Natural Health Remedies

The information contained on this site is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.

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Sage - An Herbal Remedy for Sore Throat, Congestion and Cough

There are many causes of sore throats, chest congestion or coughs. Such as a cold, flu, laryngitis, mouth breathing while sleeping, smoking, pollen or a number of other irritates.

Sage kills bacteria, and is very soothing to mucus membranes, as well it breaks up your congestion. It can help eliminate that annoying cough that often accompanies a cold.

The next time you develop a sore throat , chest congestion or a cough try using the sage remedies below. In a few days your throat or cough will be feeling better without the use of over the counter drugs.

Sage Gargle (for sore throats)

Boil 1 cup of water.
Add 1 heaping tablespoon of rubbed sage, 1/8 - ¼ tsp. of salt, and empty 2 capsules of Echinacea into the mix. Echinacea is an anti-viral that also has a numbing effect. (Don't buy Echinacea that's combined with other herbs.)
Stir and let stand about 15 minutes.
Stir again, and pour through a strainer (keep this) into another cup.
Reheat as hot as you can tolerate. You can test it on your lips.
Gargle deeply into your throat, 2 or 3 times.

It's best not to eat or drink for a little while, so you don't dilute the effect.

Put the strained material back in the liquid, cover and store in the refrigerator. You can reheat it for about 2 days. Reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes on medium heat)

Remember to strain it before gargling!

Don't stop completely until at least a day after your symptoms subside.

Sage Steam (for chest congestion or cough)

Take a big pot with 2" of water in it, add 2 Heaping Tablespoons of Rubbed Sage (right out of your spice rack, if it's not too old!)
If you're sick (cold or flu), add 4 capsules of Echinacea for an extra anti-viral boost. (Don't buy Echinacea that's combined with other herbs)
Bring to a boil, stir, then simmer (med-low) for 15 minutes. (Stir occasionally)
Bring the temp back up (almost) to a boil again.

Now it's ready.

Put a towel over your head (to trap the steam), and your head over the pot. Steam can burn, so be careful.
Inhale the steam deeply into your lungs (even if it makes you cough terribly) through your mouth, then your nose.
Do this as long as you can stand it (5 min.).

Set aside to use later. I make a fresh pot each day that it's needed.

Have the tissues close!

For best results, steam 3-6 times a day while you're ill. Obviously, you can back off as you begin to feel better. Don't stop completely until at least a day after your symptoms subside.

The Hazards of Candles?

Have you ever thought about the health hazards of burning paraffin candles in your home?

Most candles are made of paraffin wax due to their cost effectiveness in using a petroleum by-product.

The main health concern with traditional paraffin wax candles is that the properties of paraffin wax, a derivative of crude oil, as well as the metal core wicks traditionally used are polluting our homes. The EPA states that indoor air quality is 3 times more polluted than outdoor air quality. Paraffin contributes substantially to the decline in indoor air quality.

A paraffin wax candle emits 11 toxins documented by the American Lung Association, 2 of which are known carcinogens–toluene and benzene.

Specialists in environmental medicine have occasionally noted problems resulting from candle use, indoor air pollution and related health problems appears to becoming more common due to the popularity of scented and aromatherapy candles. If candles are not properly manufactured, or contain too high quantities of fragranced oils that are not suitable for combustion, the result could be an indoor air quality problem.

In the U.S., the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has been receiving an increasing number of reports about black soot deposition. A prime suspect is the increased use of candles and other indoor combustible materials including incense, potpourri and oil lamps. The problem is so severe that North America’s largest indoor air quality conference, held in Texas in mid April, featured a workshop that presented the latest research and case studies on the effects of black soot from candles.

Soot is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels, usually petroleum-based. The soot not only discolors walls and furniture, it can also contaminate your home’s ventilation system.

Soot is the source of the bright white/yellow light that candles emit. A flame without soot will burn blue, like the flame from a gas stove.

This soot penetrates not only furnishings, but air ducts as well, spreading fine particles of soot throughout the home.

While little or no research has been conducted into the health effects of exposure to candle soot, studies into the risks of exposure to soot from diesel exhaust and factory emissions suggest candle soot can be harmful. Since soot particles are typically very small, they can potentially penetrate the deepest areas of the lung. Researchers caution that the very young, the elderly and those with respiratory diseases like asthma should avoid exposure to candle soot.

Soy has become the healthier alternative!

In recent years, soy and vegetable wax has been culminated and implemented in candle development. Soy wax components are completely non-toxic. The wax is made from soybeans and vegetables, both renewable resources. Soy wax burns much cleaner and purer as it is all natural, non-toxic, and non-hazardous.

Microwave Popcorn - Is it Safe?

An Associated Press article dated September 5, 2007 reported that recent warnings to popcorn factory workers about the dangers of lung disease from Diacetyl exposure, have now been extended to consumers.

Symptoms of bronchiolitis obliterans, often referred to as "popcorn lung" include:

Fixed airway obstruction
Scarring of the lung
Inflammation of the lung
Dry cough
Shortness of breath
Diminished lung capacity

Bronchiolitis obliterans is thought to be caused by exposure to Diacetyl, a chemical used to create the buttery flavoring of microwave popcorn. This potentially fatal obstructive lung disease causes victims to slowly suffocate within their own bodies. The Washington Post has previously reported the continually rising number of cases linked to Diacetyl and bronchiolitis obliterans in microwave popcorn factory workers. There has been at least one death associated with popcorn workers lung to date.

