 mg a day.
Originally posted February 2008
This report caught my interest because we are sponsoring a Veteran's Resource project and one of the items we report is that Lariam, a fluoride based drug our young men and women in Iraq are forced to take.
We also read about how Bill Gates is spending millions on vaccines that are really worthless in this fight, yet makes no allowances for the real science behind supplements for health, including the ones that help in HIV/AIDS.
Wouldn't it be great if we gave all our military folks vitamins instead of deadly drugs...and the same for the children of Africa.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Quincy Jones, Oprah, Ryan Seacrest, Ted Turner and CNN all chipped in to purchase mosquito nets. Nets have been known for a very long time to be very useful in the prevention of malaria. The One World Campaign against malaria is underway, yet there is an important missing piece.
In addition to mosquito nets, two inexpensive vitamin and mineral supplements reduce the incidence of malaria by one-third.
Think of how much impact mosquito nets along with vitamin A and zinc could have.
Note that vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin and it is rare that it is taken in large enough quantities to be poisonous to the human body. In certain instances very high doses of vitamin A are used to fight lung infections and pneumonia or other similar health issues. This can actually be up to 250,000 units daily over no more than 3 days. In excess, zinc may have untoward effects. Because it is a difficult mineral to absorb, it is best taken with food and in frequent small doses, usually up to about 50-60 mg a day.
Originally posted February 2008
This report caught my interest because we are sponsoring a Veteran's Resource project and one of the items we report is that Lariam, a fluoride based drug our young men and women in Iraq are forced to take.
We also read about how Bill Gates is spending millions on vaccines that are really worthless in this fight, yet makes no allowances for the real science behind supplements for health, including the ones that help in HIV/AIDS.
Wouldn't it be great if we gave all our military folks vitamins instead of deadly drugs...and the same for the children of Africa.
Malaria is spread by mosquitoes
Cheap dietary supplements could protect young children from malaria, research suggests.
The study, published in Nutrition Journal, found giving children vitamin A and zinc cut incidence of illness by a third.
Malaria remains a major killer in many parts of the world - in sub-Saharan Africa it is estimated to account for a million child deaths a year.
Resistance to drug treatments is an increasing problem.
And efforts to kill the infected mosquitoes that spread the disease have been hampered by the use of ineffective insecticides.
Many people living in malaria endemic areas suffer from malnutrition so researchers in Burkina Faso experimented with adding vitamin A and zinc supplements to the diets of children aged from six months to six years.
Half of the children were given a placebo. After six months the scientists observed a 34% decrease in incidence of malaria in those children taking the supplements.
Among those children who did catch the illness, those taking supplements were more resistant to the disease and suffered fewer fever episodes.
The researchers, from Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, believe the combined supplements boosted the children's immune system, making them more naturally resistant to malaria.
They believe the supplements could be an effective long term strategy to reduce the impact of malaria.
Caution required
Dr Ron Behrens, an expert in tropical diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said zinc supplementation had also been shown to have a positive impact on respiratory disease and cholera.
However, he said use of supplements might only work in communities with specific nutritional deficiencies - and those deficiencies might only exist at certain times of year.
For instance, vitamin A deficiency was a problem in West Africa during the rainy season, but not when palm oil was in plentiful supply.
Dr Behrens also warned that too much zinc could have a negative impact on the body's ability to make use of other minerals, such as copper and selenium.
Vitamin A in excess had been shown to be toxic, he said, causing brain swelling and other complications.
"Neither of these micro-nutrients is totally safe. They should be used like pharmaceuticals, and not seen as cure alls," he said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7231096.stm
FLU News
UPDATE: US declares public health emergency for swine flu
Tamiflu Caution
Tamiflu/Relenza Hazards
Thieves Vinegar
Millenium CF
The important thing in a pandemic: DON'T PANIC. PREPARE. BE SMART.
What Does The Swine Flu Outbreak Mean?
by DemFromCT (dailykos.com)
Sat Apr 25, 2009
Well, that's a loaded question, and the short answer is, we don't know yet. But here's a little that we do know about pandemics.
A pandemic is defined as: a new virus to which everybody is susceptible; the ability to readily spread from person to person; and the capability of causing significant disease in humans, said Dr. Jay Steinberg, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. The new strain of swine flu meets only one of the criteria: novelty.
History indicates that flu pandemics tend to occur once every 20 years or so, so we're due for one, Steinberg said.
"I can say with 100 percent confidence that a pandemic of a new flu strain will spread in humans," he said. "What I can't say is when it will occur."
Point number one: this is a novel, never before seen virus. Humans do not have protection, though there may be some cross protection. So, that makes it dangerous and worth watching.
Point number two: we don't know anything about how easily this particular virus spreads from person to person. That's partly because we know more about the few US cases and less about the many Mexican cases. We don't know how many reported suspected cases in Mexico are actually swine flu. Only a handful of cases in Mexico have been confirmed by US and Canadian laboratories. That still leaves us with worry, but not hard fact.
Point number three: that's about how much illness it causes. In the US, not much. For Mexico:
"Public health officials in Mexico began actively looking for cases of respiratory illness upon noticing that the seasonal peak of influenza extended into April, when cases usually decline in number," the medical alert said. "They found two outbreaks of illness — one centered around Distrito Federal (Mexico City), involving about 120 cases with 13 deaths. The other is in San Luis Potosi, with 14 cases and four deaths."
Authorities also detected one death in Oaxaca, in the south, and two in Baja California Norte, near San Diego, California.
So what do the authorities say? They say this:
"Our concern has grown since yesterday in light of what we've learned since then," said Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, during a conference call today with reporters. "This is something we're worried about and taking very seriously. We are moving quickly, being very aggressive in our approach."
and
"This has a sense of urgency about it," [William] Schaffner, chief of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt, said in a telephone interview today. "They are asking us who work in hospitals to go to our emergency rooms and our pediatric wards to gather specimens and start testing them."
But none of that means this will develop into a pandemic. It does mean we are closer now than at any time in recent memory (and it could still fizzle out. Remember, we still don't know a lot about Mexico's cases, the vast majority of which have not been analyzed.) So, as we follow the news, let's review our flu and pandemic prep advice. Here's the basics: avoidance.
Here's a status note from Reuters:
The experts will not necessarily issue firm recommendations on Saturday. Once more details are clear about the virus and its risks, the emergency panel could recommend a change in the WHO's pandemic alert level — currently at 3 on a scale of 1 to 6 — or recommend travel advisories to control the flu's spread.
and from Bloomberg:
The World Health Organization is set to declare the deadly swine flu virus outbreak in Mexico and the U.S. a global concern, potentially prompting travel restrictions, said a person familiar with the matter.
An emergency committee of the WHO in Geneva will declare the outbreak "a public health event of international concern" in a 4 p.m. teleconference today, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is confidential. In response, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan may raise the level of pandemic alert, which could lead to travel restrictions aimed at curbing the disease's spread.
You can take a look at the CDC and WHO visualization of how pandemics develop and are classified. Take a look, just so you're more familiar with it, as it may come up in the weeks ahead.
Along the top are the WHO phases. We are currently in phase 3, and that corresponds with the Pandemic Alert Period. Skip the USG stages because they are not widely used. At the bottom, CDC has corresponding "intervals" for the graph, and they correspond to functional "what do I do and when" information about a potential pandemic. Moving from WHO phase 3 to 4 ("you are here") means moving from CDC interval "investigation" to "recognition". That's exactly where we are — investigation. But even so, should something untoward develop there'd be time do some preparation before we moved into the "initiation" and the "acceleration" interval, even if this goes sour some time in the near future.
