Living Wellness Center

Does Chemotherapy Work?

2008-08-09T22:29:00.003-04:00

I'm often asked if I will work with a client in conjunction with their chemotherapy. My answer is of course, but I wish more people would ask the question does chemotherapy actually work. I came across an interesting article from the folks at Natural News and thought I would pass it on. It's worth taking a look at.

http://www.naturalnews.com/023689.html

Cheatsheet: Phthalates

2008-05-06T18:17:00.000-04:00

What is it?

Phthalates are a common industrial chemical used in PVC plastics, solvents, and synthetic fragrances. They've been around since the 1930's, and now they're pretty ubiquitous; when they tested 289 people in 2000, the CDC found phthalates in all of the subjects' blood at surprisingly high levels. They're often referred to as a plasticizer, which we think sounds rather like a kind of exercise to be done on the living-room floor in front of videos hosted by Jane Fonda. But we digress.

What are the possible health effects?

Phthalates are endocrine disruptors linked to problems of the reproductive system, including decreased sperm motility and concentration in men and genital abnormalities in baby boys. (Oh, and did you know that average sperm counts have decreased significantly since the 1940's?) More recently they've also been linked to asthma and allergies.

How can I minimize my exposure?

Avoid these, and you'll also be avoiding phthalates:

Nail polish: Dibutyl phthalate is often used to make nail polish chip-resistant. Look for it on the ingredients list, where it may be shortened to DBP.
Plastics in the kitchen: Take a critical eye to your cupboards. Phthalates may be more likely to leach out of plastic when it's heated, so avoid cooking or microwaving in plastic.
Vinyl toys: Phthalates are what make vinyl (PVC) toys soft, so don't give them to children. Opt instead for wooden and other phthalate-free toys, especially during that age when they put everything in their mouths!
Paint: Paints and other hobby products may contain phthalates as solvents, so be sure to use them in a well-ventilated space.
Fragrance: Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is often used as part of the "fragrance" in some products. Since DEP won't be listed separately, you're better off choosing personal care products, detergents, and cleansers that don't have the word "fragrance" on the ingredients list.
Vinyl: Vinyl shows up in a lot of different products; lawn furniture, garden hoses, building materials, and items of clothing (like some raincoats) are often sources. Aside from carefully choosing materials when you're making purchases, there is one easy change you can make: switch to a non-vinyl shower curtain. That "new shower curtain" smell (you know the one) is a result of chemical off-gassing, and it means your shower curtain is a source of phthalates in your home.
Air Fresheners: Just like fragrances in personal care products, most air fresheners contain phthalates.

Where can I learn more?

Here's a link to Phthalates in the Chemical Index.
Phthalates were just one of the hormone-disrupting chemicals we found contaminating the San Francisco Bay.
NRDC has the low-down on phthalates in air fresheners.
EWG's Jane Houlihan discusses phthalates in children's personal care products.
Olga explains a recent study linking phthalates to asthma and allergies.

Orginal photo by Felix63.

http://www.enviroblog.org/2008/05/cheatsheet-phthalates.htm

CounterThink Cartoon

2008-04-19T16:40:00.001-04:00

http://www.naturalnews.com/023014.html

Take Action to Get Brita Filters Recycled in US

2008-04-18T13:01:00.002-04:00

We're always telling you to filter your water 'round these parts. It's true, a good carbon filter will get rid of most common pollutants (though not all), and they're a lot less expensive than a reverse-osmosis system. But every couple of months or so, you're left with a grit-filled hunk of plastic that can't be recycled. There's nothing to do with an old filter but throw it out -- and that hardly seems eco-friendly.

Unless you live in Europe, where the German company that makes Brita pitcher and faucet-mounted filter systems has created a filter takeback system. Returned, used filters are taken apart and reused or recycled. Unfortunately Clorox, who hold Brita's distribution license in the U.S., has no such program.

Enter the incomparable Beth Terry. In her quest to rid her life of plastic trash, those Brita filters were becoming a roadblock. Apparently she decided the roadblock needed to come down. Now, with a team of concerned citizens from across the country, Beth has created the Take Back the Filter campaign -- because if they can do it in Europe, there's no reason they can't do it here. Go to the website to sign the petition and write a letter to Clorox execs. You can even send your used filters to the Take Back the Filter team, and they'll deliver them en masse to Clorox!

We shouldn't have to choose between clean water and not creating trash. Tell Clorox to Take Back the Filter!

http://www.enviroblog.org/

A Deeper Look at Drugs In Our Tap Water

2008-04-17T13:51:00.000-04:00

by Cathy Sherman

(NaturalNews) Picture this: Three guys go into a bar. The batender asks, "What'll you have?" "A beer", says the first guy. Second one says, "Whiskey" and turning to the third guy asks, "what about you?" "Oh me, I really need a good strong kick, one with lots of punch to it... Yep, I think this day calls for a big one on tap! Hey bartender, how about some of your tap water!"

It was hard not to hear about the mess our water supply is in; the March AP (Associated Press) story was picked up by almost every media outlet imaginable. Members of a "National Investigative Team" reviewed reports and talked to over 200 officials and scientists for a five-month period. The AP writers' conclusions struck fear into many a thirsty American, who was suddenly told he was drinking urine. Not any urine either, but drug-filled urine, possibly from their neighbor up the road.

The first to feel the effects were the water filter companies, who have received many inquiries from
consumers. Even though a less widely published story came out in 2000 after the U.S. Geological Survey's research, apparently few in the industry have run tests on their products to find out if they could filter out pharmaceuticals. Those that did run checks only tested a few drugs.

The EPA hasn't responded either, as to this day there are still no minimum standards detailing how many parts per million of drugs to water is tolerable. Nor does anyone know the long-term effects on our bodies from drinking such pharmaceutical cocktails on a daily basis. Research on fish and other animals shows many ill effects, which suggests we will be affected as well, if only by eating the fish.

It was pointed out that this problem did not only pertain to the U.S., but recent studies have found similar drugs in the water supplies of Canada, Asia, Australia, Europe, and even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea. Other studies have found them in Brazil and South Africa.

The article also made it clear that bottled water is no solution, as it can pick up the contaminants from the tap water from which it is filtered, or the natural springs from which it is collected. Virtually no water source is safe, since the problem has not yet been thoroughly addressed.

Many opinions and old surveys no longer relevant are cited, but after a critical look at the article, we aren't enlightened much. The writers state that when it comes to water filters, reverse osmosis models do the best job. No evidence for this is given, however.

A little deeper investigation highlighted the problem of antibiotics. Since bacteria can adapt to them and nullify their effectiveness, the constant exposure of antibiotics in the water will give the many bacteria strains ample time to mount their resistance.

There are additional issues to those highlighted by the AP's article. Besides the overwhelming conclusion that our world has become too enamored with pharmaceuticals for our own good, the question still should be asked: Why do most local governments prescribe large doses of one drug equally distributed to every man, woman and child without regard to need and without any scientific basis?

The drug is fluoride. Many readers know it as a chemical waste product of the fertilizer industry that is problematic environmentally in regard to how to dispose of it. So the government and the industry figured out that putting it in our drinking water would solve the problem. For more Natural News articles on fluoride, go to: ((http://www.naturalnews.com/GoogleSearch...) .

Many states voted to require fluoridated water, but in a few states it is up to the local water company. Oregon Citizens for Safe Drinking Water is an example of one group which has actively opposed the fluoridation. They feel that the fluoride itself is bad enough for health, but its negative effects are multiplied because fluoride compounds are contaminated with lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and other toxins.

