Turmeric is one of several spices that have come into play as important in health maintenance and disease prevention. It's a powerful anti-inflammatory for a range of conditions as well as an antioxidant.
Turmeric is a whole body cleanser that has been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. It's also what gives Indian curry its yellow color.
It's hard to beat turmeric as a natural anti-inflammatory. And more and more research is showing that inflammation is at the center of nearly all bodily diseases and malfunctions. My brother-in-law injured his shoulder and for a long time had been unable to sleep well because it caused him so much discomfort in bed. After about a month of taking a hefty dose of turmeric every day, he is now able to sleep through the night. His shoulder is still healing, and he is doing physical therapy for that, but the inflammation that exacerbated the pain has greatly diminished.
According to Catherine Ebeling, RN, BSN, and Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist (from their website truthaboutabs.com, turmeric is beneficial for infections, fevers, digestion, liver and gall bladder problems and arthritis, as well as helping to prevent heart disease and Alzheimer's Disease. It may even help to burn fat by stimulating the flow of bile in the gall bladder and helping to digest fats, improving digestion at the same time.
Curcumin is the active ingredient in this super-spice, and is what gives turmeric its yellow-orange pigment. Be sure you get turmeric that has at least 4 percent curcumin, as some kinds have only about 1 percent.
I buy turmeric in bulk by the pound. My favorite source is Frontier Natural Foods. They are one of the major suppliers of health food stores across the country, and have been doing it since the 1970s. You can form your own co-op and join as a wholesale buyer, but you can also purchase from them as a resale customer.
I like to buy from Frontier because not only can you get herbs that are certified organic (important if you are going to ingest them on a regular basis), but it is also much less expensive to buy herbs in bulk. It comes in sealed, foil-wrapped bags, so the contents are always fresh-smelling and very pungently aromatic. Their website is at http://www.frontiercoop.com. You can also call them for a catalog. They offer a huge variety of products, both their own brands as well as other manufacturer's products.
I used to buy empty gel caps and make my own capsules, but soon got tired of doing it. So now I take about half a rounded spoonful of turmeric every morning and just wash it down with a couple of swallows of water. It's much cheaper and easier to use that way. Although you can buy it in many stores already in capsules, I prefer to use the bulk powder and swallow it alone. At least I know what I'm getting that way.
For more information about turmeric's wonderful benefits, click here.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Effective Alternative Cancer Treatments
Cancer has become the modern plague of our society. In 1996 the American Cancer Society predicted that 40% of all Americans will develop life-threatening cancer at some point in their lives. It's become the dreaded disease that almost everyone fears, because with all the progress in modern medicine, their is still no reliable or satisfactory therapy or cure for this frightening illness offered by mainstream medicine. The ones that are offered - surgery, radiation and chemotherapy - are barbaric and in most cases, extremely unpleasant as well as ineffective.
I recently read a very eye-opening book chock-full of information about alternative cancer treatments that actually work better than those offered by Western mainstream medicine. It's called Outsmart Your Cancer: Alternative Non-Toxic Treatments That Work, by Tanya Harter Pierce, M.A., M.F.C.C. Ms. Pierce is a retired marriage, family and child counselor who began researching alternative cancer treatments after a family member was diagnosed with the disease.
Outsmart Your Cancer is a virtual encyclopedia of information, and I believe every household should have a copy. Well-researched and thorough, it offers information on at least 20 different treatment options that have effectively reduced or eliminated cancer in thousands of people. Although these treatments have not been approved by the FDA, they have been shown to not only be effective, but they are much safer and do not have the horrible side-effects that result from chemo and radiation therapies. Ms. Pierce includes resources for all of the options presented, including phone numbers, locations and websites for many of them.
Some of the therapies require a visit to a specific clinic or doctor, while many of them can be done privately in your own home. Costs vary, from only a few dollars a day for in-home treatments to over $10,000 for some alternative cancer treatment clinics. No matter which option you choose, it's a bargain. Who doesn't want to get better using therapies that have been shown to work better, cost less and have few or no side effects?
The only drawback to using alternative treatments is that they are usually not reimbursed by insurance. So while they tend to cost much less, you will probably have to pay for them yourself.
For each cancer therapy discussed in Outsmart Your Cancer, there is detailed information about how the treatment was discovered or came about, complete with references to both scientific studies as well as anecdotal evidence.
In her book, Ms. Pierce shows that even the toughest cancers that are usually considered a death sentence, such as pancreatic or liver cancer, have been cured using some of these alternative treatments. In some cases, survivors who had been given only a few weeks to live went on to live 20 years or more, cancer-free!
According to Ms. Pierce, the American Cancer Society (ACS), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have defined "cure" as alive 5 years after a cancer diagnosis. It does not mean cancer-free or healed of the disease. If the person diagnosed with cancer dies of cancer 5 years and a few months later, they are still included in statistics as "cured". This is one of the ways the American public is being deceived about cancer, and bullied into accepting forms of unpleasant and ineffective treatments that don't really work.
To truly heal permanently from cancer, the body needs to have a strong immune system. Conventional treatments only break down the strength of the immune system, making it vulnerable to further cancer invasion in the future. I'm not a doctor, but this is fairly common knowledge. For myself, I'd rather take my chances with alternative treatments.
An acquaintance of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer over a year ago and chose to use alternative treatments. I hadn't read Outsmart Your Cancer at the time, or I would have offered her that information. She also saw an oncologist, who put an extreme amount of pressure on her to use the usual treatments. Her husband and family also pressured her to go for the chemo and radiation that was offered.
Instead, she spent 6 weeks at an alternative cancer treatment center in another part of the country. When she returned home she went to see her oncologist to have a pet scan. Her cancer was about 75 percent reduced, but her doctor fired her!! He said he couldn't work with her if she wouldn't do what he said. It is such a shame that many people are bullied into therapies they don't really want to do. Once that diagnosis has come, the person is frightened and vulnerable, and easily manipulated through their fear.
