HFCS Toxic to Bees, Toxic to You

Formation of Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in Domestic High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and Its Toxicity to the Honey Bee.

If you heat High Fructose Corn Syrup if becomes toxic hydroxymethylfurfural which can break down into other more toxic components.

Since HFCS is found in almost every item at your grocer, it may move you to read labels.

More Vaccine Reading - Be Informed!

Vaccine-Induced Disease Epidemic Outbreaks

Misinformation Linked to Explosion of Swine Flu in US Schools

Manipulating Date to Create FLU Pandemic

Massachusetts Compulsory Vaccines

Vaccinations: Deadly Immunity

Why You Should Say NO to Annual Screening Mammogram

"Being exposed to worrisome amounts of radiation from medical scans that increase the risk of cancer, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
They said the cumulative risk of repeated exposure to radiation from medical scans is a public health threat that needs to be addressed."

Complete article

The above is a quote from an article about cumulative exposure to radiation. While the report refers to x-ray and related radiologic exams (like the dentist or chiropractor), cell phone, wi-fi and microwave cooking radiation exposure should be included in this group.

At the very least this supports the argument first proposed by John Gofman, PhD, MD, that annual mammogram is a major factor in the incidence of breast cancer.

Remember that 29 percent of all breast cancer occurs in women younger than 49.

Instead of mammogram, opt for Thermography.

American College of Clinical Thermology

Tamoxifen link to second tumors

Many years ago now, Dr. Samuel Epstein of Chicago raised serious concerns about Tamoxifen. Perhaps more people should have been listening.

More people should be listening to the fact that annual screening mammogram promotes breast cancer. (Suggestion: Request Thermography)

Long-term use of a common breast cancer drug may hike the risk of developing a deadly second tumour, a study suggests.

Tamoxifen, given to thousands of British women, prevents tumours being fuelled by the sex hormone oestrogen, and stops them returning after surgery.

But a US study links use of the drug to a four-fold raised risk of developing a more aggressive, difficult-to-treat tumour, not dependent on oestrogen.

However, women are strongly advised not to stop taking tamoxifen.

" Women should be reassured that the benefits of taking hormone-blocking drugs, such as tamoxifen, after their first diagnosis of breast cancer far outweigh any potential risks ”
Dr Alison Ross Cancer Research UK

Experts stress any risks of taking the drug are far outweighed by the benefits.

They said the odds of developing a second, non-hormone sensitive tumour remained very low.

Each year around 45,500 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer and 12,000 die from the disease.

Around two thirds of breast cancers are sensitive to the hormone oestrogen.

Tamoxifen become the "gold standard" treatment for these hormone-sensitive tumours, although in recent years newer drugs have started to be preferred.

The latest study, by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, looked at long-term use of the drug among more than 1,000 women.

The researchers, writing in the journal Cancer Research, found that tamoxifen reduced the chances of oestrogen-positive breast cancer returning by 60%.

But they also found that five or more years of treatment was associated with a 440% increase in the chance of an aggressive, non-hormone sensitive tumour appearing in the opposite breast.

These tumours can be particularly difficult to treat.

Many women in the UK cease tamoxifen treatment after five years to avoid side effects, but several thousand woman have been on the drug for a longer time.

Risks and benefits

Lead researcher Dr Christopher Li said: "It is clear that oestrogen-blocking drugs like tamoxifen have important clinical benefits and have led to major improvements in breast cancer survival rates.

"However, these therapies have risks, and an increased risk of ER negative (oestrogen receptor negative) second cancer may be one of them.

"Still, the benefits of this therapy are well established and doctors should continue to recommend hormonal therapy for breast cancer patients who can benefit from it."

Professor Jack Cuzick, head of Cancer Research UK's Centre for Epidemiology, Mathematics and Statistics at Queen Mary, University of London, stressed that tamoxifen had a proven track record.

He said: "There is overwhelming evidence that tamoxifen, and newer more effective hormone blocking treatments, prevent far more recurrences, new breast cancers and cancer-related deaths than they might stimulate."

Professor Cuzick said some of the non-hormone sensitive tumours recorded in the study may have started out as hormone-sensitive, but had been kept at bay by tamoxifen treatment.

Dr Alison Ross, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "Women should be reassured that, based on extensive scientific evidence, the benefits of taking hormone-blocking drugs, such as tamoxifen, after their first diagnosis of breast cancer far outweigh any potential risks.

"More research will be needed to confirm the possible link between its long-term use and the relatively rare occurrence of an aggressive form of the disease in the other breast."

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8220767.stm
Published: 2009/08/25 17:04:00 GMT, © BBC MMIX

TV Drug Ads, Celebrities and FDA Propaganda

UPDATE: May 27, 2010 - FDA Adds Liver Injury Warning to Diet Drug

WASHINGTON -- The weight-loss medication orlistat, marketed both by prescription as Xenical (120 mg) and over-the-counter as Alli (60 mg), will carry a warning about the potential for severe liver injury, the FDA announced ... full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/PublicHealth/tb/20310

UPDATE: August 25 - FDA probes liver damage with weight loss pill alli
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted 2/13/09
As we shall see over comings months the stimulus package is not going to be all you think it is because of smoke, mirrors and an ever expanding bureaucracy.

Not too far removed from the stimulus issue is how TV ads for drugs push up profits for Big Pharma.

One example of just how thick as thieves things are between drug companies and their PR programs is a recent story about how Wyeth promoted risky HRT through a media program aimed at increasing prescription writing for their well know hormone product just as they moved to be bought out by Pfizer.

Now, as if this $12 million isn't enough of a tax write off for the drug industry, GSK is leading us all down the pike to fairy land with its ad featuring Wynonna for its over-the-counter weight loss drug 'alli'.

During the commercial featuring Wynonna, whom we all know has had some serious weight problems, is shown serving herself some vegetables during a family meal. Then the camera moves to a tight head shot where we learn that she could not erccomend anything that sin't safe but she is gald that alli is FDA approved.

These days FDA approval and a quarter don't get you a cup of coffee.

And here is probably a fairly reliable take on what the glossy ad that cost plenty of money alone, not including air time fees, might be what GSK doesn't want you to know.

Alli Weight Loss Pill: Expectations Vs. Reality
January 02, 2008 by Big Momma
It's the time of year when our thoughts focus on shedding a few pounds. We are inundated with commercial advertisements promoting the best, easiest or fastest way to lose weight.

Alli is the newest over the counter weight loss pill that promises hope to the masses by blocking fat absorption in the body. Alli is FDA approved, is not absorbed into your body and works only in the digestive track.

My first red flag regarding Alli was the product statement that Alli is to be used together with a reduced calorie diet to promote weight loss. A reduced calorie diet by itself will promote weight loss, but let's see the results that one Alli user has had.

An acquaintance of mine has been using Alli for several months, her expectations from the Alli pills were to help her jump start a weight loss program that she could stick with and ultimately help her reach her goal weight.

The Alli usage pamphlet warns users of 'treatment effects', which include greasy/oily leakage in undergarments, gas with discharge, change in stool color and/or fatty deposits in stools, inability to control bowel movements, stomach pain, rectal pain, teeth/gum problems or flu like symptoms. Alli users are advised to wear dark clothing and pads to protect against the leakage.

This is the reality she got from using Alli: Large amounts of uncontrollable leakage of a greasy substance that permanently stained her clothing. Dark clothing and pads could not contain or hide the leakage most of the time. She had a significant increase in gas and odor, with gas bubbles being expelled along with the greasy substance. She had no control over this.

Abdominal cramping became a part of her daily life, she likened the feeling to a gall stone attack. She felt tired all the time, even though she was taking the additional vitamins that are recommended by Alli. She also experienced hair loss while taking Alli.

After using Alli for six months, she had lost a total of 15 pounds. Yes, 15 pounds.

Another 'treatment effect' of Alli is that even after you stop taking it, you experience the greasy leakage and abdominal pains for up to two months, until the product works it's way completely out ofyour system.

A new wardrobe is eagerly anticipated at the end of a diet, but having to buy new clothing during the diet due to your body leaking grease, is altogether different.

Six months and 15 pounds later, the expectations from the weight loss pill Alli and the reality of it did not even come close.

NB: Natural Health News posted this information in 2008.  It took Mike Adams another 2 years to inform you, yet his backers are continually continually monitoring this website, now for 6 years, to get their story ideas. 1 June,10.

PROMISES, PROMISES: Indian health care's victims

UPDATE: 24 August - New Indian Health Head Works to Heal Agency

Gannett News Service - Aug 23rd, 2009

WASHINGTON - Growing up in Rapid City, S.D., Yvette Roubideaux remembers visiting the local Indian Health Service clinic - and waiting. She never saw the same doctor twice and often heard relatives gripe about the poor care they got.

