White Moon News and Notes

The Great Con-Ola

2009-10-23T14:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/conola.html

Drugs in Pregnancy: SafeFetus.com

2009-10-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

SafeFetus.com – a site for Drugs in Pregnancy - is a complete online database of worldwide medications (generic drugs & trade names) that provides brief information on the drugs’ indication, fetal risk, breast feeding risk as well as its risk category according to the FDA

2012: The End of a New Dawn?

2009-09-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

http://cafemagazine.com/index.php/component/content/article/59-0909-features/244-2012-the-end-or-a-new-dawn-

Industry-Backed Label Calls Sugary Cereal a ‘Smart Choice’

2009-09-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/business/05smart.html?_r=1

Bromide and Thyroid Function

2009-09-06T11:19:00.001-07:00

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/05/Another-Poison-Hiding-in-Your-Environment.aspx

Acupuncture and Fibrolyalgia

2009-08-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/Acupuncture+Helps+with+Fibromyalgia+Symptoms

Ultrasound: More Harm Than Good

2009-08-06T15:02:00.001-07:00

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundwagner.asp

Acupuncture Facelift

2009-07-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.naturalsolutionsmag.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/articleSearch.article/articleID/14958

Un-Cramp Your Style Put an end to menstrual pain without meds.

2009-07-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.naturalsolutionsmag.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/articleSearch.article/articleID/14946

Homeopathy To Go

2009-07-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

An easy to pack kit for on-the-road emergencies.

http://www.naturalsolutionsmag.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/articleSearch.article/articleID/15314/keyword/homeopathy/HomeopathyToGo

Bad Bargain: the dangers of generic drugs

2009-06-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.self.com/health/2009/06/dangers-of-generic-drugs

The Lost Cause of Sugar Replacements

2009-05-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/16759/

Breast Thermography Now Available on Chicago’s North Shore

2009-05-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

Early Detection Saves Lives Empower Woman May/June 2009
Breast Thermography Now Available on Chicago’s North Shore
By Dr. Michael J. Fox, Managing Partner Upright Imaging Center
Home of Upright MRI of Deerfield

My partners and I are thrilled to announce that new patient services are now being offered at the Upright Imaging Center. In addition to being home to Upright MRI of Deerfield (which features the most advanced, open MRI system in the world), we now offer diagnostic ultrasound and breast cancer screenings using state-of-the-art Thermography (Thermal Imaging). While we are very excited with all of our expanded services, Breast Thermography is generating a great deal of attention because it is truly saving people’s lives.

What is Thermal Imaging?
Using no radiation whatsoever, Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (known as DITI or Thermography) detects changes that occur in skin surface temperatures, creating images that illustrate heat patterns in the body. These thermal (heat) images are then analyzed for abnormalities that may be signs of disease including cancer, arthritis, digestive orders, and heart disease, among many others.

Although Thermal Imaging can be done on all parts of the body to detect and monitor a number of diseases and physical injuries, our practice is focusing a great deal of attention on the benefits of Breast Thermography.

The Advantages of Breast Thermography
Breast cancer is a major health concern for women of all ages. Thankfully, nearly all breast cancers can be treated successfully if they are found early enough. Breast Thermography offers women the earliest possible detection of cancer by spotting irregular heat patterns and/or vascular changes in the breasts…conditions that often occur before a noticeable lump has even been formed. Unfortunately, by the time a mass is spotted through x-ray Mammography, the tumor is already years into its growth cycle. Through Breast Thermography, which observes blood flow patterns, breast cancer can be found before it reaches this stage of development.

Why It Works
For cancer cells to grow faster than the surrounding tissue, they need additional blood flow. To get the additional blood flow, these cancer cells tell the body to build new blood vessels. They also tell the body to supply the greatest possible volume of blood from the existing blood vessels. Breast Thermography detects the increased blood flow that is needed by cancer cells in their early development by measuring the additional heat that is radiating from the skin. Sadly, one in eight women will get breast cancer at some point in their lives.

Breast Thermography is EASY
This FDA-approved, non-invasive test is a valuable procedure for alerting your doctor to changes that can indicate early stage breast disease. There is no pain, no compression and no radiation! Patients are positioned in front of the Thermal Imaging Camera while a technician takes some digital pictures. Within 5-15 minutes, the test is complete. The pictures are then read by a certified doctor to analyze the amount of heat and the symmetry of the heat patterns (which may indicate infection, inflammation or a variance from the body’s norm). A report of findings is typically provided within 24- 48 hours.

Two Scans Recommended
It is strongly advised that patients have two breast scans done within a 3-4 month period. Active cancers double in size and heat approximately 100 days apart. If there are any increased heat patterns and/or vascular changes from the first breast scan to the second, additional tests will be requested by the doctor who interpreted the results. If there are no changes from the first to the second scan, an annual Breast Thermogram is recommended. All women can benefit from Breast Thermography. It’s a simple, non-invasive test that saves lives. And, now it’s available on Chicago’sNorth Shore!

Breast Thermography is saving lives. Without any radiation, compressions, or pain, this FDA approved screening method provides the earliest opportunity for detecting abnormalities in the breasts. Please call today to learn more 847-291-9321

Fowl Play

2009-04-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Fowl Play

Your favorite lean meat serves up more than protein: There's a good chance the chicken on your plate contains pathogens and poison. What is Uncle Sam doing about it? Diddly squawk. SELF investigates.

By Tula Karras

From SELF magazine, January 2009 Issue

Jenelle Dorner, 32, of Bloomington, Indiana, doesn't eat chicken. In fact, she hardly eats anything. "Each night while I sleep, I'm fed nutrients and fluids by IV," says the married mother of one. Eight years ago, Dorner developed gastroparesis, a condition that delays or prevents food from reaching the intestines, where nutrients are absorbed. The possible cause? A hearty helping of bacteria-ridden chicken she ate at a restaurant 14 years ago.

Her story is an extreme one, but poultry can make you sick as easily today as it did to Dorner when she bit into her destructive dinner. In fact, there is a 50 percent chance that the bird you bring home from the grocery store will contain Campylobacter (known as campy for short), the bacteria that was lurking in Dorner's undercooked entrée. The pathogen, found in a chicken's intestinal tract, causes no harm to the animals, but it can make humans very ill, sometimes fatally, if high cooking temperatures don't kill it. Seeing as how the average American puts away more than 42 pounds of poultry per year (equal to 222 chicken breasts), your chances of getting sick are considerable. An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur each year in the United States, and during the past decade, poultry has caused more cases than any other individual food group, including vegetables, fruit, seafood and beef, according to data from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a food and health watchdog group in Washington, D.C. "Infections of campy are so common that many of us have probably already had it at least once," says Robert Tauxe, M.D., deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases in Atlanta.
Dorner's ordeal began in 1995, when she was a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her father took her to a restaurant to celebrate her 19th birthday, and she ordered chicken. "I remember thinking it was slightly pink, but other than that, it seemed fine," she says. Three days later, Dorner began vomiting and experiencing stomach pains and diarrhea. Doctors at the student health center suspected a virus and sent her home with instructions to stay hydrated. But her condition worsened. "I was running a fever, couldn't keep anything down and had bloody diarrhea," Dorner recalls. She returned to the health center, where they took a stool sample and admitted her to the hospital. Dorner's lab work revealed that she had contracted campy. After taking the antibiotic Cipro, she felt better, but her digestive system was never the same. In 2001, Dorner began having severe abdominal pain and couldn't eat a meal without vomiting, the first signs of her gastroparesis. During the next five years, her condition progressed to full-blown digestive failure. "My doctors won't ever be certain, but they believe that my campylobacter infection 14 years ago could have weakened my digestive system and set the stage for the gastroparesis," Dorner says. "I was completely healthy until I had that meal."

Campy isn't the only bug infecting chickens and the women who eat them. Between 2000 and 2005, rates of salmonella, another dangerous chicken-borne pathogen, spiked 80 percent in broiler birds. Although rates have declined slightly since then, the percentage of food poisonings from salmonella has remained steady over the past decade. And in addition to gut-ravaging bacteria, there could be another harmful hitchhiker on your roaster: Conventionally raised birds may also contain arsenic, a known carcinogen. "About 70 percent of broiler chickens in the United States are fed arsenic at some point," says David Wallinga, M.D., director of the Food and Health Program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a nonprofit think tank focusing on farming and food policy, in Minneapolis. Farmers add arsenic to chicken feed in order to fatten their flocks—birds go from hatchling to slaughter in only six weeks—and to give the birds their pinkish hue. And the practice is actually legal.

The average person ingests an estimated 8.1 micrograms of arsenic a day from chicken, according to a study from the USDA. And when you add that to the small amounts of arsenic you can be exposed to from other sources, such as drinking water, dust and arsenic-treated wood, a steady diet of chicken could quickly become risky. "Chronic exposure [10 to 40 micrograms a day, research suggests] is associated with an increased risk for skin, bladder and respiratory cancer," says Caroline Smith DeWaal, food-safety director at the CSPI. Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council in Washington, D.C., told SELF that the arsenic found in some chickens could also come from environmental sources—insisting that there is no evidence that arsenic fed to chickens harms humans.

Along with arsenic, farmers are also allowed to lace their birds' feed with antibiotics to control bacteria in crowded quarters. It sounds great in theory, but if you catch a strain of bacteria that was exposed to antibiotics in the chicken's gut, and that strain "learned" to outsmart the antibiotics, then it will be harder for you to recover. "Antibiotic-resistant strains can last longer in your body and are more likely to lead to hospitalization," Dr. Tauxe says. What's more, these superbugs are on the rise, so even though the hens might be healthy, they may be making you sicker. (Lobb reinforced that "food safety is a top concern of the poultry industry" and that it has worked to adopt judicious use of antibiotics in its farming practices.)

Who's guarding the henhouse?

It may as well be the fox himself, considering how little regulatory agencies are doing. The failures start on the farm. Farm is a quaint term that does nothing to conjure up the thousands of chickens crammed together in cramped quarters, making it easier for them to swap bacteria through direct contact and their water supply (see "Follow the Chicken," above). When the birds arrive at the slaughterhouse, they are usually rinsed with hot water and chlorine—a step that can help reduce bacteria levels but isn't required by the USDA. (The chlorine used for rinsing presents no safety issue for humans.) Unfortunately, dirty birds still go under the knife. It is here, when birds are gutted and defeathered, that bacteria travels from the intestines to the surface of muscle meat and the porous poultry skin. A USDA officer is on site in every plant, responsible for giving visual once-overs to about 35 birds a minute. "Inspectors look for things like whether entrails or feces have contaminated the outside of the bird and whether there are bruises or other signs of disease," says Kenneth Petersen, D.V.M., assistant administrator in the Office of Field Operations at the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. But a hen may look fine and still be loaded with microscopic salmonella or campylobacter.

The gold standard for detecting bacteria in chicken is microbial testing. The USDA requires that plants submit to a test for salmonella about once a year. (There is currently no regulatory test for campy.) And in recent months, the USDA has begun reallocating resources to test poorly performing plants more often and plants with better records less often. These cleaner plants undergo testing at least once every two years. During the testing period, the USDA pulls one sample from the plant per day for 51 days. "If more than 12 of those 51 samples test positive for salmonella, it's deemed a performance-standard failure," Dr. Petersen says. Put it another way: A plant can pass even if just under 20 percent of its poultry is riddled with potentially harmful pathogens. And that plant's birds can end up in your grocery store.

In the event that a plant fails to meet even this low standard, the USDA doesn't immediately suspend it. Instead, the agency performs a follow-up test "as soon as possible" and sends an officer to scrutinize the plant's procedures. Once the officer determines the problem, he asks the plant to address it. If the plant refuses to comply, the USDA sends it a letter giving it three days to clean up its act. If that doesn't work, the plant is suspended while it makes corrections. "Of the 135 letters we sent out in 2007, about 30 plants were suspended," Dr. Petersen says. Public health experts are critical. "There are roughly 6,000 processing plants in the United States, and they've suspended only 30? Not impressive," says Carol Tucker-Foreman, distinguished fellow of the Food Policy Institute for the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C., and former assistant secretary of agriculture under the Carter administration. "The USDA works feverishly to prevent a plant from shutting down; they go in and hold hands and grant extensions," Tucker-Foreman says. A USDA spokesperson counters that safeguarding poultry, eggs and meat is the agency's top priority, which it accomplishes "through a dedicated workforce, evolving technology and science and good business practices."