Not only that, but studies have shown that fluoride can pull lead from pipes and add that to the poisonous mix coming from our taps. That might be the reason fluoride also seems to bring copper and aluminum with it as well as the lead.

Animal studies have demonstrated evidence of fluoride's toxic effects on brain tissue. These include brain cell damage, reduced lipid content, impairment in anti-oxidant defense systems, increased aluminum uptake, and the formation of beta-amyloid plaques. These are the plaques which are indicative of Alzheimer's Disease. Maybe this explains why many dogs seem to prefer to drink from puddles than their own tap-filled water dishes.

Complicating the ability to control the level of fluoride is the presence in many rivers of "naturally
occurring fluoride". It has been hard to find research on the source of such "natural" fluoride, but it possibly could come from the same source as the pharmaceuticals, or from fertilized soils along the stream banks.

It appears that, whatever the agenda of the AP for its wide dissemination of the news that the presence of pharmaceuticals in our water supply is alarming, it would have done us all a service if a result is that citizens become more aware of the problems with fluoride.

At least, most kinds of water filters will filter out the fluoride and chlorine in the tap water. A more difficult problem is filtering out the other pharmaceuticals.

In-home filters come in several basic types: Reverse osmosis, carbon filters, and distillation models. Until the levels and standards have been set, comparing the abilities of the different types for filtering out drugs will be difficult.

The Reverse Osmosis (RO) filters have been very successful at filtering out toxins and contaminants and possibly will work for drugs. The problem with them is that they require good water pressure and a large volume of water, 75% of which is wasted.

Not only that, but this waste water takes in the contaminants, resulting in a much more highly condensed brew. This water goes back down the drain and into the water supply and the cycle repeats. The best way to deal with this might be to drain this water into a storage tank to be used for irrigation of one's garden or lawn or drain it directly to an irrigation hose.

Shane Ellison, an organic chemist and author of The Hidden Truth about Cholesterol Lowering Drugs, (www.thepeopleschemist.com) , favors the five-stage RioFlow Reverse Osmosis filter, priced at about $169. When asked if one could safely run the leftover water out to the garden to irrigate fruit trees or veggies, he stated "Cellulose acts as a pretty good filter, stopping drug uptake. But I've never tested this personally. Most plants only take up water and a bit of nitrogen... Using the sun, they then make all the nutritional components 'in-house' so to speak... It's quite miraculous when you consider it..."

Carbon filters are used in a variety of water filters. A few carbon filter systems, depending on the makeup of their filtering material, have been certified for the removal of lead, asbestos, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), cysts, and coliform. The inorganic chemicals would not stick to the carbon, however. Another downside is that carbon filters have to be cleaned often and/or replaced to be effective.

One maker, Aquasana, states "Pharmaceuticals and prescription drugs are virtually all Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOCs) or Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) and are effectively filtered out by our filters. The coconut shell granulated activated carbon used in all of our filters is recognized by the EPA as the best available technology for the removal of SOCs and VOCs." They failed to mention what happens to the few inorganic chemicals, however.

Distillation units work by steaming the water and separating out the contaminants from the water. This type provides very clean water, but a charcoal filter needs to be incorporated, since toxins like chlorine can both vaporize and re-condense along with the water being cleaned. Beneficial liquid trace minerals will be lost in the distilling process, so they will have to be added back in. Electricity is also required for these units.

The best choice will probably be a combination of reverse osmosis filter augmented by pre- and post-
activated carbon filters. The filter will definitely need several stages and different kinds of filtering media. There is even a product which adds a special ceramic filter to it and attempts to incorporate the best of all three methods. It is the kind that is used by NASA in our space program.

Another consideration is whether or not to filter ALL the water in the residence, or just the drinking water. Whole house systems are expensive, but shower filters are also effective in removing chlorine and other toxins. It is even possible to find filters that work with the tub faucet so bath water can also be chlorine-free.

In the next few months, it can be anticipated that water filter companies will be running tests on the
abilities of their filters to remove pharmaceuticals. Water companies will be fending off questions from consumers and preparing statements. It is doubtful that water companies and cities will be able to improve water quality very quickly.

Since the earlier studies, small pilot programs and one-day pickups of unused drugs have popped up in the Northeast, California, Washington, Florida, and elsewhere.

At least one state, Illinois, is now calling for a testing of water supplies for drugs. Illinois already has a disposal program for unused drugs, in an attempt to cut down the amount disposed of in toilets etc. The Illinois EPA has removed six 30-gallon drums of pharmaceuticals from its pilot program so far.

In this program, recommended by the EPA, solid waste agencies in four locations collect unused drugs from senior centers, retirement complexes, and convalescent centers in their areas. The state EPA collects unused pharmaceuticals at its twice-yearly household hazardous waste collection events. In addition, many hospitals, pharmacies and police departments offer programs to collect and dispose of unwanted drugs.

Maine recently started a four-county program in which pharmaceutical buyers will take home prepaid mailers in which they will send drug leftovers to a way station. From there, most will be picked up for transport to incinerators. Organizers intend to eventually extend the program statewide.

To dispose of unused drugs, the EPA suggests putting them among coffee grounds or kitty litter in a non-permeable container such as a coffee can before bringing them to the collection site. Some drugs should be flushed down the toilet; if so, the label should so indicate.

Montreal plans to be the first large metropolis in the world to disinfect all its waste water using
ozonation, a cutting-edge technology that uses high voltages of electricity to charge oxygen molecules. This produces ozone gas which will remove bacteria, viruses, drugs and industrial chemicals dumped into the St. Lawrence River, partly by a large number of pharmaceutical plants. Although many cities already use ozonation, it has not been done with this large a volume.

In other studies, ozonation with advanced oxidation processes were found effective to reduce or eliminate the drugs in drinking water. Different pharmaceuticals require different levels of ozone applied. Ozonation plus activated carbon filtration is best for more of these. Though ozonation is cheap, the problem with using it alone is that the ozone's effect wears off quickly.

For some drugs, like antibiotics, a good alternative is membrane filtration by RO. Nanofiltration and RO filtration were found effective in Arizona and California studies. Other research found that pre-filtration and final RO filtration was effective. Granular activated carbon combined with RO is even better.

Overall, it can be concluded that ozonation and AOPs (Advanced Oxidation Processes) are promising processes for the efficient removal of pharmaceuticals in drinking water. If all sewage treatment plants added more time for the sludge to sit, the results could be even better, as the sludge-eating micro-organisms would have more time to do their preliminary work.

If manufacturing companies must pay fines for releasing toxins into our environment, it is logical that the pharmaceutical companies should fund the cleanup of drugs from our water supply. Since the likelihood of that happening is doubtful, the consumer will bear the responsibility for providing their own filtering systems so they can feel they are doing the most possible to ensure the greatest health for their families.

Local governments will have to adopt programs such as that in Illinois. After all, the problem left untreated will only get worse. Every drug that gets filtered out re-enters the water supply by one route or another, further compounding the problem.

Researchers have made progress, though more needs to be done to find the least expensive system that will do the necessary job of delivering water that is fit to drink.

Resources:

((http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/ecol...)

(http://planet.wwu.edu/articles/gender-bender.html)

((http://www.mindfully.org/Water/2003/Pha...)

(http://books.google.com/books?)

((http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/...)

((http://www.care2.com/greenliving/carbon...)