As a young, Harvard-trained doctor, she worked long days at an IHS rural clinic in Arizona with half the staff it needed. It was some 30 miles from the nearest hospital and far removed from medical school, where she used state-of-the-art equipment and learned the latest techniques.

Now 46, Roubideaux is in charge. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe member is the first woman to run IHS, an agency that still lacks much of the money it needs to make sure all its patients get adequate, timely care and all of its hospitals are fully staffed.

“This agency has probably never been funded at a level that can address the growing needs of the population,” she said. “We’re facing a lot of challenges related to the budget. The demand for services is rapidly increasing. Our buying power has gone down over the years.”

Indians as a group suffer like few others, despite long-standing agreements between the U.S. government and tribes guaranteeing free health care.

They experience substantially higher rates of diabetes, alcoholism, tuberculosis and suicide than the rest of the nation. Life expectancy for an Indian is more than four years shorter than for the average American. It’s even shorter for those living on rural reservations where care often is delivered by overtaxed medical staff working with outdated equipment in aging buildings.

IHS officials say the $3.6 billion they received this year is a little more than half of what they need to fully fund the agency’s mission. Tribal residents only half kid when they say, “Don’t get sick after June,” when federal money seems to run out until the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Stories of substandard care and misdiagnoses that have killed patients ricochet across reservations.

Roubideaux is a self-described optimist who is quick to point out the gains IHS has made over the years in such areas as Indians’ life expectancy, which has increased nine years since 1973. She agrees with many critics of the agency, such as tribal leaders and Senate Indian Affairs Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who say reforms are needed.

Roubideaux also has met with tribes and asked them to recommend changes, but she declines to say what she would like to do.

“Instead of coming in and saying we’re doing X-Y-Z, I’m (asking) the tribes, ‘If we’re going to improve the Indian Health Service, where should we start? What are your priorities?’” she said. “I have a sense from meeting with tribes of what I think those priorities are, but I would like to ask the question of the people we serve.”

Dorgan, whose state includes several Great Plains tribes, agrees IHS needs more money. But he also calls the agency “unbelievably bureaucratic” and scolds it for not getting rid of incompetent workers, losing track of important medical equipment and not responding to patients quickly enough.

“There are children and Indian elders who are dying because of inadequate care,” he said. “I told (Roubideaux), ‘You’ve got to pick this up, shake it, turn it upside down and change it.’ Indian Health Service has a lot of problems, the most significant of which is a lack of adequate funding. But ranking right up there is the stifling bureaucracy.”

The Government Accountability Office has sharply criticized IHS in recent years, pointing to millions of dollars in lost medical equipment. Roubideaux said some equipment was simply misplaced and she has instituted a new accountability system to track agency resources better.

Dorgan calls Roubideaux “a good person (with) a terrific background,” but he said it’s too early to judge her performance.

Gerald Hill, president of the Association of American Indian Physicians, lauded Roubideaux during her confirmation hearing as someone who “not only understands Western medicine but how to apply this knowledge in native communities.”

Created in 1955, IHS is the primary federal health care provider for about 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 562 federally recognized tribes in 35 states.

Roubideaux’s expertise is in diabetes prevention and management. For several years, she co-directed an IHS initiative that has focused on diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention and case management in 66 sites around the country. It’s the kind of program that could go a long way toward closing disparities between Indians and the rest of America, but Roubideaux says Indians need to do more to help themselves.

“Diabetes is not just a disease of an individual. It’s a disease of a family and a community,” she said during a recent interview at IHS headquarters, a nondescript office building in a Maryland suburb. “If I tell a patient in the exam room: You need to eat healthier and less fatty foods, they go home. If their family doesn’t want to change their eating habits, then they have a much harder time.”

Most agree that funding remains the biggest obstacle. Health care expenditures nationally are $6,538 per capita compared to $2,349 for IHS clients. Tribal leaders often note that the government spends more caring for federal inmates.

“It boils down to money, whether we want to believe it or not,” said Robert Cournoyer, chairman of South Dakota’s Yankton Sioux Tribe, more than half of whose members live at or below the poverty level. “Good health care can’t be had unless you have money, and we serve the poorest of the poor.”

The agency desperately needs funds for raises and staffing. Hundreds of medical jobs remain vacant, including 21 percent of slots for doctors, 24 percent of dentists’ jobs and 26 percent of openings for nurses, according to the agency.

President Barack Obama, who campaigned last year for the Indian vote, has proposed a 13 percent increase in IHS funding for 2010 - the biggest proposed jump in years - to cover pay raises, staffing of new facilities and equipment upgrades. More than $100 million would be spent contracting with private companies who provide medical care the IHS can’t. And the economic stimulus package Congress passed earlier this year includes $500 million for Indian health.

Roubideaux is encouraged.

“We have all the elements in place to really address these health disparities,” she said. “It’s just that we need two things: If we can begin to address the problem of resources, we can do a lot. But the second area is how we’re providing that care and making sure we’re doing it in the best way possible.”

------------------
Original post date 6/15/09
I served as director of health care in the first tribal clinic funded under the Indian Self-Determination Act (93-638). This clinic, at that time in 1978, was about to be defunded by IHS.

During the time I was there our program gained sound financial footing and expanded to offer services not previously funded by IHS. These services were major health concerns the government often does not deem necessary to fund in Indian communities nor in general public health funding. Examples were dental and mental health.

IHS has grossly fragmented care at best. I learned exactly how the game was played and also learned how to get around the excuse called Priority 1.

Along the way we developed a great clinic model. Other tribes have used this approach to set up tribal clinics.

However, things overall haven't changed in the way they should have.

