Rather Be Healthy

Reality check: When the power grid goes down, all grid-tie solar systems will go down with it

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036194_solar_system_grid-tie_power_grid.html#ixzz1y40huaO9

A lot of people believe they are becoming “power independent” by installing grid-tie solar systems, but what many don’t realize is that virtually all such systems are designed to actively go offline when the power grid goes offline.

A “grid-tie” solar system is one that ties into the power grid, pulling electricity from the grid when needed, then pushing excess electricity back into the grid when the local customer isn’t using the full capacity being generated by PV panels (photovoltaic). As long as the grid stays up, it’s a clever solution because it reduces or even eliminates the customer’s electric bills while generating “clean” energy.

Because of the very fact that these systems are tied into the power grid, however, they all have a safety feature that disconnects them from the grid when the grid goes down. In other words, if the power grid goes offline, your entire grid-tie solar array becomes instantly useless and you can’t power a laptop computer even if you have $100,000 worth of solar panels sitting on your roof. In a grid-tie system, they all are instantly shut off.

Let me be clear, because some people reading this article seem to vastly misunderstand the issue: When the power grid goes down, your entire PV array is instantly disabled by your grid-tie inverters, and you cannot use your PV array for anything! Even if the sun is shining, you will have no power from it, period. Understand?

Some early comments to this story suggested that people could simply install a throw switch that would divert the PV array to local use only. This is NOT allowed by local electrical code! Such a system is very difficult to engineer in a safe manner and would almost certainly violate local codes in nearly all U.S. cities. It simply will NOT pass inspection and will not be allowed in most areas. I spoke with top solar consultants to confirm this. At best, such a system would exist in a “grey area” of regulatory approval, I was told.

Again, most people reading this story still do not understand what I’m saying here, and I’ve backed this up with conversations with top solar experts and equipment providers around the world. When the power grid goes down, virtually all grid-tie systems go down with it. Your solar panels are instantly rendered useless and cannot be used until the city power grid is restored.

It’s a “safety” feature
Four out of five people reading this will not believe this information because it is so counter-intuitive. I spoke with architects and engineers who didn’t even know this information. They were all proven wrong. If you install a grid-tie solar system, the entire system is immediately useless when the grid goes down. You will have zero power, even if the sun is shining. Your solar array only functions when grid power is up, get it? That’s the way grid-tie systems are hard-wired. There is no BYPASS function. Grid down = solar array down, period.

What’s the reason behind all this? Because if the main power grid is down, the assumption is that a power line worker may be working on the line somewhere. If a local solar customer is feeding electricity back up the line, that can be dangerous — even deadly — to a power line worker. Thus, all grid-tie solar equipment sold today includes the “safety feature” of automatically shutting down when the grid goes down.

Or at least that’s the official explanation from the solar power companies, because there’s no explanation as to why these inverters have to shut off the local supply of power from the PV panels. Why not let the homeowner continue to have electricity from their own solar panels even if the power grid is down?

Off-grid systems
“Off-grid” systems allow precisely that. These systems, which do not tie into the power grid, run on a combination of solar panels, batteries and often a backup generator running on gasoline, diesel or propane.

Off-grid systems are ridiculously expensive to own and operate, mostly due to the cost of batteries. Today’s battery technology remains stuck in the 1800’s, meaning that even so-called “deep cycle” batteries will still last only 5 – 10 years. If you do the math on the cost of batteries for a typical off-grid system running a household of four people, you’ll come to the surprising figure that batteries alone can cost you $500 / month, each and every month that you use an off-grid system (that’s the total cost of the batteries divided by the number of months they will last).

That’s why most people don’t go with off-grid systems. Grid-tie systems cost significantly less, especially with solar panels now at rock-bottom prices thanks to China dumping them onto the U.S. market below manufacturing cost. (Right now is a great time to buy solar panels, before new tariffs kick in.)

Batteries can be eliminated in such a system by having a standby generator. The solution I personally recommend, as I have researched this in considerable detail, is to purchase a 20kw Generac generator and acquire a 1,000-gallon propane tank to power it. If you practice some simple energy conservation techniques (such as limiting use of air conditioners or heaters), you can run a typical household for 2-3 months on 1,000 gallons of propane. And if you have solar panels to help along the way, that could be stretched to 4-6 months since you’d only be using the propane fuel at night or when the sun isn’t shining.

Only an off-grid system gives you true energy independence.

Many people who buy grid-tie systems mistakenly think they’re buying off-grid systems
The kicker in all this is that many people mistakenly think they’re buying one kind of system when, in reality, they’re buying the other kind. Solar installation companies that install grid-tie systems do not necessarily inform their customers that their systems will not function when the power grid goes down. So these customers, even after spending $20,000 to $80,000 or even more, end up with a system that’s 100% dependent on the power grid!

There’s going to be a rude awakening for these people when the power grid goes down and their solar systems refuse to function. Because, for most people installing solar systems today, the whole idea is to have power when the grid goes down.

And how likely is the grid to go down? Cyber security expert David Chalk says there is a “100 percent chance” that the grid will go down in the near future due to vulnerabilities to cyber terrorism. I recently interviewed him about this subject, and you can watch that interview at:
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=81D036C326E439BFA82D0592925918C2

When I asked him how many months or year it might be before we suffer a catastrophic infrastructure failure of some kind, his reply was, “It’s more like a matter of days.”

His website is www.DavidChalkInc.com

Off-grid solar equipment is in short supply
As you probably suspected, the kind of solar equipment used to build off-grid systems — the kind that function without the power grid — is in very short supply. Manufacturers in Germany, Japan and China are backordered for months. Free inventory is virtually zero. Install times for new systems can now stretch out as long as six months in some cities.

If you want an off-grid solar system and you’re not already in the queue to get one, there’s very little chance you can have one in place before the prophecy date of December 21, 2012… if that even matters to you. I personally don’t put any special weight on that date, but I do believe our world is becoming increasingly unpredictable. Those who want to be safe, prepared and living with a source of electricity need to take steps now to install off-grid systems.

Don’t rely on solar installation companies to know what you want. In most cities, they automatically assume customers just want “grid-tie” systems to reduce their electric bills. So if you don’t insist on it, you’ll end up buying a grid-tie system that becomes a useless heap of dead electronics on the day the power grid dies.

Additional notes: Yes, even off-grid systems are vulnerable to solar flares and EMP attacks (dir/Technology/Solar-Panels-Sunlight-Energy.jpg). There’s no protecting fragile electronics from such events unless you keep a spare set of redundant equipment protected inside Faraday cages or wrapped in aluminum foil and stored inside galvanized aluminum trash cans. Even then, you’d have to figure out how to reinstall everything from the ground up, which would require an expert electrician.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99

GMO Labeling Law on the California Ballot — One Small Step for No GMO-Kind : Exclusive Renegade Health Article

Over the next few days, you’ll hear a lot of news about a GMO labeling law being accepted on the California ballot in November 2012…

This means if the majority of Golden State voters are in favor of labeling GMO foods on the supermarket shelf at the end of this year, then all food manufacturers will have to disclose — on their packaging — that their product contains (or is) a genetically modified ingredient.

Since the public has been polled and is not in favor of eating GMO foods, this is good news for people who want to know what they’re eating, but a sticky situation for the food companies. Some polls say up to 90% of people said they would not eat a GMO food if they were given a choice. This means that labeling these foods, could cause people to spend their money on products that don’t contain these ingredients.

Bad news for those who profit on this technology — and have invested billions and billions of dollars into it.

But it’s hesitatingly-awesome news for you and I (since we want real food, as nature intended.)

I say hesitatingly-awesome, not only because I like making up words (which I really do), but because I consider this only one step — not a giant leap — in the process of getting your food labeled and exercising your freedom to know what the heck you’re eating — your continued action and support is needed.

Probably even more so than ever before.

Now the real fight begins…

There’s a lot of money invested in genetically modified foods — billions of dollars. There’s also a ton of expected profit — hundreds of years of profit — into the trillions of dollars.

Basically, in layman’s terms, they’ve found out that if you change the DNA of a plant and put your own creative (mutant) spin on it — genetic modification — you can patent it and profit from it. That’s what a GMO is.

If the food companies can control the patents on everything that we eat they can sit back and collect on licensing, the sale of seeds and any other way they can profit on controlling the food chain for generations.

It’s the ultimate business play. Make profit on something that everyone has to do. (Just wait until they find a way to profit on the air we breathe… it may be coming sooner than we think.)

So here’s the thing. Everything was going along fine for the food companies, until some “crazy” (labeled by the government and industry) scientists started to question how good these new, engineered foods are for the earth — and ultimately your health and wellbeing.

What they found was that is seemed more prudent — in the professional opinions of these scientists — to not unleash this technology around the globe before there was concrete science that proved they were completely safe for the environment and your own health.

Unfortunately, the food companies, decided to ignore these professional opinions, discredit these scientists and start to release these foods into the marketplace.

You see, they don’t want you or anyone else to think that GMO foods like corn, soy, canola, and others — with this mutant DNA — are any different than the food you’re eating now. It’s bad for business.

If they can show you that an ear of GMO corn looks just like an organically grown ear of corn, they’re pretty sure you won’t care what its DNA looks like. And if you don’t care, then they can still collect money on their patents and their seeds and associated products.

So now that a GMO labeling law is on the California ballot, it is in their best interest to “educate you” on why GMO foods are just the same — or better — than the food we’re eating now.

And, believe me, they’re going to put up a fight.

So right now, I want arm you with some ammunition (no, not guns or anything) that will help you understand what they will say and what it really means.

Here are the 4 “education points” they’ll use to try to convince you, your friends and your family that GMOs are OK and why you should not believe them at all.