(http://www.multipureco.com/appressrelease.pdf)

((http://www.mercola.com/2005/nov/17/phar...)

(http://www.aquaspace.com/)

(http://www.purefilter.net/USRO5-60-QC.asp)

About the author

Cathy Sherman is a freelance writer with a major interest in natural health and in encouraging others to take responsibility for their health. She can be reached through www.devardoc.com.

Toxic Chemicals in Our Makeup

2008-04-17T13:50:00.001-04:00

Breast cancer rates are rising all over the world, not just in the U.S. A recent World Health Organization report states that the disease has dramatically risen in the last 20 years, in some countries even doubling. The projection for Europe is that one in 10 women will develop breast cancer. One of the ways to reduce the disease is to remove dangerous, hormone disrupting chemicals that we are exposed to through cosmetics.

In the U.S. the main advocates for safe cosmetics are the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, founded by numerous environmental and public health organizations, including EWG. In Europe, health campaigners, including ChemTrust, have recently called for a Europe-wide ban on certain chemicals found in cosmetics and pesticides, to help cut rising rates of the disease. A study by Professor Andreas Kortenkamp, the head of toxicology at the University of London's School of Pharmacy, states:

"We will not be able to reduce the risk of breast cancer without addressing preventable causes, particularly exposure to chemicals."

The time of the belief in breast cancer as an inevitable and inherited disease is long gone. We are exposed to chemicals that cause preventable exposures, but without laws to protect public health, consumers unfortunately have to try to shop their way out of this problem. A good way to start is by checking out EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database.

http://www.enviroblog.org/2008/04/toxic-makeup-all-around-the-wo.htm

Phthalate-induced asthma: Gasping for breath

2008-04-11T14:09:00.000-04:00

The smell of a new car, that new shower curtain odor, and those off-gassing carpets recently installed in your office have one thing in common: these consumer products contain plastics chemicals that can become volatile, spread through air and hit our olfactory systems. And we are accustomed to consider such chemical smells a good thing. Who wouldn't like to have the status symbol of a new car, volatile chemicals and all?

It turns out that the “plastic smell” is not quite so innocuous as people used to believe. One of the most common plastic materials is PVC, polyvinylchloride, which is used extensively for covering of interior building surfaces, food wrappers, water pipes, and many other applications. On its own, PVC is a pretty rigid material; its flexibility is achieved by addition of plasticizers, especially a family of chemicals called phthalates. We have already heard many concerns about phthalates in cosmetics and in children’s toys because these chemicals pose great risks to development of reproductive system in baby boys.

However, an article published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives highlights a new, previously unforeseen systemic danger of phthalates as allergy-inducing chemicals.

Two scientists at the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Birmingham conducted a thorough analysis of research literature on allergy and asthma and identified 41 papers that indicated a likely link between phthalates and these illnesses. Our review of the literature further identified 4 more studies, now bringing the total to 45. These 45 studies include research in animals, case studies of occupational exposure, and broad-range epidemiological studies in people of different ages. Is it time to sit up and take notice?

Seventeen different animal studies demonstrated that phthalates from PVC products can prompt development of allergy. In these studies, phthalates increase production of IgE antibodies and immune signaling molecules that are associated with allergies and asthma attacks.
Nine articles reported cases of occupational asthma related to PVC fumes. For example, PVC-linked asthma has been observed in meat-packing workers, workers employed in production of artificial leather, and fire-fighters exposed to fumes from residential fires involving now-ubiquitous plastic laminates.
Finally, nineteen articles described epidemiological studies that show an association between PVC fumes and asthma and respiratory symptoms. Most worrisome, five of these studies unambiguously demonstrated the effects in children where phthalate exposure in the home is linked to the risk of asthma and allergies.

While the European Union has taken an active position in terms of reviewing the cumulative risks of phthalates and actively phasing out some of the most dangerous members of this family of plastics chemicals, in the United States phthalates and phthalate manufacturers still get a free ride.

EWG has repeatedly called for governmental action on phthalates, such as risk assessment and setting of regulatory limits and phase out programs. In addition to established reproductive toxicity of these chemicals, a huge body of research evidence now confirms that exposure to phthalates in homes and work increases the risk of asthma and allergies both in children and in adults. It is now time for quick and decisive action. Children's health -- in fact, all of our health -- cannot wait.

Photo by PhylB.

http://www.enviroblog.org/2008/04/phthalateinduced-asthma-gaspin-1.htm

Promoting Vaccination, Fear, Hate & Discrimination

2008-03-25T16:48:00.000-04:00

http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/

by Barbara Loe Fisher

The discrimination begins, always, with the majority in a society pointing the finger at a minority for somehow endangering the public health and welfare. Individuals in the minority group are singled out as different - ethnically, biologically, spiritually, morally - from the majority. The human impulse to fear, judge, marginalize or eliminate those different from the rest has left a blood soaked trail winding throughout the entire history of man from the Great Inquisition to the Holocaust; from the killing fields of Cambodia to Rwanda, Serbia and Tibet; while the persecution of those with leprosy, TB, AIDS, mental illness, and handicaps continues in every society.

It was with a heavy heart that I read the March 21 New York Times article, "Public Health Risk Seen as Parents Reject Vaccines." Then I waded through the venomous comments posted on the NY Times website attacking parents of vaccine injured autistic children and those supporting informed consent to vaccination, specifically legal exemptions.

Some New York Times readers simply engaged in adolescent name-calling, angrily accusing parents of being "stupid" for questioning the wisdom of doctors in positions of authority and "selfish" for wanting to make informed vaccine choices:

"I'm so tired of these morons who refuse to vaccinate their children. It's stupid and selfish and, as usual, the kid suffers because of an hysterical, paranoid mother. What we need is a vaccine against paranoid conspiracy theory nuts. Oh, yeah....and by all means, let's trust a primary care doc from Arizona rather than the AAP and CDC. After all, what does some pinhead in private practice know that the best trained, most informed academic docs at some backwater like Johns Hopkins or CHOP or Children's Boston know, anyhow."

Others ridiculed parents for having faith in God but not in medical science, doctors and the safety of vaccines:

"The irrational decisions of adults, including parents and even physicians, supported by superstition, faith and magical beliefs, rather than data, evidence and proof, cannot stand in the way of science's obligation to create new knowledge to protect the members of a society, especially its most vulnerable members."

"Western religion's relationship with God requires a scapegoat. Since the Satan bit is worn a little thin they have once again decided that science and technology are to blame for all man's evils. As a civilized society we have given far too much deference to religion. Those not wishing to participate should simply not be included in schools, hospitals, etc. Not allowing their children to participate is the cruelist of abuse and should be removed from their "care."

"The parents whose personal beliefs cause them to fail to vaccinate their children should be seen clearly for what they are - child abusers. They are as monstrous as people that allow their children to die because they are convinced that if their god wants their children to live, he'll take care of it."

"Science is not infallible but it works. No one doubts that savagely beating a kid and offering "religious beliefs" as a pretext is a crime. These parents are doing the same thing. They should be prosecuted for endangering the health of their children - and ours."

The idea that the unvaccinated should be made "outcasts" in society and kept in isolation or even banned from being able to go out in public was a popular one:

"To those who demand an exemption, the choice should be clear and simple. No vaccine, no attendance at any public venue, schools in particular. Let these leaches live up in the woods as hermits."

" Parents of immunized children should not allow their children to play with [unvaccinated children]. Being an outcast is a powerful tool to use against these very selfish people."