However, moving from investigation to recognition (i.e., WHO phase 3 to 4, or moving to the right of the big red line) would trigger all sorts of changes and alarms and trip wires in pandemic plans developed by companies and countries, and that might have an effect on travel advisories. Some multinationals might call for ex-pats to return home, just as one example. Airlines and tourism might take an economic hit (that happened to Canada during the SARS epidemic in 2003, and Canadians are still sore at WHO for acting (in their view) too precipitously in issuing travel advisories.
All this is given to give you a flavor of the complex decision making that needs to go on. WHO will be meeting in emergency session to do just that, but it's not as easy as simply saying "be cautious", not when so many factors come into play. And for a look at school closures, I refer you to this previous post when we talked about exercises and seasonal cases in Hong Kong that closed their schools.
In the meantime, we'll be tracking it here, along with the rest of the country, and we'll update periodically as needed. And if you want to know what preparations you can take, go here. get pandemic ready.
It's a site we set up with Idaho's Emergency management team exactly for that reason.
Or download this flu prep manual.
Pandemic Influenza
Preparation and Response: A Citizen's Guide
We put it there so you could. This is an excellent opportunity to think about the unthinkable. And if nothing develops, you'll be better prepped for the next natural disaster that does happen.
† † †
UPDATE
WHO warns of flu pandemic as Mexico City frets
Sat Apr 25, 2009 9:05pm BST
By Catherine Bremer and Stephanie Nebehay
MEXICO CITY/GENEVA (Reuters) - A new flu strain that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico could become a pandemic, the World Health Organisation warned on Saturday, as Mexico's crowded capital hunkered down in fear of the disease. . . .
"It has pandemic potential because it is infecting people," WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in Geneva.
"However, we cannot say on the basis of currently available laboratory, epidemiological and clinical evidence whether or not it will indeed cause a pandemic. . . .
The new flu strain — a mixture of swine, human and avian flu viruses — is still poorly understood and the situation is evolving quickly, Chan said.
As far away as Hong Kong and Japan, health officials stepped up surveillance of travellers for flu-like symptoms, and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it was actively looking for new infections in the United States.
"We are worried and because we are worried we are acting aggressively on a number of fronts," the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters. "The situation is serious."
Courtesy: Perelandra
Read how sauerkraut, a valuable fermented food, can help fight flu and build your immune system.
Tamiflu Caution
Tamiflu/Relenza Hazards
Thieves Vinegar
Millenium CF
The important thing in a pandemic: DON'T PANIC. PREPARE. BE SMART.
We encourage to to think carefully and cautiously before you consider flu vaccines. Ask questions and get all the information as required by informed consent laws. Flu vaccines have been related to greater incidence of the viruses and extremely serious side effects. We do not support vaccination as our personal choice based on the evidence. Viruses are always changing. Act to build and keep your immune system strong.
What Does The Swine Flu Outbreak Mean?
by DemFromCT (dailykos.com)
Sat Apr 25, 2009
Well, that's a loaded question, and the short answer is, we don't know yet. But here's a little that we do know about pandemics.
A pandemic is defined as: a new virus to which everybody is susceptible; the ability to readily spread from person to person; and the capability of causing significant disease in humans, said Dr. Jay Steinberg, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. The new strain of swine flu meets only one of the criteria: novelty.
History indicates that flu pandemics tend to occur once every 20 years or so, so we're due for one, Steinberg said.
"I can say with 100 percent confidence that a pandemic of a new flu strain will spread in humans," he said. "What I can't say is when it will occur."
Point number one: this is a novel, never before seen virus. Humans do not have protection, though there may be some cross protection. So, that makes it dangerous and worth watching.
Point number two: we don't know anything about how easily this particular virus spreads from person to person. That's partly because we know more about the few US cases and less about the many Mexican cases. We don't know how many reported suspected cases in Mexico are actually swine flu. Only a handful of cases in Mexico have been confirmed by US and Canadian laboratories. That still leaves us with worry, but not hard fact.
Point number three: that's about how much illness it causes. In the US, not much. For Mexico:
"Public health officials in Mexico began actively looking for cases of respiratory illness upon noticing that the seasonal peak of influenza extended into April, when cases usually decline in number," the medical alert said. "They found two outbreaks of illness — one centered around Distrito Federal (Mexico City), involving about 120 cases with 13 deaths. The other is in San Luis Potosi, with 14 cases and four deaths."
Authorities also detected one death in Oaxaca, in the south, and two in Baja California Norte, near San Diego, California.
So what do the authorities say? They say this:
"Our concern has grown since yesterday in light of what we've learned since then," said Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, during a conference call today with reporters. "This is something we're worried about and taking very seriously. We are moving quickly, being very aggressive in our approach."
and
"This has a sense of urgency about it," [William] Schaffner, chief of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt, said in a telephone interview today. "They are asking us who work in hospitals to go to our emergency rooms and our pediatric wards to gather specimens and start testing them."
But none of that means this will develop into a pandemic. It does mean we are closer now than at any time in recent memory (and it could still fizzle out. Remember, we still don't know a lot about Mexico's cases, the vast majority of which have not been analyzed.) So, as we follow the news, let's review our flu and pandemic prep advice. Here's the basics: avoidance.
~Avoid close contact. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
~Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
~Cover your mouth and nose. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
~Clean your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. (Natural Health News note: Avoid using anti-bacterial soap and alcohol based hand sanitizers, use plain castile soap like Dr. Bronner's super baby mild, and keep skin lubricated with toxin-free natural lotion.)
~Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
~Practice other good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.
You can always add
~Don't travel to countries in the midst of a novel flu outbreak. (of course, the official CDC advice is go, but practice 1-6).
Here's a status note from Reuters:
The experts will not necessarily issue firm recommendations on Saturday. Once more details are clear about the virus and its risks, the emergency panel could recommend a change in the WHO's pandemic alert level — currently at 3 on a scale of 1 to 6 — or recommend travel advisories to control the flu's spread.
and from Bloomberg:
The World Health Organization is set to declare the deadly swine flu virus outbreak in Mexico and the U.S. a global concern, potentially prompting travel restrictions, said a person familiar with the matter.
An emergency committee of the WHO in Geneva will declare the outbreak "a public health event of international concern" in a 4 p.m. teleconference today, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is confidential. In response, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan may raise the level of pandemic alert, which could lead to travel restrictions aimed at curbing the disease's spread.
You can take a look at the CDC and WHO visualization of how pandemics develop and are classified. Take a look, just so you're more familiar with it, as it may come up in the weeks ahead.
Along the top are the WHO phases. We are currently in phase 3, and that corresponds with the Pandemic Alert Period. Skip the USG stages because they are not widely used. At the bottom, CDC has corresponding "intervals" for the graph, and they correspond to functional "what do I do and when" information about a potential pandemic. Moving from WHO phase 3 to 4 ("you are here") means moving from CDC interval "investigation" to "recognition". That's exactly where we are — investigation. But even so, should something untoward develop there'd be time do some preparation before we moved into the "initiation" and the "acceleration" interval, even if this goes sour some time in the near future.
However, moving from investigation to recognition (i.e., WHO phase 3 to 4, or moving to the right of the big red line) would trigger all sorts of changes and alarms and trip wires in pandemic plans developed by companies and countries, and that might have an effect on travel advisories. Some multinationals might call for ex-pats to return home, just as one example. Airlines and tourism might take an economic hit (that happened to Canada during the SARS epidemic in 2003, and Canadians are still sore at WHO for acting (in their view) too precipitously in issuing travel advisories.
All this is given to give you a flavor of the complex decision making that needs to go on. WHO will be meeting in emergency session to do just that, but it's not as easy as simply saying "be cautious", not when so many factors come into play. And for a look at school closures, I refer you to this previous post when we talked about exercises and seasonal cases in Hong Kong that closed their schools.