1. GMOs are no different than the food you eat now.

First, like I already said, they want you to believe that GMO foods are exactly the same as the food that you’re already eating. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, well, it must be a duck.

The truth is, the DNA, the inner workings of these foods has been altered to a degree that scientists are still quite unsure of what exactly these plants and foods will react in the environment and in your body. Some of them actually produce their own pesticides.

This kind of weird science is more like having a duck that has weird parts on the inside that may or may not carry out duck activities like swimming, flying or eating… what do ducks eat anyway? Bread?

2. There’s no science that says GMOs are harmful.

As a counter argument to the uncertainly of how these foods react in our world, the food industry will undoubtedly say, “we’ve spend billions of dollars on testing these foods and there’s no scientific evidence linking GMO foods to any health issues or environmental concerns.”

They always do this.

Basically, what this translates to is, “we’ve spent billions of dollars crafting studies that protect our investment.” Independent science on GMOs does exist and it’s not as favorable as the food industry would like you to think.

I guess it’s just human nature.

Let’s say you run a cigarette business. Isn’t in your best interest to make sure that no one connects your product to cancer? You bet.

3. GMOs can save the world.

If all else fails, it’s time to pull on your heartstrings.

Most bio-tech companies will tell you that genetically modified foods can save the world in one way or another. They usually mention starving children when they bring up this topic to make sure they get your attention.

The issue with this argument is that the majority of genetically modified foods being grown today are not being developed to help starving children. They are crops grown in the U.S. and around the world (where GMOs are not banned) being grown to produce their own pesticides, fatten up animals, make plant based plastics, and add filler into your food.

The starving children ploy is a pie-in-the-sky attempt to make you feel like you’re supporting something that is just a secondary — faux-humanitarian — focus of most of the food producers.

Also, a little darker to think about, all companies must turn a profit to survive, so if they’re thinking about helping starving children, they’ve also figured out a way to profit from them.

True humanitarianism is giving aid, not profiting from it and then using it as a PR move to get your support.

4. GMOs are the future of food.

Finally, the food companies will act as if you don’t have a choice, all the world has already accepted this new type of food and you’re the only one who hasn’t. “If you want to be a dirty old hippie and live like a caveman, fine, but get your Volkswagen bus out of everyone else’s way,” they’ll say.

If you think everyone else is already on board, then it makes sense to be on board too. The food and biotech companies will start to form advisory boards of prominent doctors and scientists, pay a celebrity or two and get a prominent politician to endorse genetically modified foods so you think they’re a-OK. You do trust politicians, doctors and celebrities, right?

But the truth is, there are many more people who want to know what is in our food. You’re one of the millions of people around the globe that cares and they’re just trying to win you over with their big PR firms and spin.

So ultimately, your job is to spread the world, whether you’re in California or Kazakhstan. Tell people that you want to know what’s in your food. It’s as simple as that.

Our job isn’t done here. It’s our responsibility to counter the spin and ultimately have control over what we feed our families. Some of these arguments above will assist you along the way.

Also, if you really want to help, since we need you now more than ever, here’s where you can go: http://www.LabelGMOs.org

On this site, you can sign up to get newsletters on GMOs, you can ask how you can donate your time, or you can donate money to the campaign.

As I said in the beginning, our jobs have just started. If we really care about our food, this may be the most important issue that we’ve been faced with in the last 50 years.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99

GMO labeling victory! Measure accepted onto California ballot; now the real battle begins

In this breaking news for the food-conscious community, the California Secretary of State has just announced that the GMO labeling ballot measure has met and exceeded the requirements to be placed on the November ballot

This measure, which has been strongly pushed by the Organic Consumers Association, the Institute for Responsible Technology, and a large number of dedicated volunteers and donors, would require genetically engineered ingredients to be indicated on food labels. This is an honest labeling issue that would allow consumers to make informed decisions about what they choose to purchase and consume.

504,760 signatures were needed to qualify for the November ballot, and the GMO labeling signature effort has greatly exceeded this number. Tremendous thanks are due to all those who fought for this honest labeling initiative. NaturalNews has consistently covered this issue from day one, and has helped drive significant awareness and funds to this GMO labeling effort.

A passage of this initiative could spell the end of GMOs in America, as food producers already know that if given a choice, 90+ percent of consumers would choose to avoid genetically engineered food. For this reason, food producers would be forced to switch to non-GMO sources for their food ingredients. This, in turn, would see a near collapse of GM seeds being planted in fields across America.

The disinfo war begins
Of course, Monsanto, DuPont, Big Agriculture and the food industry don’t want consumers to know what’s in their food. They profit when consumers are kept in the dark, and they will spend tens of millions of dollars to spread disinformation about this initiative in order to influence California voters to vote it down.

Thus, the next great battle begins: The battle for voting YES on the ballot measure. Expect NaturalNews and all the same allies who advocated the ballot measure to now shift gears and start educating voters to support the ballot measure.

This initiative will be won on the internet. It is the website articles, Facebook posts, tweets and emails that will educate consumers to vote YES on this measure. Please join NaturalNews in this effort to achieve victory in November in California because it has global implications. If we can defeat Monsanto at the ballot in November, we will be one step closer to eliminating dangerous GM crops altogether.

Stay tuned to NaturalNews for more coverage of this crucial issue. We have won a major battle, but an even larger one awaits us in November.

Personally, I don’t care who you vote for when it comes to President, as the candidates are virtually identical in their policies. But voting on this GMO ballot measure is the real reason to get out and vote. This is something that was written by the People, advocated by the People, and its passage will help protect the People from greed-driven corporations that sell poison and call it food.

It’s time to end GMOs across America. If you’re a California voter, vote YES on GMO labeling in November. Spread the word. Stay tuned to NaturalNews for more grassroots activism on this issue.

Victory against GMOs is within reach!

Learn more:
www.labelgmos.org
www.JustLabelIt.org
www.ResponsibleTechnology.org
www.OrganicConsumers.org

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Articles Related to This Article:
• Non-GMO Project responds to OCA over GMOs, coexistence and effective activism

• Wikileaks cable reveals U.S. conspired to retaliate against European nations if they resisted GMOs

• Why and How to Avoid GMO Foods

• GMO lies: Deliberate misuse of the term “genetically modified” designed to mislead people

• Monsanto: The world’s poster child for corporate manipulation and deceit

• Just Say No to GMO music video features Health Ranger rapping about dangers of genetically modified foods

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About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He’s also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NaturalNews email newsletters. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He’s also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99

I personally have been suffering from RA for about twenty years now, at first I just used the prescription meds to ease the stiffness and pain, but about twelve years ago I started using Kombucha. I was still living in England at the time and I was able to get Kombucha mushroom tablets from a great shop called Holland and Barret.
I was so happy with the results and used it until I moved to the US, I eventually found some on the interrnet and purchased them from a shop in New York but sadly it was only about a tenth of the strength of the ones I’d previously used so it became impractical financially to continue.

So reading through Dr Mercola’s article I’m feeling quite optimistic and will hopefully be able to start this in the next week or so.

By Dr. Mercola

If you’re looking for a way to help fight rheumatoid arthritis (RA) without drugs, then you need look no further than the spice shelf at your local market. New research published in the spring of 2012 showed that curcumin, the active ingredient in the curry spice turmeric, possesses potent anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties.

The clinical study evaluated the safety and effe3020ctiveness of curcumin alone, and in combination with an NSAID drug (Voltaren) in patients with active RA… and the results speak for themselves.

A Novel Approach for Treating RA With a 60-90 Percent Likelihood of Improvement

At least 2 million Americans have definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis, a number that has been increasing in recent years. It is a much more devastating illness than previously appreciated. This is NOT the same condition as the far more common and generally less serious osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease. Although interestingly most of the same treatments discussed below will also work for osteoarthritis.

Most patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a progressive disability, and the natural course of the condition is quite remarkable in that less than 1 percent of people with the disease have a spontaneous remission. Some disability occurs in 50-70 percent of people within five years after onset of the disease, and half will stop working within 10 years. The annual cost of this disease in the U.S. is estimated to be over $1 billion.

Most authorities believe that remissions rarely occur. Some experts feel that the term “remission-inducing” should not be used to describe ANY current rheumatoid arthritis treatment, and a review of contemporary treatment methods shows that medical science has not been able to significantly improve the long-term outcome of this disease.

This devastating prognosis is what makes this novel form of treatment so exciting, as it has a far higher likelihood of succeeding than the conventional approach.

Over the years I have treated over 3,000 patients with rheumatic illnesses, including SLE, scleroderma, polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Approximately 15 percent of these patients were lost to follow-up for whatever reason and have not continued with treatment. The remaining patients appear to have a 60-90 percent likelihood of improvement on this treatment regimen. This level of improvement is quite a stark in contrast to the typical numbers quoted above which are experienced with conventional approaches, and certainly provide a strong motivation to try the protocol I discuss below.

Changes to My Rheumatoid Arthritis Video and Protocol

Many of you may know that I treated many RA patients based on a protocol developed by a maverick but well respected rheumatologist, Dr. Thomas Brown. He died in 1989 shortly after I started using his approach. I first became aware of Doctor Brown’s protocol, which focused on the elimination of mycoplasma, in 1989 when I saw him on ABC’s 20/20. This was shortly after the introduction of the first edition of his book, The Road Back. Unfortunately, Dr. Brown died from prostate cancer shortly after the 20/20 program and I never had a chance to meet him.

I eventually wound up treating a few thousand RA patients and had quite a following as most got really great results. As I learned more about natural medicine I integrated more of that wisdom into Dr. Brown’s original protocol and consolidated that into an article I wrote in 1995 and presented at a conference. Many of the key points are summarized below.