Doctors defending their belief in vaccination weighed in, too, calling for elimination of the unvaccinated from society:

"As an epidemiologist who believes in the power and strength of herd immunity, I would like to ask these people who forgo vaccination to politely leave the herd."

Several more suggested the unvaccinated be publicly branded and forced to reveal their vaccination history to all who come in contact with them:

"Those making this decision [to not vaccinate their children] should be ineligible for access to public schooling. They should also be mandated to inform any and all people with whom they come into contact of their lack of vaccinations. They should also sign a waiver to any public or insurance pool funding for treatment of avoidable disease and/or long term damage caused by contraction of that disease."

"Should parents get to decide what happens to their child, even when that decision flies in the face of all evidence? Yes. But then should I have a right to know who these children are, so that I can keep my own child away from them? Indeed, I think I should......"

Another went further, calling for hospital and medical care to be denied to the unvaccinated:

"They should not be permitted in clinics and hospitals, where immunocompromised children and adults have the right to safety. No exception, whether based on religious faith or just garden-variety ignorance and superstition."

Several others believe mothers and fathers with unvaccinated children should be not only be charged with a crime but have their children taken from them:

"This should be a reason to notify CPS so that they can remove these children from parents who endanger their lives. This should be a crime."

There was a call for legislators who vote for vaccine exemptions to be punished:

"The parents who unilaterally decide to withhold immunization from their children should be sent to jail. The legislators who voted to condone this behavior should be identified and subjected to recall."

And some wanted to see parents and their unvaccinated children physically harmed:

.....Fine, so long as these parents are forcibly exposed to the illnesses themselves. And if their children either die, or are permanently injured, criminal charges should be laid. Then we'll see how much they still believe in their voodoo- science......"

Like sharks in a feeding frenzy, they gave public witness to their fear and loathing of fellow human beings who do not believe, think or act as they do.

I could not help but think of the children and parents forced to line up last November at a Maryland County Courthouse patrolled by armed police with dogs, a stark reminder that the parents were under threat of imprisonment and fines for failing to show schools proof that their children got chicken pox and hepatitis B shots.

I remembered the news report out of Belgium last month describing how a State court had sentenced mothers and fathers to five months in prison and a $4,000 fine because their children had not gotten vaccinated.

I thought of the persecution of Andrew Wakefield, M.D., who is being punished by his British colleagues for daring to report an association between the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine and neuroimmune dysfunction, including inflammatory bowel disease and autism. Like when the heads of heretics were impaled upon stakes on the Tower of London as a warning for all to see, the Wakefield inquisition is a spectacle designed to persuade all doctors contemplating questioning the safety of current mass vaccination policies to remain silent.

And then I thought of the Jewish orphan from Philadelphia, whose DNA I inherited from several generations back, and whose lineage in my mid-west Protestant family was not known to me for many years. Her blood is my blood, her genes belong to me just as the Norwegian and Scottish-Irish genes that predispose me and my children to autoimmunity and vaccine reactions are part of who I am.

I wondered how many of the readers of that New York Times article, who spewed fear, prejudice and hate into cyberspace and urged discrimination against and punishment of the unvaccinated, remembered that we are who we are because of the genetic strengths and vulnerabilities inherited from our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers going back generations and generations.

I come from a family of doctors and nurses, physical therapists and social workers, historians and soldiers, artists and writers, pastors and farmers, public administrators and builders; feminists and teachers, who have made the world a little better because they were allowed to live. And all through our family there is a history of autoimmunity, including rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, diabetes, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, severe allergies to foods, prescription drugs and pollen, and vaccine reactions.

My mother died of lupus two years ago this week, her body unable to protect itself from self. A nurse who once took care of polio victims at Mayo Clinic, she left three children and 11 grandchildren, all of whom carry her genes.

We do not choose the genes we inherit that make us the unique individuals we each are, as different from one another as we are similar within the human species.

My mother would have gladly laid down her life for any one of her children or grandchildren in order to protect them from harm, as I and countless other mothers around the world would do. The biological imperative, which prompts mothers and fathers to willingly sacrifice their lives to ensure their children survive, dictates we do that in order to ensure the survival of the human race.

For what is the human race but a collection of individuals from individual families living in different communities, all joined together to make up the whole of humanity? When any one life is devalued and deemed expendable, by extension, the well being and integrity of the whole is compromised.

Individual health IS public health.

Vaccine policies issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) do not recognize the potential biological vulnerability of my family and many other families to be harmed by vaccination. It does not matter if we have a vaccine injured child: CDC and AAP policies turned into law by state legislators do not provide for vaccine injured children or the siblings of vaccine injured children to be medically exempt from vaccination. Children, who have had seizures and other health deterioration after vaccination, often do not qualify for medical exemptions.

In the past quarter century, the numbers of vaccines the CDC and AAP insist that children must get has increased from 23 doses of 7 vaccines to 48 doses of 14 vaccines by age six without any large, credible studies proving it is safe for all children. How many of those genetically vulnerable to repeated atypical manipulation of the immune system through forced multiple vaccine use are among the highly vaccinated American children who are chronically ill and disabled today: 1 in 6 learning disabled; 1 in 9 asthmatic; 1 in 150 developing autism?

The doctors in charge at the CDC and AAP have refused, for more than a quarter century, to acknowledge the existence of a growing number of vaccine injured children and so they have refused to identify and screen out children biologically vulnerable to vaccine-induced brain and immune system dysfunction. One-size-fits-all vaccine policies and state laws have become a de facto selection of the genetically vulnerable for sacrifice. It is a very small step from that kind of societal thinking to the prisons, concentration camps and killing fields that stand as chilling testimony to the human impulse to dehumanize others in order to control, exploit or eliminate them.

Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel has said "When you take an idea or a concept and turn it into an abstraction, that opens the way to take human beings and turn them, also, into abstractions."

Individuals harmed by vaccines are not abstractions. They are human beings who deserve to be spared a lifetime of suffering rather than being thrown under the bus to prop up forced mass vaccination policies that fail to acknowledge biodiversity within the family of man.

In the face of a medical community committed to the utilitarian rationale that a minority of human beings can be sacrificed in service to the majority, the only way parents can protect children from being injured or killed by vaccines is by the free exercise of non- medical legal exemptions for deeply held religious or conscientious beliefs.

Doctors inside and outside of government, who have instilled fear of and discrimination against parents with vaccine injured children, bear responsibility for the hate and prejudice expressed on the New York Times website last week. It is a wake-up call for all Americans who cherish freedom and the human right to make informed, voluntary medical decisions that involve a risk of injury or death.