PROMISES, PROMISES: Indian health care's victims
BY MARY CLARE JALONICK, AP
CROW AGENCY, Mont. -Ta'Shon Rain Little Light, a happy little girl who loved to dance and dress up in traditional American Indian clothes, had stopped eating and walking. She complained constantly to her mother that her stomach hurt.
When Stephanie Little Light took her daughter to the Indian Health Service clinic in this wind-swept and remote corner of Montana, they told her the 5-year-old was depressed.
Ta'Shon's pain rapidly worsened and she visited the clinic about 10 more times over several months before her lung collapsed and she was airlifted to a children's hospital in Denver. There she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, confirming the suspicions of family members.
A few weeks later, a charity sent the whole family to Disney World so Ta'Shon could see Cinderella's Castle, her biggest dream. She never got to see the castle, though. She died in her hotel bed soon after the family arrived in Florida.
"Maybe it would have been treatable," says her great-aunt, Ada White, as she stoically recounts the last few months of Ta'Shon's short life. Stephanie Little Light cries as she recalls how she once forced her daughter to walk when she was in pain because the doctors told her it was all in the little girl's head.
Ta'Shon's story is not unique in the Indian Health Service system, which serves almost 2 million American Indians in 35 states.
On some reservations, the oft-quoted refrain is "don't get sick after June," when the federal dollars run out. It's a sick joke, and a sad one, because it's sometimes true, especially on the poorest reservations where residents cannot afford health insurance. Officials say they have about half of what they need to operate, and patients know they must be dying or about to lose a limb to get serious care.
Wealthier tribes can supplement the federal health service budget with their own money. But poorer tribes, often those on the most remote reservations, far away from city hospitals, are stuck with grossly substandard care. The agency itself describes a "rationed health care system."
The sad fact is an old fact, too.
The U.S. has an obligation, based on a 1787 agreement between tribes and the government, to provide American Indians with free health care on reservations. But that promise has not been kept. About one-third more is spent per capita on health care for felons in federal prison, according to 2005 data from the health service.
In Washington, a few lawmakers have tried to bring attention to the broken system as Congress attempts to improve health care for millions of other Americans. But tightening budgets and the relatively small size of the American Indian population have worked against them.
"It is heartbreaking to imagine that our leaders in Washington do not care, so I must believe that they do not know," Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said in his annual state of Indian nations' address in February.
—
When it comes to health and disease in Indian country, the statistics are staggering.
American Indians have an infant death rate that is 40 percent higher than the rate for whites. They are twice as likely to die from diabetes, 60 percent more likely to have a stroke, 30 percent more likely to have high blood pressure and 20 percent more likely to have heart disease.
American Indians have disproportionately high death rates from unintentional injuries and suicide, and a high prevalence of risk factors for obesity, substance abuse, sudden infant death syndrome, teenage pregnancy, liver disease and hepatitis.
While campaigning on Indian reservations, presidential candidate Barack Obama cited this statistic: After Haiti, men on the impoverished Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota have the lowest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere.
Those on reservations qualify for Medicare and Medicaid coverage. But a report by the Government Accountability Office last year found that many American Indians have not applied for those programs because of lack of access to the sign-up process; they often live far away or lack computers. The report said that some do not sign up because they believe the government already has a duty to provide them with health care.
The office of minority health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Indian Health Service, notes on its Web site that American Indians "frequently contend with issues that prevent them from receiving quality medical care. These issues include cultural barriers, geographic isolation, inadequate sewage disposal and low income."
Indeed, Indian health clinics often are ill-equipped to deal with such high rates of disease, and poor clinics do not have enough money to focus on preventive care. The main problem is a lack of federal money. American Indian programs are not a priority for Congress, which provided the health service with $3.6 billion this budget year.
Officials at the health service say they can't legally comment on specific cases such as Ta'Shon's. But they say they are doing the best they can with the money they have — about 54 cents on the dollar they need.
One of the main problems is that many clinics must "buy" health care from larger medical facilities outside the health service because the clinics are not equipped to handle more serious medical conditions. The money that Congress provides for those contract health care services is rarely sufficient, forcing many clinics to make "life or limb" decisions that leave lower-priority patients out in the cold.
"The picture is much bigger than what the Indian Health Service can do," says Doni Wilder, an official at the agency's headquarters in Rockville, Md., and the former director of the agency's Northwestern region. "Doctors every day in our organization are making decisions about people not getting cataracts removed, gall bladders fixed."
On the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, Indian Health Service staff say they are trying to improve conditions. They point out recent improvements to their clinic, including a new ambulance bay. But in interviews on the reservation, residents were eager to share stories about substandard care.
Rhonda Sandland says she couldn't get help for her advanced frostbite until she threatened to kill herself because of the pain — several months after her first appointment. She says she was exposed to temperatures at more than 50 below, and her hands turned purple. She eventually couldn't dress herself, she says, and she visited the clinic over and over again, sometimes in tears.
"They still wouldn't help with the pain so I just told them that I had a plan," she said. "I was going to sleep in my car in the garage."
She says the clinic then decided to remove five of her fingers, but a visiting doctor from Bismarck, N.D., intervened, giving her drugs instead. She says she eventually lost the tops of her fingers and the top layer of skin.
The same clinic failed to diagnose Victor Brave Thunder with congestive heart failure, giving him Tylenol and cough syrup when he told a doctor he was uncomfortable and had not slept for several days. He eventually went to a hospital in Bismarck, which immediately admitted him. But he had permanent damage to his heart, which he attributed to delays in treatment. Brave Thunder, 54, died in April while waiting for a heart transplant.
"You can talk to anyone on the reservation and they all have a story," says Tracey Castaway, whose sister, Marcella Buckley, said she was in $40,000 of debt because of treatment for stomach cancer.
Buckley says she visited the clinic for four years with stomach pains and was given a variety of diagnoses, including the possibility of a tapeworm and stress-related stomachaches. She was eventually told she had Stage 4 cancer that had spread throughout her body.
Ron His Horse is Thunder, chairman of the Standing Rock tribe, says his remote reservation on the border between North Dakota and South Dakota can't attract or maintain doctors who know what they are doing. Instead, he says, "We get old doctors that no one else wants or new doctors who need to be trained."
His Horse is Thunder often travels to Washington to lobby for more money and attention, but he acknowledges that improvements are tough to come by.
"We are not one congruent voting bloc in any one state or area," he said. "So we don't have the political clout."
—
On another reservation 200 miles north of Standing Rock, Ardel Baker, a member of North Dakota's Three Affiliated Tribes, knows all too well the truth behind the joke about money running out.
Baker went to her local clinic with severe chest pains and was sent by ambulance to a hospital more than an hour away. It wasn't until she got there that she noticed she had a note attached to her, written on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services letterhead.
"Understand that Priority 1 care cannot be paid for at this time due to funding issues," the letter read. "A formal denial letter has been issued."
She lived, but she says she later received a bill for more than $5,000.
"That really epitomizes the conflict that we have," says Robert McSwain, deputy director of the Indian Health Service. "We have to move the patient out, it's an emergency. We need to get them care."
It was too late for Harriet Archambault, according to the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who has told her story more than once in the Senate.
Dorgan says Archambault died in 2007 after her medicine for hypertension ran out and she couldn't get an appointment to refill it at the nearest clinic, 18 miles away. She drove to the clinic five times and failed to get an appointment before she died.
Dorgan's swath of the country is the hardest hit in terms of Indian health care. Many reservations there are poor, isolated, devoid of economic development opportunities and subject to long, harsh winters — making it harder for the health service to recruit doctors to practice there.
While the agency overall has an 18 percent vacancy rate for doctors, that rate jumps to 38 percent for the region that includes the Dakotas. That region also has a 29 percent vacancy rate for dentists, and officials and patients report there is almost no preventive dental care. Routine procedures such as root canals are rarely seen here. If there's a problem with a tooth, it is simply pulled.
Dorgan has led efforts in Congress to bring attention to the issue. After many years of talking to frustrated patients at home in North Dakota, he says he believes the problems are systemic within the embattled agency: incompetent staffers are transferred instead of fired; there are few staff to handle complaints; and, in some cases, he says, there is a culture of intimidation within field offices charged with overseeing individual clinics.
The senator has also probed waste at the agency.
A 2008 GAO report, along with a follow-up report this year, accused the Indian Health Service of losing almost $20 million in equipment, including vehicles, X-ray and ultrasound equipment and numerous laptops. The agency says some of the items were later found.
Dorgan persuaded Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to consider an American Indian health improvement bill last year, and the bill passed in the Senate. It would have directed Congress to provide about $35 billion for health programs over the next 10 years, including better access to health care services, screening and mental health programs. A similar bill died in the House, though, after it became entangled in an abortion dispute.
The growing political clout of some remote reservations may bring some attention to health care woes. Last year's Democratic presidential primary played out in part in the Dakotas and Montana, where both Obama and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first presidential candidates to aggressively campaign on American Indian reservations there. Both politicians promised better health care.
Obama's budget for 2010 includes an increase of $454 million, or about 13 percent, over this year. Also, the stimulus bill he signed this year provided for construction and improvements to clinics.
—
Back in Montana, Ta'Shon's parents are doing what they can to bring awareness to the issue. They have prepared a slideshow with pictures of her brief life; she is seen dressed up in traditional regalia she wore for dance competitions with a bright smile on her face. Family members approached Dorgan at a Senate field hearing on American Indian health care after her death in 2006, hoping to get the little girl's story out.
"She was a gift, so bright and comforting," says Ada White of her niece, whom she calls her granddaughter according to Crow tradition. "I figure she was brought here for a reason."
Nearby, the clinic on the Crow reservation seems mostly empty, aside from the crowded waiting room. The hospital is down several doctors, a shortage that management attributes recruitment difficulties and the remote location.
Diane Wetsit, a clinical coordinator, said she finds it difficult to think about the congressional bailout for Wall Street.
"I have a hard time with that when I walk down the hallway and see what happens here," she says.
—
On the Net:
Indian Health Service: http://www.ihs.gov/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department's office of minority health: http://tinyurl.com/l9qzuq
National Congress of American Indians' health care issues: http://tinyurl.com/krs986
Senate Indian Affairs Committee: http://indian.senate.gov
GAO reports: http://tinyurl.com/ljq6fb, http://tinyurl.com/n7kdpa
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

It's SICKNESS Care, Not 'Health' Care

Dick nails the issue pretty clearly, although I added a note re: health clubs and medicare.

From Dick Fojut, 8-22-9

The label "HEALTH"-CARE is false, misleading.

The label should be SICKNESS-CARE"

This so-called "HEALTH CARE REFORM" debate is entirely about SICKNESS CARE

At a 1992 nationally televised "MANAGED (Medical Insurance) CARE" conference, attended by Sen. Bob Dole and Hillary Clinton (both Big HMO/Big Insurance shills in my opinion), a gutsy guy in the audience, from a small Minnesota HMO, spoke out honestly, attempting to correct all speaking at the conference:

"WE DON'T GIVE HEALTH CARE, WE GIVE SICKNESS CARE"
He stated the truth - but was quickly ignored.

How did the misleading label "HEALTH" CARE replace SICKNESS CARE?

Decades back, clever Public Relations people in the For-Profit Insurance business (parroted by organized Big Medicine and Big Pharma) conned us into adopting the inaccurate, misleading label "HEALTH"-CARE to describe what Medical Doctors and Medical Hospitals provide!

The misleading label of "HEALTH"-CARE has now confused the thinking of most of us. The same false label is being repeated by EVERY prominent voice publicly writing and speaking out - on ALL sides!

(When I was a kid during the 1930s Depression, there was accurately labeled "HOSPITALIZATION Insurance" - if you could afford it. Not "HEALTH" Insurance! The Doc's fees were usually included. Family Doctors earned much less. Medical Insurance Companies were fewer and smaller by comparison to the nationally dominating For-Profit giants they have become in America during and since World War 2.)

LET US PLEASE BE HONEST...

* People go to Medical DOCTORS and Medical HOSPITALS for SICKNESS (and Injury) CARE, not for "Health" Care

(Healthy people don't go to Doctors and Hospitals. People go to Doctors and Hospitals when they are SICK or INJURED!)
Big Pharma's Drugs (and "medicines") are given to SICK people!