To reduce your odds of purchasing meat from plants that have failed USDA inspection, you have to jump through numerous hoops. The USDA has begun posting the names and identifying digits, or P numbers, of offending plants on its website—a step that has reduced contamination rates, Tucker-Foreman says. To avoid buying a bird from a poorly performing plant, you can check the site monthly to print out the list, then compare it with the packages in your store or toss any chicken you already bought with matching numbers. But not all packages carry P numbers, and because plants can pump out bacteria-ridden chicken and still pass inspection, there is still no guarantee that your bird is bacteria-free.

The USDA claims it has broad authority to enforce regulations and take action against rogue plants if necessary; but, in truth, it is limited in its ability to permanently shut down repeat offenders. In 1999, the USDA tried to close a Supreme Beef meat plant in Texas because its meat failed the USDA's salmonella tests three times in 11 months. Supreme Beef sued the USDA, claiming that the meat could have arrived at the plant already tainted by salmonella, and the law applied only to sanitary conditions within the plant. A 2001 court decision agreed with Supreme Beef, in effect curtailing the USDA's power to make good on its threats. Critics blame the Bush administration for not appealing the decision to the Supreme Court and a Republican-dominated Congress for caving to the meat lobby and refusing to support proposals to bolster the USDA's authority. "The message the Bush administration sent to meat plants was, 'You don't have to worry you'll be shut down because your salmonella levels are too high,'" Tucker-Foreman says. Bottom line: Plants can churn out a virtual petri dish of product. And consumers, who are flocking to chicken in greater numbers each year (it is, after all, one of the leanest sources of meat protein), are paying the price.

Debugging the birds

What should be happening to chicken before it lands in your #4 deli special? Ridding roasters of illness-causing bacteria must begin on the farm. "The industry knows how to produce safer poultry; they're just not doing it as carefully as they should," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at New York University in New York City and author of What to Eat (North Point Press). Less crowding in chicken coops and supplying chlorinated drinking water for the birds are a start. But to help completely eradicate pathogens, the industry should work to rid chicken feed of bacteria by keeping bug-carrying rodents out of chicken houses, and it should test birds for bacteria before slaughter, Dr. Tauxe suggests.

The unlikely McRole model for safer chicken-processing standards: fast food chains. "Com¬panies like McDonald's and Burger King don't count on USDA regulations to keep their product safe," Tucker-Foreman says. Because of the bad rap the fast food industry acquired during the Jack in the Box fatal E. coli outbreak in 1993, major fast food companies now go to extraordinary lengths to safeguard their products.

"We do microbiological testing hourly, every day," says Edward Sabatini, vice president of quality assurance, food safety and regulatory compliance at Burger King Corporation in Miami. The company holds all meat (it's frozen) until results come back, so tainted patties can be weeded out. It also monitors its flocks' feed and water and keeps wild birds, which can easily transfer salmonella to chickens, out of its breeder flocks. Plus, unlike other eateries, fast food chains standardize their cooking process (and cook meat well), so high cooking temperatures kill any wayward pathogen that has eluded Burger King's tightly knit regulatory system.

In addition to putting controls in place on the farm, it's also up to the government to develop stricter standards for plant performance. "When the 20 percent salmonella performance standard was set in 1996, the idea was we would gradually ratchet it down to around 5 percent or so," says Michael Taylor, research professor at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C., and a former USDA administrator who helped write the original rule. "But the strategy of bringing the standard down was not pursued by subsequent departments, and there has been little follow-up," he says.

Some progress has been made on the antibiotic-resistant front. The FDA removed one group of commonly used antibiotics called fluoroquinolones from use in poultry in 2005. "But tetracycline and sulfa drugs are still added to feed," IATP's Dr. Wallinga says. The issue is of such urgency that more than 350 groups, including the American Medical Association, have endorsed a bill—the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act—that would phase out the routine use of medically important antibiotics in animals. Log on to KeepAntibioticsWorking.org and click the Act Now button to send an automatic form letter in support of the bill to your congressional representatives.

If the state of chicken has ruffled your feathers and made you despair of a diet of tofu and lentils, take heart: There are things you can do to enjoy chicken without worry. Cook your chicken thoroughly (to kill off bacteria) and follow the steps outlined in "Have a Safer Dinner Tonight". You can also get on your squawk box and ask your congressperson to support the Food Safety Authority Modernization Act, which would enact measures to improve testing and inspection. Because, in the end, your tax dollars—which fund the USDA—should make the food you eat safer. "Why should we tolerate spending money on a program that defrauds the public with an archaic system and a seal that says our government has inspected this meat and it's OK?" Tucker-Foreman asks. When it comes to tonight's dinner, you'll have to take your health into your own hands. The greatest weapon against food poisoning is your own roasting pan.

Additional reporting by Lee Cabot Walker

The Benzo Trap

2009-01-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

The Benzo Trap
Anti-anxiety drugs ensnare millions of Americans in a web of addiction and pain. Before you fill that prescription, read on.

By Matt Samet from Natural Solutions July/August 2009

Teryn Taylor, of Marion, Indiana, has “benzo” voice: flat, devoid of emotion, almost robotic—the result of her unwitting dependence on anti-anxiety drugs (aka benzodiazepine tranquilizers). Taylor hardly looks the part. A former long-distance runner, straight-A student, and the mother of a 7-year-old daughter, this pretty Midwestern woman reached out for help after her mom died in 1996. Although no one ever diagnosed Taylor as clinically depressed, she received that help in the form of a prescription for Paxil.

After two years, Taylor decided she wanted off the antidepressant, so she quit cold turkey under her doctor’s orders. Bad idea. Almost immediately she experienced high levels of anxiety, a racing heartbeat, and a loss of equilibrium. She was, as she remembers, “a drooling, shaking, heart-palpitating, muscle-constricted mess.” So her doctor prescribed Klonopin, a potent, anti-anxiety benzo. Unfortunately, as her body grew accustomed to that drug, she needed more of it just to keep her anxiety at bay. Any attempt to quit, she says, sent her into a painful and protracted withdrawal—making her even more anxious.

Taylor stayed on benzos for seven years, and her withdrawals came with horrific side effects. “I spent most of my days on the couch,” she says, so weak she could barely function. Plagued by electric jolts called “brain zaps,” difficulty breathing, and a pervasive sense of terror, Taylor likened her experience “to being a prisoner of war.”

While not to undermine the severity of Taylor’s withdrawal symptoms, perhaps the true horror of her story lies in its broad-picture similarity to those of thousands of other benzo “slaves.” An estimated 5 million people in the US take regular “therapeutic doses” of these drugs, and worldwide, at least 3 percent to 15 percent of adults fill benzo prescriptions, according to leading benzo expert Heather Ashton, MD, of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, in England. Potentially, all of these people face some sort of withdrawal ordeal.

The too-easy solution
So how did these drugs become so pervasive? At first, they seem to offer a cure-all for any type of anxiety. But masking feelings isn’t always the smart thing to do. Fear and anxiety, for example, actually perform a valuable function: They keep us out of harm’s way. In the face of a real or perceived threat, fear triggers the “fight-or-flight” adrenal response—a normal physiological mechanism designed to keep us alive and safe.

Sometimes, however, imagined threats trigger the fear response over and over again, leading to anxiety disorders. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV lists 12 types of anxiety under such categories as phobias, generalized anxiety, panic disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

All of these conditions can cause extreme psychic and physical discomfort. Those in the midst of a panic attack, perhaps the most acute manifestation of anxiety, experience a slamming heart, intense sweats, and hyperventilation—even the fear of imminent death as the sympathetic (arousing) nervous system overwhelms the parasympathetic (calming) response and floods the body with adrenaline and related noradrenaline hormones.

For this type of acute psychological distress, short-term use of benzos—no more than two weeks—can sometimes help, says Ashton. The problem? Many psychiatrists and general practitioners prescribe benzos (most commonly Ativan, Klonopin, and Xanax) as a first-line treatment for everything from muscle pain and insomnia to grief and anxiety—in other words, for the vicissitudes of life.

An in-depth report by Health Canada (the country’s department of health) titled “The Effects of Tranquilization: benzodiazepine Use in Canada” summarized the situation best: “A major factor responsible for the acceptance of these drugs has been the pervasive mythology that there are instant solutions to problems of living and that the most effective and rapid solutions are chemical in nature. Society has come to expect quick responses to any problem, whether it be the common cold, anxiety, or grief.” By accepting this philosophy, continues the report, “many people have come to view benzodiazepines as essentially a social and recreational drug, not unlike alcohol.”

And yet, an established and growing body of research links long-term use of these drugs with such serious neurological and psychological risks as brain atrophy, emotional anesthesia (a numbing of the emotions), memory impairment, and suicidal tendencies.

Let me give you something
Alas, the overprescribing of psychiatric drugs is nothing new. In 1960, Librium, the first benzo, hit the market with the slogan: “Whatever the diagnosis—Librium.” This pushed the idea that common, physiological complaints—asthmas, ulcers, hypertension—were mere manifestations of anxiety. Soon the proto-benzo Valium, later satirized by the Rolling Stones as “mother’s little helper,” burst on the scene as a safe, nonaddictive solution to stress and an antidote to a woman’s inability to cope.

By the 1970s, Valium became the most heavily prescribed drug in America, according to psychiatrist Peter Breggin in his seminal book Toxic Psychiatry (St. Martin’s Griffin, 1994). In fact, in the drug’s 1978 heyday, Americans popped more than 2 billion tabs of Valium. Xanax, stronger yet, replaced Valium in 1986, even though the problems with long-term benzo use (including addiction) had, by that point, been well-documented.

Commonly prescribed benzos today include the aforementioned Ativan, Klonopin, and Xanax, as well as the sleeping pill Restoril. The “non-narcotic” sleeping medicines Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata, while not technically benzos, act similarly on the brain and can cause the same problems.

benzos have been overprescribed “partly because they were safer than barbiturates [earlier-generation tranquilizers],” says Ashton, “and partly because of very strong drug company pressure, ignorance, and the gullibility of doctors trying to be kind to their patients.”

Doctors, says Ashton, tend to ignore the literature, which warned about the problem at least since the Valium overprescription debacle of the 1970s and 1980s, and they routinely ignore prescribing guidelines (including those of the FDA) that cap daily usage at two weeks.

How they work
benzos don’t get you high or give you a rush. They relax and calm you. They do this by enhancing the action of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a “built-in calmer or an internal benzo if you like,” says Ashton. Your brain cells have receptor sites for GABA, and benzos increase those receptors’ affinity for the calming neurotransmitter.

But when all your GABA is “enhanced” by benzos, “the brain thinks, I don’t need all this GABA around, so the receptors for it go away—they internalize, or invert, into the inside of the nerve,” says Ashton. As you lose GABA receptors, you begin to feel anxious again, even though you’re still on the benzo drug. Clinicians call this “tolerance withdrawal.”

Now, says Ashton, you have to increase the benzo dosage to get the same calming effect—a vicious cycle that seems to explain the millions of Americans taking regular doses of these drugs.

Other problems also beset those who take benzos daily. The Health Canada report found that long-term use impairs learning ability, motor skills, and sex drive as well as the ability to empathize with others and to cope with stressful situations. “We regularly see individuals with such issues as confusion, generalized fatigue, sleep disorders, slurred speech, and even motor problems like uncoordination and unsteady gait,” says David Perlmutter, MD, a neurologist at the Perlmutter Health Center in Naples, Florida, and author of The Better Brain Book (Riverhead, 2004).