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"The very success of immunizations has turned out to be an Achilles' heel," said Dr. Mark Sawyer, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. "Most of these parents have never seen measles, and don't realize it could be a bad disease so they turn their concerns to unfounded risks. They do not perceive risk of the disease but perceive risk of the vaccine." Dr. Sawyer and the vast majority of pediatricians believe strongly that vaccinations are the cornerstone of sound public health. Many doctors view the so-called exempters as parasites, of a sort, benefiting from the otherwise inoculated majority.....While the picture of an unvaccinated child was once that of the offspring of poor and uneducated parents, "exempters" are often well educated and financially stable, and hold a host of like-minded child-rearing beliefs. Vaccine skeptics provide differing explanations for their belief that vaccines may cause various illnesses and disorders, including autism. Recent news that a federal vaccine court agreed to pay the family of an autistic child in Georgia who had an underlying mitochondrial disorder has led some skeptics to speculate that vaccines may worsen such conditions. Again, researchers say there is no evidence to support this thesis. Alexandra Stewart, director of the Epidemiology of U.S. Immunization Law project at George Washington University, said many of these parents are influenced by misinformation obtained from Web sites that oppose vaccination. "The autism debate has convinced these parents to refuse vaccines to the detriment of their own children as well as the community," Ms. Stewart said." - Jennifer Steinhauer, The New York Times (March 21, 2008) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21vaccine.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin3/21/us/21vaccine.html?hp

"Two sets of parents in Belgium were recently handed five month prison terms for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Each parent was also fined 4,100 euros ($8,000)....The parents can still avoid prison - their sentences were delayed to give them a chance to vaccinate their children. But if that deadline also passes without their children receiving the injections, the parents could be put behind bars.....The polio vaccine is the only one required by Belgian law. Exceptions are granted only if parents can prove their children might have a bad physical reaction to the vaccine.....Aside from Belgium, only France makes polio vaccinations mandatory by law. In the United States, children must be vaccinated against many diseases including polio, but most states allow children to opt out if their parents have religious or "philosophical" objections. In the U.S. state of Maryland, prosecutors and school officials in one county threatened truancy charges against parents who failed to vaccinate their children.....People who refuse to be vaccinated are "free riders," Harris said. "They can only afford to refuse the vaccine because they are surrounded by people who have fulfilled their obligations to the community." - Maria Cheng, Associated Press (March 12, 2008) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_he_me/polio_vaccine_prisonp/20080312/ap_on_he_me/polio_vaccine_prison

"One of the most reprehensible weapons being wielded in the witch-hunt against Wakefield is the claim that anyone who gives any credence whatever to his concerns is responsible for the incidence of measles amongst children whose parents are as a result too frightened to give them the MMR vaccination. There are two obvious points to make in response to this piece of moral blackmail: 1) the whole panic could have been avoided by offering single measles, mumps and rubella jabs rather than the triple MMR, and 2) it is surely just as important as avoiding cases of measles mumps and rubella to avoid causing the kind of catastrophic damage to the brain and gut displayed by the children at the heart of this controversy. And there is a further and quite appalling point to note. This whole saga started because parents of such children found that their family doctors were dismissing out of hand their children's gut and brain problems, accordingly refusing to alleviate their suffering. Now, as a direct result of the animosity towards Wakefield that has been whipped up - and the fear that any doctor who suggests he might be right will similarly find him or herself at the receiving end of the medical establishment's fist - children exhibiting this combination of gut and brain damage are finding it difficult to obtain treatment." - Melanie Phillips, The Spectator (March 21, 2008) http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/568226/the-wakefield-witchhunt.thtmlillips/568226/the-wakefield-witchhunt.thtml

posted by Barbara Loe Fisher @ 7:16 AM

Third Leading Cause of Death in US

2008-01-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

"Pharmaceuticals, as packaged by modern medicine, are the third leading cause of death in this country... they are useless, because most of the medication they are using is to cover up symptoms and signs and complications of dehydration in the human body. The human body manifests dehydration by a series of symptoms and signs, perceptive symptoms of dehydration -- in other words, brain senses dehydration, or tiredness when you haven't done a good day's work, or first thing in the morning when you want to get up out of bed and you're tired, you can't get up -- that is a sign of dehydration. Then anger, quick reaction, depression, these are all signs of dehydration, when the brain has very little energy from hydroelectricity to cope with the information or take action. These are some of the perceptive signs of dehydration. Then the body has its drought management program, which are allergies, hypertension, diabetes, and also immune diseases." This from an interview with the world's authority on water, the Author of "The Water cure", Dr. Batmanghelidj

Are We Really Living Longer?

2008-01-04T22:10:00.000-05:00

There was an interesting comment in Weston A. Price's latest Wise Traditions Magazine: "Are We Really Living Longer?" "An astute member has sent us some interesting statistics about centenarians [people 100 years old & over]. From a video segment recent aired on Nova, we learn that one 1 in 10,000 Americans will live to age 100. US census data indicates that in 1990 there were an estimated 37,306 centenarians out of 248,709,870 or 1 in 6,721 people. According to numbers compiled at the University of Virginia, in 1830 there were 2,600 centenarians out of 12,866,020 people, or 1 in 4,956, more than twice as many as a percentage of population than there are today. So much for assurances that this generation will live longer than ever."

Don’t buy into the fallacy that we are living longer because of modern medicine. It just simply is not true. It makes us feel better to say it while making our poor diet and lifestyle choices. The better question to ask would be, “Is our quality of life any better?”

Dietary Guidelines

2008-01-04T22:03:00.000-05:00

Basics:

If you look at the human body as a furnace and food as the fuel you will gain a better understanding of the following guidelines. The main concern is the ash (or waste) that is left in the body once the food is burned for fuel. The more alkaline the ash, the more life enhancing the fuel. The more acidic the ash, the more disease is created. If the ph level in the body is too acidic for more than 3-4 hours, you die. In order to survive, your body is forced to leech calcium from your bones to neutralize the ph level. The key is to avoid acid forming foods and flood your body with nutrient dense whole foods. You should always make every effort to eat your foods as close to the way they grow in nature as possible. Your diet should consist of 70% raw, 20% cooked and 10% crap foods.

**Your food should be made and consumed with love and joy**

What to Eat:

Fresh, whole and raw vegetables

Dried (beans, peas, and fruit if it is not processed)

Frozen (flash-frozen is best)

______________________________________________________________________________

What not to eat:

Most foods above this line leave an alkaline ash. The foods listed below leave an acidic ash in the body. Certain substances are not compatible with good health and should be eliminated from any diet designed to promote good health. Look at the following list- if you are consuming any (or all) of these on a regular basis, you may want to consider replacing those items with a more health enhancing, whole food alternative.

Coffee- one cup of organic decaf a day is ok (unless your condition is critical but remember the darker the roast the more rancid the bean)

Refined, white flour- look for stone ground, whole grain flour

Refined sugar- consider rice bran syrup, honey or stevia

Alcohol- all kinds – yes even red wine

Black teas – most herbal teas are ok but look out for natural flavors/MSG

All carbonated beverages – including sparkling water

Ice cream- in fact most people should avoid ALL dairy products while healing

Chocolate

Black pepper- use cayenne or other chili peppers

Table salt- use sea salt

Trans fatty acids & hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils- no exceptions

Saturated fats

Artificial sweeteners

Meats:
Meat- it should be considered a condiment and not the staple of the meal. Your meats need to be ‘clean’ meats raised without drugs or hormones and be grass fed. (www.WestonAPrice.org is a great source to find a local farm to you). You should NEVER eat fried meat.

Eat small portions (no more than 3-5 ounces at a time) and not out of a can.
Avoid at all costs eating ‘white foods’ with meat. (Bread pasta, white rice, white potatoes…) If you eat meat and rice together you are turning your meat into sugar, adding 15 hours to your digestive process, and rolling out the welcome mat to parasites!
To offset the acid ash left when the body burns animal proteins eat 5 times the amount of greens to the animal protein at the same meal.
Fish- fresh salmon or other cold water fish (only fresh caught nothing farm raised)
Fowl- fresh pheasant, free range chicken or turkey, quail
Red Meat- grass fed with no antibiotics or hormones.

Avoid the following:

Pork
Shrimp
Crab
Lobster
Oysters
Other scavenger or carnivorous animals.