You may be wondering why these therapies haven't been offered by mainstream medicine if they really work? The said truth is the cancer industry is a billion-dollar money machine. Yes, cancer has become an industry supported by suffering and disease. And those making the huge profits from it have no interest in finding alternative cancer treatments that are inexpensive and actually work.
In fact, Ms. Pierce cites many studies that were done on these alternative treatments - her book has 12 pages of references at the end. Appallingly, the ACS, NCI and FDA have aggressively blocked the exposure and use of these treatments in mainstream medicine. The reason is greed. Yes, it would do away with many jobs and high-powered salaries to have these alternative treatments become the norm. But it would also do away with a tremendous amount of pain, suffering and death.
One of the treatments can also be used as a preventative. It's called the Flax Seed Oil and Cottage Cheese remedy. It's been shown not only to be effective against many cancers, but it's inexpensive and can be used by anyone who wants to minimize their chances of ever getting cancer. Details about how to prepare this are included in Outsmart Your Cancer. My husband and I have been using it 4 or 5 days a week.
Outsmart Your Cancer offers hope, resources and the courage to take your health into your own hands. You can order a copy on Amazon.
I recently read a very eye-opening book chock-full of information about alternative cancer treatments that actually work better than those offered by Western mainstream medicine. It's called Outsmart Your Cancer: Alternative Non-Toxic Treatments That Work, by Tanya Harter Pierce, M.A., M.F.C.C. Ms. Pierce is a retired marriage, family and child counselor who began researching alternative cancer treatments after a family member was diagnosed with the disease.
Outsmart Your Cancer is a virtual encyclopedia of information, and I believe every household should have a copy. Well-researched and thorough, it offers information on at least 20 different treatment options that have effectively reduced or eliminated cancer in thousands of people. Although these treatments have not been approved by the FDA, they have been shown to not only be effective, but they are much safer and do not have the horrible side-effects that result from chemo and radiation therapies. Ms. Pierce includes resources for all of the options presented, including phone numbers, locations and websites for many of them.
Some of the therapies require a visit to a specific clinic or doctor, while many of them can be done privately in your own home. Costs vary, from only a few dollars a day for in-home treatments to over $10,000 for some alternative cancer treatment clinics. No matter which option you choose, it's a bargain. Who doesn't want to get better using therapies that have been shown to work better, cost less and have few or no side effects?
The only drawback to using alternative treatments is that they are usually not reimbursed by insurance. So while they tend to cost much less, you will probably have to pay for them yourself.
For each cancer therapy discussed in Outsmart Your Cancer, there is detailed information about how the treatment was discovered or came about, complete with references to both scientific studies as well as anecdotal evidence.
In her book, Ms. Pierce shows that even the toughest cancers that are usually considered a death sentence, such as pancreatic or liver cancer, have been cured using some of these alternative treatments. In some cases, survivors who had been given only a few weeks to live went on to live 20 years or more, cancer-free!
According to Ms. Pierce, the American Cancer Society (ACS), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have defined "cure" as alive 5 years after a cancer diagnosis. It does not mean cancer-free or healed of the disease. If the person diagnosed with cancer dies of cancer 5 years and a few months later, they are still included in statistics as "cured". This is one of the ways the American public is being deceived about cancer, and bullied into accepting forms of unpleasant and ineffective treatments that don't really work.
To truly heal permanently from cancer, the body needs to have a strong immune system. Conventional treatments only break down the strength of the immune system, making it vulnerable to further cancer invasion in the future. I'm not a doctor, but this is fairly common knowledge. For myself, I'd rather take my chances with alternative treatments.
An acquaintance of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer over a year ago and chose to use alternative treatments. I hadn't read Outsmart Your Cancer at the time, or I would have offered her that information. She also saw an oncologist, who put an extreme amount of pressure on her to use the usual treatments. Her husband and family also pressured her to go for the chemo and radiation that was offered.
Instead, she spent 6 weeks at an alternative cancer treatment center in another part of the country. When she returned home she went to see her oncologist to have a pet scan. Her cancer was about 75 percent reduced, but her doctor fired her!! He said he couldn't work with her if she wouldn't do what he said. It is such a shame that many people are bullied into therapies they don't really want to do. Once that diagnosis has come, the person is frightened and vulnerable, and easily manipulated through their fear.
You may be wondering why these therapies haven't been offered by mainstream medicine if they really work? The said truth is the cancer industry is a billion-dollar money machine. Yes, cancer has become an industry supported by suffering and disease. And those making the huge profits from it have no interest in finding alternative cancer treatments that are inexpensive and actually work.
In fact, Ms. Pierce cites many studies that were done on these alternative treatments - her book has 12 pages of references at the end. Appallingly, the ACS, NCI and FDA have aggressively blocked the exposure and use of these treatments in mainstream medicine. The reason is greed. Yes, it would do away with many jobs and high-powered salaries to have these alternative treatments become the norm. But it would also do away with a tremendous amount of pain, suffering and death.
One of the treatments can also be used as a preventative. It's called the Flax Seed Oil and Cottage Cheese remedy. It's been shown not only to be effective against many cancers, but it's inexpensive and can be used by anyone who wants to minimize their chances of ever getting cancer. Details about how to prepare this are included in Outsmart Your Cancer. My husband and I have been using it 4 or 5 days a week.
Outsmart Your Cancer offers hope, resources and the courage to take your health into your own hands. You can order a copy on Amazon.