The only treatment available for bronchiolitis obliterans is a lung transplant.

In Nov 2005, 54 former workers from the popcorn plant settled lawsuits out of court, while a few others went to trial and the verdict total was over $50 million dollars in compensation for the workers.

Recent news reports suggest that the irresistible aroma that comes out of those popped bags may be damaging to your lungs. A substance called diacetyl that's used to provide the illusion of buttery goodness has been linked to lung disease in popcorn-plant workers, and now at least one doctor is suggesting that those of us scarfing down bagfuls at home may be affected as well.

According to a CTV report, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been notified of one case of a consumer who ate "large quantities of the butter-flavored popcorn and developed a life-threatening lung disease sometimes called 'popcorn workers lung.'"

Dr. Cecile Rose, director of the occupational disease clinical programs at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, said that she first saw the Colorado man in February after another doctor could not figure out what was causing his distress. Dr. Rose described the case in a recent letter to government agencies.

A furniture salesman, the man was becoming increasingly short of breath. He had never smoked and was overweight. His illness had been diagnosed as hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lungs usually caused by chronic exposure to bacteria, mold or dust. Farmers and bird enthusiasts are frequent sufferers.

But nothing in the Colorado man's history suggested that he was breathing in excessive amounts of mold or bird droppings, Dr. Rose said. She has consulted to flavorings manufacturers for years about "popcorn workers' lung," and said that something about the man's tests appeared similar to those of the workers.

"I said to him, 'This is a very weird question, but bear with me. But are you around a lot of popcorn?' " Dr. Rose asked. "His jaw dropped and he said, 'How could you possibly know that about me? I am Mr. Popcorn. I love popcorn.' "

The man told Dr. Rose that he had eaten microwave popcorn at least twice a day for more than 10 years.

"When he broke open the bags, after the steam came out, he would often inhale the fragrance because he liked it so much," Dr. Rose said. "That's heated diacetyl, which we know from the workers' studies is the highest risk."

Dr. Rose measured levels of diacetyl in the man's home after he made popcorn and found levels of the chemical were similar to those in microwave popcorn plants. She asked the man to stop eating microwave popcorn.

"He was really upset that he couldn't have it anymore," Dr. Rose said. "But he complied."

Six months later, the man has lost 50 pounds and his lung function has not only stopped deteriorating but has actually improved slightly, Dr. Rose said.

"This is not a definitive causal link, but it raises a lot of questions and supports the recommendation that more work needs to be done," Dr. Rose said.

Investigations are still being conducted to understand the potential harms of microwave popcorn consumption, research results have yet to be released...

Lung specialists and even a top industry official say the case, the first of its kind, raises serious concerns about the safety of microwave butter-flavored popcorn.

This doesn't necessarily mean you should strike all microwave popcorn from your shelves, or vow never to indulge again. But if you have children with lungs weakened by asthma or other conditions, it might want to consider what's coming out when you break open the bag.

In response to the letter written concerning the consumer who has developed lung disease is allegedly due to exposure to Diacetyl, the FDA indicated that it is "carefully considering the safety and regulatory issues it raises". The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) currently does not regulate the use of Diacetyl in the food industry, but it conducting its own investigations as more people continue to come forward with similar claims. Additionally, the EPA is doing research regarding the safety of Diacetyl fumes.

"We've all been working on the workplace safety side of this, but the potential for consumer exposure is very concerning," said John B. Hallagan, general counsel for the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States, a trade association of companies that make butter flavorings for popcorn producers. "Are there other cases out there? There could be."

A spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration said that the agency was considering the case as part of a review of the safety of diacetyl, which adds the buttery taste to many microwave popcorns.

Producers of microwave popcorn said their products were safe.

Meanwhile, four of the leading makers and sellers of microwave popcorn have acted. Con Agra, General Mills, American Pop Corn Company, and Pop Weaver have said they will stop using diacetyl in their products, according to news reports. Their brands include Orville Redenbacher, Act II, Pop Secret, Jolly Time and Pop Weaver.

Pop Weaver, has taken diacetyl out of its popcorn bags "because of consumer concerns" but not because the company believes the chemical is unsafe for consumers, said Cathy Yingling, a company spokeswoman.

Exposure to synthetic butter in food production and flavoring plants has been linked to hundreds of cases of workers whose lungs have been damaged or destroyed. Diacetyl is found naturally in milk, cheese, butter and other products.

Heated diacetyl becomes a vapor and, when inhaled over a long period of time, seems to lead the small airways in the lungs to become swollen and scarred. Sufferers can breathe in deeply, but they have difficulty exhaling. The severe form of the disease is called bronchiolitis obliterans or "popcorn workers' lung," which can be fatal.

The popcorn bags are made out of paper that has to be coated with a substance to repel grease and moisture so the bag doesn't become soggy and rip while it's getting heated in the microwave. The chemicals used to coat the paper break down, when heated, in to a substance called perfluorooctanoic (PFOA).

The Environmental Protection Agency has identified PFOA as a "likely carcinogen."

How much PFOA gets into the popcorn is still unknown. The FDA researchers did a study this past October about this question. They determined that it's a relatively small amount of PFOA that actually gets into the popcorn.