In the meantime, we'll be tracking it here, along with the rest of the country, and we'll update periodically as needed. And if you want to know what preparations you can take, go here. get pandemic ready.
It's a site we set up with Idaho's Emergency management team exactly for that reason.
Or download this flu prep manual.
Pandemic Influenza
Preparation and Response: A Citizen's Guide
We put it there so you could. This is an excellent opportunity to think about the unthinkable. And if nothing develops, you'll be better prepped for the next natural disaster that does happen.
† † †
UPDATE
WHO warns of flu pandemic as Mexico City frets
Sat Apr 25, 2009 9:05pm BST
By Catherine Bremer and Stephanie Nebehay
MEXICO CITY/GENEVA (Reuters) - A new flu strain that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico could become a pandemic, the World Health Organisation warned on Saturday, as Mexico's crowded capital hunkered down in fear of the disease. . . .
"It has pandemic potential because it is infecting people," WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in Geneva.
"However, we cannot say on the basis of currently available laboratory, epidemiological and clinical evidence whether or not it will indeed cause a pandemic. . . .
The new flu strain — a mixture of swine, human and avian flu viruses — is still poorly understood and the situation is evolving quickly, Chan said.
As far away as Hong Kong and Japan, health officials stepped up surveillance of travellers for flu-like symptoms, and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it was actively looking for new infections in the United States.
"We are worried and because we are worried we are acting aggressively on a number of fronts," the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters. "The situation is serious."
Courtesy: Perelandra
Read how sauerkraut, a valuable fermented food, can help fight flu and build your immune system.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Use Current Standards for Accurate Diagnosing
Read More about thyroid, radiation exposure and cancer: Keep in mind that your mobile phone radiates the region in your neck surrounding the very important thyroid gland.
Originally posted 9/23/08 -
From time to time people are searching for information on results of the TSH
(thyroid stimulating hormone) test.
The correct range currently and for the last several years for TSH is 0.3 to 3 or 3.2 mU/L. Even some whose TSH result is in this narrowed range may still be suffering with symptoms realted to abberation in thyroid function.
One medical naturopath overlooked low thyroid in a client and focused on getting cholesterol down, not the low thyroid that raises cholesterol.
A reader of NHN this morning seems to have been told a level of 6+ is "normal".
The old range used to be up to 8, some have been using 5. Both are invalid.
Originally posted 9/23/08 -
From time to time people are searching for information on results of the TSH
(thyroid stimulating hormone) test.
The correct range currently and for the last several years for TSH is 0.3 to 3 or 3.2 mU/L. Even some whose TSH result is in this narrowed range may still be suffering with symptoms realted to abberation in thyroid function.
One medical naturopath overlooked low thyroid in a client and focused on getting cholesterol down, not the low thyroid that raises cholesterol.
A reader of NHN this morning seems to have been told a level of 6+ is "normal".
The old range used to be up to 8, some have been using 5. Both are invalid.
From this article, ranges not current with ACCE recommendations. "Normal thyroid function (euthyroid; TSH 0.45 - 4.5 mU/L), those with subclinical hypothyroidism (divided into moderate, TSH 4.5 - 9.9 mU/L, and severe, ≥ 10.0 mU/L), and those with subclinical hyperthyroidism (TSH < 0.45 mU/L)"
From Heartwire — a professional news service of WebMD
September 22, 2008 — A new study has found that older adults with severe subclinical hypothyroidism had almost double the risk of developing heart failure (HF) compared with those with normal thyroid function over a 12-year follow-up period [1]. Dr Nicolas Rodondi (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) and colleagues report their findings in the September 30, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Rodondi told heartwire that these results were in line with those of the only other study to have looked at subclinical hypothyroidism and HF incidence, which also found an increased HF risk only in those with high levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
The findings are important to inform the debate about subclinical hypothyroidism, he says. "There is a big controversy about whether we should screen and treat people with subclinical hypothyroidism. We know that people with overt hypothyroidism with symptoms need to get treated, but about those with no symptoms and just subclinical disease, there is debate. And within this debate about whether to treat or not is another controversy about the threshold at which you should treat."
These and other results from prior studies support the recommendations of several guidelines that those with subclinical hypothyroidism and no symptoms should be treated with thyroxine only if their TSH is 10.0 mU/L or more, Rodondi says. However, he points out that some endocrinologists disagree and advocate treating such patients at lower TSH levels. The debate is important, he says, because it is has been shown that monitoring of TSH levels under thyroxine is not always accurate in clinical practice, with overtreatment having its own attendant risks.
"Indirect evidence" that thyroxine might prevent HF
Rodondi and colleagues studied 3044 adults who were 65 or older participating in the Cardiovascular Health Study, all of whom were free of HF at baseline. They compared adjudicated HF events over a mean of 12 years of follow-up and changes in cardiac function over the course of five years among those with normal thyroid function (euthyroid; TSH 0.45 - 4.5 mU/L), those with subclinical hypothyroidism (divided into moderate, TSH 4.5 - 9.9 mU/L, and severe, ≥ 10.0 mU/L), and those with subclinical hyperthyroidism (TSH < 0.45 mU/L).
Over the follow-up period, 736 people developed HF events. Those with TSH 10.0 mU/L or more had a greater incidence of HF compared with euthyroid participants (adjusted HR 1.88, p=0.01). No such increased risk was seen in those with TSH 4.5 - 9.9 mU/L or in those with subclinical hyperthyroidism compared with euthyroid participants.
Baseline peak E velocity — an echocardiographic measure of diastolic function associated with incident heart failure in the cohort — was also greater in those with TSH 10.0 mU/L or more compared with euthyroid participants (0.80 m/s vs 0.72 m/s; p=0.002). And over the course of five years, left ventricular mass increased among those with TSH 10.0 mU/L or more, although other echocardiographic measures were unchanged.
In a further exploratory analysis, the researchers stratified people with TSH 10.0 mU/L or more into those who received thyroxine replacement therapy and those who didn't. They found that those who got thyroxine did not have an increased risk of HF, "providing indirect evidence that [thyroxine] might work to prevent development of HF in those with TSH 10.0 mU/L or more," said Rodondi.
He stressed, however, that "to definitively prove a link between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and HF, a randomized clinical trial would be needed in which one group is treated with thyroxine vs placebo to see if the former reduces the risk. That would be proof of concept, but it has not been done as yet."
Overtreatment with thyroxine has risks too
Rodondi said their findings — that those with less severe subclinical hypothyroidism do not seem to be at risk of HF — are "important," because a high proportion of older adults fit into this category and are treated with thyroxine in clinical practice, without consistent evidence that this is of benefit.
Monitoring of TSH levels under thyroxine is not always accurate in clinical practice, he explains, and it is estimated that around 20% to 30% of people receiving thyroxine are overtreated. This in itself has risks, as subclinical hyperthyroidism has been associated with atrial fibrillation and increased fracture risk.
"In aggregate, our findings might help refine a treatment threshold at which clinical benefit would be expected and demonstrate a subpopulation at risk for a life-threatening condition," he and his colleagues say in their paper.
"Clinical trials should examine the efficacy of screening for and treating subclinical thyroid dysfunction and assess whether the risk of HF might be ameliorated by thyroxine replacement in individuals with TSH levels above 10 mU/L," they conclude.
Source: Rodondi N, Bauer DC, Cappola AR, et al. Subclinical thyroid dysfunction, cardiac function and the risk of heart failure. The Cardiovascular Health Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008;52:1152-1159.
Boosting Brain Stamina With Drugs
Back in 1970 it seemed as if Ritalin was the "Big Drug on Campus" that everyone picked up freely from student health for marathon study nights before exams. Little seems to have changed.
Perhaps overlooked in all of this, especially the complaint of lack of energy, is the wireless revolution and how EMF impacts cellular energy.