I further revised that paper with the video above but there have been further modifications to the RA protocol since I recorded this video. One of the primary ones is the strong recommendation to use low dose naltrexone as an adjunct to help wean off the nearly universal experience of toxic drugs that most RA patients are put on. Astaxanthin is also a powerful anti-inflammatory antioxidant that could have very powerful benefits in controlling the joint pain. Additionally, I would also strongly encourage working up to 4-6 ounces a day of fermented veggies, which will supply about ten trillion beneficial bacteria, which is about 10% of the population of your gut. Ideally one should consume them regularly if not daily.

Another important change is to make sure you are getting loads of beneficial bacteria. Many people do this by taking a high quality probiotic. But even better is to prepare your own fermented foods at home and work your way up to 4 to 6 ounces per day. We have done analysis on the number of bacteria in this size serving of fermented vegetables and it is close to ten trillion which is about 10% of the bacteria in your body, or equal to about one whole bottle of a high potency probiotic. The best way to learn how to prepare them properly is to get the GAPS book or listen to my interview with Caroline Barringer

Lastly of course, as the featured study suggests, one can also consider the use of curcumin as discussed below.

Curcumin Works Better Than Drugs

The study revealed that a highly bioavailable form of curcumin was more effective in alleviating RA symptoms, including tenderness and swelling of joints, than the drug. Not only that, those who were taking the curcumin only, actually experienced the most improvement across the board.

Along with relieving the most symptoms, the curcumin group had another benefit – lack of any observed adverse effects. No one in the curcumin group withdrew from the study due to side effects, but 14 percent of those in the NSAID group did so. Researchers noted: i

“Interestingly, the curcumin group showed the highest percentage of improvement… and these scores were significantly better than the patients in the diclofenac sodium [Voltaren] group. More importantly, curcumin treatment was found to be safe and did not relate with any adverse events. Our study provides the first evidence for the safety and superiority of curcumin treatment in patients with active RA.”

Several years back, in 2006, another study also found that turmeric supplements, which contain curcuminoids, profoundly lessened joint inflammation and destruction, ii presumably by blocking inflammatory pathways and thereby preventing the increased production of a protein that triggers swelling and pain. Curcumin is most known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. It has been shown to influence more than 700 genes, and it can inhibit both the excessive activity and the synthesis of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX), as well as other enzymes that have been implicated in inflammation.

Tips for Increasing Your Absorption of Curcumin

If you want to give curcumin a try for RA, it is widely available in supplement form, but relatively high doses are required to achieve its therapeutic effects, and curcumin is generally not absorbed that well. Typical therapeutic doses are up to three grams of bioavailable curcumin extract, three to four times daily, and this is difficult to achieve using standard curcumin powders.

One alternative is to make a microemulsion by combining a tablespoon of curcumin powder with 1-2 egg yolks and a teaspoon or two of melted coconut oil. Then use a hand blender on high speed to emulsify the powder.

Another strategy you can use to increase absorption is to put one tablespoon of the curcumin powder into a quart of boiling water. It must be boiling when you add the powder, as it will not work as well if you put it in room temperature water and heat the water and curcumin together.

After boiling it for 10 minutes you will have created a 12% solution and you can drink this once it has cooled down. The curcumin will gradually fall out of the solution over time and in about six hours it will be a 6% solution, so it is best to drink the water within four hours. It does have a woody taste, but this is done more for therapeutic benefits than flavor.

One caution: curcumin is a very potent yellow pigment and can permanently discolor surfaces if you aren’t careful. You can also use turmeric liberally in your cooking; it has an earthy, peppery flavor. Choose a pure turmeric powder, rather than a curry powder, as at least one study has found that curry powders tend to contain very little curcumin.

We are currently sponsoring some clinical trials with a concentrated highly absorbable form of curcumin that we hope to have available in the next year or so.

Why You Need to be Careful With NSAIDs

One of the primary problems with RA is controlling pain. Effective pain relief is obviously very important, and if this is not achieved, you can go into a depressive cycle that can worsen your immune system function and cause the RA to flare up. But the conventional treatment typically includes using very dangerous drugs like prednisone, methotrexate, and drugs that interfere with tumor necrosis factor, like Enbrel. Many also depend on non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Motrin) to manage this pain, but the regular, chronic use of these types of medications is associated with close to 100 significant, and very serious, side effects, including: iii
•Cardiovascular problems
•Gastrointestinal harm
•Kidney and/or liver damage
•Hearing Loss
•Miscarriage

If you are taking an NSAID and you have a history of heart disease, you are at a 10-fold increase in the risk of congestive heart failure (CHF). iv And even if you don’t, your risk of CHF will still be increased by 60 percent if you take NSAIDs.

Ulcers are another major risk, and up to 60 percent of regular NSAID users will have gastrointestinal side effects related to these drugs. In fact, regular use of NSAIDs is the second major cause for ulcers. v Given the risks, having a natural alternative to NSAIDs for pain relief is invaluable, especially for a painful condition like RA — and curcumin is emerging as one of the safest and most effective options out there.

Lifestyle Changes Crucial to Control this Vicious Disease

Improving your diet using my nutritional guidelines is crucial for your success. In addition, there are some general principles that seem to hold true for virtually everyone and these include:
•Eliminating sugar, especially fructose, and most grains. For most people with RA, you’ll want to be very careful to limit fructose to just 15 grams per day or less, and this includes fructose from whole fruit.

Limiting sugar is a critical element of the treatment program. Sugar has multiple significant negative influences on your biochemistry. First and foremost, it increases your insulin levels, which is the root cause of nearly all chronic disease. It can also impair your gut bacteria. In my experience if you are unable to decrease your sugar intake, you are far less likely to improve. One of the first steps you can take is to phase out all soda, and replace it with pure, clean water.
•Eating your food organic, locally grown and as close to raw as possible
•Getting plenty of high-quality animal-based omega-3 fats. Krill oil seems to be particularly helpful here, as it appears to be a more effective anti-inflammatory preparation. It is particularly effective if taken concurrently with 4 mg of astaxanthin, which is a potent antioxidant carotenoid derived from algae
•As astaxanthin offers potent protection against cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, 4 to perhaps 20 mg per day for anyone placed on prednisone
•Incorporating regular exercise into your daily schedule, as described in detail below

Early Emotional Traumas are Pervasive in Those with RA

With the vast majority of the patients I treated, some type of emotional trauma occurred early in their life, before the age their conscious mind was formed, which is typically around the age of 5 or 6. However, a trauma can occur at any age, and has a profoundly negative impact. If that specific emotional insult is not addressed with an effective treatment modality then the underlying emotional trigger will continue to fester, allowing the destructive process to proceed, which can predispose you to severe autoimmune diseases like RA later in life.

In some cases, RA appears to be triggered by an infection, and it is my experience that this infection is usually acquired when you have a stressful event that causes a disruption in your bioelectrical circuits, which then impairs your immune system. This early emotional trauma predisposes you to developing the initial infection, and also contributes to your relative inability to effectively defeat the infection. Therefore, it’s very important to have an effective tool to address these underlying emotional traumas.

In my practice, the most common form of treatment used is called the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Although EFT is something that you can learn to do yourself in the comfort of your own home, it is important to consult a well-trained professional to obtain the skills necessary to promote proper healing using this amazing tool.

Vitamin D Deficiency Rampant in Those with RA

The early part of the 21st century brought enormous attention to the importance and value of vitamin D, particularly in the treatment of autoimmune diseases like RA. From my perspective, it is now virtually criminally negligent malpractice to treat a person with RA and not aggressively monitor their vitamin D levels to confirm that they are in a therapeutic range of 65-80 ng/ml.

This is so important that blood tests need to be done every two weeks, so the dose can be adjusted to get within that range. Most normal-weight adults should start at 10,000 units of vitamin D3 per day. If you are in the US, then Lab Corp is the lab of choice for this testing.

Please note that the video above has dated recommendations on vitamin D. It used to be thought that 5,000 IU a day was a good maintenance dose for adults, but according to new research published by GrassrootsHealth from the D*Action study, the average adult needs to take 8,000 IU’s of vitamin D per day in order to elevate his or her levels above 40 ng/ml — the bare minimum requirement necessary for disease prevention. As mentioned, if you have RA you’ll want your levels to be higher than this, in the 65-80 ng/ml range, so you’ll need to have your blood tested and tweak your dose/sun exposure accordingly.

For more detailed information on how to optimize your vitamin D using the sun, you can review this recent article.

Low-Dose Naltrexone

Another newer addition to the protocol is low-dose Naltrexone, which I would encourage anyone with RA to try. It is inexpensive and non-toxic and I have a number of physician reports documenting incredible efficacy in getting people off of all their dangerous arthritis meds. Although this is a drug, and strictly speaking not a natural therapy, it has provided important relief and is FAR safer than the toxic drugs that are typically used by nearly all rheumatologists.

Exercise for Rheumatoid Arthritis

It is very important to exercise and increase muscle tone of your non-weight bearing joints, as disuse results in muscle atrophy and weakness. Additionally, immobility may result in joint contractures and loss of range of motion (ROM). Active ROM exercises are preferred to passive. There is some evidence that passive ROM exercises increase the number of white blood cells (WBCs) in your joints.

If your joints are stiff, you should stretch and apply heat before exercising. If your joints are swollen, application of 10 minutes of ice before exercise would be helpful. The inflamed joint is very vulnerable to damage from improper exercise, so you must be cautious. People with arthritis must strike a delicate balance between rest and activity, and must avoid activities that aggravate joint pain. You should avoid any exercise that strains a significantly unstable joint.