Friday, December 7, 2012
The Amazing Power of Vitamin C
In my last post I talked about using Vitamin C for the prevention of atherosclerosis and heart disease, based on information provided by Dr. Thomas Levy, MD,JD, a cardiologist, in his book Stop America's #1 Killer! Dr. Levy wrote another book, Primal Panacea, that in many ways is even more eye-opening, as it covers an even broader spectrum of information regarding what Vitamin C does to maintain health.
Dr. Levy dispels many of the medical lies about Vitamin C that have become so prevalent he calls them "urban legends". These include the idea that there are no studies or evidence that Vitamin C works, it is not safe, it is adequately supplied by a normal diet, or the idea that if it worked we would all be using it. Dr. Levy says these are all myths perpetuated by the mainstream medical establishment.
In this book he discusses a different approach to using Vitamin C than I had previously considered: intravenous drips or injections. The reason for using it intravenously is that to get the therapeutic benefits he describes for some of the toughest conditions, such as cancer, poisoning or acute infection, very high doses must be given. Some of the dosages used in clinical situations he describes were as high as 50-100 grams taken intravenously.
Primal Panacea covers an almost unbelievable range of specific conditions that can be helped and often completely healed by using high-dose Vitamin C. Dr. Levy discusses its successful use in treating things such as blood poisoning, poisonous snake bite, black widow spider bite, as well as infectious diseases and acute toxic exposures. Some of the acute toxic exposures he describes that have been treated successfully using intravenous Vitamin C are arsenic, mercury, aluminum, radiation, paraquat, benzene, cadmium, fluoride, mushroom poisoning, amphetamine poisoning and others. Discussion of its use in the treatment of infectious diseases includes hepatitis, mumps, encephalitis, HIV/AIDS, herpes, tetanus, malaria and many others.
Obviously, to take Vitamin C intravenously you will need to seek out a doctor or clinic that is hip to the benefits of high-dose Vitamin C injections. Clinics that offer IV chelation therapy are a good place to start. IV chelation is a subject for another time, but I had used a clinic in the past that offered it, and discovered recently that they now offer intravenous Vitamin C treatments as well. I like to go in every once in a while just to ramp up my body's detoxification and antioxidant protection.
According to Dr. Levy (and hundreds of other sources), oxidative stress exerts a pathological effect wherever it's found in the body. If not controlled it eventually results in some form of degenerative disease. The most common are heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis and Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Levy goes into detailed discussions regarding each of these conditions, citing evidence that Vitamin C supplementation can prevent, lessen and even sometimes reverse damage inflicted by these diseases.
A problem we as humans have is that unlike most other mammalian creatures, our bodies are unable to synthesize Vitamin C. Dr. Levy states that this was discovered over 70 years ago and reported in a study that said, "The mammals most susceptible to infectious disease - man, monkey and the guinea pig - were those that were unable to synthesize Vitamin C" (Osborn T, Gear J, "Possible relation between ability to synthesize Vitamin C and reaction to tubercle bacillus" Nature 1940 145:974).
Dr. Levy discusses the best forms of Vitamin C to take orally, including liposome-encapsulated Vitamin C (most bio-available), and one that can be found inexpensively in power form on the internet in the form of sodium ascorbate.
Why hasn't this information become mainstream if it's so beneficial? I've believed for a long time that there is a big conflict of interest between mainstream medicine (driven by expensive procedures and high-priced pharmaceutical manufacturers), and the best interests of the public. The reluctance of medical insurance to cover preventive and alternative therapies has made the problem worse. The public doesn't want to pay for therapies they believe should be covered by insurance, and invasive and expensive procedures have become the norm. Profits from sales of pharmaceutical drugs are obscenely disproportionate to any benefits they may provide.
Unfortunately, the FDA is not protecting us from the dangers of pharmaceutical drugs. In Chapter 8 of Primal Panacea, entitled "Are Profits More Important then People?", Dr. Levy cites a study that found adverse reactions to FDA-approved drugs to be the 4th leading cause of death in the United States in 1998. If you care about your health, and the health of your loved ones, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of Dr. Levy's book, Primal Panacea, and join the growing awareness about the need to take charge of your own health. You can order it from his website here or purchase it on Amazon.
Again, I have no affiliation with Dr. Levy or his products. I simply found his information important and relevant the health and welfare of people in general.
Dr. Levy dispels many of the medical lies about Vitamin C that have become so prevalent he calls them "urban legends". These include the idea that there are no studies or evidence that Vitamin C works, it is not safe, it is adequately supplied by a normal diet, or the idea that if it worked we would all be using it. Dr. Levy says these are all myths perpetuated by the mainstream medical establishment.
In this book he discusses a different approach to using Vitamin C than I had previously considered: intravenous drips or injections. The reason for using it intravenously is that to get the therapeutic benefits he describes for some of the toughest conditions, such as cancer, poisoning or acute infection, very high doses must be given. Some of the dosages used in clinical situations he describes were as high as 50-100 grams taken intravenously.
Primal Panacea covers an almost unbelievable range of specific conditions that can be helped and often completely healed by using high-dose Vitamin C. Dr. Levy discusses its successful use in treating things such as blood poisoning, poisonous snake bite, black widow spider bite, as well as infectious diseases and acute toxic exposures. Some of the acute toxic exposures he describes that have been treated successfully using intravenous Vitamin C are arsenic, mercury, aluminum, radiation, paraquat, benzene, cadmium, fluoride, mushroom poisoning, amphetamine poisoning and others. Discussion of its use in the treatment of infectious diseases includes hepatitis, mumps, encephalitis, HIV/AIDS, herpes, tetanus, malaria and many others.
Obviously, to take Vitamin C intravenously you will need to seek out a doctor or clinic that is hip to the benefits of high-dose Vitamin C injections. Clinics that offer IV chelation therapy are a good place to start. IV chelation is a subject for another time, but I had used a clinic in the past that offered it, and discovered recently that they now offer intravenous Vitamin C treatments as well. I like to go in every once in a while just to ramp up my body's detoxification and antioxidant protection.