You have to remember that our oceans are filled with so many toxins nowadays and most of these creatures bottom feed and then you are in turn ingesting those toxins. Pork is one of the most parasitic animals out there and should be avoided.

Activating your nuts and seeds and grains:

All of your nuts, seeds and grains should be organic and raw. Before eating them you do need to prepare them to activate the dormant enzymes so that you can digest them.

Soak them overnight and then place them in a dehydrator at the lowest temperature until dry. If you are in a hurry soak your nuts or seeds in salt water over night and then place them in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes. Soak your brown rice in lemon water overnight before cooking normally.

True Healing

2007-11-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

Do you suffer from any health conditions like:

Acne
Arthritis
Hypo/hyper thyroid issues
Polyp
Cysts
Constipation
Headaches/Migraines
Eczema/Psorisis
Sporadic or no periods
Infertility
ADD or ADHD

Asthma
High blood pressure
Cavities
Root canals
Depression
High cholesterol
Obesity
Heart disease
Diabetes
Alzheimer’s
Cancer

These health conditions are not contagious. You can’t catch it, whatever ‘it’ may be, you created it. Believe it or not these health conditions are simply your body’s way of communicating to you that there is an imbalance happening and it’s asking, maybe even begging, for you to get the help it needs.

If you go to a medical doctor you will get a prescription that will suppress the symptoms you are experiencing. (Doctors save lives every day and I am thankful we have them.) The dilemma we face is when we believe that putting cream on the rash or removing the cyst or polyp, i.e. removing the symptom, means we are cured of the problem. All you have done is muzzled your body’s mode of communication. Trust me when I say the body won’t give up. You may take something and get rid of the pain but your body will create another symptom until you listen and get to the root cause- or it will fail you.

So where to begin? True healing begins in your colon. If your colon isn’t healthy your body isn’t healthy. There is no prescription for a healthy colon. To balance the body you must address the health of the gut and the liver first. Improvement can be made on a good nutritional program, superfood, digestive enzymes and probiotics for the health of gut and liver.

Healing yourself takes diligence and hard work. We have been gifted with a body that is capable of healing itself if we give it what it needs to be healthy. You do not have to suffer from any of these ailments if you are open to looking at things from a different perspective and willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary to achieve a solution. You alone can make the choice to live a healthier and happier life. If you are ready to get healthy please call me at the Living Wellness Center. I am ready to help you find your path to health.

Ordering Instructions

2007-11-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

ORDERING YOUR SUPPLEMENTS

I am extremely particular about what whole food supplements I put in my body and what I recommend others take. The products I suggest are whole foods based and most important have been shown to be effective. If a supplement has corn, unfermented soy, wheat, dairy or natural flavors I do not take it nor do I recommend it. Even if you don’t order the supplements I suggest please do your research on whatever you buy. As always please contact me if you have any questions whatsoever.

I’ve tried to get the instructions as best I can to make your internet ordering smooth. Sometimes it is just easier to call the companies and get yourself set up. Once you become a member with the companies listed below, you will be able to order your products directly from them and get them at a discounted price. (Note: these companies have a great auto ship program so you will never be without!)

The Right Solution

www.GettingWell.rightsolution.com

1-800-315-9877

Sponsor # 156020001

· Click on “Become A Member”

· Fill out the information and to complete hit the “Confirm Sign Up” button.

· You will receive a member ID.

· When you click on “Member Login” for the first time you log in you will leave the password blank then you can change your password once you are in. Everyone who orders becomes a “member”.

· To receive a 25% discount you can pay an annual $15 fee or if you order $200 you will then qualify to get 40% off your subsequent orders.

· See the “Getting Started” brochure for explanation of the choices you have with TRS.

Ecoquest

www.ecoquestintl.com

1-800-572-1447

Sponsor # 3292491

· Scroll to bottom and click on “Are You a Preferred Client?”

· Click on “Become a Preferred Client Now!”

· Enter Sponsor # 3292491 and click “Next”

· Confirm Sponsor Abigail Monihan (3292491) is correct and click “Next”

· Fill out the information and to complete hit the “Next” button.

· Review your information and select “Yes, I want to submit my application” and click the “Next” button.

· You will receive a confirmation page and the first line has your Preferred Client Number.

· Click on “Preferred Client Order Now” on left.

· Click on the “Order Now” button.

· Select a “One Time Order” or set up your “Automatic Monthly Order”

· You’ll be asked for your Preferred Client Number and password. Leave password blank then you can change your password once you are in.

· Place your order!

Nature’s Sunshine

www.mynsp.com/LivingWellness

Sponsor # 2147842-4

Waiorai

www.mywaiora.com/975526

Core Wellness Plan

2007-11-29T21:55:00.000-05:00

CORE WELLNESS PLAN

First and foremost you need to provide your body with the PROPER NUTRITION - something your body actually recognizes on the cellular level as food. Next you need to DETOXIFY your body. Eliminate the accumulated toxins (physical & emotional) and stop putting them into your body. BUILD and boost the immune system so your body can do its job and get you well. And last but not least you have to WORK ON YOUR EMOTIONAL ISSUES. It’s 51% of the healing process.

Take the time each day to move and to breathe. Get 30 minutes of sunlight every day. Live with an attitude of gratitude. Practice loving yourself the way you are. - And - Let everyone else be the way they are.

I understand these steps are much easier said than done - but I promise you - when you can do this consistently, you will be amazed at what you will discover about your body and yourself. It is my sincere hope to help individuals and families find their way back to wellness. It is our right to feel good and be happy. Not the happy you see on a commercial (with all the possible side effects), but truly and deeply happy and healthy.

Even if you do not decide to call me for help, PLEASE consider implementing the four steps listed above to the best of your ability and using the best products you can find. I truly believe you will be very happy with the results. I consider the following products and techniques to be the core foundation of this wellness plan.

The Core Supplement Program to Support Your Wellness Plan:

Nourish- 80% Raw vegetables and 20% cooked organic whole foods.

Superfood- Nourish your body, your cells and your brain. (4-6 scoops daily at a min.)

Digest-A-Meal- 4 digestive enzymes before every meal and in between to help digest your food and clean up your blood.

Total Flora Support-3 with every meal and at bedtime to help your body replenish its depleted probiotic balance.

New Life Corrective A/B/C- 3 step detox program done once a month until you have achieved your desired level of health and then seasonally.

Superfood

2007-11-26T21:23:00.000-05:00

If you are not feeling well you are nutritionally depleted. A lack of nutrition in your blood can cause everything from low energy and a weak immune system to virtually any disease. Your speed and ability to recover are greatly reduced when you are nutritionally depleted.

Nutrition is what builds every cell, every organ and every metabolic chemical in your body. Having a rich supply of nutrition in your blood gives you energy, vitality, strength, protects you from disease and illness, and if you get sick, speeds up your recovery dramatically. Get maximum nutrition in, get old waste out and supercharge your immune system.

Even in perfect health it is difficult to digest and assimilate vitamin and mineral pills because they are typically synthetic. The body cannot digest synthetic forms of nutrients you find in most supplements. (We have the richest urine in the world because most of our vitamins and supplements are just urinated out.) When you take a synthetic vitamin your body has to balance that so it will actually take the vitamins you have in your reserve and use that to balance the synthetic vitamin you are taking. You may feel better temporarily because this reserve has been tapped but you are depleting yourself of all your natural vitamins and minerals by taking synthetic forms.