So the good news may be that you'd probably have to eat a lot of popcorn before you get enough PFOA into your body that it will cause cancer, but it's basically impossible for the FDA to tell how much PFOA would actually cause cancer.

Not only is the bag coating a carcinogen, but also the fake butter flavoring. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health determined that a disease that destroys lung tissue was triggered by exposure to the artificial butter flavoring. This study was done after 24 workers in a Missouri microwave popcorn plant got this disease that was destroying their lungs. And it wasn't just 24 workers affected. There were 130 other employees who had high rates of bronchitis and asthma from this butter flavoring.

What's in the fake butter? Diacetyl. It gives artificial butter its flavor and smell. This is an FDA-approved chemical that is also found in many wines, cookies, candies, beers, and cheese-flavored products.

How can the FDA approve something known to kill your lungs?

So before you make your next bag of microwave popcorn, thing of what it's doing to your health.

If you still want microwave popcorn, make your own. Use popcorn kernels bought in your grocery store. Place a serving of kernels into a brown paper bag, smear some butter on the inside of the bag facing upward, fluff out the bag and fold it over three time, then place it in the microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Or you could go back to the good old fashion method of popping kernels on the stove with a pot and oil.

You should stay away from things that "smell just like butter", "taste just like butter" but are not. Don't forget all those other products using artificial flavors. Artificial flavors are used mostly to cut expense for the manufacturer and still maintain a flavor. The real thing isn't used because it's too expensive… Isn't your health worth the expense of what is real, good and safe?

Natural Alternative to Sleep Aides

Latley I have been receiving numerous emails urging me to purchase Ambien, amoung other medications/drugs, on the internet.

First of all, it is dangerous to purchase any medication/drug on the internet, they contain dangerous ingredients and may not be distributed by licensed pharmacies.

I have also learned that there have been samples of Ambien purchased on the Internet, that where found to contain haloperidol (Haldol), a potent antipsychotic drug with dangerous side effects.

For more information about dangerous drugs on the Internet, contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or visit: www.fda.gov/buyonlineguide.

There are natural altenative to medications/drugs.

Here is another example…

The Drug - Ambien

Ambien is a hypnotic drug, it work by literally hypnotizing the brain to sleep.

By binding to the brain's GABA (gamma-amino-butyric-acid) receptors, it makes the neurotransmitter to perform more effectively. GABA's promote sleep by preventing the brain cells from firing, which causes you to sleep.

This medication is usually limited to short-term treatment periods of 1-2 weeks. Like other sleep medications, there is the possibility of dependency.

Some people using this medicine have engaged in activity such as driving, sleepwalking, eating and other unusual behavior during sleep they later had no memory of doing.

Side effects:

daytime drowsiness
dizziness
weakness
feeling "drugged" or light-headed
lack of coordination
amnesia
forgetfulness
vivid or abnormal dreams
nausea
constipation
stuffy nose
sore throat
headache
muscle pain
blurred vision

Serious side effects include:

depresspression
unusual thoughts
risk-taking behavior
decreased inhibitions
no fear of danger
anxiety
aggression
feeling restless
agitated
hallucinations
confusion
loss of personality

Natural Alternative - Sleepzyme

Sleepzyme has seven ingredients that help to improve sleep, each of the ingredients in this formula have been proven to be safe and effective at improving sleep.

It works without the dangerous and harmful side effects and is NOT addictive.

Side effects:

light grogginess - This tends to occur when the supplement is taken too late in the evening and not enough time for sleep has been allowed. You need to allow at least 6-8 hours of possible sleep time.
enhanced dream activity. By spending more time in deep sleep, you may experience more dreams then you currently do. Not a bad thing.

Get detailed information about Sleepzyme and receive your free 30-day trial. Click Here

Cod Liver Oil - Number One Super Food

Thanks again to Chris Gupta for his amazing contribution to this newsletter.

An article from the Weston Price Foundation is an absolute must read like many on the site. If you do one thing to improve your health than this is it....

...."Eating fish will not provide the levels of nutrients that are found in cod liver oil. Even in heavy fish-eating populations, the addition of cod liver oil improves health."...

Those concerned about "Farm-Raised Salmon-PCB Levels Higher" please note:

..."One concern about taking cod liver oil is the presence of contaminants -- heavy metals (such as mercury, cadmium and lead), PCBs and so forth. Fortunately, consumers need not worry when it comes to cod liver oil. All cod liver oils in the US must be tested according to protocols of the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) and approved free of detectable levels of 32 contaminants before they can be imported into this country. Furthermore, mercury is water soluble. It may be present in the flesh of fish, but it is not present in the oil."...

Here are just a few miraculous applications:

CURING CAVITIES

A final plum from this most fruitful book regards secondary dentine. Secondary dentine, a less well-organized form of tubular dentine, is produced throughout life as a patching material where cavities have begun, where the overlying enamel has been worn away, and within the pulp chamber as part of the aging process. Sometimes when cavities occur, production of secondary dentine can "heal" the decayed spot or rebuild portions of the tooth that have worn away. If vitamin D is adequate, secondary dentine will be well calcified. If vitamin D is lacking, dentine will be of poor quality or not present at all.