* Medical Insurance Policies pay for SICKNESS (and Injury) CARE, not for "Health"

* INDIVIDUALS KEEP THEMSELVES HEALTHY AND WELL

(NOT medical doctors and hospitals - and especially NOT Big Pharma with their toxic "Flu Vaccines" they plan to infect millions with this fall - following orthodoxy's controversial theory a small amount of Vaccine toxin will "STIMULATE" our IMMUNE SYSTEMS to react and produce MORE "anti-bodies" - to fight later "invasions" of LARGER amounts of the same toxins or "Viruses")
By 2009, better informed Americans and their families have been keeping themselves (and their IMMUNE SYSTEMS) healthier through better nutrition (consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables, less junk food) along with taking added Vitamin/Mineral supplements.

Many more people today exercise their bodies! Fitness Gyms and their trainers actually DO provide some "Health" care. But Insurance policies don't pay people to use gyms or even exercise to keep their bodies fit - OR pay for vitamin and mineral supplements from a health food store! (Nor does inadequate government "MEDICARE" insurance.) (NB: Medicare Advantage pays for Health Clubs but there is almost no access if your live in rural America)

Some Nutrionists and their books, also give us good advice about maintaining and improving our health - but Insurance Policies don't pay for that kind of advice or books.

We can also credit our national and local governments (NOT Doctors, Hospitals & Drug Companies) for giving us PUBLIC HEALTH CARE by keeping our drinking water pure - and (though less effectively) keeping our food supplies relatively safe.

Whether we continue handing over the hundreds of billions in profits the FOR-PROFIT private Sickness Insurance Corporations extract from us - OR decide to have the government (clumsily?) run a NON-PROFIT Sickness Insurance plan for all (similar to our Medicare) as they do in England, Europe and Canada - let us at least accurately label this current crisis "SICKNESS CARE REFORM" (which includes "SICKNESS" INSURANCE REFORM). That's what it is really all about.
r.fojut@worldnet.att.net

Courtesy: Rense News

Scientist Issues Swine Flu Vaccine Warning

Does virus vaccine increase the risk of cancer?

The swine flu vaccine has been hit by new cancer fears after a German health expert gave a shock warning about its safety.

Lung specialist Wolfgang Wodarg has said that there are many risks associated with the vaccine for the H1N1 virus.

He has grave reservations about the firm Novartis who are developing the vaccine and testing it in Germany. The vaccination is injected “with a very hot needle”, Wodarg said.

The nutrient solution for the vaccine consists of cancerous cells from animals and "we do not know if there could be an allergic reaction".

But more importantly, some people fear that the risk of cancer could be increased by injecting the cells.

The vaccine - as Johannes Löwer, president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, has pointed out - can also cause worse side effects than the actual swine flu virus.

Wodrag also described people’s fear of the pandemic as an "orchestration": “It is great business for the pharmaceutical industry,” he told the ‘Neuen Presse’.

Swine flu is not very different from normal flu. “On the contrary if you look at the number of cases it is nothing compared to a normal flu outbreak,” he added.

The chairman of the health committee in the European Council has urged for a careful and calm reaction to the virus.

Up until now, the producers of the vaccine did not know how many orders they would have by the autumn, but the German Government is now a guaranteed customer.

Even the pharmaceutical companies are trying to exploit the fear of the swine flu pandemic

http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/world-news/2009/08/07/swine-flu-health-expert-warning/does-virus-vaccine-increase-risk-of-cancer.html#%23

21.08.2009 - 12:33 UHR

9/18/2009 - Another similar opinion

More on Gardasil's Lack of Logic

This mainstream media report raises some valid issues to the concern of parents everywhere, and joins in the large collection of Natural Health News articles on Gardasil and vaccine issues.

Gardasil Researcher Speaks Out

(CBS) Amid questions about the safety of the HPV vaccine Gardasil one of the lead researchers for the Merck drug is speaking out about its risks, benefits and aggressive marketing.

Dr. Diane Harper says young girls and their parents should receive more complete warnings before receiving the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Dr. Harper helped design and carry out the Phase II and Phase III safety and effectiveness studies to get Gardasil approved, and authored many of the published, scholarly papers about it. She has been a paid speaker and consultant to Merck. It’s highly unusual for a researcher to publicly criticize a medicine or vaccine she helped get approved.

Dr. Harper joins a number of consumer watchdogs, vaccine safety advocates, and parents who question the vaccine’s risk-versus-benefit profile. She says data available for Gardasil shows that it lasts five years; there is no data showing that it remains effective beyond five years...

Read Complete Article

The Dangers of Osteoporosis Drugs

UPDATE: August 25 - Feedback from a fluoride based Fosamax user whose bones seem to be crumbling before her eyes.

I am a femur-fracture survivor...bilateral. The right leg broke in March, the left one in July, 2009. I also suffered a compression fracture at L1 in May.

I was given Fosamax 10 years ago as a preventive measure. Now I am worse than I would have been 20 years down the road. I cannot begin to tell you that there are women breaking a leg everyday! And they do not know why. It was through the fact, that the orthopaedic doctor who took my emergency case on the first leg, had just received some information about the bilateral fractures. If you held my x-ray up against several other womens, you could not tell us apart!

I hope you continue to write and correspond about this important subject. My life has been taken away from me in a way that I never dreamed would happen.

COMMENT:

The news on the bisphosphonates just gets worse and worse. And incredibly, they don't work in preventing fracture most of the time. The latest US government report shows an increase in fracture rate of 55% since 1995!
Dr. Carolyn DeMarco

-----------------------------

Looks like Sally Field will have to give up flying or Boniva: Boniva now found to cause MID-FEMUR FRACTURES.

Another Big PhARMA fiasco, as all the current osteoporosis drugs seem to be.

Of course you don't hear too much about their fluoride content and how this damages the thyroid and bone health, but then how would they mask Jaw Osteonecrosis?

You may think this a bit cynical on my part, but you know when you read this kind of information day after day it becomes hard to believe that so many people are lured in to these products because of celebrity adverts.

And many physicians do not even consider the possibility that bisphosphonates could have some adverse effects on the bone.

More Reading

and

More Reading

Many articles on this topic are posted on Natural Health News which you can locate by using the search box.

Canadian Community Proclaims Electrosensitivity Month

The City of Colwood on Vancouver Island (Canada) are proud to announce that the City has proclaimed August as Electromagnetic Sensitivity Awareness Month. This is a first for Canada, as it joins many other countries in recognizing this new environment-related illness.

from GreenMuze
In an unprecedented move, the City of Colwood on Vancouver Island in western Canada, has declared August Electromagnetic Sensitivity Month (EMS). Although a first for Canada, many countries around the world recognize that EMS is a chronic illness with a hypersensitive reaction to electromagnetic radiation for which there is no known cure. Symptoms of EMS include dermatitis, acute numbness and tingling, arrhythmia, muscular weakness, overwhelming fatigue, headaches, sensitivity to light and severe neurological problems.

Colwood Mayor, David Saunders, explains that relief for EMS sufferers can only be obtained by limiting exposure to radiation-emitting devices such as cellphones, wireless technology, FM and cell transmitters and CFL light bulbs, which is becoming increasingly difficult in an electromagnetic emission saturated world.

EMS is currently recognized by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Government, the Americans with Disability Act and numerous other international organizations as an environmental sensitivity, explains the Mayor’s letter to the community.

The Mayor further explains that the general population is at risk from chronic, long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

Bravo to Colwood Mayor David Saunders.

from Natural Health News

Cell Phone Safety

May is Electrosensitivity Month (FLA)

And from IMVA: Modern Madness

Vaccine Side Effects Known, Facts Hidden

This is one more piece in the puzzle that you should take into consideration when considering your options with this untested and unproven vaccine.

Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.

It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.

500 cases of GBS were detected.
The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.
The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.
The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.
Read complete article...

Professionals Not So Clever These Days

An excellent example of what this article addresses is the TV show, "The Doctors".

Why doctors are not as clever as they used to be

Nature Cures: More Herbs for Flu

The tradition of Ayurveda offers us yet another natural, herbal approach to stave off flu and "swine" flu.

Indian herb: Tulsi (basil) can help keep swine flu away: Ayurvedic experts

Lucknow, May 27: Wonder herb Tulsi can not only keep the dreaded swine flu at bay but also help in fast recovery of an afflicted person, Ayurvedic practitioners claim.

"The anti-flu property of Tulsi has been discovered by medical experts across the world quite recently. Tulsi improves the body's overall defence mechanism including its ability to fight viral diseases. It was successfully used in combating Japanese Encephalitis and the same theory applies to swine flu," Dr U K Tiwari, a herbal medicine practitioner says.

Apart from acting as a preventive medicine in case of swine flu, Tulsi can help the patient recover faster.