As anyone knows who has taken a lot of Vitamin C orally, there is a limit to how much you can take without inducing nausea or diarrhea. I've actually vomited a couple of times after taking too much Vitamin C orally in too short a time. Yet if I stay below 5 grams a day, and use the forms Dr. Levy recommends in his books, I have no problem.
A problem we as humans have is that unlike most other mammalian creatures, our bodies are unable to synthesize Vitamin C. Dr. Levy states that this was discovered over 70 years ago and reported in a study that said, "The mammals most susceptible to infectious disease - man, monkey and the guinea pig - were those that were unable to synthesize Vitamin C" (Osborn T, Gear J, "Possible relation between ability to synthesize Vitamin C and reaction to tubercle bacillus" Nature 1940 145:974).
Dr. Levy discusses the best forms of Vitamin C to take orally, including liposome-encapsulated Vitamin C (most bio-available), and one that can be found inexpensively in power form on the internet in the form of sodium ascorbate.
Why hasn't this information become mainstream if it's so beneficial? I've believed for a long time that there is a big conflict of interest between mainstream medicine (driven by expensive procedures and high-priced pharmaceutical manufacturers), and the best interests of the public. The reluctance of medical insurance to cover preventive and alternative therapies has made the problem worse. The public doesn't want to pay for therapies they believe should be covered by insurance, and invasive and expensive procedures have become the norm. Profits from sales of pharmaceutical drugs are obscenely disproportionate to any benefits they may provide.
Unfortunately, the FDA is not protecting us from the dangers of pharmaceutical drugs. In Chapter 8 of Primal Panacea, entitled "Are Profits More Important then People?", Dr. Levy cites a study that found adverse reactions to FDA-approved drugs to be the 4th leading cause of death in the United States in 1998. If you care about your health, and the health of your loved ones, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of Dr. Levy's book, Primal Panacea, and join the growing awareness about the need to take charge of your own health. You can order it from his website here or purchase it on Amazon.
Again, I have no affiliation with Dr. Levy or his products. I simply found his information important and relevant the health and welfare of people in general.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Heart Disease & Vitamin C Deficiency
There is a very humble vitamin that, although hundreds of studies have been done showing its efficacy in treating a variety of diseases, is very often overlooked. I'm talking about Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid. The amount recommended as a minimum daily requirement by the FDA is a mere 60 milligrams, just enough to prevent scurvy. What hasn't been realized is that much greater amounts are required to maintain optimum health. Lack lack of sufficient Vitamin C is often at the root of many of today's degenerative diseases.
I first became aware of the need for more Vitamin C after reading a book by Dr. Thomas Levy, MD, JD, entitled Stop America's #1 Killer! In this book Dr. Levy, a cardiologist, goes into great detail outlining the many ways in which a reversible Vitamin C deficiency is at the root of all coronary heart disease. Vitamin C is a terrific antioxidant and detoxifier that is constantly being neutralized by the toxins it neutralizes.
According to Dr. Levy, our blood vessels are surrounded by an intracellular glue, known as ground substance. It's like the mortar that holds our tissues together. Vitamin C is essential to maintain this intracellular glue, which has a gel-like consistency. In the face of insufficient Vitamin C, this consistency is lost, becomes watery, and is the first step to atherosclerosis. When the ground substance loses its grip on the cells that line the interior walls of blood vessels, the body compensates by thickening the arterial wall.
He says the body can appear to be very clinically very healthy while specific areas are severely deficient in Vitamin C. When any toxins are released into the blood, the inner lining of the arteries is logically one of the first destinations for the toxins to gather and start neutralizing Vitamin C stores, eventually breaking down the intracellular glue in blood vessels. Dr. Levy goes on to talk about Vitamin C in relation to cholesterol, triglycerides, inflammation in the body and other factors associated with heart disease. His discussion is thorough, easy to understand and backed by research and experience.
Dr. Levy also talks about the fact that glucose and related sugars compete directly with Vitamin C for the same transport mechanism into the cells of the body. This makes it appear that the more glucose and other sugars are available in the blood, the less Vitamin C will accumulate inside the cells of the body. Dr. Levy says this suppression of Vitamin C transport into the cells of the body by excess sugar appears to be "at least one significant mechanism by which sugar can stimulate the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease".
There are many sources of toxicity in today's world that can lower the amount of Vitamin C stores in our bodies: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, exhaust fumes, lotions, cleansers, and even shampoos are just some of the sources of possible toxic exposure that nearly everyone faces on a daily basis. For those whose work requires them to be in contact with toxic materials, such as certain arts and crafts, pest control personnel, dentists and others, this risk is even higher.
This brings me to another source of daily toxicity for many people: mercury amalgam fillings and root canals. Dr. Levy says it is absolutely essential to remove root-canal teeth and mercury amalgam fillings from your mouth to reduce the daily onslaught of toxic exposure, which constantly depletes levels of Vitamin C.
I had all my mercury amalgam fillings replaced with either composites or ceramic crowns over 12 years ago while going through a severe health crisis (chronic fatigue and incapacitating dizziness, but that's a subject for another day), but did not fully realize the dangers of root canals at the time. As a result, I let my dentist talk me into having 2 root canals in the next five years. Two months ago, I had them removed by another dentist who is more hip to the dangers of modern dentistry. I'd rather do without them or wear a partial denture than subject my immune system to the constant assault of toxins released by teeth that have had root canals. But I digress.
Dr. Levy has written another eye-opening book that goes even further into the discussion of Vitamin C as it relates to a myriad of other aspects of health, called Primal Panacea. I'll talk about that in my next post.
You can order Dr. Levy's book, Stop America's #1 Killer, on his website or on Amazon. I don't get any compensation for recommending his books. I just want to help spread the awareness! Good health is our greatest asset.