Following on outstanding reports from a current trial with my formula, ADVENTURX, I'd suggest it is more worth a try for students than the prescription drugs they seem to be relying on for all sorts of things on their way to a big crash.
See also
Perhaps overlooked in all of this, especially the complaint of lack of energy, is the wireless revolution and how EMF impacts cellular energy.
Following on outstanding reports from a current trial with my formula, ADVENTURX, I'd suggest it is more worth a try for students than the prescription drugs they seem to be relying on for all sorts of things on their way to a big crash.
Well - Tara Parker-Pope on Health
New York Times, April 21, 2009
Boosting Brain Stamina With Drugs
This week’s New Yorker has a fascinating article about the growing use of “neuro-enhancing” drugs by college students and others to improve focus, reduce sleep needs and lengthen study time and work hours.
Drugs like Adderall and Ritalin, typically prescribed to improve focus of people with attention deficit problems, now are being taken by people with healthy brains to help them boost achievement. One doctor has even coined a term for the practice: cosmetic neurology. Author Margaret Talbot writes:
A young man I’ll call Alex recently graduated from Harvard. As a history major, Alex wrote about a dozen papers a semester. He also ran a student organization, for which he often worked more than forty hours a week; when he wasn’t on the job, he had classes. Weeknights were devoted to all the schoolwork that he couldn’t finish during the day, and weekend nights were spent drinking with friends and going to dance parties. …Since, in essence, this life was impossible, Alex began taking Adderall to make it possible.
Adderall, a stimulant composed of mixed amphetamine salts, is commonly prescribed for children and adults who have been given a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. But in recent years Adderall and Ritalin, another stimulant, have been adopted as cognitive enhancers: drugs that high-functioning, overcommitted people take to become higher-functioning and more overcommitted…. College campuses have become laboratories for experimentation with neuroenhancement.
To learn more, read the full article, “Brain Gain: The Underground World of Neuroenhancing Drugs.”
See also
That Pink Salt from Pakistan
UPDATE: 16 June - For those who don't seem to grasp the problem with fluoride, whether natural or chemical, please take the time to glean some facts from this 2008 article by John Graham: Riding the Fluoride Tiger.
--------------------------------------------------
I would like to have anyone interested in "Himalayan" salt to understand one thing about the fluoride content in this product, and consider the implications very seriously.
The other day an anonymous visitor to Natural Health News sent the following comment - "Naturally occurring fluoride (and iodine) have a much different effect on the body than their industrially refined chemical counterparts."
I would like to reply by asking this anonymous visitor, or anyone else who ignores science in favor of marketing hype, just like the American Dental Association spews out, or those pushing municipal water fluoridation, if for one moment in time they looked into the science.
And I also wish to propose the following query, wondering if anyone asked just exactly why it is that so why do so many countries around the world - such as China, India, etc - have endemic fluorosis from "naturally occurring" fluoride???
Perhaps you will ask this of the MLM or other mail order companies marketing pink Himalayan salt as a cure for everything...
Remember just this one thing: Fluoride, even in a naturally occurring state, is a POISON and has CUMULATIVE effects.
POST SCRIPT: Ed Leach wanted this information posted: "As the Original inporter of Himalayan Crystal Salt from Pakistan, I can say with confidence, supported by laboratory analysis, that our brand, Original Himalayan Crystal Salt contains less than .01ppm of fluoride. This amount is barely measureable and I have been assured by many scientists that it poses no threat to human beings."
Leach has contacted us previously.
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/salt-savvy.html
As a scientist and researcher in the health field for many decades I cannot accept the position that fluoride is safe. Fluoride IS a TOXIC, CUMULATIVE POISON. Fluoride is commonly used as a rat and ant poison and fertilizers. It's run-off damages aquatic life in places such as Puget Sound, causing skeletal damage and bone tumours.
For more information, where you can decide for yourself, please read more here.
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/good-dental-health-resource.html
--------------------------------------------------
I would like to have anyone interested in "Himalayan" salt to understand one thing about the fluoride content in this product, and consider the implications very seriously.
The other day an anonymous visitor to Natural Health News sent the following comment - "Naturally occurring fluoride (and iodine) have a much different effect on the body than their industrially refined chemical counterparts."
I would like to reply by asking this anonymous visitor, or anyone else who ignores science in favor of marketing hype, just like the American Dental Association spews out, or those pushing municipal water fluoridation, if for one moment in time they looked into the science.
And I also wish to propose the following query, wondering if anyone asked just exactly why it is that so why do so many countries around the world - such as China, India, etc - have endemic fluorosis from "naturally occurring" fluoride???
Perhaps you will ask this of the MLM or other mail order companies marketing pink Himalayan salt as a cure for everything...
Remember just this one thing: Fluoride, even in a naturally occurring state, is a POISON and has CUMULATIVE effects.
POST SCRIPT: Ed Leach wanted this information posted: "As the Original inporter of Himalayan Crystal Salt from Pakistan, I can say with confidence, supported by laboratory analysis, that our brand, Original Himalayan Crystal Salt contains less than .01ppm of fluoride. This amount is barely measureable and I have been assured by many scientists that it poses no threat to human beings."
Leach has contacted us previously.
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/salt-savvy.html
As a scientist and researcher in the health field for many decades I cannot accept the position that fluoride is safe. Fluoride IS a TOXIC, CUMULATIVE POISON. Fluoride is commonly used as a rat and ant poison and fertilizers. It's run-off damages aquatic life in places such as Puget Sound, causing skeletal damage and bone tumours.
For more information, where you can decide for yourself, please read more here.
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/good-dental-health-resource.html
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Health Nut
UPDATE: 3 August 2011. From Italy. Cashews make great gravy by the way.
Original post -Health properties of nutsNuts are one of the very best natural nutritious foods available anywhereby S. C.Nuts are among the greatest natural foods we can eat, besides, so being called a ‘nut’ is quite alright.
What are the best nuts to eat if you want to incorporate them into your daily diet? They are all good for you, but some are better than others. They also vary a great deal in price so knowing the nutritional value should help when you are at the market picking up your weekly supply.
In general, nuts provide you with essential proteins and unsaturated fats, which helps to regulate your cholesterol levels and increase fiber. There is no better food available for pure and digestible protein. They need no cooking or preparation. Simply eat them in their natural form for terrific results.The very best of the nuts is the walnut. They are usually available all year as they keep well when they are harvested, usually in winter months. Walnuts come in two varieties. The more commonly available type is English walnuts. The other is the black walnut, grown only in select locations and available in chopped or crushed form and is used in baking and cooking. The black walnut is considerably more expensive as it is rarer, harder to process, and has a unique flavor. If you have ever consumed black walnut ice cream you have had a taste of the unusual and delicious flavor.
The next best on the list is almonds. An almond is sweet and can be eaten alone or added to baking or cooking a variety of foods. Almonds can be purchased whole, sliced, crushed, and you can choose raw, roasted, and salted or unsalted. They contain manganese, B2, vitamin E, and copper among other things, and are helpful in lowering your bad cholesterol levels. The raw form is best, of course, but any way you eat these will give you a boost in nutrients.
Cashews are delicious and have a creamy taste and texture. They can be bought raw or roasted and salted. Just a quarter cup of cashews provides 196 calories and is lower in fat than other nut varieties. They have the same type fat found in the mother of healthy foods - olive oil. Next time someone calls you a ‘nut’ you might want to thank them now that you know how valuable they are.
by S. C.01 August 2011 Teatro Naturale International n. 8 Year 3
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
Make sure when eating walnuts you are using about one-fourth cup as a serving and that they are raw; organic nuts are always the best choice. Too many, however, can possibly suppress thyroid function.