"Even when a person has already contracted swine flu, Tulsi can help in speeding up the recovery process and also help in strengthening the immune system of the body," he claims.

Dr Bhupesh Patel, a lecturer at Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar is also of the view that Tulsi can play an important role in controlling swine flu.

"Tulsi can control swine flu and it should be taken in fresh form. Juice or paste of at least 20-25 medium sized leaves should be consumed twice a day on an empty stomach."

This increases the resistance of the body and, thereby, reduces the chances of inviting swine flu," believes Patel.

Polio Vaccine Backfires in Nigeria; It Can Be Cured

In Canada, in the 40s, 50s, 60s, when polio was a major public health concern, MDs were curing it with iodine. This surely is a very inexpensive way to address this crisis currently if one could get the information to the right place.

People in the US who did receive live vaccine, just as the one currently creating the problem in Africa, have died or now, years later, live with post-polio syndrome or other severe diseases known to be related to the vaccine.

This information is important to in regard to the current flu situation. Surely it is safer than an untested vaccine when the government provides a risk free status to the manufacturers.

Vitamin C Treatment of Polio

Looks like instant replay...

Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mutates
LONDON (AP) — Polio, a dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria despite efforts to stamp it out. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.

In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year — about twice those afflicted in 2008.

The polio problem is just the latest challenge to global health authorities trying to convince wary citizens that vaccines can save them from dreaded disease. For years, myths have abounded about vaccines — that they were the Western world's plan to sterilize Africans or give them AIDS. The sad polio reality fuels misguided fears and underscores the challenges authorities face using a flawed vaccine. complete article

More information about the benefits of iodine...

Read comment by Dr. Patricia Doyle

Just Say No to Obama Care

Since the members of the US Congress and Barack Obama are not at all interested in accepting the health care program being propagandized across the country, why should any US citizens accept it?

There is a federal caveat that does not allow for discriminatory practices, yet this is exactly what the Beltway Bandits are whipping up.

And there is a better way to achieve affordable and good quality access to care without all the bureaucratic bungling.

Yesterday on "ABC-TV" (better known as the all Barrack channel) during the "network special on health care".... Obama was asked:

"Mr. President will you and your family give up your current health care program and join the new 'universal health care program' that the rest of us will be on?".....

(bet you already know the answer)...

There was a stoney silence as Obama ignored the question and chose not to answer it.... in addition, a number of Senators were asked the same question and their response was..."We will think about it." And they did.

It was announced today on the news that the "Kennedy health care bill" was written into the new health care reform initiative, ensuring that that Congress will be 100% exempt !

This should speak volumes to all of us. so, this great new health care plan that is good for you and me... is not good enough for Obama, his family or Congress...??

We (the american public) need to stop this proposed debacle asap!

This is totally wrong !!!!! If you agree please pass this on .... If not plan to suffer with the Obama health care plan ....for free.... while our self-serving politicians make sure that they take care of themselves and their families at our expense. (Various sources as compiled by Rense.com)

How American Health Care Killed My Father

While this article is lengthy, it offers a very good picture of the state of mainstream medicine in the US today.

American Health Care contributed to killing my mother, who recently passed away, and I am sure it did the dame to many others.

Having seen this first hand during the years I worked in ICU and other medical venues, I', pleased to have found an ally in Mr. Goldhill.

How American Health Care Killed My Father - The Atlantic (September 2009)

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Darker Side of Tanning

Sunlight is necessary for health, but the amount of time you expose your skin to it and the kind of food you eat have an effect on your health. Healthy saturated fat is needed to absorb vitamin D and to help keep skin supple.

Taking a 20 minute walk at noon each day - even on dark, cloudy days - helps you absorb sunlight through your eyes and skin to allow you to make vitamin D. This may not give you all you need if you are deficient, but it is a good and safe practice.

Vitamins B1 and C can be used to protect your skin, but Suma and DMG can help if skin cancer is an issue for you.

The American Academy of Dermatology - Dermatologists and public health professionals are concerned about the dangers of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, tanning beds, and sun lamps. The two types of ultraviolet radiation are Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB). UVB has long been associated with sunburn while UVA has been recognized as a deeper penetrating radiation that causes more damage.

Although it's been known for some time that too much UV radiation can be harmful, new information may make this concern even more important. Recently, some scientists have suggested recently that there may be an association between UVA radiation and melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.
http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/sun_darker.html?media=print

Immune Supression for Osteoporosis?

UPDATE: August 25 - Feedback on bisphosphonate drugs which contain fluoride, crumbling bones right before your eyes.

I am a femur-fracture survivor...bilateral. The right leg broke in March, the left one in July, 2009. I also suffered a compression fracture at L1 in May.

I was given Fosamax 10 years ago as a preventive measure. Now I am worse than I would have been 20 years down the road. I cannot begin to tell you that there are women breaking a leg everyday! And they do not know why. It was through the fact, that the orthopaedic doctor who took my emergency case on the first leg, had just received some information about the bilateral fractures. If you held my x-ray up against several other womens, you could not tell us apart!

I hope you continue to write and correspond about this important subject. My life has been taken away from me in a way that I never dreamed would happen.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

These two articles arrived this morning in the same newsletter. I thought it interesting because I had just posted on saturated fat and mentioned how it is necessary to help make Vitamin D work.

Then there's the article about Vitamin D that arrived earlier in the day. There must be a message here.

Of course this is madness to me because there is no consideration of what natural approaches might be more effective and less expensive that a drug that the FDA now is worried about it suppressing immunity.

There's weight bearing exercise, even if you have to so it sitting. And there's Vitamin K, another fat soluble vitamin. Nettle can help too because it is a very potent cytokine reducer (what the TNF drugs do) without suppressing your immune system.

This drug is very much like the Rheumatoid Arthritis drugs, RA is often connected to wheat, gluten and gliaden allergy. Perhaps a RAST test might be a better place to start.

FDA Questions Denosumab Safety in Advisory Meeting Documents
FDA staff has expressed concerns that denosumab, the investigational biologic drug for osteoporosis, may increase risk of serious infections through its activity against an important immune system modulator. The agency believes the drug --... full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/ProductAlert/Prescriptions/tb/15486

Denosumab a Winner in Phase III Osteoporosis Trials
An investigational biologic drug for osteoporosis increased bone density and reduced fractures in men and women in two placebo-controlled trials. Three years of treatment with denosumab reduced radiographic spine fractures more than two-thirds in the... full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Osteoporosis/tb/15474

Related to the issue of osteoporosis and immune suppression is this information about fluoride based antibiotics. These drugs also increase risk of tendon rupture, interfere with proper thyroid function, as well as encourage brittle and weaker bones.

Wide Use of Fluoroquinolones Raises Fear of TB Resistance
The widespread use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics may be creating strains of tuberculosis resistant to the drugs, researchers said. Patients with more than 10 days of fluoroquinolone exposure before a TB diagnosis were seven times more likely to have... full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Tuberculosis/tb/15477

There's also something here that might explain why mainstream medicine might not be offering you the best care.

Read a review here

YES, You Need Saturated Fat for Health

Ever notice that all the health promoting FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS - A,D,E,K - are in the news because your health has been suffering, and weight gain is every one's concern, as you haven't had enough fat to absorb them over the last 20-30 years?

The HeartScan Blog offers supporting information.

Worried About Your Waistline? Get More—Not Less—of This Saturated Fat
Health News By VRP Staff

If you’re trying to shrink your bulging waistline, you’ve probably been cutting fats—and especially those notoriously heart-harming saturated fats—from your diet every chance you get. But believe it or not, this is one piece of “common sense” you may want to reconsider.

As it turns out, recent research is flying in the face of that age-old wisdom…at least where one natural source of saturated fat is concerned.

A new study examined the effects of coconut oil supplementation on women with abdominal obesity—that is, a waist circumference greater than 34 ½ inches—one of the leading risk factors in both heart disease and diabetes. Researchers followed 40 subjects between the ages of 20 and 40—half receiving 30 mL of coconut oil per day and half receiving 30 mL of soybean oil—over the course of 12-weeks.1

The study participants were instructed to follow a balanced low-calorie diet and to walk for 50 minutes per day. Lipid levels—including total cholesterol and HDL/LDL cholesterol ratios—were evaluated at both the beginning and end of the trial.

After 12 weeks, results showed that carbohydrate and overall caloric intake—as well as body mass index (BMI) measurements—decreased in both groups. But only the subjects taking coconut oil ended up with smaller waistlines—not to mention increased HDL (that is, “good” cholesterol) levels and an improved LDL to HDL ratio.

The patients taking soybean oil, on the other hand, weren’t so lucky. Not only did the total cholesterol levels increase in this group, but LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels did as well. Health-boosting levels of HDL, however, did drop—resulting in a higher LDL to HDL ratio, and the increased heart risk that comes with it.