The withdrawal syndrome
The situation worsens when people want to stop taking anti-anxiety meds. Most doctors give their patients the impression that the drugs are nonaddictive and perfectly safe, says Ashton, misinformation that trickles down from the pharmaceutical companies. In reality, during benzo withdrawal, “you go into hyperdrive and acute anxiety,” she says, because your body has become dependent on the tranquilizers. You might also face profound insomnia, panic attacks, muscle tremors, muscle stiffness, sweating, palpitations, gastrointestinal distress, hallucinations, and nightmares.

The hospitals, detox centers, and doctors who follow a typical addiction-treatment protocol frequently insist that patients, like Taylor, wean themselves from benzos, even at high doses, in a matter of weeks or even days. But when stopped abruptly—and in an unlucky few, even when tapered slowly—benzos can foster a withdrawal syndrome much more severe than almost any other drug. Such rapid cessation can lead to complications like protracted (18-plus-month) withdrawal periods, and even psychosis, seizures, and death. “In this respect, getting people off benzos may be just as challenging as cocaine and other ‘street drugs,’” says Perlmutter.

And to make matters worse, he continues, these drugs enjoy legal sanction, so there’s often “less compassion offered to individuals addicted to benzos, compared to those addicted to more glamorous drugs.”

Escape the trap
The best way to avoid the dangers of anti-anxiety drugs, of course, is not to take them in the first place—or to take them only in acute, emergency situations and even then for no longer than two weeks. In times of stress, anxiety, or panic, look to exercise, diet, mind-body practices, and other techniques to bolster your body’s ability to calm itself.

If you’re already dependent on benzos, keep in mind you must wean yourself from them slowly. “The inverted GABA receptors—big protein molecular structures that take a lot of brain and body energy to resynthesize—have to come back again,” says Ashton. “This takes time and a lot of metabolic energy, but it does happen.” Depending on your starting dose and how you taper, the GABA receptors can sometimes take years to fully regrow, so that the neurotransmitter can do its job and relax you.

Anyone looking for guidance in slowly tapering off anti-anxiety drugs should turn to the Ashton manual (benzodiazepines: How They Work and How to Withdraw; benzo.org.uk/manual" target="_blank">www.benzo.org.uk/manual.) The so-called “Ashton Method” draws from Ashton’s research and years of experience running an outpatient benzo withdrawal clinic, during which time she saw hundreds of people safely wean themselves from the meds.

First off, Ashton encourages patients to switch to Valium, which has the longest half-life of any benzo. (The half-life is the time it takes for half a given dose to leave your body, which is 200 hours for Valium.) Because Valium clears a little bit at a time, the drug is almost self-tapering, with a gradual comedown that creates less anxiety than faster-acting benzos like Xanax and Klonopin. The more slowly you taper, the greater chance your GABA receptors have to regenerate with each dose reduction.

You can further ease the withdrawal by adding anxiety-reducing techniques such as yoga, breathing exercises, and streamlined nutrition (see “Survival Tips” below).

Alison Kellagher, who has a master’s degree in counseling, works with those who want to quit or who are currently in withdrawal mode. A benzo survivor herself, Kellagher under- went five abrupt withdrawals, the final one off 7 mg a day of Klonopin in 2002. Kellagher took three years to heal before returning to the Nordic skiing and competitive cycling she’d been forced to set aside while benzo sick.

Because she knows just how bad withdrawal can be, Kellagher coaches her patients in acceptance, using simple breathing and relaxation techniques and calming (nonstrenuous) yoga poses to combat the fear state of withdrawal. “The central thing is to help people recognize the syndrome,” she says. “They need to understand that this is an existing and understood withdrawal syndrome, and recognize where they are in the process.”

Kellagher also counsels patience; simple living (eating well, avoiding stress, and sleeping when you can); and caution when adding outside agents (vitamins or supplements) to try to mend the nervous system. Concentrated amounts of individual nutrients may further upset the delicate neurochemical balance in benzo patients, she says, so it’s better to get your nutrients from foods.

Calm waters ahead
Despite these formidable challenges, people do escape the benzo trap. For those who taper slowly, Ashton pegs relapse rates at only 10 percent. After the withdrawal period, people rarely get cravings. The body heals itself, and life goes on. Many even say their lives are much better than before.

Now tapering her final psychiatric medicine at a slow, cautious rate, Teryn Taylor moves closer to her goal of wellness with each cut in dosage. She says she’ll consider herself completely healed when her symptoms subside 100 percent, and that she’ll be the “happiest person on the planet to have made it through this.” Taylor won’t return to her old job as a speech therapist—instead she wants to focus on helping other people addicted to benzos.

“It’s still hard for me to believe that this is my story,” she says. “It’s just so barbaric.”

Matt Samet, a Boulder, Colorado-based freelance writer, just celebrated two-and-a-half years’ freedom from benzodiazepines after 13 years on them.

>> For more ways to treat anxiety disorders naturally… Visit our Condition Centers at www.naturalsolutionsmag.com.

Survival Tips
When tapering off benzos, the following tips will help see you through the withdrawal:

Pace yourself.
Do not push too hard—physically, socially, or emotionally—even when you feel good. Overextending can lead to heightened withdrawal and demoralizing setbacks, says benzo survivor Alison Kellagher. Your system, she says, wants you to “sit down and heal.”

Avoid caffeine and sugar. Patients in benzo withdrawal, says neurologist David Perlmutter, MD, can become hypersensitive to the stimulating effects of sugars. Instead, he recommends whole, organic foods and an intake of “adequate dietary protein” several times daily, as well as complex carbohydrates (like whole grains), to smooth out blood-sugar levels.

Learn acceptance, patience, and wisdom. Many have chased dead ends with doctor’s visits and needless therapy, only to recover fully from their anxiety issues once the withdrawal ended. In withdrawal, “we have to learn to use our minds to calm ourselves—not just our bodies,” says Kellagher. “Looking to the wisdom traditions—yoga, meditation, prayer—is probably the best place to go.”

Walk. According to Perlmutter, exercise—even mild exercise—releases the brain-calming chemical serotonin. So while jumping on a treadmill or stationary bike may seem overwhelming, a short walk is doable even on the worst days. You should walk with “conscious awareness that it’s not just to get from one place to another, but is a meaningful activity serving an integral role in your recovery,” advises Perlmutter.

Distract yourself. Any pleasant diversion, such as a crossword puzzle, phone conversation, or nonviolent movie, will fill time and declaw certain withdrawal symptoms. “I took a job in a bakery five months after stopping benzos,” says Kellagher. “The structured time was really, really helpful.”

Breathe. Diaphragmatic breathing—drawing breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, with a two-second pause after exhalation—calms the nervous system. For breathing exercises that ease anxiety, go to www.naturalsolutionsmag.com and search for pranayama.

Yoga. Very light yoga, in a therapeutic yoga class, with a partner, or using a DVD, will help you feel at peace. Kellagher does yoga with her clients, running through a routine based on grounding movements and those that bring a sense of safety and security. “It helps people to do the yoga with someone else, too, to feel connected,” she says.

The Needle Solution
According to Boulder, Colorado-based oriental medicine practitioner David Scrimgeour, LAc, acupuncture works as an integral part of a withdrawal plan by:

• Stimulating the release of feel-good neurotransmitters such as endorphins, inducing an overall calming and balancing effect on the body’s central nervous system.

• Decreasing anxiety during the withdrawal phase by prompting the release of chemicals in the body that occupy the receptor sites once targeted by the benzo. It also lowers ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) levels—like excess adrenalin or elevated cortisol—further balancing the nervous system.

• Activating ear points, which (as scientists discovered in the 1970s) have a very strong sedating and regulating effect on both the sympathetic and autonomic nervous systems.

The Scary Truth About Statins

2009-01-17T09:53:00.000-08:00

The Scary Truth About Statins
What you need to know before you fill that prescription

BY ERIN QUINN from Natural Solutions Magazine January 2009

The notion that high cholesterol causes heart disease has allowed doctors to write millions of prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins that can reduce the risk of it. That seemingly indisputable notion has long suffered from an inconvenient fact: Half the people who have a heart attack don’t have high cholesterol. So, increasingly, doctors have flagged inflammation within the cardiovascular system as the culprit in these cases—an idea that has gained added currency from a study published late last year— and have discovered a drug that can help lower the risk of heart attacks for these folks: Lo and behold, it’s a statin.

The new research, called the JUPITER study, focused on C-reactive protein (CRP) because it is a marker of inflammation in the body. CRP levels in the blood go up whenever the body revs up the immune system. The study found that giving the statin rosuvastatin to men and women with normal levels of LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind) but high levels of CRP (i.e., inflammation) reduced the incidence of heart attacks, stroke, and cardiovascular-related deaths by 44 percent. While this result does indeed seem “remarkable,” as the researchers say, it and the study itself raise some interesting questions.

First off, what does this new link between high CRPI inflammation and heart disease say about the millions of people currently taking statins, cholesterol drugs that include billion-dollar brands such as Crestor, Lipitor, and Zocor? Will they avoid heart disease even if their CRP levels are normal? Should everyone take statins to ward off heart disease, just in case? “I think this is the biggest myth in medicine right now,” says cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, MD, of the New England Heart & Longevity Center in Manchester, Connecticut “Would I prescribe statins to a 60-year-old man who has high CRP levels and hardened arteries? Absolutely,” says Sinatra, “but I’m not convinced statins are worth it as a preventative measure.

3 Ways to Get Your Number Down
Break A Sweat: Endurance exercise, such as jogging or biking, is one of the best ways to lower inflammation. Heart-pumping activities also increase beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. Aim for 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise five times a week.
Lose Your Belly: Women with waists that measure more than 35 inches (more than 40 for men) likely have high inflammation in the body, which creates higher cholesterol levels. Reduce your inflammation risk by whittling a few inches off through diet and exercise.
Quite Smoking: Smoking hardens and inflames the arteries. If you’ve never smoked, don’t, and if you do—stop now. You’ll reduce inflammatory chemicals immediately. Especially for women—the risks and side effects are just too great.

Side Effects May Vary
If you believe the small-print warnings on ads for statins, the major side effect, muscle weakness and pain, occurs only rarely. The actual incidence is much higher, however, and muscle pain is a major reason why people stop taking the drugs. “Patients describe it as a general aching in their joints and muscles,” says Mark A. Moyad, MD, MPH, the Jenkins/Pokempner director of preventive and alternative medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. “The pain can start as soon as someone begins taking a statin—or not for several years. There’s no timeline.”

James Wright, MD, PhD, at the University of British Columbia, worries about more serious problems, including peripheral neuropathy, interstitial pneumonitis, and various cognitive and psychiatric effects. “I think we don’t really have a good handle on what’s happening there,” he says about these Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, “and some of the patients appear to have permanent effects.” For women, an elevated risk of breast cancer should be a major concern. “Along with blocking cholesterol, statins also block squalene, an antioxidant and immune system booster that is vital to preventing breast cancer:’ says Sinatra, who notes that all side effects are more common in women, particularly postmenopausal women.

How Low Is Too Low?
Beyond its potential to undermine the original rationale for taking statins—that too much LDL cholesterol in the blood leads to cardiovascular disease—the JUPITER study also raises questions about the impact of lowering cholesterol
levels too much. After all, every cell in the body needs LDL cholesterol to grow and repair itself, and the body uses it to produce hormones—including those governing sexual function.

In the study, the stat coup’s median LDL level dropped from 108 to 55 after a year. Researchers have already linked low LDL cholesterol to Parkinson’s disease and possibly to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (known as AL.S or Lou Gehrig’s Disease), but they don’t really know the ramifications of keeping LDL levels as low as those achieved in the JUPITER study—especially for the years and even decades someone might stay on statins.

They do know that statins inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol in the brain, specifically by blocking what’s called the mevalonate pathway in the glial cells. This severely curtails the growth of new synapses and thus impedes communication between neurons—which may account for the amnesia, confusion, forgetfulness- disorientation, and dementia reported by some statin takers. Furthermore, in blocking this pathway, statins also inhibit the synthesis of other vital biochemicals, notably heart-friendly Co-QlO.