I first became aware of the need for more Vitamin C after reading a book by Dr. Thomas Levy, MD, JD, entitled Stop America's #1 Killer! In this book Dr. Levy, a cardiologist, goes into great detail outlining the many ways in which a reversible Vitamin C deficiency is at the root of all coronary heart disease. Vitamin C is a terrific antioxidant and detoxifier that is constantly being neutralized by the toxins it neutralizes.
According to Dr. Levy, our blood vessels are surrounded by an intracellular glue, known as ground substance. It's like the mortar that holds our tissues together. Vitamin C is essential to maintain this intracellular glue, which has a gel-like consistency. In the face of insufficient Vitamin C, this consistency is lost, becomes watery, and is the first step to atherosclerosis. When the ground substance loses its grip on the cells that line the interior walls of blood vessels, the body compensates by thickening the arterial wall.
He says the body can appear to be very clinically very healthy while specific areas are severely deficient in Vitamin C. When any toxins are released into the blood, the inner lining of the arteries is logically one of the first destinations for the toxins to gather and start neutralizing Vitamin C stores, eventually breaking down the intracellular glue in blood vessels. Dr. Levy goes on to talk about Vitamin C in relation to cholesterol, triglycerides, inflammation in the body and other factors associated with heart disease. His discussion is thorough, easy to understand and backed by research and experience.
Dr. Levy also talks about the fact that glucose and related sugars compete directly with Vitamin C for the same transport mechanism into the cells of the body. This makes it appear that the more glucose and other sugars are available in the blood, the less Vitamin C will accumulate inside the cells of the body. Dr. Levy says this suppression of Vitamin C transport into the cells of the body by excess sugar appears to be "at least one significant mechanism by which sugar can stimulate the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease".
There are many sources of toxicity in today's world that can lower the amount of Vitamin C stores in our bodies: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, exhaust fumes, lotions, cleansers, and even shampoos are just some of the sources of possible toxic exposure that nearly everyone faces on a daily basis. For those whose work requires them to be in contact with toxic materials, such as certain arts and crafts, pest control personnel, dentists and others, this risk is even higher.
This brings me to another source of daily toxicity for many people: mercury amalgam fillings and root canals. Dr. Levy says it is absolutely essential to remove root-canal teeth and mercury amalgam fillings from your mouth to reduce the daily onslaught of toxic exposure, which constantly depletes levels of Vitamin C.
I had all my mercury amalgam fillings replaced with either composites or ceramic crowns over 12 years ago while going through a severe health crisis (chronic fatigue and incapacitating dizziness, but that's a subject for another day), but did not fully realize the dangers of root canals at the time. As a result, I let my dentist talk me into having 2 root canals in the next five years. Two months ago, I had them removed by another dentist who is more hip to the dangers of modern dentistry. I'd rather do without them or wear a partial denture than subject my immune system to the constant assault of toxins released by teeth that have had root canals. But I digress.
Dr. Levy has written another eye-opening book that goes even further into the discussion of Vitamin C as it relates to a myriad of other aspects of health, called Primal Panacea. I'll talk about that in my next post.
You can order Dr. Levy's book, Stop America's #1 Killer, on his website or on Amazon. I don't get any compensation for recommending his books. I just want to help spread the awareness! Good health is our greatest asset.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Poison to the Brain
We all know we should read food labels and avoid things with lots of ingredients that have names we can barely read, much less pronounce. I used to think it was not that big a deal, but in the past year I've begun to take this very seriously. I'd been reading a few things that made me begin to understand how insidious these additives are. For starters they can upset your hormone balance, lead to abnormal food cravings and promote weight gain. But when I finally read a book by a neurosurgeon, Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, MD, I began to make reading food labels a priority. His book, entitled Exitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, is a sobering look at the diminishing quality of our food supply.
Dr. Blaylock cites study after study that suggest many of the foods we are eating every day are loaded with chemicals called neurotoxins that over-excite neurons and certain areas of the brain to the point where these nerve cells die off. They are literally excited to death. The damage may not show up for years until a certain percentage of them have been killed, and at that point, the downward spiral begins. There seems to be a strong connection between these neurotoxins, ingested over time, and the onset of adult degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers's, Parkinson's, ALS (Lou Gherigs's Disease) and others. He aptly calls these diseases "creeping death".
Not only that, but these neurotoxins are passed through the placenta of pregnant mothers to their unborn babies. There is evidence to suggest that the rampant increase in childhood disorders such as ADHD, learning disabilities and autism may be a result of this toxic overload on the unborn child. Giving young children, whose nervous systems are not yet fully developed, food and drinks that are laden with these chemicals can also potentially trigger learning disabilities, make them hyperactive, and can possibly cause problems many years down the road such as infertility.
Dr. Blaylock says that many substances considered harmless to the body and found normally in the blood are quite toxic to the brain. Thus the need for the blood brain barrier, whose job it is to exclude these harmful substances from entering the brain. This barrier is incompletely formed in the newborn, and it is not known when it reaches a full state of maturity, although it may be as late as adolescence. It is extremely important for young children to avoid these neurotoxins to avoid possible damage to their nervous systems.
Those of us born in the baby boomer years have pretty much been exposed to a lifetime of neurtoxic assault, as it has only been in the past 20-30 years that more natural foods have been easier to find. Back in the 1950s, MSG was added to baby food! Today, even processed food in health food stores, such as power bars and powders for shakes and smoothies will often have these nasty ingredients. No wonder we're seeing such an epidemic of neuro-degenerative diseases as the population gets older! I can't help but wonder what the next generation will be facing.