Walnuts contain an antioxidant compound called ellagic acid that supports the immune system and appears to have several anticancer properties.
More about walnuts
Nutritional Data
Walnuts may prevent breast cancer
Eating walnuts may help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, research suggests.
The nuts contain ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and phytosterols that may all reduce the risk of the disease.
Mice fed the human equivalent of two ounces (56.7g) of walnuts per day developed fewer and smaller tumours.
The US study was presented to the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.
“ We know that a healthy balanced diet - rich in fruit and vegetables - plays an important part in reducing the risk of many types of cancer ”
Josephine Querido Cancer Research UK
Researcher Dr Elaine Hardman, of Marshall University School of Medicine, said although the study was carried out in mice, the beneficial effect of walnuts was likely to apply to humans too.
She said: "We know that a healthy diet overall prevents all manner of chronic diseases."
"It is clear that walnuts contribute to a healthy diet that can reduce breast cancer."
Previous research has suggested eating walnuts at the end of a meal may help cut the damage that fatty food can do to the arteries.
It is thought that the nuts are rich in compounds that reduce hardening of the arteries, and keep them flexible.
In the latest study mice were either fed a standard diet, or the walnut-based diet.
The animals fed walnuts developed fewer tumours, and those that did arise took longer to develop and were smaller.
Molecular analysis showed that omega-3 fatty acids played a key role - but other parts of the walnut contributed as well.
Nutritional value
Anna Denny, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said evidence for nuts reducing the risk of heart disease was currently stronger than it was for their anti-cancer properties.
She said: "Although nuts are high in fat (and thus calories), the fatty acids in nuts are predominantly 'good' unsaturated fatty acids.
"Other additional components of nuts that may contribute to a reduction in heart disease and cancer risk include fibre and 'bioactive' compounds.
"Among the many bioactive compounds found in nuts are phytosterols and flavonoids.
"More research is needed before it will be possible to attribute specific health benefits of nuts to specific bioactive compounds because nuts contain a complex mixture of different bioactive compounds."
Josephine Querido, of the charity Cancer Research UK said there was insufficient evidence to show that eating walnuts could prevent breast cancer in humans.
She said: "We know that a healthy balanced diet - rich in fruit and vegetables - plays an important part in reducing the risk of many types of cancer.
"The strongest risk factor for breast cancer is age - 80% of breast cancers occur in women over the age of 50 so attending screening is important.
"Making lifestyle changes, such as keeping a healthy body weight, limiting alcohol intake and taking regular exercise, can also help reduce breast cancer risk."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8009647.stm
Published: 2009/04/22 00:47:06 GMT © BBC MMIX
Friday, April 17, 2009
Fibromyalgia and Naltrexone?
Heroin Addiction Drug May Relieve Symptoms of Fibromyalgia
Here is some information about Naltrexone you may find helpful.
Once again I am amazed at the focus on drugs for FMS rather than effective therapy for recovery from this illness. Revia is not the first drug used with FMS that has dire consequences of depression and suicide as well as many other health related side effects.
I am pleased to learn that my formulas, Heart Leaf Remedy 6:4 and ADVENTURX, have proven helpful to so many with fibromyalgia.
Our complete program has helped many to recover.
Here is some information about Naltrexone you may find helpful.
It can cause liver problems when given in large doses. Stop using this medication and tell your doctor immediately if symptoms of liver problems develop (e.g., persistent nausea, abdominal/stomach pain, yellowing eyes/skin, pale stools, dark urine).
This medication should not be used in patients who already have liver or kidney problems.
You should carry identification to alert medical personnel to the fact that you are taking REVIA. A REVIA medication card may be obtained from your physician and can be used for this purpose. Carrying the identification card should help to ensure that you can obtain adequate treatment in an emergency. If you require medical treatment, be sure to tell the treating physician that you are receiving REVIA therapy.
The risk of depression and suicide is known to be increased, as is lethargy and a slightly higher risk of some cancers.
http://www.rxlist.com/revia-drug.htm
Once again I am amazed at the focus on drugs for FMS rather than effective therapy for recovery from this illness. Revia is not the first drug used with FMS that has dire consequences of depression and suicide as well as many other health related side effects.
I am pleased to learn that my formulas, Heart Leaf Remedy 6:4 and ADVENTURX, have proven helpful to so many with fibromyalgia.
Our complete program has helped many to recover.
Adminstration failed to act to protect public health
US environment agency to deem CO2 a health risk
9 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Environmental Protection Agency was set to shift course and deem carbon dioxide a health risk on Friday, sources said, in a turnabout important to global warming-related regulation.
Five out of nine Supreme Court justices ruled in April 2007 that carbon dioxide was a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
They ordered the EPA to decide if the greenhouse gas endangered public health and welfare and said that if a so-called endangerment finding was made, the agency must draft rules to reduce vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide.
In December 2007, the EPA sent a draft finding to the Bush White House, presenting evidence that CO2 did endanger public welfare.
But the administration of president George W. Bush failed to acknowledge the report and spent the remainder of its tenure resisting the Supreme Court decision.
9 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Environmental Protection Agency was set to shift course and deem carbon dioxide a health risk on Friday, sources said, in a turnabout important to global warming-related regulation.
Five out of nine Supreme Court justices ruled in April 2007 that carbon dioxide was a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
They ordered the EPA to decide if the greenhouse gas endangered public health and welfare and said that if a so-called endangerment finding was made, the agency must draft rules to reduce vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide.
In December 2007, the EPA sent a draft finding to the Bush White House, presenting evidence that CO2 did endanger public welfare.
But the administration of president George W. Bush failed to acknowledge the report and spent the remainder of its tenure resisting the Supreme Court decision.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Concern for All
I understand and believe in natural care. I have concerns too from time to time because of the many natural products now flooding the market that might not be as good as in years gone by.
Commercialism has its negative side, and along with that there is the worry that Big Pharma wants just too much control over natural products. That's a money issue, not a concern for health benefits.
What bothered me today is a UPI article on the synthetization of one element from the herb Club Moss.
Briefly, Club Moss has been used for many years as an effective diuretic that eases many conditions associated with suppressed urine, including the flushing of stones and gravel from the kidneys and gallbladder, accumulation of fluids in the tissues that produce swelling (edema), bladder irritation, cystitis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis. It is used in certain cases for Alzheimer's.
What Big Pharma fails yet to understand is that plants come as a whole. Singling out one elements may be beneficial is the lab or the short term, but this isn't the way things should be.
In its whole state, Club Moss has a number of Beneficial Uses:
The concern really is, "it's the whole herb that does the job".
Homeopathy Eases Cancer Therapy
Commercialism has its negative side, and along with that there is the worry that Big Pharma wants just too much control over natural products. That's a money issue, not a concern for health benefits.
What bothered me today is a UPI article on the synthetization of one element from the herb Club Moss.
Briefly, Club Moss has been used for many years as an effective diuretic that eases many conditions associated with suppressed urine, including the flushing of stones and gravel from the kidneys and gallbladder, accumulation of fluids in the tissues that produce swelling (edema), bladder irritation, cystitis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis. It is used in certain cases for Alzheimer's.
What Big Pharma fails yet to understand is that plants come as a whole. Singling out one elements may be beneficial is the lab or the short term, but this isn't the way things should be.
In its whole state, Club Moss has a number of Beneficial Uses:
Club Moss is a diuretic that has been used to treat chronic urinary complaints, such as mumps, dropsy (or edema, the accumulation of fluids in tissues that produces swelling), irritability of the bladder and cystitis.
Further supporting its diuretic applications, Club Moss helps to treat many ailments that are characterized by the suppression of urine, such as renal colic, stones and calculi in the kidneys and bladder (by helping to increase urine flow and flush debris through the system). This action also helps to relieve gout, hardening of the testes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Club Moss is said to be helpful in "women's complaints" and is thought to help treat irregular menstruation.