The study authors’ conclusion? Saturated fat or not, coconut oil doesn’t negatively impact your cholesterol levels. It does, however, appear to fight belly fat… a benefit that reaches well beyond a closet full of smaller clothes.

Organic, Virgin Coconut Oil provides a minimally processed product that offers a light coconut taste and facilitates the assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins derived from foods and dietary supplements.

Reference:

1. Assunção ML, Ferreira HS, Dos Santos AF, Cabral CR Jr, Florêncio TM. Effects of Dietary Coconut Oil on the Biochemical and Anthropometric Profiles of Women Presenting Abdominal Obesity. Lipids. 2009 May 13. Published Online Ahead of Print.

Off Track on CAM Care Coverage

I am a big fan of Representative Kucinich and others who seem to be in favor of including so-called CAM care in the health insurance debate.

I am not however interested in it being limited only to "licensed" practitioners.

The issues of licensing for the sake of third party billing is another ignored issue and big cost driver.

People and members of Congress need to wake up to Big Insurance control of the medical industry. Until this changes there will be more of the same, and once again NO CHANGE.

The US has the highest health care costs and the worst outcome statistics.

Figure it our for yourself, and please ask the right questions, stop following the master manipulators and political spin.

Insurance Coverage for CAM? Some Lawmakers Say Yes
August 11, 2009

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) healthcare providers are waiting to see whether federal lawmakers will pass an amendment that allows for more insurance coverage of their therapies and services. As the larger healthcare debate in Washington wages on, senators such as Tom Harkin of Iowa and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio are campaigning for licensed integrative practitioners to be included as mainstream caregivers and afforded the same insurance coverage under the new reformed healthcare system.

“It’s time to end the discrimination against alternative healthcare practices,’’ Harkin said at a congressional hearing. Advocates argue that alternative treatments can be less expensive than conventional therapies or drugs. But critics maintain that if the alternative treatments were truly effective, they would already have been adopted by the mainstream medical community. The alternative medicine amendment, which is cosponsored by Harkin, has been adopted by a Senate committee. The committee will have control over what portions of the amendment make it into the final healthcare reform bill. NBJ Blog.

Insurance Caveat You Don't Hear About

As a health care consumer you really do need to wake up to the issues addressed in this article and also to the fact that Big Insurance has controlled the medical industry for a good three decades if not longer and it is the biggest cost driver there is.

RELATED ARTICLE: Six Lobbyists for Every Member of Congress

The "death panels" are already here
Sorry, Sarah Palin -- rationing of care? Private companies are already doing it, with sometimes fatal results
By Mike Madden, Aug. 11, 2009

The future of healthcare in America, according to Sarah Palin, might look something like this: A sick 17-year-old girl needs a liver transplant. Doctors find an available organ, and they're ready to operate, but the bureaucracy -- or as Palin would put it, the "death panel" -- steps in and says it won't pay for the surgery. Despite protests from the girl's family and her doctors, the heartless hacks hold their ground for a critical 10 days. Eventually, under massive public pressure, they relent -- but the patient dies before the operation can proceed.

It certainly sounds scary enough to make you want to go show up at a town hall meeting and yell about how misguided President Obama's healthcare reform plans are. Except that's not the future of healthcare -- it's the present. Long before anyone started talking about government "death panels" or warning that Obama would have the government ration care, 17-year-old Nataline Sarkisyan, a leukemia patient from Glendale, Calif., died in December 2007, after her parents battled their insurance company, Cigna, over the surgery. Cigna initially refused to pay for it because the company's analysis showed Sarkisyan was already too sick from her leukemia; the liver transplant wouldn't have saved her life.

That kind of utilitarian rationing, of course, is exactly what Palin and other opponents of the healthcare reform proposals pending before Congress say they want to protect the country from. "Such a system is downright evil," Palin wrote, in the same message posted on Facebook where she raised the "death panel" specter. "Health care by definition involves life and death decisions."

Coverage of Palin's remarks, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's defense of them, over the weekend did point out that the idea that the reform plans would encourage government-sponsored euthanasia is one of a handful of deliberate falsehoods being peddled by opponents of the legislation. But the idea that only if reform passes would the government start setting up rationing and interfering with care goes beyond just the bogus euthanasia claim.

Opponents of reform often seem to skip right past any problems with the current system -- but it's rife with them. A study by the American Medical Association found the biggest insurance companies in the country denied between 2 and 5 percent of claims put in by doctors last year (though the AMA noted that not all the denials were improper). There is no national database of insurance claim denials, though, because private insurance companies aren't required to disclose such stats. Meanwhile, a House Energy and Commerce Committee report in June found that just three insurance companies kicked at least 20,000 people off their rolls between 2003 and 2007 for such reasons as typos on their application paperwork, a preexisting condition or a family member's medical history. People who buy insurance under individual policies, about 6 percent of adults, may be especially vulnerable, but the 63 percent of adults covered by employer-provided insurance aren't immune to difficulty.

"You're asking us to decide that the government is to be trusted," Gingrich -- who may, like Palin, be running for the GOP's presidential nomination in 2012 -- told ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" on Sunday. But as even a quick glance through news coverage of the last few years shows, private insurers are already doing what reform opponents say they want to save us from. (The insurance industry, pushing back against charges that they're part of the problem, said last month that "healthcare reform is far too important to be dragged down by divisive political rhetoric." The industry has long maintained that its decisions on what to cover are the result of careful investigations of each claim.) Here is a look at a handful of healthcare horror stories, brought to you by the current system. It took Salon staff less than an hour to round these up -- which might indicate how many other such stories are out there.

-- In June 2008, Robin Beaton, a retired nurse from Waxahachie, Texas, found out she had breast cancer and needed a double mastectomy. Two days before her surgery, her insurance company, Blue Cross, flagged her chart and told the hospital they wouldn't allow the procedure to go forward until they finished an examination of five years of her medical history -- which could take three months. It turned out that a month before the cancer diagnosis, Beaton had gone to a dermatologist for acne treatment, and Blue Cross incorrectly interpreted a word on her chart to mean that the acne was precancerous.

Not long into the investigation, the insurer canceled her policy. Beaton, they said, had listed her weight incorrectly when she bought it, and had also failed to disclose that she'd once taken medicine for a heart condition -- which she hadn't been taking at the time she filled out the application. By October, thanks to an intervention from her member of Congress, Blue Cross reinstated Beaton's insurance coverage. But the tumor she had removed had grown 2 centimeters in the meantime, and she had to have her lymph nodes removed as well as her breasts amputated because of the delay.

-- In October 2008, Michael Napientak, a doorman from Clarendon Hills, Ill., went to the hospital for surgery to relieve agonizing back pain. His wife's employer's insurance provider, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthCare, had issued a pre-authorization for the operation. The operation went well. But in April, the insurer started sending notices that it wouldn't pay for the surgery, after all; the family, not the insurance provider, would be on the hook for the $148,000 the hospital charged for the procedure. Pre-authorization, the insurance company explained, didn't necessarily guarantee payment on a claim would be forthcoming. The company offered shifting explanations for why it wouldn't pay -- first, demanding proof that Napientak had tried less expensive measures to relieve his pain, and then, when he provided it, insisting that it lacked documentation for why the surgery was medically necessary. Napientak's wife, Sandie, asked her boss to help out, but with no luck. Fortunately for the Napientaks, they were able to attract the attention of a Chicago Tribune columnist before they had to figure out how to pay the six-figure bill -- once the newspaper started asking questions, the insurer suddenly decided, "based on additional information submitted," to cover the tab, after all.

-- David Denney was less than a year old when he was diagnosed in 1995 with glutaric acidemia Type 1, a rare blood disorder that left him severely brain damaged and unable to eat, walk or speak without assistance. For more than a decade, Blue Cross of California -- his parents' insurance company -- paid the $1,200 weekly cost to have a nurse care for him, giving him exercise and administering anti-seizure medication.

But in March 2006, Blue Cross told the Denney family their claims had exceeded the annual cost limit for his care. When they wrote back, objecting and pointing out that their annual limit was higher, the company changed its mind -- about the reason for the denial. The nurse's services weren't medically necessary, the insurers said. His family sued, and the case went to arbitration, as their policy allowed. California taxpayers, meanwhile, got stuck with the bill -- after years of paying their own premiums, the Denney family went on Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid system.

-- Patricia Reilling opened an art gallery in Louisville, Ky., in 1987, and three years later took out an insurance policy for herself and her employees. Her insurance provider, Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, wrote to her this June, telling her it was canceling her coverage -- a few days after it sent her a different letter detailing the rates to renew for another year and billing her for July.