Who Should You Believe?
Mainstream medical doctors hailed the JUPITER study as a major scientific advance and Business Week predicted a new boom in the sale of statins. But critics soon identified some serious problems. Perhaps the study’s full name made them skeptical: JUPITER stands for Justification for Use in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin. Or maybe it was the fact that the study was sponsored by AstraZenica, the company that makes Crestor (rosuvastatin). Among a number of specific issues, the critics pointed out that the much-touted 44 percent reduction in overall mortality actually represents a very small set of numbers: The placebo group did not experience significantly more deaths overall than the statin group. And, in fact, the difference between the two groups was narrowing when the study was suddenly stopped. Furthermore, the combination of low LDL cholesterol and high CRP that characterized the study subjects is very unusual—typically both are high— which means the study results aren’t readily applicable to most Americans.

Get Healthy On Your Own
Many forward-thinking cardiologists recommend getting a CRP test (cost: $50 to $80) as part of a complete heart checkup. It and other tests will provide a more accurate assessment of your heart health than cholesterol levels alone. But don’t get complacent about your high cholesterol—most cardiologists still recommend getting your LDL level under 110 and your HDL above 50 (40 for men). Just make sure you do that with natural means before opting for a statin. A number of supplements produce the same effects as statins, but the first step should be making changes to your diet and exercise program. Give yourself three to six months to lose weight, eat better, and stress less—all things that can eliminate your need for statins completely. “This is an ongoing problem in medicine,” says Moyad, “a quick trigger to solve a problem that you could have solved with lifestyle changes. But people have to remember that statins aren’t a quick fix. They’re powerful drugs that come with unpleasant side effects and other huge risks.”

Already Taking Statins?
If you’re one of millions of people on a statin drug, here are a few supplements to ease side effects and boost the drug’s benefits.
Coenzyme Q10. Commonly referred to as Co-Q10, this vitamin-like biochemical acts as an antioxidant to protect your body from damage. It provides specific benefits to the heart and muscles (and lessens the muscle pain that comes with taking statins). Since these drugs reduce the body’s ability to synthesize Co-Qt0 naturally, Stephen Sinatra, MD, recommends taking 100 to 180 mg a day.
Squalene. This antioxidant and immune system booster is found in olive oil. “Researchers suspect that Spanish and Greek women who eat a Mediterranean diet get less cancer than American women because of the squalene effect,” says Sinatra. Add one to two tablespoons of olive oil to your diet each day.
Lycopene. A powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, and papaya, lycopene lowers inflammation levels throughout the body. Take 100 to 250 mg daily.
Turmeric. A frequent component of Indian cuisine, this potent anti-inflammatory herb also comes in supplement form. “I use it on a day-to-day basis,” says Sinatra. “I’ve been using it not only as an anti-inflammatory but also in the treatment of left ventricular hypertrophy and congestive heart failure.” Another option is the supplement Zyflamend, which is a mix of 10 different herbs, including turmeric.

Cholesterol Without Drugs
Red Yeast Rice Extract. This fermented food has been shown to lower cholesterol as much as a statin. Work closely with your doctor to find the right dosage.
Niacin. This form of vitamin B3 boosts HDL (“good”) cholesterol by 15 to 35 per cent, it also lowers both LDL (“bad’) cholesterol and triglycerides (another heart disease—related fat in the blood).
Fish Oil. With its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil has been shown to reduce the uptake of triglycerides in the body. In fact, the American heart Association recommends that people with high triglycerides take 2 to 4 grams of fish oil supplements daily.
Glucomanann. These vegetable fibers (from the Asian plant konjac) lower cholesterol by absorbing the bile acids in your intestines. After digestion your body pulls cholesterol from your bloodstream to replenish its store of bile acids. Take 5 to 10 grams daily.
Syrintol. Research published in the journal Alternative Therapies found that taking this supplement daily reduced total cholesterol levels by 20 to 30 percent.
Fucothin. This metabolism booster has been found to help people lose weight, especially in the belly area. “It doesn’t lower cholesterol,” says Moyad. “But in the majority of cases, losing belly fat is naturally going to lower inflammation and blood pressure.”

ERIN QUINN is a freelance writer in
Austin, Texas.

Fowl Play

2009-01-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

FOWL PLAY By Tula Karras
From Self Magazine January 2009 Issue

Your favorite lean meat serves up more than protein: There's a good chance the chicken on your plate contains pathogens and poison. What is Uncle Sam doing about it? Diddly squawk. SELF investigates.

Jenelle Dorner, 32, of Bloomington, Indiana, doesn't eat chicken. In fact, she hardly eats anything. "Each night while I sleep, I'm fed nutrients and fluids by IV," says the married mother of one. Eight years ago, Dorner developed gastroparesis, a condition that delays or prevents food from reaching the intestines, where nutrients are absorbed. The possible cause? A hearty helping of bacteria-ridden chicken she ate at a restaurant 14 years ago.

Her story is an extreme one, but poultry can make you sick as easily today as it did to Dorner when she bit into her destructive dinner. In fact, there is a 50 percent chance that the bird you bring home from the grocery store will contain Campylobacter (known as campy for short), the bacteria that was lurking in Dorner's undercooked entrée. The pathogen, found in a chicken's intestinal tract, causes no harm to the animals, but it can make humans very ill, sometimes fatally, if high cooking temperatures don't kill it. Seeing as how the average American puts away more than 42 pounds of poultry per year (equal to 222 chicken breasts), your chances of getting sick are considerable. An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur each year in the United States, and during the past decade, poultry has caused more cases than any other individual food group, including vegetables, fruit, seafood and beef, according to data from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a food and health watchdog group in Washington, D.C. "Infections of campy are so common that many of us have probably already had it at least once," says Robert Tauxe, M.D., deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases in Atlanta.

Dorner's ordeal began in 1995, when she was a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her father took her to a restaurant to celebrate her 19th birthday, and she ordered chicken. "I remember thinking it was slightly pink, but other than that, it seemed fine," she says. Three days later, Dorner began vomiting and experiencing stomach pains and diarrhea. Doctors at the student health center suspected a virus and sent her home with instructions to stay hydrated. But her condition worsened. "I was running a fever, couldn't keep anything down and had bloody diarrhea," Dorner recalls. She returned to the health center, where they took a stool sample and admitted her to the hospital. Dorner's lab work revealed that she had contracted campy. After taking the antibiotic Cipro, she felt better, but her digestive system was never the same. In 2001, Dorner began having severe abdominal pain and couldn't eat a meal without vomiting, the first signs of her gastroparesis. During the next five years, her condition progressed to full-blown digestive failure. "My doctors won't ever be certain, but they believe that my campylobacter infection 14 years ago could have weakened my digestive system and set the stage for the gastroparesis," Dorner says. "I was completely healthy until I had that meal."

Campy isn't the only bug infecting chickens and the women who eat them. Between 2000 and 2005, rates of salmonella, another dangerous chicken-borne pathogen, spiked 80 percent in broiler birds. Although rates have declined slightly since then, the percentage of food poisonings from salmonella has remained steady over the past decade. And in addition to gut-ravaging bacteria, there could be another harmful hitchhiker on your roaster: Conventionally raised birds may also contain arsenic, a known carcinogen. "About 70 percent of broiler chickens in the United States are fed arsenic at some point," says David Wallinga, M.D., director of the Food and Health Program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a nonprofit think tank focusing on farming and food policy, in Minneapolis. Farmers add arsenic to chicken feed in order to fatten their flocks—birds go from hatchling to slaughter in only six weeks—and to give the birds their pinkish hue. And the practice is actually legal.

The average person ingests an estimated 8.1 micrograms of arsenic a day from chicken, according to a study from the USDA. And when you add that to the small amounts of arsenic you can be exposed to from other sources, such as drinking water, dust and arsenic-treated wood, a steady diet of chicken could quickly become risky. "Chronic exposure [10 to 40 micrograms a day, research suggests] is associated with an increased risk for skin, bladder and respiratory cancer," says Caroline Smith DeWaal, food-safety director at the CSPI. Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council in Washington, D.C., told SELF that the arsenic found in some chickens could also come from environmental sources—insisting that there is no evidence that arsenic fed to chickens harms humans.

Along with arsenic, farmers are also allowed to lace their birds' feed with antibiotics to control bacteria in crowded quarters. It sounds great in theory, but if you catch a strain of bacteria that was exposed to antibiotics in the chicken's gut, and that strain "learned" to outsmart the antibiotics, then it will be harder for you to recover. "Antibiotic-resistant strains can last longer in your body and are more likely to lead to hospitalization," Dr. Tauxe says. What's more, these superbugs are on the rise, so even though the hens might be healthy, they may be making you sicker. (Lobb reinforced that "food safety is a top concern of the poultry industry" and that it has worked to adopt judicious use of antibiotics in its farming practices.)

Who's guarding the henhouse?

It may as well be the fox himself, considering how little regulatory agencies are doing. The failures start on the farm. Farm is a quaint term that does nothing to conjure up the thousands of chickens crammed together in cramped quarters, making it easier for them to swap bacteria through direct contact and their water supply (see "Follow the Chicken," above). When the birds arrive at the slaughterhouse, they are usually rinsed with hot water and chlorine—a step that can help reduce bacteria levels but isn't required by the USDA. (The chlorine used for rinsing presents no safety issue for humans.) Unfortunately, dirty birds still go under the knife. It is here, when birds are gutted and defeathered, that bacteria travels from the intestines to the surface of muscle meat and the porous poultry skin. A USDA officer is on site in every plant, responsible for giving visual once-overs to about 35 birds a minute. "Inspectors look for things like whether entrails or feces have contaminated the outside of the bird and whether there are bruises or other signs of disease," says Kenneth Petersen, D.V.M., assistant administrator in the Office of Field Operations at the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. But a hen may look fine and still be loaded with microscopic salmonella or campylobacter.

The gold standard for detecting bacteria in chicken is microbial testing. The USDA requires that plants submit to a test for salmonella about once a year. (There is currently no regulatory test for campy.) And in recent months, the USDA has begun reallocating resources to test poorly performing plants more often and plants with better records less often. These cleaner plants undergo testing at least once every two years. During the testing period, the USDA pulls one sample from the plant per day for 51 days. "If more than 12 of those 51 samples test positive for salmonella, it's deemed a performance-standard failure," Dr. Petersen says. Put it another way: A plant can pass even if just under 20 percent of its poultry is riddled with potentially harmful pathogens. And that plant's birds can end up in your grocery store.

In the event that a plant fails to meet even this low standard, the USDA doesn't immediately suspend it. Instead, the agency performs a follow-up test "as soon as possible" and sends an officer to scrutinize the plant's procedures. Once the officer determines the problem, he asks the plant to address it. If the plant refuses to comply, the USDA sends it a letter giving it three days to clean up its act. If that doesn't work, the plant is suspended while it makes corrections. "Of the 135 letters we sent out in 2007, about 30 plants were suspended," Dr. Petersen says. Public health experts are critical. "There are roughly 6,000 processing plants in the United States, and they've suspended only 30? Not impressive," says Carol Tucker-Foreman, distinguished fellow of the Food Policy Institute for the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C., and former assistant secretary of agriculture under the Carter administration. "The USDA works feverishly to prevent a plant from shutting down; they go in and hold hands and grant extensions," Tucker-Foreman says. A USDA spokesperson counters that safeguarding poultry, eggs and meat is the agency's top priority, which it accomplishes "through a dedicated workforce, evolving technology and science and good business practices."

To reduce your odds of purchasing meat from plants that have failed USDA inspection, you have to jump through numerous hoops. The USDA has begun posting the names and identifying digits, or P numbers, of offending plants on its website—a step that has reduced contamination rates, Tucker-Foreman says. To avoid buying a bird from a poorly performing plant, you can check the site monthly to print out the list, then compare it with the packages in your store or toss any chicken you already bought with matching numbers. But not all packages carry P numbers, and because plants can pump out bacteria-ridden chicken and still pass inspection, there is still no guarantee that your bird is bacteria-free.