A good rule of thumb is that if the pain lasts longer than one hour after stopping exercise, you should slow down or choose another form of exercise. Assistive devices are also helpful to decrease the pressure on affected joints. Many patients need to be urged to take advantage of these. The Arthritis Foundation has a book, Guide to Independent Living, which instructs patients about how to obtain them.

Of course, it is important to maintain good cardiovascular fitness as well. Walking with appropriate supportive shoes is another important consideration, and if your condition allows, it would be wise to move toward a Peak Fitness program that involves high-intensity burst-type exercises designed for reaching optimal health.

If You Must Use Drugs for Pain Relief…

Ultimately, the goal is to implement the lifestyle changes discussed above as quickly as possible, so you can start to reduce these toxic and dangerous drugs, which do absolutely nothing to treat the cause of the disease. The idea is to be as comfortable and pain free as possible with the least amount of drugs. However, effective pain relief is important, so first try these natural anti-inflammatory alternatives. If you still aren’t finding relief, the safest prescription drugs to use for pain are the non-acetylated salicylates such as:
•Salsalate
•Sodium salicylate
•Magnesium salicylate (i.e., Salflex, Disalcid, or Trilisate).

They are also much gentler on your stomach than the other NSAIDs and are the drug of choice if you have problems with peptic ulcer disease. Unfortunately, all these benefits are balanced by the fact they may not be as effective as the other agents and are less convenient to take. You need to take 1.5-2 grams twice a day, and tinnitus, or ringing in your ear, is a frequent side effect. You need to be aware of this complication and know that if tinnitus does develop, you need to stop the drugs for a day and restart with a dose that is half a pill per day lower. You can repeat this until you find a dose that relieves your pain and doesn’t cause any ringing in your ears.

Conclusion

There is no doubt in my mind that the protocol described above is highly effective for the treatment of autoimmune arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis. I strongly encourage anyone with this disease to adopt the program to help prevent the nearly inevitable poor outcomes that are the result of seeing a conventional rheumatologist. In my experience they have very little to offer except dangerous drugs that only relieve symptoms and do nothing to address the underlying cause of the disease, which continues to ravage the body and cause crippling joint deformities.

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References:

——————————————————————————–
i Phytotherapy Research March 9, 2012
ii Arthritis and Rheumatism November 2006; 54(11): 3452-3464
iii GreenMedInfo.com, 100 NSAID-Associated Adverse Effects
iv Arch Intern Med. 2000;160(6):777-784
v American College of Gastroenterology, Aspirin and NSAIDs

Sources:

This Hidden Food Poisons Your Family – Ignore These Cooked Up Lies
What do a former mouthpiece for tobacco and big oil, a corporate-interest PR flack, and the regional director of a Monsanto-funded tort reform group have in common?

They’re all part of the anti-labeling PR team that will soon unleash a massive advertising and PR campaign in California, designed to scare voters into rejecting the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Acti.

In November, California voters will vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a law to require mandatory labeling of all genetically engineered ingredients in processed foods, and ban the routine industry practice of mislabeling foods containing genetically engineered ingredients as ‘natural.’ Polls show that nearly 90 percent of the state’s voters plan to vote ‘yes.’ But when November rolls around, will voter support still be strong? Not if the biotech, agribusiness, and food manufacturers industries can help it.

It’s estimated that the opposition will spend $60 – $100 million to convince voters that genetically engineered foods are perfectly safeii. They’ll try to scare voters into believing that labeling will make food more expensive, that it will spark hundreds of lawsuits against small farmers and small businesses, and that it will contribute to world hunger.

None of this is true. On the contrary, studies suggest just the opposite.

Here’s what is true: The opposition has lined up some heavy-hitters and industry-funded front groups — masquerading as “grassroots” organizations — to help spin their anti-labeling propaganda machine. You have the right to know what’s in your food. You also have the right to know who is working tirelessly to prevent you from ever having that right – and who is signing their paychecks. Here’s a partial lineup of hired guns and organizations behind the anti-labeling advertising blitz soon to hit the California airwaves:

Tom Hiltachk: Monsanto’s Man in California

Tom Hiltachk is the PR gunslinger behind the Coalition Against the Costly Food Labeling Proposition (CACFLP), an anti-labeling front group. A partner at the Sacramento-based lobbying firm Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, Hiltachk is no stranger to front groups. With a little help from his friends at Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, he helped organize the Californians for Smokers’ Rights group to fight anti-smoking initiatives in the 1980s and 1990siii.

He also helped form the Californians for Fair Business Policyiv – a so-called “grassroots” organization, but actually a front group to mobilize business opposition to anti-smoking initiatives. That organization was funded by an “academic” front groupv – the Claremont Institute – which was in turn funded by tobacco companies.

Hitachk also has ties to Big Oil, including a colorful history with California’s Proposition 23, a conservative-backed ballot initiative launched – and defeated – in 2010.

The initiative, supported by Big Oil, would have repealed California’s clean energy and climate laws. Hiltachk was initially an ally of Ted Costa, a veteran right-wing activist behind many conservative initiatives, including Prop 23, and head of the group People’s Advocatevi. But that relationship soured, according to ThinkProgress.orgvii, when Costa realized that Hiltachk’s main motivation was to funnel the $50 million that he hoped would be raised from oil companies and the Chamber of Commerce to himself and his friends.

Coalition Against Costly Food Labeling Proposition

The Coalition Against Costly Food Labeling Proposition (CACFLP)viii runs a website called stopcostlyfoodlabeling.com, giving the impression that this is a group concerned about protecting consumers’ wallets. But the website lists only one consumer group in its coalition – Consumers Coalition of California. A search of the IRS.gov site turns up nothing on this group.

According to the coalitions’ 2009 990-Form published on Guidestar.org, this Torrance, California-based coalition describes itself as: “Research and oriented community education studies and info for residential and small businesses advocating on issues affecting major legislation.” The group has no website.

No other national or California-based consumer groups are listed on the CACFLP site.

CACFLP’s website does list some powerhouse coalition members, however, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), whose members also include Monsanto, BASF, Bayer, Dow and Syngenta, as well as many large food processors and supermarket chains, and the Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI) , whose members include Monsanto, BASF, Bayer, Dow and Syngenta. Both groups are based in Washington DC. As of March, the GMA and the CBI had contributed a combined $625,000 to the CACFLPix – presumably to “protect” consumers from GMO labeling. Both groups have publicly opposed this initiativex.

Monsanto recently made the following statement in support of CACFLPxi:

“Monsanto is part of a growing coalition of California farmers, food producers, grocers, retailers, and others which has been formed to oppose the California measure. As a member of both GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) and BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organization), we support the organizations’ involvement in the California campaign to oppose the costly and extreme measure.”

Kathy Fairbanks: Voice of the People?

Kathy Fairbanks wants consumers to believe she’s on their side when she warns them that requiring labels on genetically engineered foods will raise their grocery bills. But since when has she fought for the little guy? A glance at her resume reveals a long list of pro-corporate gigs, including some involving illegal donations and questionable practices.

In 2010, Fairbanks worked for the Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates (C-FAIR); an insurance industry front group set up by billionaire Mercury Insurance executive George Joseph. C-FAIR launched a California ballot initiative, Prop 17, to raise rates on consumers who had been without coverage, despite a voter-approved law banning the practice.

Fairbanks’ work on the 2010 ballot initiative was investigated in a San Francisco Bay Guardian piecexii called “Buying Power: How PG&E and Mercury Insurance Are Spending Millions to Try to Trick Californians into Voting for Corporate Interests,” and a San Diego Union Tribune articlexiii, “Insurer Veils Its Funding of Measure: Literature for Prop. 17 Omits Mercury’s Millions.”

During the initiative battle, the state Department of Insurance accused Mercury of illegal practicesxiv, including unfairly denying coverage and charging discriminatory rates to motorists who were not at fault in accidentsxv, were members of the armed forces or worked in certain professions. It found Mercury had a “lengthy history of serious misconduct” and an attitude of “contempt toward and/or abuse of its customers, the [insurance] commissioner, its competition and the Superior Court.” Mercury paid $300,000 to settle the allegations. Fairbanks also worked on the wrong side of consumers on the following pro-big business campaigns:
•In 2008: spokesperson for the opposition to Proposition 7xvi, a California ballot measure to require half the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025.
•In 2006: helped defeat Proposition 82xvii which would have provided credentialed teachers to 150,000 4-year-olds living in the city, funded through tax increases on individuals earning more than $400,000 a year, and on couples making more than $800,000 a year.
•In 2005: spokesperson for Steve Poizner’s Campaign for State Insurance Commissionerxviii , whose funding was controlled by Poizner, a wealthy Silicon Valley Republican. The fund was required to return $1.75 million in illegal donations made by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his campaign committee.

Fairbanks also worked for the California Chamber of Commerce, in 1999, when the Chamber was spending $2.4 million per legislative session on lobbying. The list of bills she urged Gov. Davis to veto included a bill that would have increased workers compensation benefits, and one that would have allowed employees to use up to half of their annual sick leave to stay home and care for sick family members. She also opposed limiting the expansion of Big Box stores and barring businesses from using revenues from state contracts for anti-union activities.

Maryann Marino and the California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA): Defending Small Farmers?

Maryann Marino is the Southern California regional director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA)xix, which according to Public Citizen is one of many so-called “lawsuit abuse” groups throughout the country that are part of a national, corporate-backed network of front groups that receive substantial financial and strategic assistance from the tobacco industry and some of America’s biggest corporations.

According to Public Citizen:

“These groups masquerade as grassroots citizens groups spontaneously manifesting citizen anger against so-called ‘lawsuit abuse.’ The groups aim to incite public scorn for the civil justice system, juries and judges, and to pave the way for enactment of laws immunizing corporations from liability for actions that harm consumers.”