There is some evidence that the mineralization of dentine may depend on calcium derived from saliva rather than blood; in other words, it is deposited from the exterior rather than the interior of the tooth. The book describes studies by Dr. C. L. Pattison who, working with Mrs. Mellanby, determined that the calcium content of saliva doubled or even tripled when the diet contained adequate vitamin D from cod liver oil...

ULTIMATE SKIN CARE

Cod liver oil mixed with zinc oxide is better for the skin than any of the prescription medications, and safer."...

By Krispin Sullivan, CN

Doctor Price was right, as usual. Cod liver oil is very good for you, more than you ever knew. Research studies ranging from 1918-2001 give cod liver oil an A+ rating. This marvelous golden oil contains large amounts of elongated omega-3 fatty acids, preformed vitamin A and the sunlight vitamin D, essential nutrients that are hard to obtain in sufficient amounts in the modern diet. Samples may also naturally contain small amounts of the important bone- and blood-maintainer vitamin K.

There is hardly a disease in the books that does not respond well to treatment that includes cod liver oil, and not just infectious diseases but also chronic modern diseases like heart disease and cancer. Cod liver oil provides vitamin D that helps build strong bones in children and helps prevent osteoporosis in adults. The fatty acids in cod liver oil are also very important for the development of the brain and nervous system. "If you want to prevent learning disabilities in your children," said David Horrobin, distinguished medical and biochemical researcher, "feed them cod liver oil."

Cod liver oil contains more vitamin A and more vitamin D per unit weight than any other common food. One hundred grams of regular cod liver oil provides 100,000 IU of vitamin A, almost three times more than beef liver, the next richest source; and 10,000 IU vitamin D, almost four times more than lard, the next richest source. Of course, cod liver oil is only consumed in small amounts, but even a tablespoon (about 15 grams) provides well over the recommended daily allowance for both nutrients.

In addition, cod liveroil contains 7 percent each of the elongated omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. EPA is the precursor of important prostaglandins, localized tissue hormones that help the body deal with inflammation; and DHA is extremely important for the development and function of the brain and nervous system. So it's no surprise that in numerous studies cod liver oil has proven to be a powerhouse in fighting disease.

GOOD FOR WHAT AILS YOU

Cod liver oil greatly improves heart function to prevent heart disease and to treat it even in advanced stages, after a heart attack and after heart surgery. Cod liver oil alters the linings of the arteries in such a way as to improve healing after damage.

This is attributed to the omega-3 fatty acids but vitamin A, D and K all have important roles to play in facilitating mineral absorption, improving muscle function and supporting elasticity of the blood vessels. The inflammation-reducing prostaglandins made from EPA help mediate the inflammatory response in the arteries. In other studies the heart-protective effect was associated with changes in the muscle response to serotonin, increasing the heart's ability to "relax.

"1-15 In a study with rats, treatment with cod liver oil actually caused artery-blocking atheromas to become smaller and blood vessel diameter to enlarge.55 Weston Price noted that heart attack deaths increased during periods when the vitamin A content of the diet was low. Cod liver oil can provide vitamin A on a continuous basis throughout the year.

Many of the conditions addressed by cod liver oil are considered related under the title Syndrome X. These include obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, adult onset diabetes and stroke. Evidence is accumulating that these diseases of civilization are the result of high levels of omega-6 fatty acids and low levels of omega-3 fatty acids along with deficiencies of fat-soluble vitamins. We may be paying a very high price for our rejection of parental wisdom to take our cod liver oil.

In numerous studies, the elongated omega-3 fats found in cod liver oil have been shown to improve brain function, memory, stress response, immune response, allergies, asthma, learning and behavioral disorders, including bipolar syndrome and manic-depression.

Cod liver oil is most famous for contributing to bone health, preventing and reversing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.16, 17 Before the discovery of cod liver oil as a source of vitamin D, many children suffered greatly with deformed bones. Osteoporosis responds to vitamin D and to cod liver oil. Sufficient elongated omega-3 oils found in cod liver oil are one of the keys to keeping and rebuilding bone.18, 19 In women, higher levels of vitamin D from cod liver oil improve bone mineral density.20

Two of the symptoms of low levels of vitamin D are bone pain and muscle pain. This may manifest as pain in the legs, muscle weakness and difficulty climbing stairs. Numerous studies have shown improvement in muscle pain, muscle strength and bone pain scores with cod liver oil.40, 41

Cod liver oil is effective in treating arthritis as well. Researchers funded by Great Britain's Arthritis Research Campaign found that the elongated omega-3 fatty acids in cod liver oil reduce both pain and damage in inflamed joints.56

Pregnant women using cod liver oil have infants with a lower risk for juvenile type 1 diabetes.21 This effect was found only in mothers taking cod liver oil, not in mothers taking multivitamin supplements. Cod liver oil taken by nursing mothers improves the fatty acid profile in breast milk to promote optimal brain development and also increases levels of vitamin A to prevent infections. Interestingly, cod liver oil does not provide increased vitamin D in breast milk.23,24

Cod liver oil given to infants after birth and during the first year had no protective effect against type 1 diabetes but it nevertheless is an important source of nutrients for optimal infant health.22 In more than forty trials, vitamin A has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality of children.25

Cod liver oil was the supplement of choice in many of these trials. Books on feeding infants published in the 1930s and 1940s routinely recommended cod liver oil, starting with 1 teaspoon at the age of three weeks. It was Dr. Spock who threw this wisdom out the window by recommending vaccinations instead of the powerful nutritional support of cod liver oil. Few modern books on infant care mention the importance of the fat-soluble nutrients in this wonderful super food.