The USDA claims it has broad authority to enforce regulations and take action against rogue plants if necessary; but, in truth, it is limited in its ability to permanently shut down repeat offenders. In 1999, the USDA tried to close a Supreme Beef meat plant in Texas because its meat failed the USDA's salmonella tests three times in 11 months. Supreme Beef sued the USDA, claiming that the meat could have arrived at the plant already tainted by salmonella, and the law applied only to sanitary conditions within the plant. A 2001 court decision agreed with Supreme Beef, in effect curtailing the USDA's power to make good on its threats. Critics blame the Bush administration for not appealing the decision to the Supreme Court and a Republican-dominated Congress for caving to the meat lobby and refusing to support proposals to bolster the USDA's authority. "The message the Bush administration sent to meat plants was, 'You don't have to worry you'll be shut down because your salmonella levels are too high,'" Tucker-Foreman says. Bottom line: Plants can churn out a virtual petri dish of product. And consumers, who are flocking to chicken in greater numbers each year (it is, after all, one of the leanest sources of meat protein), are paying the price.

Debugging the birds

What should be happening to chicken before it lands in your #4 deli special? Ridding roasters of illness-causing bacteria must begin on the farm. "The industry knows how to produce safer poultry; they're just not doing it as carefully as they should," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at New York University in New York City and author of What to Eat (North Point Press). Less crowding in chicken coops and supplying chlorinated drinking water for the birds are a start. But to help completely eradicate pathogens, the industry should work to rid chicken feed of bacteria by keeping bug-carrying rodents out of chicken houses, and it should test birds for bacteria before slaughter, Dr. Tauxe suggests.

The unlikely McRole model for safer chicken-processing standards: fast food chains. "Companies like McDonald's and Burger King don't count on USDA regulations to keep their product safe," Tucker-Foreman says. Because of the bad rap the fast food industry acquired during the Jack in the Box fatal E. coli outbreak in 1993, major fast food companies now go to extraordinary lengths to safeguard their products.

"We do microbiological testing hourly, every day," says Edward Sabatini, vice president of quality assurance, food safety and regulatory compliance at Burger King Corporation in Miami. The company holds all meat (it's frozen) until results come back, so tainted patties can be weeded out. It also monitors its flocks' feed and water and keeps wild birds, which can easily transfer salmonella to chickens, out of its breeder flocks. Plus, unlike other eateries, fast food chains standardize their cooking process (and cook meat well), so high cooking temperatures kill any wayward pathogen that has eluded Burger King's tightly knit regulatory system.

In addition to putting controls in place on the farm, it's also up to the government to develop stricter standards for plant performance. "When the 20 percent salmonella performance standard was set in 1996, the idea was we would gradually ratchet it down to around 5 percent or so," says Michael Taylor, research professor at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C., and a former USDA administrator who helped write the original rule. "But the strategy of bringing the standard down was not pursued by subsequent departments, and there has been little follow-up," he says.

Some progress has been made on the antibiotic-resistant front. The FDA removed one group of commonly used antibiotics called fluoroquinolones from use in poultry in 2005. "But tetracycline and sulfa drugs are still added to feed," IATP's Dr. Wallinga says. The issue is of such urgency that more than 350 groups, including the American Medical Association, have endorsed a bill—the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act—that would phase out the routine use of medically important antibiotics in animals. Log on to KeepAntibioticsWorking.org and click the Act Now button to send an automatic form letter in support of the bill to your congressional representatives.

If the state of chicken has ruffled your feathers and made you despair of a diet of tofu and lentils, take heart: There are things you can do to enjoy chicken without worry. Cook your chicken thoroughly (to kill off bacteria) and follow the steps outlined in "Have a Safer Dinner Tonight". You can also get on your squawk box and ask your congressperson to support the Food Safety Authority Modernization Act, which would enact measures to improve testing and inspection. Because, in the end, your tax dollars—which fund the USDA—should make the food you eat safer. "Why should we tolerate spending money on a program that defrauds the public with an archaic system and a seal that says our government has inspected this meat and it's OK?" Tucker-Foreman asks. When it comes to tonight's dinner, you'll have to take your health into your own hands. The greatest weapon against food poisoning is your own roasting pan.

Additional reporting by Lee Cabot Walker

Pill Free, Pain Free

2008-12-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

Pill Free, Pain Free
Swap your meds for these natural and effective alternatives.

BY KRISTIN BJORNSEN from Natural Solutions Jan 2009

Athletes often joke about relying on “vitamin I,’ aka ibuprofen, to get through the aches and pains of training. But they’re not the only ones who depend on nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief. Every day, more than 30 million Americans take NSAIDs like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen for everything from headaches, muscle cramps, and sport injuries to chronic conditions like arthritis, neuropathy, and back pain.

Much of the pain we feel comes from inflammation—a defensive response that causes tissues to swell and amplifies the signal from pain nerves—so reaching for an anti-inflammatory makes perfect sense. NSAIDs do block inflammation-causing enzymes and lower pain. But unfortunately, they come with some pretty serious side effects. With regular use, NSAIDs raise the risk of ulcers, bleeding in the stomach, strokes, heart attack, and kidney damage—in part, by interfering with important, hormone- like compounds called prostaglandins. “I wouldn’t take them on a regular basis for more than a few months, if at all,” says Jonathan Wright, MD, medical director of the Tahoma Clinic in Washington. “Some individuals might even see adverse effects after just a few days.”

No need to grin and bear it though. Nature has provided an array of effective, yet gentle, remedies that decrease inflammation and soothe pain—letting you say bye-bye to vitamin I.

Boswellia Also known as frankincense, this herb eases both chronic and minor pains. The active ingredients, boswellic
acids, decrease the production of inflammatory compounds implicated in many chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Look for a formula standardized to 60 percent boswellic acids, and take 750 mg per day in three divided doses. A 90-percent formulation just came out this year, adds Wright; follow the dosage on the label of this new formula.

Arnica This centuries-old remedy comes from the bright yellow arnica flower, which grows in the alpine meadows of Europe. Compounds in arnica called sesquiterpene lactones decrease inflammation and boost the immune system.

In a 2007 Swiss study involving more than 200 people with osteoarthritis, a topical arnica gel soothed pain and restored joint function just as well as ibuprofen. Also ideal for acute injuries, such as sprains, strains, bruises, and postoperative healing, arnica cream or gel should be applied three to four times a day. For a one-two punch, take arnica homeopathically at the same time, using remedies of 6c, l2c, or 30c potency—three pellets under the tongue, three times a day.

Curcumin Often called the “spice of life,” turmeric contains the compound curcumin, which not only blocks inflammatory proteins, but also enhances the body’s ability to quell inflammation. Studies have found curcumin alleviates the chronic pain of rheumatoid arthritis, and numerous animal studies suggest it helps ward off Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and diabetes. Take 400 to 600 mg of curcumin three times daily. To increase absorption, take it with equal amounts of bromelain—an anti-inflammatory enzyme found in pineapples—20 minutes before meals.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids “These are critical for long-term pain reduction,” says Wright, “because your body breaks omega-3 fatty acids down into anti-inflammatory compounds.” Also, if you don’t get enough omega-3s in your diet, you’ll experience more pain and greater inflammation when you do get injured or ill.

Found in flaxseed, hempseed, and cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel, omega-3s also come in supplement form. For basic maintenance, shoot for 1,000 to 2,000 mg a day. For chronic pain, take 2,000 to 4,000 mg a day.

Make sure to take 400 IU of vitamin E (in “mixed tocopherols” form) each day as well, which will prevent the omega-3 fatty acids from oxidizing in your body and attacking healthy cells.

Ginger This flavorful root contains enzymes that inhibit the production of inflammatory compounds. But
“the amount of ginger in a spice, tea, or candy isn’t going to provide much pain relief, no matter how good it tastes,” says Paul Anderson, ND, at Bastyr University in Seattle. For acute pain, 2 grams of ground dehydrated ginger daily, in three divided doses, should do the trick. For chronic conditions, cut to 1 gram daily, in three divided doses.

Devil’s Claw Native to South Africa, the prickly devil’s claw is a hard fruit covered with sharp little hooks that snag onto fur and flesh, causing pain. As an herbal remedy, however, it takes pain away, with research showing it significantly alleviates back pain and arthritis.

One four-month study examined more than 120 people with knee and hip osteoarthritis and found that devil’s claw decreased pain a increased function just as well as a common osteoarthritis medication, and with fewer side effects. Other studies have shown similar results for low back pain.

The active ingredients appear to be compounds called iridoid glycosides, in particular, one called harpagoside, which have potent pain-relieving and inflammation-fighting properties, says Wright. Take 50 to 100mg of harpagoside daily or 400 mg of dried devil’s claw. People with stomach ulcers should consult their doctor first since devil’s claw stimulates the production of gastric acid.

White Willow Bark and Feverfew Nothing sends you racing for a bottle of aspirin quite like a screaming headache. Yet one natural remedy that may work equally well is white willow bark. It contains salicin, a compound very similar to aspirin. It decreases inflammation, just like aspirin does, but is gentler (Note: Do not give willow bark to children because of the risk of Reye’s syndrome). An extract with 120 to 240 mg standardized salicin every three to four hours should work wonders.

For long-term relief, feverfew helps stop headaches before they occur. A member of the sunflower family, feverfew relaxes blood vessels in your brain and prevents them from constricting, a primary cause of migraines. In one recent study on migraine sufferers, researchers found that after 16 weeks of treatment with feverfew extract, attacks had decreased from almost five per month to just under three a month. Feverfew works best to stave off migraines rather than treat ones that have already developed, but keep in mind that it takes one to two months to see benefits. Take 100
to 200mg daily, standardized to contain at least 0.2 percent of the active ingredient parthenolide.

Guess Who Funds High Fructose Corn Syrup Studies?

2008-10-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

From Dr. Mercola

Guess Who Funds High Fructose Corn Syrup Studies?

corn syrup, root beer, soda ads hyping high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) have been hitting the airwaves as part of a major marketing campaign from the Corn Refiners Association.

Critics say HFCS contributes to weight gain and tricks your body into wanting to eat more. But the industry says it’s just fine, and argues that HFCS is the same as sugar.

To get that message out, the campaign relies on nutritional research. But funding for many of the major studies in question came from companies with a financial stake in the outcome.

Out of the six studies on the Corn Refiners Association’s Web site that “Confirm High Fructose Corn Syrup [is] No Different From Sugar,” three were sponsored by groups that stand to profit from research that promotes HFCS. Two were never published, so their funding sources are unclear. And one was sponsored by a Dutch foundation that represents the interests of the sugar industry.

Pepsi funded one study. So did a D.C. based lobbying group that gets their money from food, chemical and drug companies. And the American Beverage Association gave a grant for another.

It’s a widely known fact that when a study is sponsored by a company with financial interests in the outcome, the results rarely do anything but support the industry that funded the study..

In fact, CBS mentions a study by Children’s Hospital Boston that found when studies were sponsored exclusively by food or drinks companies, the results were four to eight times more likely to be favorable to the sponsoring company.

So when the Corn Refiners Association claims that their deceptive $20-30 million ad campaign promoting corn syrup is “based on nutritional research,” now you know just what type of biased research they are using.

Is Corn Syrup “the Same as Sugar”?

The Corn Refiners Association has launched TV commercials and a Web site that claim corn syrup is no worse for you than sugar. In one ad, a mother pours some type of bright red corn-syrup-rich juice from a plastic jug. In another, a woman feeds her boyfriend a popsicle.

In both ads, characters question the health risks of corn syrup, but neither is able to explain exactly why corn syrup is unhealthy, implying that corn syrup is actually not so bad after all.