Reilling thinks she knows the reason for the cutoff, though -- she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2008. That kicked off a year-long battle with Anthem. First the company refused to pay for an MRI to locate the tumors, saying her family medical history didn't indicate she was likely to have cancer. Eventually, it approved the MRI, but only after she'd undergone an additional, painful biopsy. Her doctor removed both of her breasts in April 2008. In December, she went in for reconstructive plastic surgery -- and contracted a case of MRSA, an invasive infection. In January of this year, Reilling underwent two more surgeries to deal with the MRSA infection, and she's likely to require another operation to help fix all the damage. The monthly bill for her prescription medicines -- which she says are mostly generics -- is $2,000; the doctors treating her for the MRSA infection want $280 for each appointment, now that she's lost her insurance coverage. When she appealed the decision to cancel her policy, asking if she could keep paying the premium and continue coverage until her current course of treatment ends, the insurers wrote back with yet another denial. But they did say they hoped her health improved.

-- Additional reporting by Tim Bella
-- By Mike Madden

Misleading Flu News

UPDATE: August 13 See LABVIRUS

Please read the complete article via the above link and look at another of Ms. Kidd's articles reporting on the lack of legal authority of the FED to engage in health care. See the numerous case law citations.

We encourage you to learn what you can do to take back control or your own health. We are here to help you with this important action.

Deaths from avoidable medical error more than double in past decade, investigation shows: Scientific American Blog

Deaths from avoidable medical error more than double in past decade, investigation shows: Scientific American Blog
"Preventable medical mistakes and infections are responsible for about 200,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to an investigation by the Hearst media corporation. The report comes 10 years after the Institute of Medicine's "To Err Is Human" analysis, which found that 44,000 to 98,000 people were dying annually due to these errors and called for the medical community and government to cut that number in half by 2004."

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In Illinois today the Governor reported that sales of ephedra will be banned. There is no mention of a ban on sales on pharmaceuticals that are known to have killed many more than just one person. 19.05.03

1. The market place of the pharmaceutical industry is the human body. The foundation of this industry is the 'Business with Diseases' - not its prevention or eradication.

2. More than 24,000 pharmaceutical drugs currently on the market - 98% of all drugs - are without any proven therapeutic value.

3. The dangerous side effects of these pharmaceutical drugs have become the third fourth leading cause of death - after heart attack, strokes and cancer - thereby further expanding the global pharmaceutical market.

Multiple Myeloma Cancer in 9/11 Rescuers

For those who may be interested our parent organization, CHI, has provided to the responder groups (NYPD, NYFD et al)information on natural cancer care that is specific to Multiple Myeloma. We still are offering the information and you may contact CHI in regard to this concern.

Multiple Myeloma Cancer in 9/11 Rescuers

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Health Care Debate?

UPDATE: 13 August - If you've missed it because mainstream media dis little to report it, Obama mad a deal with Big PhRMA some weeks back that basically let them off the hook regarding Plan D in Medicare and price negotiating.

Thanks to Huffington Post we have a story that confirms what Natural Health News knew when the "deal" was briefly reported.

Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big PharmaA memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week.

The memo, which according to a knowledgeable health care lobbyist was prepared by a person directly involved in the negotiations, lists exactly what the White House gave up, and what it got in return.

It says the White House agreed to oppose any congressional efforts to use the government's leverage to bargain for lower drug prices or import drugs from Canada -- and also agreed not to pursue Medicare rebates or shift some drugs from Medicare Part B to Medicare Part D, which would cost Big Pharma billions in reduced reimbursements.

In exchange, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) agreed to cut $80 billion in projected costs to taxpayers and senior citizens over ten years. Or, as the memo says: "Commitment of up to $80 billion, but not more than $80 billion."
complete article

First of all, Listen up! The US does not have health care, The US has sickness care and every effort to make you think otherwise is just smoke and mirrors.

Sickness drives profit and for a minute don't believe that insurers or drug companies have one altruistic cell in their high rolling enterprises.

I've got plenty of examples collected over 3+ decades as I found myself in various positions in the medical industry. I'm just a very good observer with a photographic memory.

So here's the latest in the "debate" (more like forced pablum) that caught my eye this morning. And I am trying not to post on weekends...or so I tell myself, and really trying not to be cynical.

Drug industry backing Obama's health care plan

Consumer protections lost in health care debate

I happened to see news coverage of a meeting WA Rep Rick Larsen held in the district. I watch this district because I used to live in it. I'm also not a Larsen fan because he is, like Gary Locke and Maria Cantwell, one of those penultimate politicians who's in it for lining his pockets. He's also skilled in the art of the slippery and fork-ed tongue, the best any politician can hope for, eh?

If you see this news video, the look on Larsen's face was most telling when a fellow in the audience stated that he wanted the same health care as members of Congress enjoyed. There was a dead pan face and dead silence from Rick.

Now of course we did hear from Obama that the constituents would get the same care as members of Congress, but then you've probably noticed that's dropped off the radar of late.

What you do read and hear on every radio or TV channel is that Big Insurance and Big PhRMA are rolling out the big PR campaigns to reign in any substantive change in the way people get care from the medical establishment in the US.

Big PhRMA's already conned the Seniors by their pitiful deal with the Obama insiders to drop costs in Medicare D's "doughnut hole" by 50 percent. I'd personally rather see Obama scrap the Bush corporate welfare handout to PhRMA and re-create it with required price negotiation. I'm sure unsuspecting Seniors who've been made drug dependent via the medical industry would like this too!

However, the biggest jolt to getting reform off dead center would be required use of the universal claim form.

Vitamin C or Tamiflu, which would you choose

Vitamin C can be affordable, C 1000, 250 pills, 12 cents per pill.

Patrick Holford notes that in his June 2005 newsletter he interviewed Dr Thomas Levy, who has provided the definitive proof in his book ‘ Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases and Toxins: Curing the Incurable’.

"He is one of the world’s experts in effects of vitamin C on viruses. Here’s what he says “I have not found any flu 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 I know of no studies yet published specifically treating swine 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 but it is possible that the bird flu may require even higher doses.”

Antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu (oseltamivir), work by inhibiting something called neuraminidase, produced by viruses and essential for their ability to replicate. So too does vitamin C according to recent research. This study tested the effects of a combination of ascorbic acid, green tea extract, lysine, proline, N-acetyl cysteine, selenium among other micronutrients on cells infected with influenza. This combination was also tested in a study on cells infected with bird flu, in many respects similar to swine flu. According to the authors the nutrient mixture “demonstrated high antiviral activity evident even at prolonged periods after infection. Antiviral properties were comparable to those of conventional drugs (amantadine and oseltamivir); however, the nutrient mixture had the advantage of affecting viral replication at the late stages of the infection process.“ Unlike the drugs, there are no significant side-effects. The effect of vitamin C alone was less than that of the combination of nutrients and, in combination, moderate doses of vitamin C exerted a significant anti-viral effect.

The other nutrients given included the amino acids lysine, proline, N-acetyl cysteine, and selenium. N-acetyl cysteine and selenium both promote glutathione levels within cells, which has anti-viral activity. The mineral zinc, in doses of 50 to 100mg a day, has also proved to be anti-viral and is available in lozenges for coughs and colds as found in one study. I recommend half this level in zinc lozenges, for short-term use only. On a daily basis, as prevention, I recommend supplementing 15mg a day. Supplementing this amount of zinc has been shown in recent research to make the body’s T cells much more effective, hence boosting immunity.

Neuramidase inhibition, which prevents viral release from infected cells, is only one of more than ten ways that vitamin C helps knock out viruses, both by inhibiting the virus itself, and by strengthening the body’s own immune response, for example by improving immune cell function (eg macrophages and t-lymphocytes), upping interferon and nitric oxide and making more antibodies which target viruses. In the combined nutrient study I discuss above one of the most significant anti-viral effects was inhibiting viral nucleoprotein, which means the virus cannot multiply. This occurred within 24 hours. 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. One of the most concerning and rarely mentioned reported side-effects of Tamiflu is bizarre psychiatric problems in children treated with the drug, prompting the US FDA to recommend new warnings concerning possible dangerous psychiatric side effects.

The ideal amount of vitamin C for any flu is up to ‘bowel tolerance’. Start with 3 grams immediately, then 1 gram an hour and if you get diarrhoea, then 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 a flu 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 2 grams of vitamin C every day. If swine flu breaks out I’m doubling that to 4 grams – one every 6 or so hours, as well as supplementing zinc and selenium on a daily basis. As the studies above show a combination of immune-boosting nutrients appears most effective.

Viruses get into body cells by puncturing their walls with tiny spikes made of a substance called hemagglutinin. According to research by virologist Madeleine Mumcuoglu, working with Dr Jean Linderman, who discovered interferon, an extract of elderberry disarms these spikes by binding to them and preventing them from penetrating the cell membrane. ‘This was the first discovery,’ said Mumcuoglu. ‘Later I found evidence that elderberry also fights flu virus in other ways.’ In a double blind controlled trial she tested the effects of the elderberry extract, called Sambucol, in people diagnosed with any one of a number of strains of flu virus. Their results, published in 1995, showed a significant improvement in symptoms – fever, cough, muscle pain – in 20 per cent of patients within twenty-four hours, and in a further 73 per cent of patients within forty-eight hours. After three days 90 per cent had complete relief of their symptoms compared to another group on a placebo, who look at least six days to recover. In another double-blind controlled trial it cut recovery time in those with influenza by four days. So this is an added bonus.