As for treating diabetes in adults, cod liver oil has been used in a number of trials with both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes. In both conditions cod liver oil improved glucose response and other markers of the disease.26-31 Vitamin A in cod liver oil helps promote healing and protects the retina, both problem areas in the diabetic patient.

Cod liver oil has lowered blood pressure induced by stress-elevated levels of cortisol.32-35 Cod liver oil given to rats reduced intraocular pressure suggesting a use in prevention and treatment of glaucoma.36 Vitamin D in cod liver oil promotes absorption of calcium and magnesium, thereby lowering blood pressure.

Colitis responds more effectively to the type of omega-3 fatty acids in cod liver oil than to medication.37-38 Cod liver oil should be the first protocol for this condition as well as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease.

Topically applied, cod liver oil contributes to faster wound healing and improvement in skin quality.39 An excellent treatment for diaper rash and other skin conditions is cod liver oil mixed with zinc oxide. And cod liver oil taken orally helps maintain soft skin and minimize wrinkles.

And what about cancer? All the nutrients in cod liver oil help prevent cancer. Vitamin A has been part of every successful alternative cancer therapy so far. In a study in China, use of cod liver oil was found to be protective against childhood leukemia.57 In a study of Norwegian men and women, consumption of cod liver oil was found to protect against lung cancer.58

PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Eating fish will not provide the levels of nutrients that are found in cod liver oil. Even in heavy fish-eating populations, the addition of cod liver oil improves health.42-43 And taking fish oils is not the same as taking cod liver oil. One tablespoon of regular cod liver oil and one-half tablespoon of high-vitamin cod liver oil provide the amount of elongated omega-3 fatty acids found in twelve 1,000 mg fish oil capsules.

As for vitamin D, body oils of fish can be good sources as long as you are willing to eat a lot of them. One-half pound of fatty herring or sardines gives a dose of vitamin D equal to that of about one tablespoon of cod liver oil. But salmon oil has one-fifth the potency of cod liver oil.

One concern about taking cod liver oil is the presence of contaminants--heavy metals (such as mercury, cadmium and lead), PCBs and so forth. Fortunately, consumers need not worry when it comes to cod liver oil. All cod liver oils in the US must be tested according to protocols of the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) and approved free of detectable levels of 32 contaminants before they can be imported into this country. Furthermore, mercury is water-soluble. It may be present in the flesh of fish, but it is not present in the oil.

Another concern is rancidity. Cod liver oil can become rancid if improperly handled. In a 1988 study, peroxide values (indicating rancidity) ranged from a low of 2 to a high of 44.7.44 Nevertheless, properly handled cod liver oil is relatively stable. It contains 21 percent saturated fatty acids and 57 percent monounsaturated fatty acids, which provide stability.

The fishy smell of cod liver oil is due to the presence of small amounts of fish protein and is not a sign of rancidity. To ensure that your cod liver oil is fresh, avoid buying the large economy size or the end-of-season sale item. Buy cod liver oil in small dark bottles and keep them in a cool dark place. Cod liver oil need not be refrigerated after opening if it is used up quickly within two months.

Virtually all cod liver oil imported into the US comes from Norway, and while all of it is safe, there are different grades, depending on vitamin levels. The lighter oil from the "top of the barrel" has a lower molecular weight, goes rancid more quickly and has lower levels of vitamins, while the heavier oil, which sinks, is richer in vitamins.

The heavier oil is what Dr. Price referred to as high-vitamin cod liver oil. It contains double the amounts of vitamin A and D as regular cod liver oil. Virtually all cod liver oil imported into the US is the lighter, "top of the barrel" variety. The Norwegians keep the best for themselves!

Whenever taking cod liver oil, remember the findings of Dr. Price. He noted that he did not get good results from cod liver oil unless he gave it concurrently with high-vitamin butter. Just why this is so is a matter of speculation, but we do know that the very unsaturated fatty acids found in cod liver oil cannot be effectively assimilated and stored in the tissues without the presence of adequate saturated fatty acids, the kind that would be provided by butter.

This means that even regular butter would help support cod liver oil therapy; but Price found that the combination of cod liver oil with high-vitamin butter, from cows eating rapidly growing green grass, was nothing short of miraculous, reversing tooth decay and bringing patients back from the brink of death.

I do not find it hard to take Carlson's cod liver oil on a spoon, but for many, the big challenge is how to get this oily substance down. One technique is to add cod liver oil to a small amount of water or fresh juice, stir and then quickly send it down the hatch. If you can't bring yourself to take cod liver oil on a spoon or in water, then use the capsules. For babies and small children, use an eyedropper.

OLD RESEARCH BROUGHT TO LIGHT

In researching this article, I had the great fortune to stumble upon a book published in the 1930 it is truly exciting to come upon material found and lost and found again. Ultraviolet Light and Vitamin D in Nutrition, by Katharine Blunt and Ruth Cowan, published by the University of Chicago, contains fascinating material, including a chapter on the research of Mrs. May Mellanby published in 1918 in The Lancet II, page 767.