To imply that artificial products containing corn syrup are in any way OK for your health is beyond a stretch. So let’s set the record straight. If anyone asks YOU why corn syrup is unhealthy, you can tell them:

• HFCS is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar, and, because most fructose is consumed in liquid form (soda), its negative metabolic effects are significantly magnified.

• Recent research, reported at the 2007 national meeting of the American Chemical Society, found new evidence that soft drinks sweetened with HFCS may contribute to the development of diabetes because it contains high levels of reactive compounds that have been shown to trigger cell and tissue damage that cause diabetes.

• HFCS is almost always made from genetically modified corn, which is fraught with its own well documented side effects and health concerns, such as increasing your risk of developing a food allergy to corn.

You can also let anyone who believes corn syrup is safe to eat know that there are over 35 years of hard empirical evidence that refined man-made fructose like HFCS metabolizes to triglycerides and adipose tissue, not blood glucose. The downside of this is that fructose does not stimulate your insulin secretion, nor enhance leptin production. (Leptin is a hormone thought to be involved in appetite regulation.)

Because insulin and leptin act as key signals in regulating how much food you eat, as well as your body weight, this suggests that dietary fructose may contribute to increased food intake and weight gain.

Additionally, fructose is also known to significantly raise your triglycerides and LDL (bad cholesterol). Triglycerides, the chemical form of fat found in foods and in your body, are not something you want in excess amounts.

Intense research over the past 40 years has confirmed that elevated blood levels of triglycerides, known as hypertriglyceridemia, puts you at an increased risk of heart disease.

How to Cut HFCS Out of Your Diet

If you are eating a healthy diet, a little bit of corn syrup here or there isn’t going to cause any catastrophes. However, most people are not eating corn syrup in moderation. In 2007, Americans consumed an average of 56 pounds of HFCS each, according to CBS! A large part of this was undoubtedly from soda, which is the number one source of calories in the United States.

So the first step for many people is to stop drinking soda, and this turbo tapping technique can help you to break free from a soda addiction.

I am HIGHLY confident that giving up soda would result in health improvements FAR more profound than if everyone stopped smoking. This is because drinking soda leads to elevated insulin levels, the foundation of nearly every chronic disease known to man -- cancer, heart disease, diabetes, aging, arthritis, osteoporosis, you name it, and you will find elevated insulin levels as a primary factor.

Aside from soda, corn syrup is also in many processed foods and fruit juices, so to avoid it completely you need to focus your diet on whole foods. And if you do purchase any processed foods, make sure you read the label … and put it back on the shelf if it lists high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient.

Food Irradiation--- What is the FDA hiding?

2008-10-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

From centerforfoodsafety.org

Food Irradiation

What if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule that would intentionally hide information you rely on to make decisions about what to feed yourself and your family? Or if FDA proposed changing food labeling information to something the agency knows would be misleading to consumers?

Well, FDA has announced just such a rule to weaken labeling of irradiated foods.

Currently, irradiated food must be labeled as "Treated with irradiation" or "Treated by radiation" and must display the irradiated "radura" symbol. But now, in yet another attempt to appease industry at the expense of the public, the FDA has proposed a new rule that would allow irradiated food to be marketed in some cases without any labeling at all. In other cases, the rule would allow the terms "electronically pasteurized" or "cold pasteurized" to replace the use of "irradiated" on labels. These terms are not used by scientists, but rather are designed to fool consumers about what's been done to their food.

What is Food Irradiation?

Food irradiation uses high-energy Gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays (all of which are millions of times more powerful than standard medical X-rays) to break apart the bacteria and insects that can hide in meat, grains, and other foods. Radiation can do strange things to food, by creating substances called "unique radiolytic products." These irradiation byproducts include a variety of mutagens - substances that can cause gene mutations, polyploidy (an abnormal condition in which cells contain more than two sets of chromosomes), chromosome aberrations (often associated with cancerous cells), and dominant lethal mutations (a change in a cell that prevents it from reproducing) in human cells. Making matters worse, many mutagens are also carcinogens.

Research also shows that irradiation forms volatile toxic chemicals such as benzene and toluene, chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer and birth defects. Irradiation also causes stunted growth in lab animals fed irradiated foods. An important 2001 study linked colon tumor promotion in lab rats to 2-alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACB's), a new chemical compound found only in irradiated foods. The FDA has never tested the safety of these byproducts. Irradiation has also been shown to cause the low-level production of furans (similar to cancer-causing dioxins) in fruit juice.

Food Safety Concerns

In addition to the proposed weakening of the labeling requirements for irradiated food, FDA's rule would also severely limit them by requiring companies to label irradiated food only when the radiation treatment causes a 'material change' to the product. Examples include changes to the taste, texture, smell or shelf life of a food. Published research on irradiated foods reveals that irradiation does change, and can actually ruin, the flavor, odor, appearance, and texture of food. Such research repeatedly finds that irradiated foods smell rotten, metallic, bloody, burnt, grassy, and generally off. The taste has been described as like sulfur, singed hair, burnt feathers, burnt oil, and rancid fat. Beyond the obvious yuck factor, serious questions remain as to whether irradiated foods are safe to eat.

Irradiation Destroys the Vitamin Content of Foods

Irradiated foods can lose from 2-95% of their vitamins. For example, irradiation can destroy up to 80% of the vitamin A in eggs, up to 95% of the vitamin A and lutein in green beans, up to 50% of the vitamin A and lutein in broccoli, and 40% of the beta-carotene in orange juice. Irradiation also doubles the amount of trans fats in beef.

Despite 50 years of research, food scientists still do not fully understand how these changes take place. Much of the ongoing research, in fact, is focused on devising new ways to hide these changes, rather than addressing the cause of the changes themselves.

Irradiation is Not the Solution to Food-Borne Illness

Using recent food-contamination scandals as a springboard, irradiation has been touted as the solution to food-borne illness in everything from spinach to deli meats. But a good, hard look at the systemic food and agricultural problems that cause these tragic outbreaks in the first place has yet to be undertaken by government agencies.

Masks the Unsanitary Condition of Factory Farms

Irradiation is an after the fact "solution" that does nothing to address the unsanitary conditions of factory farms, and actually creates a disincentive for producers and handlers to take preventative steps in production in handling. The longer shelf life created by irradiation (affording longer shipping distances) also provides greater opportunity for post-treatment contamination via shipping, handling, etc. Additionally, irradiation does not work to stop toxins produced by some bacteria (like botulism); viruses, like foot and mouth disease or hepatitis, are resistant to the irradiation doses used in food; and prions (thought to be the cause of BSE, or Mad Cow disease) are resistant as well.

Contributes to Consolidation of the Agriculture Industry and the Globalization of Food

American food processing companies see the use of irradiation as a potential means of boosting profits. In fact, the motivation for expanding irradiation to additional categories of food may be less about getting rid of disease-causing organisms, and more about increasing market share in international trade. Irradiation can dramatically increase the shelf life of food. This gives corporations more flexibility in marketing and transportation, making it easier for large companies to move some operations to countries with lower labor costs and lower sanitary and safety standards. As in many other "outsourced" industries, American workers, farmers and ranchers, could lose their jobs. In other words, food irradiation supports globalization at its worst, where concerns over long-term health risks carry less weight than the lure of expanded markets. Additionally, since irradiation has become a tool for the globalization of U.S. food production, food irradiation procedures are modeled for large, centralized operations. This furthers the consolidation of "Big Ag" companies and contributes to the destruction of small U.S. family farms - further degrading the security and diversity of our food supply.

Your Right to Know: FDA, Consumers, and the Labeling Lie

Labeling irradiated foods as "pasteurized" is simply untruthful and misleading. Pasteurization involves heating liquids for the purpose of destroying harmful bacteria and other pathogens, and has been used safely for decades. Using high-energy gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays on foods - is a completely different process than pasteurization.

In fact, FDA's own research found that the proposed change would confuse consumers, stating "Research indicates that many consumers regard substitute terms for irradiation to be misleading." Consumer data has repeatedly shown that consumers recognize and prefer the current labeling requirements of irradiated food. In 2001, FDA conducted focus groups of consumers on this issue. Consumers participating unanimously rejected replacing the term irradiation with pasteurization and reacted with phrases such as, "sneaky," "deceptive," "misleading," and "trying to fool us." Allowing the marketing of irradiated food without any labeling is equally misleading.

What's Wrong With the Flu Shot

2008-10-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE FLU SHOT?

EVERYTHING IS WRONG WITH THE FLU SHOT

By Dr. Richard Schulze

First, Experts say it doesn't work!

"There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza. The producers of these vaccines know that they are worthless, but they go on selling them anyway." Dr. J. Anthony Morris (former Chief Vaccine Control Officer at the FDA.)

Let's look at the facts...

The flu shot has never been proven to be effective. Many experts worldwide now agree that it has never worked and that the rise and fall of all disease, especially influenza, is based on our immune system's antibody response and self-education process and not because of medical meddling.

The main reason many experts believe influenza vaccines don't work is because of a natural scientific phenomenon called Antigenic Shift and Drift. Darwin may not have been right with his Theory of Evolution and my great, great-grandmother may not have been a chimp but his theory proves very valid when it comes to viruses. Viruses do evolve, they change from one form to another. So every year, actually every few weeks, the old virus has become a very new virus.

Even the federal government's Center for Disease Control states that "Influenza (flu) seasons are unpredictable. Although epidemics of flu happen in most years, the beginning, severity, and length of the'Epidemic can vary widely from year to year. Before a season begins, it is not possible to accurately predict the features of any season.'

The simple reason it's impossible to predict the coming influenza seasons virus is because it is impossible to predict the future, Even if one got lucky and guessed right, the next influenza virus is never just one virus. All influenza viruses are a blend of many different strains and many different types of virus. So the odds of you finding one particular grain of sand in all the beaches in California are far better than any medical doctor guessing next year's viral cocktail. Next years, even next week's, virus will be a totally new, different mutated blend of multiple influenza viruses. And remember, even that new blend of virus is constantly in a state of flux. Here it is again, Antigenic Shift and Drift

So every year pharmaceutical companies make the flu vaccine based on . . . LAST YEAR'S INFLUENZA. Even though throughout history no influenza epidemic virus blend has ever repeated itself ever, or has ever been the same. In fact if you made one today to protect you from the exact virus that is spreading right now, by the time it was produced and used the virus would have already shifted and drifted many times and mutated into a completely different virus. Even the pharmaceutical manufacturers admit that this is a serious problem, but also "places serious doubts on the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine."

The only validity for manufacturing and using the Influenza Vaccines is financial, as trillions of dollars are being made on vaccine manufacture and usage.

Secondly, the statistics prove it doesn't work!

So regardless which experts are right no matter what they say, the statistics speak for themselves. A few decades ago less than 100,000 people were hospitalized with the flu. Last year it doubled to over 200,000. A few decades ago less than 20,000 people a year died from the flu. Last year it was over 40,000, doubled again. In the last 20 years the American population has only increased about 25%, but hospitalizations and deaths from influenza have increased 100%. You tell me, is the flu shot working?

What we absolutely do know about the flu vaccine is that it has killed, maimed and made a lot of people sick, I still remember the federal government's swine flu vaccination program when, for the first time ever, the government tried to give every American the swine flu influenza vaccine. When the fear, panic, bureaucracy, medical folly and pharmaceutical scandal cleared, 25 times more people died from the swine flu influenza vaccine than actually died from the swine flu, and thousands were seriously injured with numerous neurological and immune diseases. Worse yet, many medical experts today now believe that the influenza vaccine actually attacks and weakens your immune system and makes you even MORE susceptible to getting infected with influenza.

Now, in case you are still not sure, let's look at a few of the flu shot's ingredients.

Third, the flu shot ingredients are toxic chemical poisons!

Ethyl Glycol Automobile Anti-Freeze

Carbolic Acid A toxic caustic poison

Formaldehyde Embalming Fluid, causes cancer Causes Alzheimer's Disease, seizures and cancer

Mercury Extremely toxic heavy metal, kills brain and immune cells

If you had five consecutive flu shots in any decade your chance of getting Alzheimer's Disease is TEN TIMES HIGHER. This is partially due to the mercury and aluminum that is in every flu shot (and most childhood shots) that builds up in the brain and causes cognitive dysfunction and disease. This is partially why the rate of Alzheimer's Disease is skyrocketing.