I’d also recommend ensuring your vitamin D level is good. A study earlier this year, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, of 19,000 people found that with the lowest average levels of vitamin D were about 40 per cent more likely to have a recent respiratory infection, compared to those with higher vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is made in the skin in the presence of sunlight. During autumn and winter months we just don’t make anything like enough. Most experts recommend at least 30mcg a day - half an hour sun exposure and eating oily fish three times a week and half a dozen eggs might give you 15mcg a day, so I also supplement 15mcg in a multivitamin on a daily basis. Most multis, however, only contain 5mcg, the desperately out of date RDA."

Five days of treatment, one 75 mg pill every 12 hours, will cost about $6 per pill or more, or a minimum of $60.

"In healthy adults with seasonal flu, the antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) reduce the duration of symptoms by just half a day, British researchers said."

LONDON (Reuters) – Children should not routinely be treated with flu drugs like Tamiflu since there is no clear evidence they prevent complications and the medicines may do more harm than good, British researchers said on Monday.

What are the possible side effects of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir)?
Stop using oseltamivir and get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat; a red and blistering or peeling skin rash.

Some people using oseltamivir have had rare side effects of sudden confusion, delirium, hallucinations, unusual behavior, or self-injury. These symptoms have occurred most often in children. It is not known whether oseltamivir was the exact cause of these symptoms.

However, anyone using oseltamivir should be watched closely for signs of confusion or unusual behavior.

Other side effects may include:
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, nosebleed, eye redness or discomfort
sleep problems (insomnia); cough or other respiratory symptoms
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

Call a doctor at once if you or the child using oseltamivir has any of these symptoms.

From Natural Health News 2006: Flu Shot Risk Too High

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FOOD SAFETY

JUST IN TIME: Today is 7 August, and yesterday the following was released -

Massive beef recall linked to antibiotic-resistant salmonella outbreak
By Rory Harrington, 06-Aug-2009

California firm Beef Packers Inc has recalled over 800,000 pounds of ground beef linked to an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmonella that has sickened people across nine states.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the alert yesterday for a range of the company’s ground beef products processed between June 5-23 that were sent to retail distribution centres in Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah. The 825,769 pounds (375,349 kg) of meat had been repackaged into consumer-size amounts and sold under different retail brand names. Consumers were warned to check with local retailer to find out if they were at risk.

Nine states hit

The US authorities said it had raised the alarm after being contacted by Colorado health officials about an ongoing investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella Newport.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) announced last week that it was involved in a nationwide investigation with the USDA and other state authorities to investigate cases of salmonella infections that were “resistant to several commonly used antibiotics”.

While reports of illnesses have come from nine states, the majority of those affected were in Colorado – with ground beef pin-pointed as the most likely cause for the 21 people sickened in the state, said the CDPHE.

Second outbreak in a month

The body said it was the second major salmonella outbreak in the state in a month and that both incidences had been linked to ground beef. It cautioned that because it takes up to two weeks for illnesses to be reported to the state health department, further tainted beef could still be on sale.

Last week’s suspicions that ground beef was at the centre of the contamination were confirmed yesterday following epidemiological and trace-back investigations conducted by Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and CDPHE.

USDA officials also confirmed that the illnesses had been linked through the epidemiological investigation by their uncommon pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern found in PulseNet, a national network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright - © 2000/2009 - Decision News Media SAS - All Rights Reserved

ORDER OUR NEWLY UPDATE AND EXPANDED FOOD CLEANING EBOOK TODAY

“FOOD SAFETY: CLEANSING OPTIONS”
The second and expanded edition of this Healthy Handout© is full of tried and true, helpful information based on our more than 50 years of “natural healing through natural health”.

Order your copy today for just $3.95

With all orders placed through 30 August, 2009
‘TOC’ will include a complimentary copy of the Healthy Food Guide.

Once payment is received you’ll receive your electronic copy by email.

© 2009 TOC. All Rights Reserved.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 30 July, 2009

The Oake Centre for natural health education is pleased to announce its second and expanded edition of one of the most popular in their Healthy Handouts© series.

Focused on food safety, the food cleansing protocols include the Healthy Food Soak used by the leaflady and taught in her classes since 1991. The new, expanded second edition also includes additional methods to improve food quality, increase oxygenation & remove toxic residues, even reduce the impact of food irradiation.

The publication today of “FOOD SAFETY: CLEANSING OPTIONS” is timely in consideration of three recent news articles:
http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2523458.0.0.php

Half of all the fruit & veg you buy is contaminated.

Strawberries help reduce cognitive decline
Strawberries protect the heart, reduce risks of cancer, act as an anti-inflammatory and may be good for the brain, too, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers from the Chicago Healthy Aging Project found that older adults who eat strawberries at least once a month have less cognitive decline.

More specifically, women who consumed more than one serving of strawberries per month had a 16.2 percent slower rate of cognitive decline versus those who consumed less. The findings were presented at the Berry Health Symposium in Monterey, Calif.

Researchers at the Berry Health Symposium described how berries may be contributing to the preservation of brain function.

Most disease processes in the body are believed to begin through inflammation and oxidation which damage cells. Healthy nerve cell membranes promote optimal communication within the brain and nervous system so preventing membrane damage from inflammation and oxidation is essential, the researchers said.
Published 30 July, © 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Organic food is no healthier, study finds
LONDON (Reuters) – Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary food, according to a major study published 29 July.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007. A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference.

"A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance," said Alan Dangour, one of the report's authors." Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority.

The results of research, which was commissioned by the British government's Food Standards Agency, were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Sales of organic food have fallen in some markets, including Britain, as recession has led consumers to cut back on purchases.

The Soil Association said in April that growth in sales of organic products in Britain slowed to just 1.7 percent in 2008, well below the average annual growth rate of 26 percent over the last decade, following a plunge in demand at the end of the year.

Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Simon Jessop. © 2009 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.

Our Comments:
While strawberries are known to be health promoting, including being great at cancer fighting along with other berries, they are one agricultural crop that receives extremely high applications of herbicides and pesticides in commercial production.

At the same time reporting against the benefits of organically grown food continues to aim at your acceptance of Big Ag methods of large scale factory farming resulting in low quality food with reduced nutrition, along with greater exposure to hormones, antibiotics, MSG, herbicides and pesticides, and even irradiation along with reduced food safety.

Our publication is an inexpensive way for you to be able to improve the health and nutrition of the food you purchase, and ultimately improve your own better health status.

From our original web site’s nutrition section posted in the 1990s – Read the complete article at leaflady.org.

“SCIENTISTS PROVE SUPERIOR NUTRITIVE VALUE OF ORGANIC FOOD - Researchers at Rutgers University set-out to disprove the claim that 'Organic Is Better'. They purchased selections of produce at and health food stores and analyzed for mineral content. Organic foods were those grown without the use of chemical pesticides or artificial fertilizers. Non-organic foods, referred to here as 'commercial,' were grown with a variety of chemicals that enhance growth or destroy pests, many of which are known or suspected carcinogens (cancer-causing) and which cause greater erosion to the environment and wildlife. The idea that organic crops are nutritionally superior has been accepted largely on faith. There has been very little hard evidence to support this supposition. Rutgers researchers expected the organic produce to be maybe slightly higher in comparison, but the results were astounding! The amount of iron in the organic spinach was 97% more than the commercial spinach, and the manganese was 99% greater in the organic. Many essential trace elements were completely absent in the commercial produce whereas they were abundant, comparatively, in their organically grown counterparts.”

And perhaps it will be of interest to you to note that the White House garden seems to have become a failure because of toxins in the soil. Michelle Obama's toxic veggie nightmare: White House organic garden polluted with sludge.

Good soil preparation would have prevented this. You can learn more by purchasing your copy of another TOC publication, "My Happy Garden", for $7.95, which comes with "My Medicine Garden".
Tuesday, April 01, 2008

From NaturalHealthNews, April 2008: Don't laugh, Organic Really is Better
Studies Show Organic Plant-Based Foods More Nutritious

A new report published by The Organic Center, "New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods," is a comprehensive review of 97 published studies comparing the nutritional quality of organic and conventional foods. The report shows that organic plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, grains) contain higher levels of eight of 11 nutrients studied, including significantly greater concentrations of health-promoting polyphenols and antioxidants.

In this first comprehensive review of the scientific literature comparing nutrient levels in organic and conventional food completed since 2003, a team of scientists concluded that organically grown plant-based foods are 25 percent more nutrient dense, on average, and deliver more essential nutrients per serving or calorie consumed. The full report and its executive summary are free at the Center's website, Organic-Center.org.