The book describes the work of scientists E. M. Honeywell, A. F. Hess and C. E. Bills (after which the Bills's Scale for determining antirachitic value for vitamin D is named) who studied all aspects of fish oil potency, production and seasonal distribution. Early in their research they discovered that oil extracted from cod when the fish were fat in the summer contained much lower amounts of vitamin D. Summer oil scored 100 on the Bills scale but winter oil scored above 1,000 and some oils scored 20,000. Their conclusion: "For a fish of a given size, antirachitic potency varies inversely with the amount of fat or oil in the liver." In other words, the less oil in the fish, the more concentrated it was.

In one fascinating study, they found that fish kept in darkened aquariums and fed on trimmed raw veal muscle had the same amount of vitamin D as free-swimming fish exposed to sunlight. So how the fish obtain vitamin D remains a mystery. Perhaps they are able to extract it from microscopic plankton and algae.

It is important to note that the amount of vitamin A in cod liver oil does not have any consistent relation with the amount of vitamin D. In numerous samples, oils rich in vitamin A were poor in vitamin D, and oils rich in vitamin D were poor in vitamin A.

According to the book, in 1922 the US imported about 1.8 million gallons of cod oil and cod liver oil. By 1927 this amount grew to almost 5 million gallons based on data from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the United States Department of Commerce. Cod oil is rancid oil used in the tanning industry, not for human consumption.

The figures don't distinguish the difference, but most of the increase was in the edible cod liver oil due to research showing its benefit in preventing rickets. According to the Commerce Yearbook of 1928, "Medicinal oil production has increased greatly, and the advance in its price has lessened the supply of common cod oil for tanning."

In 2000, America imported only about one tenth that amount (less than half a million gallons), indicating a huge decline in use.

In 1930, when the book was compiled, the technology was just being developed to determine vitamin D potency. The accepted value as of August 31, 1929 was " one rat unit of vitamin D," defined as "that amount of vitamin D which, when uniformly distributed into the standard vitamin D deficient diet-ration, will produce a narrow and continuous line of calcium deposits on the metaphyses of the distal end of the radii and ulnae of standard rachitic rats." "Potent cod liver oil" is defined as that containing one of these rat units per 0.75 mg. The International Units started out as rat units!

Testing of 18 oils in use at that time showed great variations in potency. Luckily today we have methods of standardization and much better methods of transportation and storage to improve the amount of vitamin D and freshness of our cod liver oil.

EAT YOUR EGGS

In 1929, researchers tested a variety of foods for vitamin D content and found the second most potent source of vitamin D was egg yolk. The book describes studies in which Hess both cured and prevented rickets in rats by giving them egg yolks.

He also gave prophylactic treatment to 12 infants to forestall development of rickets in the winter months, which his experience had taught him to expect in the great majority of bottle-fed infants. He gave them one egg yolk added to their regular formula starting in December. None of the 12 developed rickets in March as expected and, unlike prior years, blood phosphates remained stable at summer values.

About this same time, Johns Hopkins University investigators cured seven African-American children of rickets, in most cases severe, by adding one or two eggs daily to their diet of milk and cereal.

Like the vitamin D in cod liver oil, the amount of vitamin D in egg yolks also varies. Researchers in Kansas looked at four groups of hens: one group got sunlight in the yard plus 30 minutes under a quartz mercury vapor lamp producing UV-B light; another got sunlight through glass plus 30 minutes under the lamp; the third group got sunlight alone; and the fourth group got sunlight under glass alone.

Eggs from hens under glass produced rickets in rats. Those with considerable UV-B prevented rickets completely and those with less (no lamp) caused the development of slight rickets. Only the sunlight plus lamp completely prevented rickets, showing that the natural UV-B in Kansas did not provide sufficient light for optimal vitamin D. Giving cod liver oil to the chickens had the same effect as exposure to UV-B light. Cod liver oil as two percent of the ration increased levels of vitamin D in the egg yolks fivefold.

The surprising conclusion is that chickens should either be given sunlamp treatment or cod liver oil. Poultry men and consumers alike need to recognize that the axiom "an egg is an egg" is a mistaken one. Rather, "an inadequate ration may yield impoverished eggs as well as animals." The authors suggest that eggs be graded by vitamin content. What a concept! Too bad no one listened. What would they think of our so-called "organic" eggs from hens raised in barns, never exposed to light and given "all-vegetarian" feed?

MEET MRS. MELLANBY

The most fascinating part of this little book is the chapter describing the experiments done in England by a Mrs. May Mellanby. Her husband, Dr. E. Mellanby, was the author of over 400 studies and the first to control rickets with diet. Cod liver oil had been used for centuries as a remedy but the specific application to rickets was first demonstrated by Dr. Mellanby. (Control of rickets using UV-B light was demonstrated almost simultaneously by investigators at Columbia and Johns Hopkins University in 1921.) In his research into rickets in dogs, he discovered the mineral-blocking effect of phytic acid in grains and legumes. Dr. Mellanby demonstrated that diets containing high levels of cereals, especially oatmeal, and lacking vitamin D, are the most effective producers of rickets.