Sure enough, Marino recently told KABC-TV, Los Angeles, the GMO labeling initiative is “not really about the right to know, but rather the right to sue.” xx In 2000, the Center for Justice and Democracy issued a report on CALAxxi which unmasked “funding by self-serving mega-corporations that secretly spawned a national network of fake citizens’ organizations,” said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook.

“These so-called citizens groups are doing the bidding of the corporate funders and are pushing at all levels to deny Americans access to the courtroom and to create a legal environment that shields corporate wrongdoers from accountability.”

American Tort Reform Association (ATRA): Champion of Food Safety?

Maryann Marino’s organization, CALA, is a state chapter of the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), which receives substantial financial and strategic assistance from the tobacco industry and America’s biggest corporations, including Philip Morris, Dow Chemical (currently seeking approval for Agent Orange Corn), Exxon, General Electric, Aetna, Geico and Nationwide.

ATRA now keeps its membership secret, but according to a 1993 American University Law Review article by P.R. Sugarmanxxii, Monsanto Chemical Company, RJR/Nabisco, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company were among just a few of the companies and industry trade association members. According to “Justice For Sale: Shortchanging the Public Interest for Private Gain,” a 1993 report by the Alliance for Justicexxiii:

“The ATRA is made up of corporation trade groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association — thus giving corporations a decoy and accomplice group two full steps removed from their board rooms.”

In 2008, the last time they made the names of any of their members publicxxiv, a list of “sample members” included Kraft Foods Inc., the 3rd largest packaged food company in the U.S. Kraft opposes GMO labels, but defends its use of GMOsxxv. In return for Monsanto’s support, ATRA has been a relentless cheerleader for the company’s lawlessness.

ATRA applauded Monsanto for skirting plaintiffs’ claims for medical monitoring after Monsanto was found to have been knowingly polluting the small town of Anniston, Alabama, with dangerous levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). (The residents surrounding the Monsanto plant were predominantly minorities.

The first lawsuit, brought in state court, went to trial and the jury found Monsanto guilty of a variety of torts, including negligence, nuisance and trespass. This case was eventually folded into a similar federal case, concluding in a global settlement fining Monsanto $700 million for its egregious behavior toward the Anniston residents.)

ATRA’s publication, Judicial Hellholes, in a postxxvi titled, “Food Eaters 1, Uncompetitive Organics Industry 0,” calls atrazine, the infamous endocrine-disrupting pesticidexxvii, “a safe and widely used weed killer.”

Neither CALA nor ATRA have voiced concern about Monsanto suing farmers in 143 different patent infringement lawsuits when their crops were unintentionally contaminated with Monsanto’s genetically engineered organisms (GMOs)xxviii. Marino does, however, have a problem with farmers getting together to bring one lawsuit against Monsanto to stop the harassment.

Find our Common Ground: Advocating for Moms and Regular Folks?

The newly launched website, Find Our Common Groundxxix, may not fit in the heavy-hitter category, but it’s another example of a thinly veiled attempt by a group to look as if it’s working for small farmers, gardeners, and health-conscious folks. The group also has a facebook pagexxx, to help spread its folksy message.

The message?

Direct from the group’s website:

“Consumers aren’t getting the real story about American agriculture and all that goes into growing and raising their food. We’re a group of volunteer farm women and we plan to change that by doing something extraordinary. Our program is called CommonGround and it’s all about starting a conversation between women who grow food, and the women who buy it. It’s a conversation based on our personal experience as farmers, but also on science and research. Our first goal is to help consumers understand that their food is not grown by a factory. It’s grown by people and it’s important to us that you understand and trust the process. We hope you’ll join in the conversation.”

The message maker? A quick search on Wois.com reveals that Osborn Barr Communicationsxxxi, a PR company with ties to—who else?—Monsanto, owns the domain name. Osborn Barr specializes in agriculture and rural communities and is used to create front groups for their clientsxxxii. In 2006, Monsanto hired Osborn Barr to work on the controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone issue, so Osborn Barr set up American Farmers for Advancement and Conservation of Technology (AFACT), a pro-rbGH farmer front groupxxxiii.

There will be no lack of creativity and certainly no lack of money spent to defeat the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. There should also be no lack of scrutiny when it comes to who is spreading the anti-GMO labeling message.

About the Authors

Alexis Baden-Mayer is Political Director of the Organic Consumers Association.

Ronnie Cummins is founder and director of the Organic Consumers Association. Cummins is author of numerous articles and books, including “Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers” (Second Revised Edition Marlowe & Company 2004).

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99

Unlike the greasy oils that have been heated to insane temperatures and have very little or no nutritional benefit whatsoever. Coconut oil is primarily a medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) that not only does the job of the greasy bad for you oils but it does it so much better and is actually good for you.

Coconut oil is a popular nutritional oil derived from the meat of matured coconuts. Coconut has long been a primary source of food throughout the tropics. Its various industrial and cosmetic applications have made it a very viable commodity. Coconut oil is heat stable, making it suitable for cooking at high temperatures. It is slow to oxidize, resists rancidity and has a shelf life of approximately two years or more; virgin coco creme created through a wet-milling process has an indefinite shelf life.

See the NaturalNews InfoGraphic on coconut oil here (it’s beautiful!)
http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Benefits-of-Coconut-Oil.html

The composition of coconut oil
The coconut possesses a wide variety of health benefits due to its fiber and nutritional content, but it is the oil that makes it a remarkable source of food and medicine. It has definitely earned its reputation as the healthiest oil in the world despite the fact that its high saturated fat content was once falsely claimed to be unhealthy.

What makes coconut oil different?

Oils and fats are composed of molecules known as fatty acids. They are classified either according to saturation or based on molecular length and size of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are an example of the first class.

The second classification is based on molecular size or length of the fatty acid’s carbon chain. Long chains of carbon atoms consist of each fatty acid with an attached hydrogen atom. There are short chain fatty acids known as SCFA, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) such as coconut oil and long chain fatty acids (LCFA). Whether unsaturated or saturated, the majority of fats and oils in our diet are composed of long chain fatty acids. In fact, a majority of the fatty acids commonly consumed are LCFA.

Coconut oil is predominantly medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) and the effects of the MCFA in coconut oil are distinctly different from the LCFA found in other foods. In fact, the saturated and unsaturated fat in milk, eggs,meat and even in plants and most vegetable oils are made of LCFA. Why is this relevant? It is important because our bodies respond and metabolize each fatty acid differently. It is the MCFA found in coconut oil that makes it special because these fatty acids do not have a negative effect on cholesterol. In fact, they are known to lower the risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis. There are only few dietary sources of MCFA, and one of the best sources by far is coconut oil.

Theliver and gall bladder do not need to digest and emulsify MCFA, resulting in instant energy, increased metabolic rate and subsequently more heat production as well as increased circulation. Anyone with an impaired fat digestion or removed gallbladder will benefit from coconut oil as this oil is easily digested. (http://www.naturalnews.com/022313_fat_oil_coconut.html)

Lauric Acid
Coconut oil has many health benefits which are attributed to the presence of lauric acid. When it is present in the body, lauric acid is converted into monolaurin, a compound that is highly toxic to viruses, bacteria, funguses and other microorganisms because of its ability to disrupt their lipid membranes and virtually destroy them.

Monolaurin is effective for treating candida albicans, fungal infections and athlete’s foot. It also targets bacterial infections and viruses like measles, influenza, hepatitis C and even HIV. In fact, researchers from the Philippines are studying the effectiveness of lauric acid against HIV/AIDS due to its strong anti-viral properties. Moreover, lauric acid is non-toxic, making it a better alternative to modern drugs that are typically prescribed for viruses as well as fungal and bacterial infections.

Without lauric acid, monolaurin cannot be produced by the body. Breast milk is the only other source of lauric acid, which must explain the lesser incidents of infections with breast-fed infants. It has also been observed that regular consumption of coconut oil boosts immunity and reduces incidences of sickness.
(http://www.naturalnews.com)

The health benefits of coconut oil
Hair care – The unique fatty acids in coconut oil have a small molecular structure and pass freely into the hair’s cell membrane, allowing for the oil to penetrate the hair’s shaft; thisliterally brings out the deep conditioning from within compared to other conditioners that work from the outside in.

Massaging the oil into the scalp can offer relief from dandruff. Dandruff is caused by dry skin or an internal fungal condition that reached the scalp. With regular use, coconut oil can kill the fungus and eliminate dandruff issues. For deep hair conditioning, a teaspoon or two on damp hair left for as long as possible can give an ultra-nice shine. Leave it on overnight and see startling results. (http://www.naturalnews.com/029120_coconut_oil_hair_conditioner.html)

Skin care – Coconut oil is an excellent skin conditioner containing medium-chain triglycerides, naturally occurring fats which deeply penetrate, moisturize and acts as a protective barrier against environmental and free radical damage. The oil also provides sun protection by screening 20 percent of ultraviolet exposure.