These neurotoxins serve no other purpose than to enhance the taste of food. So what are these neurotoxins and how do we identify them? Some of the most common are MSG, aspartame,cysteine and hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
Aspartame is the artificial sweetener found in diet sodas and now many other products, especially "low fat" items. MSG has received a lot of bad press so now many people try to avoid it. Unfortunately it can still be included as a part of other ingredients but does not need to be labeled as such if the product is not one hundred percent MSG. It is often disguised under names like "vegetable protein", "hydrolyzed vegetable protein", "spices", and (my favorite) "natural flavorings". These ingredients may contain anywhere from 12-40% MSG.
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein may be even worse than MSG alone. It contains three know neurotoxins: glutamate, aspartate and cysteic acid, as well as several know carcinogens (cancer causing substances). According to Dr. Blaylock, the FDA does not regulate the amount of carcinogens allowed in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or the amount of hydrolyzed vegetable protein allowed to be added to food products.
To top it off, these neurotoxins, or exitotoxins as he calls them, have a compounding effect when eaten at the same meal, making them more toxic than when eaten individually. And although many of the studies done on their effects have been done on laboratory animals and in tissue cultures, human beings absorb many of these neurotoxins at a much higher rate than any other animal tested.
People also have different rates of vulnerability and resistance to these neurotoxins, but it's like playing Russian Roulette. Do you really want to take the chance that you won't be the one to succumb to a stroke, Alzheimer's Disease, MS or some other degenerative condition? I think I can safely say that everyone who has a well-functioning brain would like to keep it that way.
Dr. Blaylock's father succumbed to Parkinson's Disease in 1989, which started him on his journey to help others avoid this terrible experience.
For myself, I watched my best friend's life partner wither away as he became more and more incapacitated by ALS, or Lou Gherig's Disease. As a certified massage therapist, I would go over to their home once a month to give both him and his caregiver (my friend) massages. The work was pro bono, and was some of the most satisfying massage work I've done. It was one of the few things he could enjoy the last few years of his life, and she needed it for the stress of taking care of him while working from home. If there is a way to possibly avoid an outcome like he experienced, I'm paying attention.
Dr. Blaylock also discusses supplements you can take that may help mitigate the effects of some of these neurotoxins. It doesn't mean you should continue to eat food laden with additives. But they are difficult to avoid completely, whether you buy packaged food to eat at home or eat out often in restaurants or fast-food places. Supplementing in any way that helps mitigate the effects of these deadly substances just makes sense.
Although his book is fairly technical, it is understandable to anyone with a minimal understanding of physiology. And there is so much information that is eye-opening and useful, that I highly recommend educating yourself by getting a copy of your own. I bought mine on Amazon. Again, the book is titled Exitotoxins: The Taste that Kills. Here is a link to the sales page.
Dr. Blaylock cites study after study that suggest many of the foods we are eating every day are loaded with chemicals called neurotoxins that over-excite neurons and certain areas of the brain to the point where these nerve cells die off. They are literally excited to death. The damage may not show up for years until a certain percentage of them have been killed, and at that point, the downward spiral begins. There seems to be a strong connection between these neurotoxins, ingested over time, and the onset of adult degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers's, Parkinson's, ALS (Lou Gherigs's Disease) and others. He aptly calls these diseases "creeping death".
Not only that, but these neurotoxins are passed through the placenta of pregnant mothers to their unborn babies. There is evidence to suggest that the rampant increase in childhood disorders such as ADHD, learning disabilities and autism may be a result of this toxic overload on the unborn child. Giving young children, whose nervous systems are not yet fully developed, food and drinks that are laden with these chemicals can also potentially trigger learning disabilities, make them hyperactive, and can possibly cause problems many years down the road such as infertility.
Dr. Blaylock says that many substances considered harmless to the body and found normally in the blood are quite toxic to the brain. Thus the need for the blood brain barrier, whose job it is to exclude these harmful substances from entering the brain. This barrier is incompletely formed in the newborn, and it is not known when it reaches a full state of maturity, although it may be as late as adolescence. It is extremely important for young children to avoid these neurotoxins to avoid possible damage to their nervous systems.
Those of us born in the baby boomer years have pretty much been exposed to a lifetime of neurtoxic assault, as it has only been in the past 20-30 years that more natural foods have been easier to find. Back in the 1950s, MSG was added to baby food! Today, even processed food in health food stores, such as power bars and powders for shakes and smoothies will often have these nasty ingredients. No wonder we're seeing such an epidemic of neuro-degenerative diseases as the population gets older! I can't help but wonder what the next generation will be facing.
These neurotoxins serve no other purpose than to enhance the taste of food. So what are these neurotoxins and how do we identify them? Some of the most common are MSG, aspartame,cysteine and hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
Aspartame is the artificial sweetener found in diet sodas and now many other products, especially "low fat" items. MSG has received a lot of bad press so now many people try to avoid it. Unfortunately it can still be included as a part of other ingredients but does not need to be labeled as such if the product is not one hundred percent MSG. It is often disguised under names like "vegetable protein", "hydrolyzed vegetable protein", "spices", and (my favorite) "natural flavorings". These ingredients may contain anywhere from 12-40% MSG.
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein may be even worse than MSG alone. It contains three know neurotoxins: glutamate, aspartate and cysteic acid, as well as several know carcinogens (cancer causing substances). According to Dr. Blaylock, the FDA does not regulate the amount of carcinogens allowed in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or the amount of hydrolyzed vegetable protein allowed to be added to food products.
To top it off, these neurotoxins, or exitotoxins as he calls them, have a compounding effect when eaten at the same meal, making them more toxic than when eaten individually. And although many of the studies done on their effects have been done on laboratory animals and in tissue cultures, human beings absorb many of these neurotoxins at a much higher rate than any other animal tested.