If vitamin D is inadequate there is poor tooth development, but Mrs. Mellanby then went on to prove that no matter how much cereal is fed, if vitamin D is adequate tooth formation is normal. Mrs. Mellanby believed that as cereals increase in the diet, vitamin D must also be increased to offset their anticalcifying effects think of the implications of this research on today's baby-feeding habits, where infants are given cereals as their first food but denied egg yolks until they are one year old!

Mrs. Mellanby also determined that vitamin D must be present from conception in order for proper tooth formation to occur. If vitamin D is absent during the early gestational period, the enamel cannot form properly, and it cannot be repaired by giving vitamin D later.

In her initial studies Mrs. Mellanby used dogs as the source of data but she later examined more than one thousand "baby" teeth from children. She divided these teeth into four categoriesnormal, hypoplastic (slightly underdeveloped), moderately underdeveloped and grossly underdeveloped. Only 149, or about 14 percent, of the total 1,036 were sound. About one-quarter was slightly underdeveloped, but nearly two-thirds were moderately or grossly underdeveloped.

It is more difficult to examine teeth in place, but of 266 adult teeth examined by Mrs. Mellanby, not one was sound. The teeth were extracted only for purposes of straightening the teeth, which means that they were erupting in a jaw that was underdeveloped. Thus, children with narrow faces most likely have underdeveloped teeth. Tooth structure and later decay are directly related. Prevention of cavities must start in the womb.

DOWNSIDE

Now that I have told you all this good news about cod liver oil, I need to comment on the research surrounding its possible toxicity. Over-elevated serum levels of vitamin D are a possibility if you combine summer or southern sun and cod liver oil. So if you are spending a lot of time out in the sun during the summer months, it's probably best to cut back on the dose. If you are unsure, you should test your blood levels of vitamin D.

Cod liver oil is no longer recommended in Great Britain and in the US pregnant women are advised to avoid most vitamin A and vitamin A-containing foods, including cod liver oil. Both countries have adopted this policy because of the recognized teratogenicity (may cause birth defects) of retinoic acid, a synthetic form of vitamin A. But low vitamin A also causes birth defects. In the developing countries, such as Brazil, Pakistan and India, vitamin A deficiency is widespread, afflicting millions. A 1992 survey of the US population determined that 50 percent of Americans consume 19 percent or less of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) or 400 IU.

The original study showing birth defects associated with intake of mostly synthetic vitamin A exceeding 5,000 IU daily was published November 23, 1995 in the New England Journal of Medicine.46 Other studies showing an association of birth defects with vitamin A concerned topical creams containing vitamin A derivatives such as Accutane, or extremely high doses of A used in animal studies.47-52

A later study, less well publicized, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), found no association with birth defects in women who took up to 10,000 IU of vitamin A during pregnancy. Because few women took more than 10,000 IU, researchers could not determine whether higher doses were a problem.

Later Mills and others continued their research and determined that after serum testing and determining safe serum levels, women taking 30,000 IU of preformed vitamin A from animal foods (not beta-carotene) daily had the same blood levels of A as healthy pregnant women in the first trimester who had healthy babies. The conclusion is that a dosage over 30,000 IU vitamin A daily may be teratogenic for a certain few, but anything up to that amount is safe.53-54

Thus if you are or may become pregnant, limit cod liver oil intake to not more than a total vitamin A value of 30,000 IU. If using my favorite brand, Carlson Labs cod liver oil, that would equal the amount of vitamin A found in 12 teaspoons or 4 tablespoons, more than anyone would ever take. If using high-vitamin cod liver oil, the limit would be 2 tablespoons. Two tablespoons of regular cod liver oil provide 15,000 IU vitamin A, 2600 IU vitamin D and 6 grams of mixed omega-3 fatty acids, safe for pregnancy and good for mom and baby.

There is one situation in which high levels of vitamin A are not recommended and that is the condition of certain types of liver disease in which there is altered vitamin A metabolism. This is frequently the case with alcoholism. Alcoholics should not take high doses (not more than 1-1.5 tablespoons of regular cod liver oil) and what they do take should be accompanied by zinc supplements. The enzymes needed for vitamin A metabolism in the liver are zinc dependent.

The most likely culprits for production of birth defects in humans are topical and oral vitamin A analogs, not cod liver oil. Researchers have criticized the original 1995 study, from which governmental policy has been derived, for overstating the negative effect. Only 1.4 percent took supplements exceeding 10,000 IU a day, not a large enough sample from which to draw conclusions. However, it is important to never combine cod liver oil or vitamin A from supplements with oral or topical medications for acne or other skin disorders treated with retinoic acid derivatives.

If you sunbathe regularly and have found that your vitamin D levels are within the normal range, do not use cod liver oil unless you are willing to test and retest to determine that your blood levels of vitamin D have not gone too high. We do not know enough to say whether or not sunbathing and cod liver oil work synergistically or antagonistically. If you decide to get lots of sun and also use cod liver oil, please send me your vitamin D tests for my continued research. Cod liver oil use is safe in most of the US and all of Canada in winter but it should not be combined with other sources of vitamin D without careful testing and monitoring.

PRICE WAS RIGHT

Dr. Price was right . . . we all need to take cod liver oil (and eat plenty of good butter). For growing children, and for almost every disease condition, cod liver oil is the number one super food, the supplement of choice.

REFERENCES

1. Aviram M, Brox J, Nordoy A. Acute effects of dietary cod liver oil and cream on plasma lipoproteins. Ann.Nutr Metab 1986;30:143-8.