Coconut oil is rich in anti-oxidants and bursting with the natural microbial and antibacterial agents caphrylic and capric acids. . Its ability to smooth the skin while infusing with anti-oxidants makes it a perfect anti-aging moisturizer. Moreover, it contains vitamin E, another antioxidant popular for hastening the recovery of skin abrasions, burns and other trauma. (http://www.naturalnews.com)

Weight loss – Medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil can speed up metabolism faster than long-chain fatty acids because they are easily digested and converted into energy. In fact, a study reported medium-chain fatty acids to be three times more effective in raising metabolism than long-chain fatty acids, leading researchers to conclude that effective weight loss can be achieved by replacing long-chain fatty acids with medium- chain fatty acids. (http://www.naturalnews.com/026808_oil_coconut.html)

Natural remedy for pneumonia – In a study presented before The American College of Chest Physicians on October 29, 2008, coconut oil was found to offer pneumonia patients faster and more complete relief from symptoms. This could be a welcome development for many as this means a reduced stay in the hospital, lower medical expenses and lower exposure for the patient to a hospital environment. Moreover, it is an inexpensive addition to traditional antibiotics and has no known side effects. (http://www.naturalnews.com/025038_coconut_child_oil.html)

Lowers risk of diabetes, heart disease and improves cholesterol levels – In a study made on women subjects ranging from 20 to 40 years old, half of the subjects were instructed to take a 30 ml soybean oil supplement while the other half were instructed to take a 30ml coconut oil supplement while maintaining moderate exercise routine over a 12-week period. Results of the study showed that although both group of women had a decrease in body mass index (BMI), only the women who were taking coconut oil showed a notable decease in waist circumference significantly lowering the risk of conditions like type II diabetes and heart disease.

Furthermore, the study also showed that the subjects who experienced an improvement in their cholesterol profile along with higher HDL levels and higher HDL: LDL ratio were the ones taking coconut oil. Those taking soybean oil did not receive the same benefits but reflected a higher total cholesterol as well as higher LDL cholesterol lower, lower HDL cholesterol and a lower HDL: LDL ratio. (http://www.naturalnews.com/026547_oil_coconut.html)

Assists in bone health and chronic fatigue – Research has found coconut oil to help prevent osteoporosis because it helps in the nutrient absorption of minerals such as calcium and magnesium – important minerals that fight osteoporosis.

Moreover, the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil produce energy rather than body fat, thereby improving metabolism and preventing fatigue. The oil has also been shown to destroy organisms in the body that sap its strength and contribute to the condition of fatigue. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033718_food_miracles.html)

Alzheimer’s Disease – Dr. Mary Newport, after failing to get treatment for her husband’s dementia, discovered that coconut oil contained natural medium-chain triglyceride (MCT). The same substance was used in a drug trial her husband failed to qualify for. So, she gave her husband 1 tbsp. of coconut oil twice a day for a month and a half and saw him almost completely recovered. (http://www.naturalnews.com)

Others – aside from the health benefits mentioned earlier the following health benefits have been attributed to the beneficial use of coconut oil:

• Protects against cancer and HIV and other infectious diseases
• Kills bacteria and parasites like tape worm and liver flukes
• Eases acid reflux, aids in proper bowel function
• Lowers incidence of hemorrhoids
• Heals and relieves intestinal problems
• Soothes earaches
• Deals with symptoms connected with prostate enlargement
• Strengthens the liver and protects against degeneration
• Reduces incidence of epileptic seizures
• Reduces joint and muscle inflammation
• Eases neuropathies and itching from diabetes.
(http://www.naturalnews.com/036028_coconu_oil_health_solutions.html)

How much oil should be taken in to enjoy its benefits?
According to researchers, an adult should consume around 3 1/2 tbsp. of coconut oil daily: an amount equal to the MCFA a nursing infant would receive in one day. The benefits of coconut oil are derived from the nutritional value of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA’s), and the best comparison in nature as to the percentage of MCFA consumed in a diet is in human breast milk. For those who are not used to having coconut oil in their diet, it is best to start out with a lesser amount and see how the body reacts before following the recommended amount.

Does coconut oil have any adverse side effects?
Coconut oil has no known side effects. However, if you are used to a low-fat diet, a common adverse reaction would be diarrhea. It is probably not advisable to start with a large amount right away. Spreading the recommended amount over the course of one day and building up to a larger dosecan help to avoid unwanted effects.

In coconut-producing countries, it is considered beneficial for pregnant and lactating women to enjoy coconut oil;Westerners used to a low-fat diet, however, are cautioned not to experiment with coconut oil while pregnant if the body is not used to it. If you have been consuming coconut oil regularly with no adverse reactions, there is no reason to discontinue consumption.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

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Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036156_Coconut_oil_superfood_healing.html#ixzz1xptUqu4O

This is by my good friend Dr John Rothchild who has a pratice in Durango, CO. Dr John is not only a holistic and biological dentist but a doctor of intergrative medicine, added to that he has been a strong believer in the work of Dr Hal Huggins who is one of the pioneers behind safe mercury free dentistry.

I have been a dentist for 32 years now and have studied the science of dental materials for about that long. One of the most controversial topics in dentistry today, should not be a controversy at all. .. “Should dentists place mercury based fillings in their patients’ teeth”? The answer in my opinion, is an unequivocal “NO!”

Those black, silver fillings in your mouth are made of over 50% mercury. The remainder consists of silver, copper and tin. Mercury is a neurotoxin which can destroy nerve and brain tissue. It also can get into our vital organs and destroy their function. These organs include the brain, thyroid, kidney, liver and heart to name a few. You want more organs? How about the intestines and pancreas?

When did this issue start?

This issue has been around ever since Dr. Hal Huggins, a Colorado Springs, CO dentist, appeared in a 60 Minutes exposé in the mid 1980’s. This erupted a big furor amongst the dentistry profession. Lots of dialog followed and action taken. Many dentists lost their licenses in states that agreed to ban mercury fillings.

The American Dental Association originally made a statement that mercury is a safe dental material. Later, the ADA changed their position and said that mercury fillings only affect less than 1% of the U.S. population due to allergies. Then again, they changed their stand to say that mercury fillings only affect 10% of the population due to allergies. Incidentally, the “silver filling” was introduced in the late 1800’s and shortly thereafter the first cases of Multiple Sclerosis became evident in medical literature.

Who does it affect?

The current U.S. population is approximately 311 million. This means that 31 million Americans are allergic to mercury according to the ADA. That’s a lot of people.

What about the percentage of the population who are not allergic to mercury, but have reactions to it due to metal or electrical sensitivities (mercury fillings give off electrical charges)? Many people are affected by the electrical phenomena produced from mercury fillings. According to Dr. Huggins, the brain is sensitive to 8-10 nano amps of current. We measure the current of the fillings in micro amps which is a 100 times stronger. And the mouth is very close to the brain. Think about it.

In addition, mercury competes with oxygen in the blood. It also blocks many hormone receptors, disrupts calcium metabolism in the body and depresses the immune system. That is just a few of the metabolic issues.

Is mercury being released when I chew?

The answer is yes and in some instance to the level that if there was a mercury spill in a building, it would cause the building or school to shut down and the haz-mat teams would be sent in to clean it up. Mercury vapor builds up when you chew and slowly decreases over a 90 minute period. This is based on chewing food for about 5 minutes. What happens if you are a snacker or drink hot drinks throughout the day? You continue to emit the vapors. What happens if you clench your teeth during the day or at night? The same thing happens, it accumulates.

Where does it accumulate in the body?

We breathe it in or out. When we breathe out, no problem. However, when we breathe in, mercury can then get into the blood and get distributed to the organs mentioned earlier. Or, we can swallow the vapors which get into our GI tract and redistributed back into the body should you have a leaky gut.

What are common symptoms to be aware of?

The most common symptoms that I have seen in my practice throughout the years is sickness of unknown cause, fatigue, poor sleeping patterns, unable to think clearly, anger and stealth infections.

Should I have my mercury fillings replaced?

That is up to you. But if you decide to do have them removed, it must be done in a proper protocol to limit the amount exposure to the mercury. In our office we follow a special protocol to prevent exposure while removing the mercury.

What dental material will be used to replace my mercury fillings?

I use a tooth colored, mercury-free ceramic material to restore teeth to their natural strength, beauty, and function. This high strength ceramic material closely matches the composition of the natural tooth, and most importantly, it’s safe to your body.

What about the sheep?

In a 1989 scientific study, appearing in FACEB (a peer reviewed medical journal), radioactive mercury was placed in the teeth of sheep. The sheep were later x-rayed to identify where the mercury was distributed. Guess what? The mercury was found in several organs throughout the sheep’s bodies.

Our office feels that an educated patient should be able to make up their own mind about mercury fillings and the harm they may do to the body. We offer a comprehensive evaluation to help you become better informed about your body’s actual response to whatever mercury exposure you may be experiencing due to your current fillings.

Feel free to contact us for additional information about mercury-free fillings, and your options for mercury filling removal and replacement. Our goal is to help you make the most informed decision possible, and to empower you through education about your oral health and the best treatment choices available to you.

Healthy Regards,

John Rothchild

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99

May Alleviate Cancer Without Chemo, But it’s Forbidden

By Dr. Mercola

If your child were diagnosed with a very serious, very rare form of brain cancer, what would you do?

Where would you turn?

This is the situation that Rick Schiff, a police sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department, and his family were faced with back in 1994.

His 4 year old daughter, an identical twin, had a brain tumor growing in the left ventricle of her brain which was causing sudden neurological side effects.

The prognosis of this particular tumor was that it would spread rapidly and kill her within weeks.

So they did what most people would consider the logical next step – they consulted with an oncologist and proceeded with the recommended treatment, which, as is often the case, included a toxic combination of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, not so much as a cure but rather to extend her life for as long as possible.

First, Conventional Cancer Treatment Poisons Child

Like most well-meaning parents, Rick and his wife decided to follow through with the oncologists’ recommended treatment protocol. First came surgery, which had an initial positive outcome but because of the severity of the cancer, its spread was imminent. As Rick said:

” … literally in a matter of weeks we would be right back to where we were. In the end, [doctors] convinced us that what we would do is an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy and radiation simultaneously … We progressed through their treatment. She started the treatment on her fourth birthday. After six months, we had finished all the chemo and radiation that you could possibly have given her.”