Used externally, Club Moss may be used as a dusting powder to relieve various skin diseases, such as eczema, itchy or irritated areas and erysipelas, and it can also be used to absorb fluids from injured tissues and as a powder to prevent chafing in infants. Moreover, it can be dusted on wounds to stop bleeding or inhaled to stop bleeding noses.
Club Moss is considered a stomachic that strengthens the function of the stomach, and as such, it has been used to aid digestion and ease gastritis. It is also thought to be an antispasmodic and nervine that helps to calm spasms, diarrhea, dysentery and hydrophobia.
The concern really is, "it's the whole herb that does the job".
Homeopathy Eases Cancer Therapy
NASHVILLE, April 16 (UPI) -- U.S. chemists say they have developed an efficient technique to produce the synthesized herbal alkaloid Serratezomine from the club moss Lycopodium serratum.
Vanderbilt University researchers said the moss -- a creeping, flowerless plant used in homeopathic medicine -- contains potent alkaloids. But the plant makes many of the compounds in extremely low amounts, hindering efforts to test their therapeutic value.
The scientists said their technique to synthesize Serratezomine is important because the alkaloid might have anti-cancer properties and could combat memory loss. The scientists said it took six years to develop the process because they had to invent entirely new chemical methods to complete the synthesis. But they said their success should make it easier to synthesize alkaloids and other natural compounds with therapeutic potential.
"This was a challenging problem," said Professor Jeffrey Johnston, who led the research. 'It takes years to develop a new chemical reaction and then apply it to the natural product target. So, once we start, we don't stop."
The study that included Aroop Chandra; Julie Pigza, Jeong-Seok Han and Daniel Mutnickwas was reported in the March 18 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Be Aware of SOY Risks
UPDATE: 28 April, 2010 - GMO SOY RISKS IDENTIFIED
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted 3/2/08Scientists Cite Adverse Effects on Cardiovascular, Thyroid and Immune Systems
WASHINGTON, DC: February 19, 2008. Internationally acclaimed heart expert Kilmer McCully, MD, father of the homocysteine theory of heart disease, joined other scientists and consumer advocates in asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to drop the heart disease health claim for soy protein in documents filed February 19.
The Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education organization based in Washington, DC, submitted a petition to the agency in response to FDA's request for comments as the agency considers rescinding the heart health claim that has been used by manufacturers to market soy as “heart healthy” since October 1999. McCully was one of several researchers who prepared the document.
“We have filed this petition because there was never a sound basis for a soy health claim and the heavy marketing of soy as a 'miracle food' has put American men, women and children at risk.” says Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food and lead author of the 65-page petition filed this morning at the FDA offices in Rockville, Maryland. “The heart health claim gave soy a “healthy” image and quickly boosted sales from under one billion per year to more than $4 billion per year.”
The petition was filed by Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation. In addition to Dr Kilmer S. McCully, winner of the 1998 Linus Pauling Award, author of more than 70 papers in peer reviewed journals and author of two popular books The Homocysteine Revolution and The Heart Revolution, signers included Mary G. Enig, PhD, a world renowned biochemist and nutritionist who exposed the dangers of trans fats in the late 1970s; and Galen D. Knight, PhD, a biochemist who has extensively researched the role of vitalethine in humoral immunity and cancer prevention.
The petition notes that the FDA is mandated by law to retract the soy/heart disease health claim for the following reasons:
o Soy protein isolate and other highly processed modern soy protein products are not safe and have no long history of use in the food supply
o The evidence on soy protein and heart disease is contradictory and inconsistent, and no “standard of scientific agreement” has been met.
o Studies published since 1999 undermine the credibility of -- and conclusions drawn -- from key studies evaluated by the FDA when it approved the health claim in 1999.
o Recent studies show that soy can contribute to or cause heart disease, including endothelial damage (especially in women), heart arrhythmias and cardiomyopathy, an increasingly prevalent condition that affects 1 in 500 Americans.
o The mechanism by which soy might lower cholesterol could cause endocrine disruption, diminished humoral immunity and cancer development.
The ten thousand-member Weston A. Price Foundation has been a leader in alerting the public to the health dangers of soy oil and soy protein. “Thousands of studies link soy protein to digestive distress, thyroid damage, reproductive problems, infertility, ADD/ADHD, dementia, even heart disease and cancer,” says Dr. Daniel. “Populations at special risk are infants on soy formula, vegetarians who consume soy protein as meat and dairy substitutes and adults self-medicating with soy foods because of their belief that soy can prevent heart disease and other health problems.”
In 2005, the Weston A. Price Foundation protested a soy-prevents cancer health claim filed by the Solae Company with the FDA. Solae subsequently withdrew their petition in the face of massive evidence that soy can cause, contribute to and accelerate the growth of cancer, particularly breast cancer.
The FDA announced that will review the evidence on soy protein and heart disease because of mounting doubts and concerns by scientists and government agencies about soy protein. In January 2006, the American Heart Association in its journal Circulation advised health practitioners that soy has little effect on cholesterol and is unlikely to prevent heart disease. In August 2005, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a 245-page report stating that nearly all the research carried out on soy is “inconclusive,” that soy products appear to exert “a small benefit on LDL cholesterol and triglycerides” but that those effects are of “small clinical effect in individuals.”
Three foreign governments have issued warnings about soy. In 2005, the Israeli Health Ministry warned its citizens that babies should not receive soy formula, that children age 18 and under should consume soy foods or soy milk no more than once per day to a maximum of three times per week and that adults should exercise caution because of adverse effects on fertility and increased breast cancer risk.
In 2006, the French Food Agency (AFSSA) announced tough new regulations that will require manufacturers to improve the safety of soy infant formula and to put warning labels on packages of soy foods and soy milk.
In 2007, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warned that babies should not be given soy infant formula “without clear, concrete medical reasons” and that adults should be wary of excess soy food and soy supplement consumption because they offer no proven health benefits and may pose health risks.
“Clearly soy is not the solution for people at risk for heart disease,” says Dr. Daniel. “In fact, possible benefits are far outweighed by proven risks to the thyroid, reproductive and immune systems. The time has come for the Food and Drug Administration to protect the public and withdraw the spurious 1999 heart disease health claim for soy protein.”
CONTACTS
Sally Fallon, President
The Weston A. Price Foundation
202-363-4394
safallon@aol.com
Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN
505-266-3252
wholenutritionist@earthlink.net
Kathleen M. Campbell, Campbell Public Relations, LLC
877-540-6022
kcampbell@thecompletesolution.com
Kaayla T. DANIEL, PhD, CCN, is THE WHOLE NUTRITIONIST®. She earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Anti-Aging Therapies from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, is board certified as a clinical nutritionist (CCN) by the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists in Dallas and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Weston A. Price Foundation. As a clinical nutritionist, she specializes in digestive disorders, women’s reproductive health issues, infertility, and recovery from vegetarian and soy¬based diets.
Dr. Daniel is the author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food (New Trends, 2005), which has been endorsed by leading health professionals, including Kilmer S. McCully MD, Doris J. Rapp MD, Jonathan V. Wright, MD, Russell Blaylock, MD, Larrian Gillespie, MD, Debra Lynn Dadd and Larry Dossey, MD, who called it “science writing at its best.”
Sally FALLON, MA, is President and Treasurer of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of the best-selling Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats with Mary G. Enig, PhD. Fallon is a leading advocate for traditional diets and nutrient-dense foods. An articulate communicator, Fallon has extensive radio and television experience.
Sally Fallon (safallon@aol.com)
The Weston A. Price Foundation
PMB 106-380 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016
Phone : 202-363-4394
UPDATE: 14 April, 2009
I have about 46 posts related to SOY on Natural Health News.