You would be shocked to know what manufacturers can put in their supplements and call them a vitamin. If you are currently taking vitamin and mineral pills, check your bottle. Does it say what each vitamin and mineral is made from? You may be shocked to discover Vitamin A comes from toxic fish oil that is loaded with toxic PCB’s, lethal mercury and lead; B vitamins from coal tar and petro-chemicals (known central nervous system depressants), respiratory irritants and carcinogens; Vitamin C from acid blends (irritating to the lining of the digestive tract); Vitamin D from radiated oil; Vitamin E from Eastman Kodak. They may be “100% natural”, but they are not good foods.

Plants contain every vitamin, mineral and nutrient known and they are in their natural form. The minerals in Superfood come from Seaweeds, organic root vegetables and grain grasses. When you take Superfood you assimilate it in minutes, right into your blood: where you need it.

What can Superfood Do?

Provide all vitamins/minerals/amino acids you need
Feed the nervous system
Calm the body down
Build the blood vessels
Feed the adrenals
Feed the thyroid
Build perfect cells
Rebuild muscles
Support fertility
Feed the pituitary gland
Increase IQ
Help heal and strengthen broken bones
Balance blood sugar
Feed the pancreas

Superfood is the cornerstone of the Core Wellness Program. You will quickly become accustomed to the taste and smell and come to crave it and the way it makes you feel!

Digestive Enzymes

2007-11-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

Enzymes can be formed only from and in organic living matter. Where there are no enzymes, there is no life.

You are alive because enzymes make it possible. Enzymes are the foundation of energy and the life force in all living things. Without enzymes seeds would not sprout, fruit would not ripen, leaves would not change color, and you would not exist. Enzymes are responsible for building, detoxifying, and healing your body. They are the force that allows your body to digest and absorb food. Enzymes also regulate tens of thousands of other biochemical functions that take place every day in your body. These functions include breathing, growing, smelling, tasting, stimulating nerves, defending your body against disease, regulating hormones, and building organs, glands, and tissues. Even your thinking involves enzymes.

There are two sources of enzymes: endogenous, meaning those that originate within our body; and exogenous, meaning those we ingest that originate outside our body.

Undigested foods can eventually cause or aggravate any disease we can name. Beginning a program of enzyme supplementation can have a dramatic healing effect on those same diseases or health imbalances. Most diseases are promoted or even caused by a lack of enzymes.

The primary effect on blood resulting from a diet of cooked or otherwise processed, enzyme-less food is known as erythrocyte aggregation. This means the red blood cells clump in a formation, similar to a stack of coins in a shapeless mass. Imagine what this does for circulation, since the smallest blood vessels- the capillaries- have an inside diameter only large enough to allow the cells to go through single file. It’s simply fluid mechanics: This clumping puts great resistance on the heart, contributing to high blood pressure. Sluggish blood also impairs immune function by slowing down circulating white blood cells.

Enzyme supplements have two primary health promoting effects, which depend on when they are taken.

With A Meal
High quality food enzymes with meals ensure complete metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates ingested at that time. If a blockage exists somewhere in the digestive tract, the person will not be contributing further to the obstruction by packing down more indigestible foods. An enzyme program will contribute to unclogging the processed debris that have been accumulating in the stomach and intestines.

On An Empty Stomach
The second health promoting benefit of supplemental enzymes is seen in the blood. By taking enzymes between meals, on an empty stomach, the enzyme energy is absorbed into the bloodstream to go to work breaking down some of the long term food residues that have made their way into the circulation. This is known as blood detoxification. Once in the bloodstream, these natural food enzymes can undo some of the damage caused by months or years of eating a diet high in processed or other enzyme-less foods.

The most serious threat to the body’s supply of endogenous enzymes is the habit of eating cooked and processed foods. Cooking or processing food over 118 degrees completely destroys the enzymes in the food. You will not find enzymes in foods that are in a box, bottle or can. Cooking also contributes to nutrient loss. Pasteurization, sterilization, radiation, freezing and microwaving either render food enzymes inactive or alter their structure. Of all the creatures on earth, human beings and their domesticated pets are the only ones that try to live without food enzymes in their diets.

Stress, strenuous exercise, pregnancy, frequent colds, exposure to extreme temperatures and fevers all require tremendous enzyme activity. Fried foods, caffeine, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and other stimulants also cause immense quantities of metabolic enzymes to be produced and generate cell-damaging substances called free radicals.

Early signs of Enzyme Deficiency:
Digestive complaints like heartburn, gas, bloating and belching are signs of an enzyme deficiency. Other symptoms may include headaches, stomach aches, diarrhea, constipation, chronic fatigue, yeast infections, and nutritional deficiencies. Because these symptoms are so prevalent many people consider them to be normal. However, they are an indication that the body cannot process the food eaten. Digestive problems concern the stomach, intestines, colon, liver, pancreas, and gall bladder. Autopsies have shown that everyone who eats primarily cooked foods will have a dangerously enlarged and poorly functioning pancreas, often on the verge of breakdown.

Enzymes and fiber are essential for proper digestion and elimination. A major benefit of fiber is that it binds acids to bile and carries the bile along with excess fats out of the body. Fiber helps to lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, improve blood sugar, and promote the growth of friendly intestinal flora. It also promotes bowel regularity, aids in digestion, and helps to keep the bowel clean. Fiber cannot do its job effectively unless enzymes do theirs. Over time, hard to digest high-protein foods (such as cooked meat and other enzyme deficient foods) exhaust the digestive organs until they can no longer function efficiently. This results in the accumulation of partially digested food in the bowel. By middle age many people have as much as 20 pounds of undigested, putrefactive food in their colon. Toxins produced from this putrefactive buildup are reabsorbed into the bloodstream, creating autointoxication, or self poisoning. This results in a dramatically weakened immune system and can lead to serious debilitating health problems including colon cancer.

When cooked foods are eaten, the body reacts just as though we had an acute illness. Within 30 minutes of eating cooked foods, our white-blood cell count increases dramatically. This means that the immune system is being unnecessarily called into action virtually every time we eat. What about refined sugar? Unprocessed, raw sugar cane contains enzymes, chromium and B vitamins and is easily digested and assimilated. In order for the body to metabolize processed, refined sugar, the missing vitamins and chromium must be stolen from the body’s own tissue reserves. If large quantities of refined sugar are eaten, then not only are the body’s enzymes depleted, but we suffer B vitamin and chromium deficiencies. Chromium is an essential mineral needed by the body to support efficient insulin function. Insulin regulates the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Studies show a relationship between obesity and chromium deficiencies. B vitamins are considered coenzymes essential to the metabolism of all cells. We also need water in the intestinal tract to activate enzymes. This water should be pure and should not contain chlorine or fluoride.

Enzyme deficiency can lead to obesity, osteoporosis, Candida overgrowth, allergies, all types of dis-ease up to and including, cancer and death. By providing your body with an abundance of live foods and enzyme supplements, you maybe able to reverse many ills and significantly increase your potential for staying healthy, experiencing more vitality, and living a longer and more enjoyable life.

Not all digestive enzymes are created equal.