She ended up living longer than the few weeks first expected, but the cancer came back within six months. Rick continued:

“Her hair was burnt so badly that it never grew back. She literally, for want of a better description, looked like Golum in The Hobbit. She was a fried wretched little child, emaciated, unable to process nutrients, had shingles, had suffered immeasurably. We had rubber gloves to change her diaper because her urine was so toxic from the chemotherapy. The problem is I get six months through this and then I stop and I said, “Okay, what do we do now?” They said, “She dies.””

It was at that point that Rick realized he had made “a terrible mistake.”

“I was now exactly where I was six months ago, my daughter was suffering. She had now suffered immeasurably at the hands of not only the doctors but myself and for what?” he said.

Then, Rick came across another option he hadn’t been aware of before. In a book given to him by friends months earlier, a chapter about Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, who employs novel gene-targeted therapies in the treatment of cancer, picqued his interest. He spoke to Dr. Burzynski directly, and then to several of his patients.

“Oddly enough, each of them said Dr. Burzynski was great. The treatment is working fantastically. This is in stark contrast to what our own oncologist had told us. They all told us not to go but we went anyway.”

Cancer Disappears Using Dr. Burzynski’s “Forbidden” Treatment

Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski is known for developing a gene-specific treatment using a combination of cancer-fighting peptides he developed called antineoplastons to target specific cancers, conventional cancer drugs, and natural complementary strategies, including customized diets and exercise.

I interviewed Dr. Burzynski about his cancer treatment and also reviewed his recently released documentary, Burzynski, The Movie. It’s an absolute jaw-dropper, as not only did the U.S. federal government spend 14 years actively suppressing a cancer treatment that had a FAR greater success rate than any other treatment available, they also spent well over $60 million of U.S. taxpayer dollars trying to put Dr. Burzynski in jail in order to steal his patents and either suppress or cash in on his discovery.

The treatment has surpassed all other conventional cancer treatments on the market, but you can’t just walk in and receive it. Due to regulatory red tape, you’re only “allowed” to see Dr. Burzynski if you’ve already had chemotherapy and radiation and failed to recover. Even then it is often a struggle

In a similar case involving Thomas, the son of Jim Navarro, who was also diagnosed with a form of brain cancer (and ended up dying from respiratory failure due to chronic toxicity of chemotherapy), it took 18 months of legal wrangling with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get Thomas approved for treatment by Dr. Burzynski. By then he had already received his second brain surgery, had already been forced to undergo chemotherapy, and had already suffered recurring tumors—likely induced by the chemotherapy itself. After all that, he finally fulfilled all the requirements to be allowed to try Dr. Burzynski’s treatment, which resulted in a 33 percent reduction in tumors. As Navarro said:

“A father’s hope is, had he not been polluted and poisoned with chemotherapy, had we not been stopped, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he would be alive today.”

Unfortunately, the case involving Rick’s daughter, Chrissie, had a similar outcome.

Chrissie Died, Cancer-Free, From the Effects of Chemotherapy and Radiation

Like Jim’s son, Chrissie showed remarkable improvement following Dr. Burzynski’s treatment:

“Within a number of months, the enhancement in the actual tumor had dissipated … My daughter got better and better and better … The tumor slowly drifted away. As it drifted away over the period of the next year though, her other side effects became more and more prominent. Those were from the chemo and radiation. Even the doctors admitted that she began to have vision problems, hearing problems. Again, was malnourished based on her inability to process food.

At the same time, as she progressed and got better, the neurosurgeons who followed the surgery and so forth, they seemed very curious and optimistic but the oncologist got further and more distant from us and more inexplicably just plain rude, just unpleasant. At one point, the oncologist refused to see us although there was no real explanation for that. The head of pediatrics had to send in a general physician to take over for their practice because the oncologists were unwilling to deal with us and again, inexplicably. You would think that my daughter’s progression towards a cure was miracle.”

Chrissie had gone nearly a year cancer-free, but her body was too weakened from the conventional cancer treatments to survive and she passed away.

” … we brought Chrissie back and they did an autopsy. The autopsy showed that she died absolutely cancer-free with no sign of cancer and both the oncologist and the radio oncologist were there. We were looking through optics, slides of my daughter’s brain. They all confirmed that the damage that they saw was a result of the chemotherapy and radiation. So we know that she died cancer free. The only child of that diagnosis that’s ever been cancer free and we know what killed her.”

Do Oncologists Really Know How to Treat Cancer?

Most conventional cancer treatments tend to add insult to injury by doing more harm than good — a fact that has been largely swept under the rug by the medical industry. The real culprits—the underlying causes—are completely ignored, and that is, I believe, the root of the problem. The cancer industry has become a massive for-profit business that is doing everything in its power to maintain the status quo. It is, quite simply, not interested in truly reducing cancer rates; it’s interested in treating cancer.

From that perspective, the more cancer cases the better… Even many oncologists, whom most regard as the go-to specialist upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, may be better described as chemotherapy specialists than cancer specialists.

As Rick continues:

“One of the great fallacies of modern medicine is that an oncologist knows anything about cancer because that’s not what they are. An oncologist is generally speaking a hematologist. But what an oncologist is is a toxic chemotherapist. They understand toxic chemotherapy. Do they understand cancer? … What do they understand about the causes of cancer?

I went to UCSF under the belief that I was going to talk to a cancer specialist and that’s not what I got. What I got was a specialist in surgery who did a magnificent job at what he was supposed to do – a specialist in oncology who did only what they knew, not what was in the best interest of my child, and a radio oncologist who not only lied to us and did nothing to benefit my daughter but ultimately specifically killed my daughter.

He gave my daughter a lethal dosage of radiation. There was no child that was going to survive 6000 rads of whole brain radiation particularly in simultaneous conjunction with chemotherapy. From his perspective, the child was going to die and I would never know the long term effects.

So you’re going to go look at this [alternative treatment] website and you’re going to see this treatment and you’re going to come back and you’re going to talk to somebody who knows absolutely nothing about it but who has a financial vested interest in your receiving their treatments. I think the combination of those two really keeps the number of patients that go to Dr. Burzynski down or the number of patients that enroll in any clinical trial that aren’t advocated for by these oncologists.”

What Can You do to Help Protect Your Freedom of Choice in Health Treatments?

Dr. Burzynski is just one of the alternative cancer specialists out there. There are many others as well, such as the Gerson Therapy and Dr. Nick Gonzalez’s nutritional approach – or even medical marijuana. Unfortunately, the system, as currently configured, is stacked against you receiving these potentially life-saving therapies (and others like them).

Rick states:

“I think what’s most frustrating about being me is that my daughter died in 1996 at the age of 6-1/2 with an identical twin sister who will never be the same, who is traumatically affected; with brothers and sisters, mother and father who will never be the same, with people who worked very hard to try and save her, whose lives were affected and for what?

Using Dr. Burzynski again as an example, it’s now … 2012 and what have I accomplished? There are still parents who have children who should be going to, as an example, Dr. Burzynski. That should be the very first modality, the non-toxic, most effective treatment. He has FDA clinical trials for brainstem glioma that are greater, have shown better results than all clinical studies for brainstem glioma put together anywhere in the world. And yet, a parent can’t just pick up the phone or fly on an airplane to Houston and get the treatment.

They have to cross hurdles and as they cross those hurdles, they get more and more dissuaded from going forward and eventually as you pointed out in many cases, they just got simply told no. I’m sorry. The government won’t allow you to have this curative agent.”

Deaths like that of Rick’s daughter are shocking in that they aren’t necessary. If the FDA and the oncologists had simply given them the opportunity to exercise freedom of choice to seek whatever therapy they thought appropriate, she may still be alive.

So, what can you do to address this kind of medical injustice and stop it from happening to you or someone you love? First off, Rick suggests if you’re looking to receive an unapproved treatment, contact your local politicians:

“First of, my experience started when I chose to go to Dr. Burzynski’s there was no lawful method for which I could get the treatment for my daughter in the State of California. So I went to my congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and I went to my senator Dianne Feinstein and the two of them pulled together and got me what was called a compassionate IND (Investigational New Drug) use permit, which allowed me to be the only lawful person bringing this into the State of California at the time.”

Knowledge is always one of the highest forms of power, so I also recommend you share this information with your friends and loved ones. The film, Cut Poison Burn, which documents the Navarro’s story, is an easy and powerful way to do so, and is being sold on a ‘value-priced’ basis to help the Navarro’s pay off Thomas’ medical bills, meaning you can download a copy of the film for $1.99 and up, depending on how much you’re willing to pay. You can also purchase a DVD copy for $9.99.

A percentage of the proceeds from the film will go to cancer organizations that donate 100 percent of their proceeds to families fighting cancer—not the American Cancer Society. I’m also making the DVD available on my site. Of these proceeds, 80 percent will go to the producers and Jim Navarro’s family. I’m giving the remaining 20 percent to the Grassroots Health’s Breast Cancer Prevention Project. All monies donated to them from the sale of Cut Poison Burn will be used to enroll women 60 and over in a project aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of vitamin D in breast cancer prevention. More information about this project can be found at here.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99

Acrylamide, a cancer-causing and potentially neurotoxic chemical, is created when carbohydrate-rich foods are cooked at high temperatures, whether baked, fried, roasted, grilled or toasted.

Some of the worst offenders include potato chips and French fries, but many foods cooked or processed at temperatures above 250 F/120 C may contain acrylamide.

As a general rule, the chemical is formed when food is heated enough to produce a fairly dry and brown/yellow surface … so if you’re eating cooked foods that contain this characteristic, even if it was once a “healthy” natural food, like a sweet potato, it could be increasing your risk of cancer significantly.