And I haven't even touched on the blend of numerous deadly viruses and infected animal tissue that is in the vaccine.

The mercury alone is a great reason why not to get one. Mercury is a heavy metal and even minimal exposure to it kills brain and nerve cells. It is deadly poisonous. Knowingly infecting any amount of mercury into the human body is insane. I would gladly inject heroin into myself long before I would inject any flu vaccine. At least heroin is made from an herb, the poppy.

There has been much research done over the last decade linking the mercury in childhood vaccinations to childhood brain and nerve diseases, First off we know that there has never been one single case of autism in children before mercury laden childhood vaccinations were used. This fact alone points a very suspicious finger at mercury poisoning from vaccines. In fact the first known epidemic of cerebral palsy was in 1950 in Minimata Bay, Japan and it was discovered to be caused by a vinyl plastics company that dumped mercury into the bay.

But fearing multi-billion dollar, maybe even trillion dollar class action lawsuits, medical and pharmaceutical groups have declared that the preservative Thimerosal in vaccines is very safe, even though Thimerosal is 49% Mercury! The pharmaceutical vaccine manufacturers have stated that there is "no credible evidence" showing any link between the mercury in the vaccines and autism. But in case there is, they have further stated that "the well defined risk of influenza outweighs the theoretical risk of mercury."

So the medical and drug cartels have declared injecting mercury safe, but at the exact same time every one of them is currently scurrying to remove mercury from all childhood vaccines. Why? What do they know that they are not telling us. If it's safe, why remove it? Regardless, no attempt is being made to remove it from the influenza vaccine.

One thing we know for sure is that mercury kills the brain and nerves, so I don't think this is a good idea for children, or adults. As I age, I need all the brain and nerve cells that I've got)

And even if the mercury, anti-freeze and animal pus doesn't scare you, you probably won't even be able to buy a flu shot on the black market anyway, because this year half of the influenza vaccine, some 50 million doses, has been banned from being used, because... they are contaminated, because they are toxic.

FINALLY...

Look, everyone, including me, agrees that the influenza epidemic that rages across America every year is dangerous, even deadly. But the key to protecting yourself is not by injecting virus strains grown on infected pus-laden animal tissue mixed with powerful toxic chemicals into your body, That's a great way to make yourself sick.

Friends, God doesn't want you to be sick that is why we have an immune system. So the simple and natural key to preventing the flu is to build a strong and powerful immune system.

stachy officinalis

2008-08-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

by Jim McDonald

stachy officinalis (betonica officinalis)

Wood Betony was once one of the most revered of herbal medicines... there was indeed a common saying that one had "as many virtues as Betony" and Colonial herbalist John Sauer wrote that "there is no illness brought on by cold in which Betony cannot be administered effectively." Today, however, it is generally an obscurity, used by few and seldom available to the general public by way of health food stores. This is a great tragedy, for I have found it to be one of the most useful herbs available in addressing a number of common but pernicious maladies. Its material properties of astringency and mild bitterness have long made it a valued wound and digestive remedy, but paramount among its virtues is its unique efficacy in treating tension, pain and disorganization centered in the head and mind (which is to say both the physical and energetic).

I first used Betony for a friend who suffered a closed head injury in a car accident. Four months after the initial trauma she still experienced frequent dizziness, headaches and disorientation, and on a few occasions had up and keeled over. She was unable to work or drive, which, as one might expect, made being a mother a rather difficult endeavor. Although by nature not one to lean towards the use of herbs or natural therapies, desperation resultant from the lingering effects of the injury led her to accept my offer of herbal help. I gave her three pellets of Homeopathic Arnica to address the impact related origin of the injury, and had her take a dropperful of Betony extract as needed when her head hurt, going on a traditional use of Betony to treat concussion. I didn't hear back from her, but saw her a couple weeks later, and to my dismay, her pained expression told that she was still suffering from the terrible headaches. I offered her two droppersful of Betony tincture in a glass of water, thinking that perhaps a stronger dose was in order (strange, nowadays I'd tell her to take a smaller dose…). In about 10 minutes she asked "What was that? My head doesn't hurt anymore..." When I told her it was the Betony I'd sent to her a couple weeks ago she replied, "Wow! I'm going to have to start using that." Doing so, she recovered completely.

I have since found that Betony is excellent for headaches of all sorts (tension and migraine alike), and beyond that have seen it to act in a decidedly restorative manner. I have noted several instances when, in addition to its more immediate effects, regular daily use of Wood Betony as a simple has decreased the frequency and intensity of chronic headaches until their occurrence was drastically reduced or even eliminated altogether. I talked recently with my friend Heidi Knab (herbal-patron saint of strays both feline and human), and she told me that since she started mooning till about age 23, she always got a terrible hormonal migraine on the last day of her cycle. A friend offered her some Wood Betony tea and each sip notably reduced the pain till by the end of the cup the headache was gone entirely. She continued to use Wood Betony for about 6 months, and has not (a good ten years later) had a migraine with menses since. That's really quite notable, no? She says "It changed the way my head worked", and proceeded to elaborate thoughts on its mode of action that mirrored mine more or less identically, in some cases even word for word. These restorative benefits are the gradual result of continued use, and I would guess are unlikely occur if used sporadically or without intent.

To address the acute (the "ow" is happening now) pain and discomfort of headaches, I am more likely to use Wood Betony in combination with other herbs. One such blend I've used consists of equal parts tinctures of Wood Betony, Black Cohosh and Jamaican Dogwood. I have seen this formula work remarkably to stave off an oncoming migraine, if taken in small frequent intervals as soon as the first indications of its coming are felt. It will often work if taken after the migraine has taken hold, but is a bit less effective, and at times ineffective altogether. Of course, the other herbs with which Betony is combined are best varied as indications apply. If chronic stress and incessant overexertion are involved, if could be of great merit blended with Milky Oats; if intense worry and breathless palpitations, Motherwort. If, if if... like all things herbal, the potential to customize is infinite.

In regards to "how Betony works", there are likely myriad factors at play. Like most mint family plants, it possesses both stimulating and relaxant properties. This may seem contradictory, but only if we make the false assumption that stimulation and relaxation exist at opposing ends of a spectrum. In truth, the stimulation is of the circulation of the body's vital energy, and the relaxation is of the resistance to that circulation. So we see that these principles are not at odds, but rather work towards the same end and enhance each other's ability to reach it. Betony clearly relaxes tension in the head: the tension of muscles, of blood vessels, of thoughts and of emotions. It doesn't simply act physically, but seems to change the way we process energy in the both head and mind in a manner that resolves the conditions of tension and congestion that prevent the free and relaxed flow of the vital force.

Going further into this "head" association, I like to use Betony when a person's stress is stuck in their head; they can't stop thinking and relax, they over-analyze, they aren't grounded and are generally suffering from mental overexertion and subsequent exhaustion. They channel all the energy they can into their head and it gets stuck there because they don't release it; they won't let their thoughts go. This often happens when we try to come to terms with a stressful situation by coming to an intellectual understanding of it. Unfortunately, there are many situations that cannot be understood or resolved intellectually, and trying to do so will only lead to mental exhaustion (which headaches will often accompany). One might find themselves trapped wondering "Why did they die?" and have no intellectual answer to resolve their query. Trying to use your intellect in such a situation is like trying to eat soup with a light bulb; it just doesn't work. When caught in such a situation, Betony helps to both relax the mind and free the energy trapped there, and in doing so lets our other faculties offer us resolution where our intellect cannot.

Betony also acts as a tonic for the digestive tract, and is believed to strengthen the solar plexus, a topic covered very nicely by Matthew Wood in his Book of Herbal Wisdom. The solar plexus is believed to house a person's instincts and intuitive faculties; this is why we have expressions like "gut feelings" and "trust your gut". By freeing energy trapped in the head and strengthening the solar plexus, Wood Betony will be of aid to people who ignore their gut feelings and try to intellectualize and rationalize all that goes on around them. We might imagine the person who meets someone and intuitively gets a "bad feeling" from them, but then chides themselves for being "judgmental" and then ends of in some baleful relationship replete with all the qualities foreboded by their initial impression. Wood Betony, I deem, is useful in such situations.

And if, indeed, the use of the word "baleful" is true to the definition (deadly or pernicious in influence; foreboding or threatening evil) and not an exaggeration of a person's ill character, we might access another of Wood Betony's virtues, which is it's ability to dispel evil and ward of spirits of ill intent. The manifestations of that need not be supernatural (though I think it good protection from bad magic and those who deal in that and Matthew Wood has used it on several occasions for those suffering PTSD from alien abductions, sometimes we may know or be related to such people. To access these more esoteric virtues, one might carry the herb with them in a medicine bag, or rub doses of the tincture into their wrists or temples. Sure, this may make you question how very weird your belief system is becoming, but when you see situations change around you in a way that reinforces this usage a few times, you can just flow with it. It's quite likely, after all, that your friends and family already think you a bit "eccentric".

On a strictly physiologically level (if perhaps I'm losing you with my penchant for energetic uses, magic and superstition), Betony is warming, astringent and slightly bitter, and has been used to improve digestion by strengthening and restoring tone to digestive tissues. It has likewise been used to strengthen the tissues of the urinary tract, and this astringency also explains its long history of use as a "woundwort", being used to staunch bleeding both internal and external. It has been historically poulticed over injuries of all sorts, and deemed specific to concussion, stroke and facial neuralgia (there are, as well, formulas specifically for head injuries that have left the brain exposed). It is a nervine tonic, nourishing and building the vital energy with regular use. It is a warming and drying expectorant, good for damp coughs brought on my cold. Though I have not seen it often attributed as a diaphoretic, as a mint this action would not be surprising. Really, the plant has traditionally been recognized as a panacea - improving any condition to which it is administered. In my experience, I have little reason to disagree with this. It is effective fresh or dried, taken as tea or tincture, ground in honey, infused in vinegar or wine, smoked (Grieve writes that the leaves were smoked with Coltsfoot and Eyebright for headaches), snuffed or brewed as a beer (betony beer is a peculiar thing... I have yet to adequately describe its flavor or effect to anyone).

Because a different family of plants, Pedicularis (Lousewort), also goes by the name of Betony or Wood Betony, be sure that you are using the right one. The Latin name of the European Wood Betony I'm discussing may be Stachys officinalis, Stachys betonica or Betonica officinalis. Though both Stachys and Pedicularis are considered nervines they are not really interchangeable (Pedicularis species not having such a strong affinity for the head), and in any case you should be aware of what plant you are using.

Also, I have seen one idiosyncratic reaction worth mentioning: A woman who felt a migraine coming on ("it was just getting bad") took a few 3 drop doses over a few hours and found that while the migraine initially receded, it dramatically worsened after discontinuing, to the point of throwing up and suffering an extended "hangover" from it the next couple days. Don't know that this can be entirely attributed to the betony (as neither did she), as other factors were involved, but there it is. David Hoffmann expressed to me that when he used Wood Betony a lot while practicing in Wales, he had never seen any aggravations.

Wood Betony is not widely naturalized here, but is easily grown from seed and thrives on neglect. Opting once again to snatch an old saying quoted by Grieve in her Modern Herbal, I would advise you to, as the Italians once said, "Sell your coat and buy betony."

Nano-Foods-- The next consumer scare?

2008-08-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Those consumers already worried about genetically engineered or cloned food reaching their tables may soon find something else in their grocery carts to furrow their brows over -- nano-foods.

Consumer advocates taking part in a food safety conference in Orlando, Florida, this week said food produced by using nanotechnology is quietly coming onto the market, and they want U.S. authorities to force manufacturers to identify them.

Nanotechnology involves the design and manipulation of materials on molecular scales, smaller than the width of a human hair and invisible to the naked eye. Companies using nanotechnology say it can enhance the flavor or nutritional effectiveness of food.