People also have different rates of vulnerability and resistance to these neurotoxins, but it's like playing Russian Roulette. Do you really want to take the chance that you won't be the one to succumb to a stroke, Alzheimer's Disease, MS or some other degenerative condition? I think I can safely say that everyone who has a well-functioning brain would like to keep it that way.
Dr. Blaylock's father succumbed to Parkinson's Disease in 1989, which started him on his journey to help others avoid this terrible experience.
For myself, I watched my best friend's life partner wither away as he became more and more incapacitated by ALS, or Lou Gherig's Disease. As a certified massage therapist, I would go over to their home once a month to give both him and his caregiver (my friend) massages. The work was pro bono, and was some of the most satisfying massage work I've done. It was one of the few things he could enjoy the last few years of his life, and she needed it for the stress of taking care of him while working from home. If there is a way to possibly avoid an outcome like he experienced, I'm paying attention.
Dr. Blaylock also discusses supplements you can take that may help mitigate the effects of some of these neurotoxins. It doesn't mean you should continue to eat food laden with additives. But they are difficult to avoid completely, whether you buy packaged food to eat at home or eat out often in restaurants or fast-food places. Supplementing in any way that helps mitigate the effects of these deadly substances just makes sense.
Although his book is fairly technical, it is understandable to anyone with a minimal understanding of physiology. And there is so much information that is eye-opening and useful, that I highly recommend educating yourself by getting a copy of your own. I bought mine on Amazon. Again, the book is titled Exitotoxins: The Taste that Kills. Here is a link to the sales page.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Amazing Colloidal Silver
It always continues to amaze me how few people are still unaware of the benefits of taking colloidal silver as a way to prevent catching the latest flu bug, or to minimize the effects of a cold or flu if it has already begun to take hold. I've owned a colloidal silver generator for years, and I believe every household should have one.
Buying colloidal silver in a health food store, or even a place like Walmart, is rather expensive when you consider that you could make your own for only pennies. A 4 ounce bottle sells for anywhere from about $20-40 or more but you can easily make your own for almost nothing, once you have a generator. For colloidal silver to really be effective, I find you need to use more than just a few miserly drops, which is what you tend to do when paying full retail price for it.
Although I don't take it every day, when I've been exposed to someone with a cold or other illness, or I feel a few symptoms coming on, I may take 1-2 ounces of the stuff anywhere from 3-5 times a day! To buy it at retail, you would need several bottles. Although that may sound expensive, it's usually still cheaper than going to the doctor.
The way colloidal silver works, as I understand it, is that it destroys the enzymes the viruses or bacteria need in order to reproduce. Taken early in the onset of a bug, it can greatly reduce the duration or intensity of a cold or flu, or even prevent it altogether.
When my mother got a very nasty pinkeye infection after being in a hospital, I put drops of colloidal silver in her eye several times a day and her eye was almost completely healed in about 48 hours! This stuff is great and has so many uses. It's easy to drink because it mostly tastes like water, and doesn't burn if you put it on a wound, or even in your eyes!
I am not a doctor, just an interested consumer and health-conscious person. I am always on the lookout for the latest discovery or breakthrough in natural health, so am open to information that may be helpful, but has not necessarily been subjected to the rigors of FDA testing (that's a subject for another post, but there's plenty of information abounding on the internet about how jaded the FDA is, as well as other organizations "dedicated" to research for the cures to various ills).
Colloidal silver has been around for a long time now, and has been "road-tested" by thousands of people like myself, who find it to be effective. My husband was diagnosed with the Hepatitis C virus over 10 years ago and has taken more colloidal silver than anyone I know, for years. Although he has remained symptom-free since his diagnosis, he probably averages taking an ounce of colloidal silver a day whether he has other symptoms or not. If he feels a cold coming on he takes more. And his skin hasn't turned blue!!
When I tell a lot of people about colloidal silver, they sometimes object because they've heard about a man who turned blue after taking large amounts of it, and are afraid to give it a try. The man was featured on a TV program, which gave colloidal silver a lot of negative publicity. But in my humble opinion, that experience was a rare exception and the man took way too much of it. I believe colloidal silver is a godsend.
Back in the old days, when people ate off silverware that was actually made of silver, they got minute amounts of silver without having to take a supplement. Nowadays, almost no one uses real silver on a daily basis so we don't get that benefit. Did you know that in the old days people sometimes placed a silver coin in their stored milk? Supposedly it kept the milk from spoiling as quickly.
If you would like more information about colloidal silver, it's uses and where to buy a generator, I always tell people Steve Barwick is the go-to guy online for that info. He is at http://www.thesilveredge.com/. He has a very informative email newsletter you can sign up for and receive free. No, I don't have any connection to his company other than the fact that I've bought 2 colloidal silver generators from them - one was a gift to a friend. My own generator has worked well for nearly 10 years now.
Buying colloidal silver in a health food store, or even a place like Walmart, is rather expensive when you consider that you could make your own for only pennies. A 4 ounce bottle sells for anywhere from about $20-40 or more but you can easily make your own for almost nothing, once you have a generator. For colloidal silver to really be effective, I find you need to use more than just a few miserly drops, which is what you tend to do when paying full retail price for it.
Although I don't take it every day, when I've been exposed to someone with a cold or other illness, or I feel a few symptoms coming on, I may take 1-2 ounces of the stuff anywhere from 3-5 times a day! To buy it at retail, you would need several bottles. Although that may sound expensive, it's usually still cheaper than going to the doctor.
The way colloidal silver works, as I understand it, is that it destroys the enzymes the viruses or bacteria need in order to reproduce. Taken early in the onset of a bug, it can greatly reduce the duration or intensity of a cold or flu, or even prevent it altogether.
When my mother got a very nasty pinkeye infection after being in a hospital, I put drops of colloidal silver in her eye several times a day and her eye was almost completely healed in about 48 hours! This stuff is great and has so many uses. It's easy to drink because it mostly tastes like water, and doesn't burn if you put it on a wound, or even in your eyes!