There are hundreds of enzymes on the market but most are useless due to the manufacturing process. The machines get so hot during the mass production they kill all of the enzymes they are creating thus wasting your hard earned money. There are only two that I know of that have been shown to work on a live blood analysis. They are:

1. Digest A meal from EcoQuest/Infinity 2 Nutrition

2. LifeZyme Plus from The Right Solution.

Probiotics

2007-11-24T21:29:00.000-05:00

Healthy "friendly" intestinal bacteria is essential not only to good intestinal health, but without it overall vibrant health is quite difficult to achieve and/or maintain. Bacteria are everywhere. We swallow them with food, drink them with water, they are in the air we breathe, on our skin, in our mouths, digestive tract, sinuses and other areas of our bodies. In so far as health is concerned, some of them are harmful, some neutral, and some are very beneficial. Some are extremely valuable for good health as they work harmoniously with our immune system.

In a healthy colon, there are literally billions of beneficial or "friendly" bacteria. Under favorable conditions, they multiply at fast enough rates to keep pace with the large numbers that are lost during elimination. (Bacteria is also referred to as micro-organisms). When they are located in the intestinal tract, they are referred to as "intestinal flora," "micro-flora", "good bacteria", "friendly/beneficial bacteria" or sometimes just "flora." These friendly bacteria synthesize many important vitamins in the digestive tract including Vitamin K and some of the B vitamins. A very important function they perform is helping the colon maintain a proper pH or acid-base balance. It is necessary for the pH to stay in the correct range in order for other health supporting bacteria to exist. It is also important to keep levels of antagonistic micro-organisms under control.

If you are not actively replenishing your intestinal bacteria, both with supplements and contributing foods, you indirectly are providing to the recurrence of future health problems. An intestinal tract devoid of friendly intestinal bacteria is a breeding ground for future illness.

Enemies of beneficial flora

Drugs- especially antibiotics, as one dose can eliminate all friendly bacteria in your intestines.
Alcohol- it destroys enzymes and lacto bacteria, not to mention actual cells (particularly brain cells)
Coffee- each cup can destroy 20% of the friendly bacteria in your gut.
Meat- it feeds the bacillus coli (harmful bacteria) which in turn destroy the good bacteria.
Bread- especially white flour or any wheat bread that was baked in an oven.
Sugar- that includes breakfast cereals, chocolate, cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream, soda pop, etc.
Fried foods- e.g. potato chips, fries, and anything fried in oil.
Antibiotics- can’t tell the difference between good or bad bacteria and kill it all. This allows the candida to proliferate very quickly as there is no good bacteria to eat it.

Eating these foods provide candida a prime environment to proliferate out of control. Your beneficial flora only replicate every 2-3 days yet candida can replicate every 20-30 minutes!! You can see how easy it is to get out of balance. When you crave sugars, carbs, or alcohol that is the candida crying out to be fed. The urges are quite difficult to ignore and will be relieved if you give in but this only contributes to the proliferation of the candida and know you can see how that leads to many health issues.

Eating lacto-fermented foods is one vital way to obtain probiotics and there are many probiotic supplements in the market. The formula I take, and recommend, is Total Flora Support from EcoQuest. It is dairy free and has been stabilized so that it won’t be ruined in the transport process. (Most products you find in the store have been killed in transport!) Whatever probiotc you decide to use please make sure it is dairy free and has been stabilized. Don’t be afraid to call manufacturers to see how they operate- it does make a difference.

Detox

2007-11-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

Why Detoxify

"Of all the polite topics of conversation, the state of one's intestines is probably at the bottom of most people's lists. Let's face it: Irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, gas, diverticulitis and colon cancer are simply not things we like to discuss. And yet, as the old expression goes, death begins in the colon. Don't believe it? Ask any coroner. Autopsies often reveal colons that are plugged up to 80 percent with waste material." - Vegetarian Times, March, 1998

More Americans are hospitalized due to diseases of the digestive tract and colon than for any other group of disorders. The estimated total cost in lost work, lost wages, and medical bills is well over $50 billion per year! Colon/rectal cancer is the number one cancer in America for men and women together.

We are all exposed to thousands of toxins and chemicals on a daily basis at work, in the home, through the air we breathe, our food and water supply, and through the use of pharmaceutical drugs. Most people today live on a diet of over-processed and over-cooked food, not to mention coffee, sugar, chocolate, junk food, prescription drugs and alcohol. U.S. industries manufacture over 6 trillion pounds of 9,000 different chemicals a year. They dump billions of pounds of industrial chemicals into our air and water year after year. So now scientists have started to examine pollution levels in humans and their findings are deeply disturbing. Research proves that our bodies are not capable of eliminating all the different toxins and chemicals we inhale and ingest every day. They simply accumulate in our cells (especially fat cells), tissues, blood, organs (such as the colon, liver and brain) and remain stored for an indefinite length of time causing all kinds of health problems.

The 'dead' processed foods we ingest lead to poor digestion and elimination. This causes a toxic build-up in the body, specifically the colon. (You are fed from your small intestines and you get your water from your large intestines.) Toxins being held in the colon will create a home for parasites. These parasites and fungal forms, like candida, create symptoms like aches and pains, chronic diarrhea, nausea, acne, skin rashes, bad breath, fatigue, menstrual irregularities, insomnia, depression, gas, bloating, impotence, overall fuzzy brain, severe PMS, cravings for sugar, sweets or starchy foods, and recurrent fungal infections (athlete’s foot, vaginal yeast infections and UTI’s). When your body is overloaded with toxins it’s almost impossible to lose weight. Your metabolism becomes sluggish, organs become run down, and your body creates fat cells to store the excess toxins.

You can see in our day to day lives how easy it is to get overwhelmed with toxicity. You have the tools at hand to deal with this. As overwhelming as it might seem you can shift the balance back from a state of disease and unhealthiness in your body to one of vibrant health and experience a higher quality of life.

What Will This Detox Do?

Cleanse the colon of accumulated toxic build-up
Eliminate harmful parasites, including intestinal worms and their eggs from the colon and other parts of the body
Help restore normal bowel function and promote regularity
Soften and absorb old hardened fecal matter off walls of colon and bowel pockets
Absorb and hold harmless heavy metals, toxins, poisons, drug residues, and more
Detoxify liver, kidneys and other organs
Promote healthy intestinal flora

Just Some Health Issues That Can Be Addressed By Detoxifying:

Frequent fatigue and low energy
Flatulence, gas & bloating
Excess weight
Food allergies
Impaired digestion
Irritability, mood swings
Bad breath & foul-smelling stools
Parasites in stool

Diverticulitis
Frequent colds

Ulcerative Colitis/Crohn’s Disease

Recurring headaches
Chronic constipation
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Protruding belly ("pooch")
Powerful food cravings
Skin problems, rashes, etc.
Metallic taste in mouth
Hemorrhoids
Candida infection

Polyps

Hemorrhoids

The Detox protocol I have had the most success with and now use religiously is from The Right Solution (TRS). www.Gettingwell.rightsolution.com

Precautions While Detoxing:

Here are the precautions to take to prevent permanent damage when you detoxify your body:

1. Don't detox too fast. If toxins are released from the cells faster than the body can move them out of the tissues, the toxins may damage the tissues on the way out. So if you experience pain, nausea, or other symptoms when detoxing, cut back on your detox method until the symptoms clear. These type of detox symptoms are rare with this program you just need to make sure you are eliminating effectively.

2. A total fast from food is not a good detox method because it may release the toxins too fast. A water fast pulls the toxins out of your cells but then you have to recirculate them through your liver and kidneys which were too overburdened to deal with them in the first place. Doing this detox will pull the toxins out and hold them harmless in your colon.

4. Make sure that you are getting the proper nutrition i.e. Superfood and water to nourish your cells while they detox.

5. Don’t hesitate to call during your detox with any questions you might have.