Researchers Have Known About Acrylamide for a Decade

Once believed to be only an industrial product used in plastics, cosmetics and water treatment facilities, as well as found in cigarette smoke, it was not until 2002 that researchers realized acrylamide was present in our food. I remember the news stories very clearly 10 years and was really quite surprised and shocked at the announcements at the time, as it seemed very surreal.

Reaction products of acrylamide were regularly detected in people that had no known exposure to the chemical, and levels approaching 100 μg – representing a considerable cancer risk – were found among Swedish adults. Looking for a possible source, researchers hypothesized that acrylamide was formed at elevated temperatures in cooking – and they were right.

Writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry,i researchers found moderate levels of acrylamide (5−50 μg/kg) in heated protein-rich foods and higher levels (150−4000 μg/kg) in carbohydrate-rich foods, including potato, beetroot, and also certain heated commercial potato products and crispbread. Unheated or boiled foods showed undetectable levels (<5 μg/kg) of acrylamide, leading researchers to conclude: "Consumption habits indicate that the acrylamide levels in the studied heated foods could lead to a daily intake of a few tens of micrograms." In 2003, researchers analyzed the acrylamide levels of some common Swedish foods such as processed potato products, bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits, cookies, snacks and coffee. They estimated the average daily intake of the chemical to be 31 μg/day, which they said could be associated with potential health risks according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) data.ii WARNING: Some Potato Chips Contain Acrylamide in Levels 900 Times Over the Legal Limit Acrylamide forms from a reaction between sugars and an amino acid (asparagine) during high-temperature cooking. While many foods – from coffee and breakfast cereal to bread – contain it, the highest levels have been detected in starchy plant-based foods, particularly French fries and potato chips. The federal limit for acrylamide in drinking water is 0.5 parts per billion, or about 0.12 micrograms in an eight-ounce glass of water. However, a six-ounce serving of French fries can contain 60 micrograms of acrylamide, or about 500 times over the allowable limit. Similarly, potato chips are notoriously high in this dangerous chemical. So high, in fact, that in 2005 the state of California actually sued potato chip makers for failing to warn California consumers about the health risks of acrylamide in their products. A settlement was reached in 2008 when Frito-Lay and several other potato chip makers agreed to reduce the acrylamide levels in their chips to 275 parts per billion (ppb) by 2011, which is low enough to avoid needing a cancer warning label.iii A 2005 report issued by the California-based Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) also revealed the risks of eating potato chips, as all potato chip products tested exceeded the legal limit of acrylamide by a minimum of 39 times, and as much as 910 times!iv And baked chips, which are often regarded as healthier, may contain more than three times the level of acrylamide as regular chips, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Data (FDA).v You're probably already aware that French fries and potato chips are not health foods, but remember that acrylamide is formed not only when foods are fried, but also when they are baked. According to the FDA's data, Ore Ida Golden Fries contained 107 ppb of acrylamide in the regular fried version and a far higher 1,098 when baked – so you can't assume that a food is low in acrylamide as long as it isn't fried or charred to a crisp. Exposure to Acrylamide Increases Cancer Risk Animal studies have shown that exposure to acrylamide increases the risk of several types of cancer,vi and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers acrylamide a "probable human carcinogen." A link has also been found between acrylamide-hemoglobin levels and estrogen receptor positive breast cancer,vii and increased risks of postmenopausal endometrial and ovarian cancer with increasing dietary acrylamide intake.viii Acrylamide has also been linked to nerve damage and other neurotoxic effects, including neurological problems in workers handling the substance. While the EPA regulates acrylamide in drinking water and the FDA regulates the amount of acrylamide residue in materials that may come in contact with food, they do not currently have any guidelines limiting the chemical in food itself. It would be a good start if they did, but only a start, as a three-year long EU project, known as Heat-Generated Food Toxicants (HEATOX),ix the findings of which were published at the end of 2007, found there are more than 800 heat-induced compounds, of which 52 are potential carcinogens. Can You Reduce Your Exposure to Cancer-Causing Acrylamide? Acrylamide levels vary greatly among processed foods, even among different batches of the same food item. The chemical has so far only been found in foods heated above 250 F/120 C, which includes most processed foods. Basing your diet on whole foods, with the majority or a significant portion eaten raw or only lightly cooked is therefore one of the best ways to avoid this cancer-causing cooking byproduct. For the times when you do cook your food, here are some tips to keep in mind: •Frying, baking and broiling appear to be the worst offenders, while boiling or steaming appear to be much safer •Longer cooking times increase acrylamide, so the shorter the duration of cooking, the better •Soaking raw potatoes in water for 15-30 minutes prior to roasting may help reduce acrylamide formation during cooking •The darker brown the food, the more acrylamide it contains (for instance, dark brown toast compared to light brown toast) •Acrylamide is found primarily in plant-based foods, such as potatoes and grain products (not typically in meat, dairy or seafood) In addition, the HEATOX scientists discovered that you're far less likely to ingest dangerous levels of the toxin when you eat home-cooked foods compared to industrially or restaurant-prepared foods. And when you do eat at home, the best advice they could give was to avoid overcooking your food. This is an important health "rule" to live by, as along with containing numerous dangerous cooking byproducts, heavily cooked or processed foods are dead and largely devoid of nutritional value. I believe it's really wise to strive to get as much raw food in your diet as possible. I personally try to eat about 85 percent of my food raw, including raw eggs. By Dr. Mercola If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99

References:

——————————————————————————–
i Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry July 17, 2002
ii Food and Chemical Toxicology November 2003 Volume 41, Issue 11, Pages 1581–1586
iii SFGate.com August 2, 2008
iv Environmental Law Foundation June 2005, How Potato Chips Stack Up: Levels of Cancer-Causing Acrylamide in Popular Brands of Potato Chips
v U.S. FDA, Survey Data on Acrylamide in Food, December 2002, Updated July 2006
vi Mutation Research 1988; 195(1):45–77
vii Int J Cancer. 2008 May 1;122(9):2094-100
viii Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev November 2007 16; 2304
ix Heat-Generated Food Toxicants (HEATOX)

The drug companies and how they believe everyone is gullible..

I wonder if the average everyday person looking for help and believe they will get that genuine help from a drug company actually realize that they are being conned by big Pharma. The help isn’t going to come because the pharmaceutical companies are interested in one thing and one thing only and that is profit.
Next time you are watching TV, don’t zip through the commercials, actually watch and listen to the advertisements promoting a drug they are professing will help you with a health problem. Listen to the gentle voice at the end suggesting that a very occasional user of the drug may experience certain problems.
The gentle calm voice is telling you about the side effects that were experienced by a group of gullible testers of the product. People did suffer from the kidney problems, the increased risk of cancer and whatever they mention.
Oh it’s nothing to really concern yourself about if you take the drug and have an irritating problem like a mild itch or possible headache. But it is a concern when you might have liver failure or a heart attack and there is a chance, slim though it is that you might die. Then the gentle voice tells you to consult your doctor if you have any of these adverse symptoms. Why oh why would you chose to go back to the very person (on a kick back from the pharmaceutical company) and ask them for another drug that’s going to cause you damage.
Notice that every six months or so there is a new bout of advertisements from law firms asking if you or a loved one has been hurt by taking what was then drug of the month. It’s a big scam, they are all in it together. The drug companies set aside a hundred million dollars to pay out as compensation, they’ve made billions from the sale of it so what’s a million or so to be paid out to the gullible public.
Remember that these are drugs that have been passed as safe by the FDA, did you know that there is a revolving door between the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies, yes it’s normal for senior executives to spend two years with big pharma the two years on the FDA, interesting.
Read this from Druginjurylaw.com
Zocor (simvastatin) is a cholesterol-lowering drug that has been linked to rhabdomyolysis and myopathy (muscle injuries) as well as other serious side effects such as kidney or renal failure, liver problems, interstitial lung disease (ILD), and tendon ruptures.
Zocor 80 mg Pills Found To Have An Increased Risk Of Causing Rhabdomyolysis And Myopathy
The risk of developing rhabdomyolysis is greater for patients who use highest dose (80 mg) of Zocor (simvastatin). Rhabdomyolysis — sometimes called “rhabdo” as its short name — is the most serious form of myopathy and can lead to severe kidney damage, kidney failure, and sometimes death.
Drug Lawsuits
• Multaq (dronedarone)
• Safyral (30 mcg EE / 3 mg DRSP / 0.451 mg levomefolate calcium)
• Beyaz (20 mcg EE / 3 mg DRSP / 0.451 mg levomefolate calcium)
• Zocor (simvastatin)
• Meridia (sibutramine)
• Byetta (exenatide)
• Levaquin (levofloxacin)
• Yaz / Gianvi / Loryna (20 mcg ethinylestradiol (EE) / 3 mg drospirenone (DRSP))
• Yasmin / Ocella / Zarah / Syeda (30 mcg ethinyl estrdiol / 3 mg drospirenone)
• Vytorin (ezetimibe / simvastatin)
• Zetia (ezetimibe)
• NuvaRing (ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel ring)
• Avandia (rosiglitazone)
• Zelnorm (tegaserod)
• Permax (pergolide)
• Dostinex (cabergoline)
• Ketek (telithromycin)
• Ortho Evra (ethinyl estradiol / norelgestromin patch)
• Fosamax (alendronate)
• Tequin (gatifloxacin)
• Natrecor (nesiritide)
Advisory
• You should not stop taking any prescription drug before talking to your doctor.
o I find this a little strange because your doctor has recommended a drug, cleared by the FDA as safe yet it is possibly causing severe problems now and likely to cause even worse problems if stop taking it.
o And you are meant to trust these people…

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99