U.S. health officials generally prefer not to place warning labels on products unless there are clear reasons for caution or concern. But consumer advocates say uncertainty over health consequences alone is sufficient cause to justify identifying nano-foods.

"I think nanotechnology is the new genetic engineering. People just don't know what's going on, and it's moving so fast," Jane Kolodinsky, a consumer economist at the University of Vermont, said at the conference.

American consumers are generally more complacent about genetically modified or cloned foods than their counterparts in Europe.

But Michael Hansen, a senior scientist with the Consumers Union, said polls show that 69 percent of Americans are concerned about eating cloned meat.

He said that in focus groups run by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, no parents were willing to feed their children meat from cloned animals or their offspring.

In a recent CBS/New York Times poll, 53 percent of Americans said they wouldn't buy genetically modified foods.

SCANT AWARENESS

Hansen said there is scant public awareness, however, about foods produced through nanotechnology.

New consumer products created through nanotechnology are coming on the market at the rate of 3 to 4 per week, according to an advocacy group, The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), based on an inventory it has drawn up of 609 known or claimed nano-products.

Nano-products in common use today include lightweight tennis rackets and bicycles, and sunscreens containing clear, nonwhite versions of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

They also include lipsticks, and many items labeled as anti-microbial that contain silver ions such as socks, washing machines, salad spinners and food containers.

On PEN's list are three foods -- a brand of canola cooking oil called Canola Active Oil, a tea called Nanotea and a chocolate diet shake called Nanoceuticals Slim Shake Chocolate.

According to company information posted on PEN's Web site, the canola oil, by Shemen Industries of Israel, contains an additive called "nanodrops" designed to carry vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals through the digestive system.

The shake, according to U.S. manufacturer RBC Life Sciences Inc., uses cocoa infused "NanoClusters" to enhance the taste and health benefits of cocoa without the need for extra sugar.

The tea, says manufacturer Shenzhen Become Industry & Trade Co., Ltd. of China, is prepared with nanotechnology to "release effectively all of the excellent essences of the tea" and increase by a factor of 10 "the selenium supplement function."

Hansen, whose organization publishes the nonprofit product-testing magazine Consumer Reports, said there is no requirement that nano-products be identified as such.

He called for stronger federal regulations to require safety testing and labeling.

"Just because something is safe at the macro level, doesn't mean it's safe at the nano size," Hansen said. "All scientists agree that size matters."

Hansen said recent studies have shown that nano-sized particles in some cases can invade cells and breach the blood-brain barrier, and that some forms of nano-sized carbon could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in quantity.

"This represents science at the cutting edge. These technologies raise basic scientific issues," Hansen said.

Damning Evidence on Gardisil

2008-07-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

Watch Uncovers New FDA Records Detailing 10 New Deaths & 140 "Serious" Adverse Events Related to Gardasil
Market Wire
30 June 2008
Watchdog Publishes New Special Report Examining 8,864 Adverse Event Reports Detailing Safety Concerns
WASHINGTON, DC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- Jun 30, 2008 -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released a report based on new documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil. The adverse reactions include 10 deaths since September, 2007. (The total number of death reports is at least 18 and as many as 20.) The FDA also produced 140 "serious" reports (27 of which were categorized as "life threatening"), 10 spontaneous abortions and six cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome -- all since January 2008. Adverse reports excerpts include:
-- Information has been received... concerning a 20 year old female with
no medical history reported, who on 01-APR-2008 was vaccinated with a dose
of Gardasil... The patient died four days after... patient sought
unspecified medical attention. An autopsy was performed which ruled out
suicide and anything suspicious. The cause of death is currently unknown.
VAERS ID: 310262-1 (D)

-- Information has been received... concerning a 23-year-old female...
who on 31-JAN-2008 was vaccinated with her 1st dose of Gardasil... the
patient experienced anaphylactic shock 2 minutes after vaccination
characterized by a brief loss of consciousness... respiratory arrest, eyes
rolled upwards, blurred vision and greyish skin tone... Anaphylactic shock
was considered to be immediately life-threatening. VAERS ID: 304739-1 (S)

-- Cold sweat, Fall, Foaming at mouth, Grand mal convulsion, Immediate
post-injection reaction... Pt [patient, 14-year-old female] received
vaccine, took 6 steps, fell to the ground unconscious and had a 60 sec
grand mal seizure then regained consciousness. [Blood pressure] after
seizure 60/40 pale clammy skin. [Patient] had bit her tongue and had foam
around her mouth. VAERS ID: 305259-1 (S)

-- Information has been received from a physician concerning a female
patient who on an unknown date was vaccinated with a dose of Gardasil.
Subsequently, the patient experienced a coma and is now paralyzed. At the
time of this report, the patient's outcome was unknown. VAERS ID: 303188-1

"Given all the questions about Gardasil, the best public health policy would be to reevaluate its safety and to prohibit its distribution to minors. In the least, governments should rethink any efforts to mandate or promote this vaccine for children," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Judicial Watch had previously obtained 3,461 reports relating to Gardasil. On June 10, 2008, Judicial Watch received a compact disk from the FDA with a new total of 8,864 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) records. These documents and the new Judicial Watch report, titled "Examining the FDA's HPV Vaccine Records: Detailing the Approval Process, Side-Effects, Safety Concerns & Marketing Practices of a Large Scale Health Experiment," are available at www.judicialwatch.org .

Cooking for Pets

2008-07-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Furry Friend Fare: Rethink the way you feed four-legged family members
By Kelli Rosen, Alternative Medicine, November 2007

Anyone who loves an animal was shaken to the core last spring when news broke of an unprecedented case of pet-food contamination. Turns out, batches of wheat gluten from China that had been used to make kibble and stews for dogs and cats contained melamine, a substance most commonly used as an industrial binding agent or flame retardant. Animals who ate enough of the tainted food suffered kidney failure. The FDA received more than 10,000 complaints of illness, and although the official death toll stands at just 16, other news agencies estimate the actual number is much higher.

Following the recall, many pet owners became leery of processed foods and decided to take matters—or rather, meals—into their own hands. “The number of my clients now cooking for their animals has doubled since the recall,” says Grant Nixon, DVM, a Summerland, British Columbia-based veterinarian and co-author of Better Food for Dogs (Robert Rose, 2002).

But according to Korinn E. Saker, DVM, a clinical veterinary nutritionist at North Carolina State University, interest in homemade pet food has actually been on the rise for about the last five years. “Pets are now considered part of the family, like children, and their guardians want to cook for them as a bonding experience, as a way to improve their quality of life,” she says. Taking the leap to homemade doesn’t have to be a difficult one, as long as you do your homework and get organized.

Cooking for Fido

Make the meal. When you’re whipping up dinner for your pup, you must first figure out which ingredients to combine. “Dogs are omnivores,” says Saker, “so about two-thirds of their calories should come from carbohydrates and the other one-third should be protein.” To calculate daily caloric requirements, seek the advice of your vet because the amount varies according to size, breed, age, and level of activity. To make the task of home cooking a little less intimidating—and less time consuming—David Bastin, another co-author of Better Food for Dogs, suggests cooking for dogs what you would eat yourself and leave out any table scraps such as fats, gravies, and poultry skins because they can cause major stomach irritation. “A good general rule to keep in mind is if you wouldn’t eat it, then you shouldn’t give it to your dog,” he says.

Add the supplements. Dogs are active beings, so in addition to human-grade ingredients, they usually require supplements. Shawn Messonnier, DVM, a veterinarian in Plano, Texas, and author of Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats (Prima Publishing, 2001), suggests working with a holistic veterinarian to determine supplemental requirements for your particular breed of dog, as well as proper dosages, which should be based on the weight and special needs of the animal. “You can create nutritional deficiencies if you don’t give them enough of what they need,” he says, “and if you give them too much, it could be toxic.”

Messonnier recommends Pet-Together’s Vim & Vigor for a basic vitamin and mineral boost. The supplement also contains colostrum for a healthy immune system; coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant that also supports the immune system as well as healthy teeth and gums; enzymes for improved digestion and absorption; glucosamine for healthy joint function; and Siberian ginseng to help your pet adapt to stressors. In his practice, Messonnier prescribes this basic supplement to most pets and then adds other therapies depending on individual needs.

Know what to avoid.When preparing food for your dog, remember that certain foods you consider healthy for your family can be deadly for your animals. Most folks know to avoid chocolate, but Messonnier says to stay away from onions, large amounts of garlic, grapes, and raisins as well. He also suggests watching for any other ingredients that may upset your dog’s digestive system and then avoiding those in future recipes. “That’s just a matter of trial and error,” he says.

Cooking for Fluffy
Make the meal. When it comes to cats, calculate the number of calories they require in a day. According to Messonnier, adult felines need roughly 70 to 80 kcal/kg (1 kg equals 2.2 pounds) of body weight each day. So for example, a 10-pound adult indoor cat requires approximately 300 kcal of energy a day, and an equal-size outdoor cat needs about 360 kcal. A 5-pound kitten on the other hand, requires about the same amount of energy a day as an indoor adult cat. To calculate the specific needs for your feline, consult your vet.

The homemade recipes you choose should contain many different ingredients, especially if you’re feeding a kitten. “Cats aren’t naturally finicky, they’re made that way,” says Messonnier. “Taste preferences are generally set by six months of age, so I strongly recommend offering kittens a variety of ingredients and flavors in their diets.”But whatever you decide to dish up for kitty, be sure to include the proper portion of meat or fish. “Cats are strict carnivores,” says Messonnier, “and a totally vegetarian diet will result in nutritional deficiencies.” Saker recommends getting roughly two-thirds of your cat’s daily calories from animal protein sources and one-third from carbohydrates.

Add the supplements. Although not the most active of animals, felines still need balanced meals. Messonnier recommends a natural source of bonemeal or calcium and phosphorous purchased from reputable supplements manufacturers, along with a vitamin and mineral boost such as Vim & Vigor. Other beneficial supplements for your cat, he says, include omega-3 fatty acids and plant enzymes. Dosage specifics vary depending on size and needs of the animal, so consult a holistic veterinarian for guidance.

Know what to avoid.Like dogs, cats should also steer clear of onions, large amounts of garlic, grapes, and raisins, as well as anything else that causes tummy upset.

Tail-wagging rewards
There’s no denying that cooking for your animal means more work for you. “People are very busy,” says Nixon, “and it’s tough to fit this in.” He suggests setting up a plan to make food in advance—and, like Bastin, he says not to feed your cat anything you wouldn’t eat. He also recommends freezing portions, so you’ll have something to use in a pinch or when the rest of the family decides to dine out.

If cooking every meal for your animal just isn’t possible, Messonnier suggests combining homemade food with processed food from a reputable holistic manufacturer (see “Trustworthy Pet Foods” below).“Whatever is easy for the owner and if the pet likes it, I’m all for it,” he says, adding that few companies—Nature’s Variety, for example—offer complete frozen homemade diets. “They’ve done all the work for you and the food’s already balanced,” he says.

Making the switch from dry kibble to homemade meals will add yet another chore to your already chock-full to-do list, but the rewards can make the effort worthwhile. In addition to peace of mind for you—because now you know where your pet’s food comes from—feeding your animals fresher, well-balanced food offers very real health benefits. “They will have more energy, their coats will be nicer, and there may also be subtle changes in allergic skin issues and ear problems,” says Nixon. “Think about how much better you feel when you eat healthy, and it really is relatively easy once you get into the routine. It’s kind of like having another child to feed.”

Trustworthy Pet Foods
Blue Buffalo
Canidae and Felidae
Castor & Pollux Organix
Country Pet Natural
Evanger’s
Healthy Pet Foods
Halo, Purely for Pets
Natura (Innova, California Natural, and Healthwise)
Nature’s Recipe
Natural Life Pet Products
Newman's Own Organics
Pet Guard
Pet Promise
Steve’s Real Food
Wellness / Old Mother Hubbard
Wysong