Here is something today to consider as well:goitrogens, soybean agglutinin (SBA), and phytates found in soy products?
"Goitrogens" is a term that is seldom used in peer-reviewed research studies, but in past years it was used to refer to substances that could interfere with thyroid metabolism, production of thyroid hormones, and could potentially cause the thyroid to increase in size (a condition called goiter). No large-scale human research studies have been conducted that examine the thyroid-related effects of long-term consumption of whole, natural soy foods consumed in ordinary amounts. Studies in this area have mostly focused on rats fed dietary supplements containing soy components like isolate soy protein or soy isoflavones.
In the human studies that we have reviewed, only one repeated finding has given us cause for concern when it comes to adult consumption of whole soy foods and thyroid-related effects. That concern involves individuals who regularly consume soy foods while at the same time following a diet that is deficient in iodine. That combination of iodine deficiency and regular consumption of soy foods may increase risk of thyroid problems above and beyond the risk posed by iodine deficiency alone. (Iodine is a mineral that is essential for production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland.) If you are an individual who is at risk of iodine deficiency, I definitely recommend that you consult with your licensed healthcare provider before making the decision to include soy foods in your Healthiest Way of Eating.
Soybean agglutinin (SBA) is a protein- and carbohydrate-containing molecule (called a glycoprotein) that also falls into the category of substances called lectins. In legumes (including soybeans), lectins might play a key role in allowing certain soil bacteria to work together with the roots of the soybean plant. There are hundreds of lectins found in legumes, and even though researchers aren't yet certain about their function, it is likely that most of these molecules play important roles in cell-to-cell communications occurring within the plants.
How SBA affects human health is a more complicated question that has yet to be clearly answered in research studies. Adverse reactions to food lectins are well documented in scientific research and sometimes referred to under the heading of "food intolerance." For this reason, we'd place soybeans higher up on the list of foods potentially able to cause adverse reactions. But it's also important to note that the research on SBA is clearly mixed in terms of benefits and risks, and that large-scale human research on whole soy foods is still non-existent in this area. SBA and other soy lectins appear to have inflammatory effects under certain circumstances and anti-inflammatory effects under others. They also appear to have different effects on different types of cancer cells when studied in extract form in laboratory settings. From my perspective, no strong conclusions can be reached at this point with respect to SBA and soy lectins, except to reinforce awareness of soy food in general as potentially more likely to cause adverse reactions in susceptible individuals.
Soy also contains phytate (also called phytic acid) that can sometimes decrease mineral absorption, including absorption of the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Each of these minerals has a role to play in our health. Traditional methods of soybean fermentation appear to lower the activity of phytates found in soy. With cooking alone, there is more debate about the changes in phytate level. I have not seen any research that would support avoidance of whole soy foods for the sake of optimizing calcium, magnesium, iron, or zinc status. But I have seen research suggesting that highly processed soy foods-like commercially produced soy milks-may best be fortified with minerals like calcium in order to assure healthy mineral absorption. All of the precautions listed above are important considerations when deciding the role of soy foods in your Healthiest Way of Eating.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted 3/2/08Scientists Cite Adverse Effects on Cardiovascular, Thyroid and Immune Systems
WASHINGTON, DC: February 19, 2008. Internationally acclaimed heart expert Kilmer McCully, MD, father of the homocysteine theory of heart disease, joined other scientists and consumer advocates in asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to drop the heart disease health claim for soy protein in documents filed February 19.
The Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education organization based in Washington, DC, submitted a petition to the agency in response to FDA's request for comments as the agency considers rescinding the heart health claim that has been used by manufacturers to market soy as “heart healthy” since October 1999. McCully was one of several researchers who prepared the document.
“We have filed this petition because there was never a sound basis for a soy health claim and the heavy marketing of soy as a 'miracle food' has put American men, women and children at risk.” says Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food and lead author of the 65-page petition filed this morning at the FDA offices in Rockville, Maryland. “The heart health claim gave soy a “healthy” image and quickly boosted sales from under one billion per year to more than $4 billion per year.”
The petition was filed by Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation. In addition to Dr Kilmer S. McCully, winner of the 1998 Linus Pauling Award, author of more than 70 papers in peer reviewed journals and author of two popular books The Homocysteine Revolution and The Heart Revolution, signers included Mary G. Enig, PhD, a world renowned biochemist and nutritionist who exposed the dangers of trans fats in the late 1970s; and Galen D. Knight, PhD, a biochemist who has extensively researched the role of vitalethine in humoral immunity and cancer prevention.
The petition notes that the FDA is mandated by law to retract the soy/heart disease health claim for the following reasons:
o Soy protein isolate and other highly processed modern soy protein products are not safe and have no long history of use in the food supply
o The evidence on soy protein and heart disease is contradictory and inconsistent, and no “standard of scientific agreement” has been met.
o Studies published since 1999 undermine the credibility of -- and conclusions drawn -- from key studies evaluated by the FDA when it approved the health claim in 1999.
o Recent studies show that soy can contribute to or cause heart disease, including endothelial damage (especially in women), heart arrhythmias and cardiomyopathy, an increasingly prevalent condition that affects 1 in 500 Americans.
o The mechanism by which soy might lower cholesterol could cause endocrine disruption, diminished humoral immunity and cancer development.
The ten thousand-member Weston A. Price Foundation has been a leader in alerting the public to the health dangers of soy oil and soy protein. “Thousands of studies link soy protein to digestive distress, thyroid damage, reproductive problems, infertility, ADD/ADHD, dementia, even heart disease and cancer,” says Dr. Daniel. “Populations at special risk are infants on soy formula, vegetarians who consume soy protein as meat and dairy substitutes and adults self-medicating with soy foods because of their belief that soy can prevent heart disease and other health problems.”
In 2005, the Weston A. Price Foundation protested a soy-prevents cancer health claim filed by the Solae Company with the FDA. Solae subsequently withdrew their petition in the face of massive evidence that soy can cause, contribute to and accelerate the growth of cancer, particularly breast cancer.
The FDA announced that will review the evidence on soy protein and heart disease because of mounting doubts and concerns by scientists and government agencies about soy protein. In January 2006, the American Heart Association in its journal Circulation advised health practitioners that soy has little effect on cholesterol and is unlikely to prevent heart disease. In August 2005, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a 245-page report stating that nearly all the research carried out on soy is “inconclusive,” that soy products appear to exert “a small benefit on LDL cholesterol and triglycerides” but that those effects are of “small clinical effect in individuals.”
Three foreign governments have issued warnings about soy. In 2005, the Israeli Health Ministry warned its citizens that babies should not receive soy formula, that children age 18 and under should consume soy foods or soy milk no more than once per day to a maximum of three times per week and that adults should exercise caution because of adverse effects on fertility and increased breast cancer risk.
In 2006, the French Food Agency (AFSSA) announced tough new regulations that will require manufacturers to improve the safety of soy infant formula and to put warning labels on packages of soy foods and soy milk.
In 2007, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warned that babies should not be given soy infant formula “without clear, concrete medical reasons” and that adults should be wary of excess soy food and soy supplement consumption because they offer no proven health benefits and may pose health risks.
“Clearly soy is not the solution for people at risk for heart disease,” says Dr. Daniel. “In fact, possible benefits are far outweighed by proven risks to the thyroid, reproductive and immune systems. The time has come for the Food and Drug Administration to protect the public and withdraw the spurious 1999 heart disease health claim for soy protein.”