I am not a doctor, just an interested consumer and health-conscious person. I am always on the lookout for the latest discovery or breakthrough in natural health, so am open to information that may be helpful, but has not necessarily been subjected to the rigors of FDA testing (that's a subject for another post, but there's plenty of information abounding on the internet about how jaded the FDA is, as well as other organizations "dedicated" to research for the cures to various ills).
Colloidal silver has been around for a long time now, and has been "road-tested" by thousands of people like myself, who find it to be effective. My husband was diagnosed with the Hepatitis C virus over 10 years ago and has taken more colloidal silver than anyone I know, for years. Although he has remained symptom-free since his diagnosis, he probably averages taking an ounce of colloidal silver a day whether he has other symptoms or not. If he feels a cold coming on he takes more. And his skin hasn't turned blue!!
When I tell a lot of people about colloidal silver, they sometimes object because they've heard about a man who turned blue after taking large amounts of it, and are afraid to give it a try. The man was featured on a TV program, which gave colloidal silver a lot of negative publicity. But in my humble opinion, that experience was a rare exception and the man took way too much of it. I believe colloidal silver is a godsend.
Back in the old days, when people ate off silverware that was actually made of silver, they got minute amounts of silver without having to take a supplement. Nowadays, almost no one uses real silver on a daily basis so we don't get that benefit. Did you know that in the old days people sometimes placed a silver coin in their stored milk? Supposedly it kept the milk from spoiling as quickly.
If you would like more information about colloidal silver, it's uses and where to buy a generator, I always tell people Steve Barwick is the go-to guy online for that info. He is at http://www.thesilveredge.com/. He has a very informative email newsletter you can sign up for and receive free. No, I don't have any connection to his company other than the fact that I've bought 2 colloidal silver generators from them - one was a gift to a friend. My own generator has worked well for nearly 10 years now.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Natural Health & Wellness Advocate
As an advocate for holistic health and natural remedies since the 1970's, I've seen a lot of changes and advances in the field of health and nutrition. The field of human health and biology is so vast and complex that as new discoveries in how the body works are made, old information is often made obsolete. In a field of information that is both complex and rapidly changing, I've heard many people say they've just given up. There is too much conflicting and/or outdated information for the average person to wade through.
I've decided to start this blog because my interest in alternative therapies and holistic health has led me to discover more than the average person about health and wellness. I get advertisements and "newsletters" almost daily for products claiming to improve some aspect of wellness. I'm on a variety of health, wellness and anti-aging email lists. I've bought dozens of books and magazines related to alternative wellness and holistic health. I am a licensed massage therapist, which, even though I don't do that work full-time anymore, keeps me in touch with like-minded people and affords me the opportunity to discover information that many may never find.
I've been my own guinea pig for many alternative treatments. As I add posts sharing my own experiences and discoveries, I hope that others will find some help or hope for their own situations. I've ingested all manner of food supplements, herbal remedies, teas, tinctures and powders. I've had many sessions of acupuncture, massage and deep bodywork, chiropractic care, energy therapies, IV chelation and intravenous Vitamin C injections. I go to an anti-aging clinic a couple of times a year that is well-versed in recent discoveries in nutrition and health.
In the past couple of years I seem to constantly bump into people who would benefit from the information I have in my head through my years of seeking it out. Many are desperate to hear what I can tell them. Most don't know where to start so they just rely on whatever their doctor or the mainstream media has told them and hope for the best.
Let me be frank. I am not a doctor and I cannot diagnose or treat any disease or condition!! Yet what I have learned in the past few years is how reluctant the mainstream medical establishment is to utilize new therapies that have been found to work for many people. Not only that, but there is an apparent resistance to adopting therapies that are inexpensive, safe and effective. There is so much money to be made in the big business of cancer treatment and heart disease, diabetes and other degenerative diseases, that little is offered in the way of genuine preventive care or effective alternative treatments. On this blog, I will share much of what I have learned and offer new information as I discover it.
I've decided to start this blog because my interest in alternative therapies and holistic health has led me to discover more than the average person about health and wellness. I get advertisements and "newsletters" almost daily for products claiming to improve some aspect of wellness. I'm on a variety of health, wellness and anti-aging email lists. I've bought dozens of books and magazines related to alternative wellness and holistic health. I am a licensed massage therapist, which, even though I don't do that work full-time anymore, keeps me in touch with like-minded people and affords me the opportunity to discover information that many may never find.
I've been my own guinea pig for many alternative treatments. As I add posts sharing my own experiences and discoveries, I hope that others will find some help or hope for their own situations. I've ingested all manner of food supplements, herbal remedies, teas, tinctures and powders. I've had many sessions of acupuncture, massage and deep bodywork, chiropractic care, energy therapies, IV chelation and intravenous Vitamin C injections. I go to an anti-aging clinic a couple of times a year that is well-versed in recent discoveries in nutrition and health.
In the past couple of years I seem to constantly bump into people who would benefit from the information I have in my head through my years of seeking it out. Many are desperate to hear what I can tell them. Most don't know where to start so they just rely on whatever their doctor or the mainstream media has told them and hope for the best.
Let me be frank. I am not a doctor and I cannot diagnose or treat any disease or condition!! Yet what I have learned in the past few years is how reluctant the mainstream medical establishment is to utilize new therapies that have been found to work for many people. Not only that, but there is an apparent resistance to adopting therapies that are inexpensive, safe and effective. There is so much money to be made in the big business of cancer treatment and heart disease, diabetes and other degenerative diseases, that little is offered in the way of genuine preventive care or effective alternative treatments. On this blog, I will share much of what I have learned and offer new information as I discover it.
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