CONTACTS
Sally Fallon, President
The Weston A. Price Foundation
202-363-4394
safallon@aol.com
Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN
505-266-3252
wholenutritionist@earthlink.net
Kathleen M. Campbell, Campbell Public Relations, LLC
877-540-6022
kcampbell@thecompletesolution.com
Kaayla T. DANIEL, PhD, CCN, is THE WHOLE NUTRITIONIST®. She earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Anti-Aging Therapies from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, is board certified as a clinical nutritionist (CCN) by the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists in Dallas and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Weston A. Price Foundation. As a clinical nutritionist, she specializes in digestive disorders, women’s reproductive health issues, infertility, and recovery from vegetarian and soy¬based diets.
Dr. Daniel is the author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food (New Trends, 2005), which has been endorsed by leading health professionals, including Kilmer S. McCully MD, Doris J. Rapp MD, Jonathan V. Wright, MD, Russell Blaylock, MD, Larrian Gillespie, MD, Debra Lynn Dadd and Larry Dossey, MD, who called it “science writing at its best.”
Sally FALLON, MA, is President and Treasurer of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of the best-selling Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats with Mary G. Enig, PhD. Fallon is a leading advocate for traditional diets and nutrient-dense foods. An articulate communicator, Fallon has extensive radio and television experience.
Sally Fallon (safallon@aol.com)
The Weston A. Price Foundation
PMB 106-380 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016
Phone : 202-363-4394
Monday, April 13, 2009
A Good Dental Health Resource
When I put mt first web site up it was about 1991. I had natural dental health information at that time posted on my web site and one of the resources I listed was David Kennedy, DDS.
I've posted his blog in my interesting links section in the right hand column.
Also of interest is his YouTube Channel with a number of videos helpful to your good dental health, one absent of fluoride.
http://www.youtube.com/user/davidkennedydds
Enjoy!
I've posted his blog in my interesting links section in the right hand column.
Also of interest is his YouTube Channel with a number of videos helpful to your good dental health, one absent of fluoride.
http://www.youtube.com/user/davidkennedydds
Enjoy!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Avoiding Harsh Chemicals in Egg Dyes
FDA approved dyes are made with toxins such as coal, tar, and other petroleum based products.
You might wish to use natural dyes as listed here from science teacher Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Color - Ingredients
Lavender: Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice, Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice, Red Zinger Tea
Violet Blue: Violet Blossoms, Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled), Hibiscus Tea, Red Wine
Blue: Canned Blueberries, Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled), Purple Grape Juice
Green: Spinach Leaves (boiled), Liquid Chlorophyll
Greenish Yellow: Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)
Yellow: Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled), Carrot Tops (boiled), Celery Seed (boiled), Ground Cumin (boiled), Ground Turmeric (boiled), Chamomile Tea, Green Tea
Golden Brown: Dill Seeds
Brown: Strong Coffee, Instant Coffee, Black Walnut Shells (boiled), Black Tea
Orange: Yellow Onion Skins (boiled), Cooked Carrots, Chili Powder, Paprika
Pink: Beets, Cranberries or Juice, Raspberries, Red Grape Juice, Juice from Pickled Beets
Red: Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled), Canned Cherries with Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Raspberries
You might wish to use natural dyes as listed here from science teacher Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Color - Ingredients
Lavender: Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice, Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice, Red Zinger Tea
Violet Blue: Violet Blossoms, Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled), Hibiscus Tea, Red Wine
Blue: Canned Blueberries, Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled), Purple Grape Juice
Green: Spinach Leaves (boiled), Liquid Chlorophyll
Greenish Yellow: Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)
Yellow: Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled), Carrot Tops (boiled), Celery Seed (boiled), Ground Cumin (boiled), Ground Turmeric (boiled), Chamomile Tea, Green Tea
Golden Brown: Dill Seeds
Brown: Strong Coffee, Instant Coffee, Black Walnut Shells (boiled), Black Tea
Orange: Yellow Onion Skins (boiled), Cooked Carrots, Chili Powder, Paprika
Pink: Beets, Cranberries or Juice, Raspberries, Red Grape Juice, Juice from Pickled Beets
Red: Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled), Canned Cherries with Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Raspberries
Friday, April 10, 2009
Food Safety: More Progress Needed
Here's another reason to consider vitamins: Vitamin C helps effectively treat food poisoning.
But at the front end we do need less factory farming with methods that promote herbicides, pesticides and higher health risks from salmonella and E.coli.
While we do need to buy local to reduce health risks in the food chain, we are at a time when the government - one that hasn't been able to get past pressure from Big Pharma and Big Ag - wants to interfere with home gardening. ( Just an observation but it did not seem to me to be gardening when Mrs. Obama planted potted herbs and vegetables at the White House. These plants had to come from a nursery or retail store and seems to be little more than a photo op. What happened to organic seeds, the real way to grow a garden?)
One thing you can do is think about how you clean the food you buy. This might make you want to get a copy of our food cleansing Healthy Handout, yours with a donation.
But at the front end we do need less factory farming with methods that promote herbicides, pesticides and higher health risks from salmonella and E.coli.
While we do need to buy local to reduce health risks in the food chain, we are at a time when the government - one that hasn't been able to get past pressure from Big Pharma and Big Ag - wants to interfere with home gardening. ( Just an observation but it did not seem to me to be gardening when Mrs. Obama planted potted herbs and vegetables at the White House. These plants had to come from a nursery or retail store and seems to be little more than a photo op. What happened to organic seeds, the real way to grow a garden?)
One thing you can do is think about how you clean the food you buy. This might make you want to get a copy of our food cleansing Healthy Handout, yours with a donation.
U.S. making little progress on food safety
By Julie Steenhuysen Thu Apr 9, 2009
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Efforts to improve food safety in the United States have "plateaued," exposing the need for an overhaul of the nation's food safety system, government health officials said on Thursday.
Despite work to improve food safety in recent years, the number of foodborne infections remained steady, with little change in the past few years, suggesting fundamental problems are not being solved.
"Progress has plateaued. This indicates to us that further measures are needed to prevent more foodborne illness," Dr. Robert Tauxe of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Overall, CDC identified 18,499 laboratory-confirmed cases of food poisoning in 2008 using FoodNet, a tracking system that looks at foodborne illness in 10 states, covering about 46 million people or 15 percent of the U.S. population.
"When we compared the year 2008 information with the three previous years -- 2005 to 2007 -- we see no significant change in the incidence of these infections," he said, noting that 2004 was the last year gains had been made at curbing infection rates.
Salmonella infections were the most commonly diagnosed and reported foodborne illnesses in 2008, and their numbers were essentially unchanged compared with data from 2005-2007.
The 2008 findings represent just a portion of the Salmonella Typhimurium infections caused by tainted peanuts and peanut products processed by the now bankrupt Peanut Corp of America, which has led to the biggest food recall in U.S. history.
The outbreak, which began in September, forced the recall of more than 3,200 products and sickened more than 680 people in 46 states, perhaps killing nine. A series of other incidents involving pistachios, lettuce, peppers and spinach have eroded public confidence in food safety and renewed calls for change.
NEW APPROACH
Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the report "underscores the need for a change in approach."
"This change needs to address the safety problems around foods and really focus on how to prevent these problems in the first place," Acheson told reporters on the call.
He said the FDA was embarking on "an aggressive and proactive approach" aimed at protecting and enforcing the safety of the food supply.
"Clearly we are working very closely with the new administration and Congress on addressing these issues."
Acheson said FDA has expanded its presence overseas and now has offices in China, Latin America, Europe and India, and plans to add more scientists, investigators and inspectors to help ensure food safety in the United States.
And he said FDA has set up rapid response teams in six states to help the agency react more quickly when and outbreak occurs, with plans to add more.
"I think it has become clear preventive controls are critical," he said.
The CDC estimates that each year 76 million Americans get food poisoning, more than 300,000 are sick enough to be hospitalized and 5,000 die.
(Editing by Maggie Fox and Jackie Frank)Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.
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