2. Brox JH, Killie JE, Gunnes S, Nordoy A. The effect of cod liver oil and corn oil on platelets and vessel wall in man. Thromb.Haemost. 1981;46:604-11.

3. Brox JH, Killie JE, Osterud B, Holme S, Nordoy A. Effects of cod liver oil on platelets and coagulation in familial hypercholesterolemia (type IIa). Acta Med.Scand. 1983;213:137-44.

4. Vognild E, Elvevoll EO, Brox J et al. Effects of dietary marine oils and olive oil on fatty acid composition, platelet membrane fluidity, platelet responses, and serum lipids in healthy humans. Lipids 1998;33:427-36.

5. Aviram M, Brox J, Nordoy A. Effects of postprandial plasma and chylomicrons on endothelial cells. Differences between dietary cream and cod liver oil. Acta Med.Scand. 1986;219:341-8.

6. Brox J, Olaussen K, Osterud B et al. A long-term seal- and cod liver oil supplementation in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Lipids 2001;36:7-13.

7. Skuladottir GV, Gudmundsdottir E, Olafsdottir E et al. Influence of dietary cod liver oil on fatty acid composition of plasma lipids in human male subjects after myocardial infarction. J Intern.Med. 1990;228:563-8.

8. Schmidt EB, Pedersen JO, Ekelund S, Grunnet N, Jersild C, Dyerberg J. Cod liver oil inhibits neutrophil and monocyte chemotaxis in healthy males. Atherosclerosis 1989;77:53-7.

9. Shimokawa H, Vanhoutte PM. Dietary cod liver oil improves endothelium-dependent responses in hypercholesterolemic and atherosclerotic porcine coronary arteries. Circulation 1988;78:1421-30.

10. Shimokawa H, Lam JY, Chesebro JH, Bowie EJ, Vanhoutte PM. Effects of dietary supplementation with cod liver oil on endothelium-dependent responses in porcine coronary arteries. Circulation 1987;76:898-905.

11. Burchard HU, Tischendorf FW. The effects of the intake of cod liver oil on the blood lipid level, the lipoprotein profile and bleeding time. Z.Ernahrungswiss. 1989;28:84-91.

12. Gudbjarnason S. Dynamics of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids in phospholipids of heart muscle. J Intern.Med.Suppl 1989;225:117-28.

13. Gudbjarnason S, Benediktsdottir VE, Skuladottir G. Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on coronary heart disease. Bibl.Nutr Dieta 1989;1-12.

14. Gudbjarnason S, Oskarsdottir G. Modification of fatty acid composition of rat heart lipids by feeding cod liver oil. Biochim.Biophys.Acta 1977;487:10-5.

15. Benediktsdottir VE, Gudbjarnason S. Modification of the fatty acid composition of rat heart sarcolemma with dietary cod liver oil, corn oil or butter. J Mol.Cell Cardiol. 1988;20:141-7.

Importance of Potassium

Potassium is necessary for adequate muscle contraction and rapid transmission of nerve impulses through the body. Proper conduction of nerve impulses is essential for smooth and coordinated movement of muscle as related to motion.*

Potassium Helps to Support:

Healthy pressure within blood vessels*
Healthy skin tissue*
Healthy lipid levels*
Healthy nerve transduction in the body*
Cardiovascular health*
Athletic performance*

About Potassium

Potassium constitutes 5% percent of the total mineral content of the body, even though only about 34 ounces are found in the body at one time. Because it is a primary electrolyte, potassium is known as a great alkalizer, important in pH and water balance.* Potassium is easily absorbed, but at least 90% of it is excreted through the kidneys and bowels.* Potassium is vital to the elimination of wastes in the body.*

Potassium is a natural diuretic, helping your body excrete water and sodium, thus promoting healthy cardiovascular health.* In fact, a lack of potassium may be a factor in salt sensitivity.* Scientists believe that potassium has the ability to pump sodium out of the body's cells and reduce the body fluid.* One study discovered that high-sodium diets significantly impact pressure within blood vessels.* Further, it may be likely that relative deficiency of minerals in the diet, like potassium, calcium, and magnesium, influence salt sensitivity. Potassium may affect blood vessel tone and may modify the way blood vessels react to circulating hormones that affect pressure within blood vessels. Not only is potassium's role in cardiovascular health quite remarkable, but it is also necessary for healthy muscle contraction.*

Potassium produces healthy electrical activity in the heart and rapid transmission of nerve impulses throughout the body.* Heartbeat irregularities are commonly considered a classic sign of potassium deficiency.* Potassium plays a vital role in nerve function and cellular integrity by regulating the transfer of nutrients into the cell.*

Potassium attracts oxygen to tissues; lack of it reduces tissue oxygenation. Potassium aids in good muscle tone, correct positioning of vital organs, and a strong heart.* If potassium is depleted, it is likely that albumin, sugar, gelatinous substances, sodium, and chlorine are also in short supply or not fully assimilated. The body clearly needs a certain amount of sodium to support cardiovascular health. It also needs certain levels of other minerals, such as potassium, to keep sodium levels in the body from getting too high.* Research shows that controlling the salt and water content at the cellular level with proper potassium levels promotes healthy cellular function, energy production, and overall biological integrity.* Low-sodium, high-potassium environments can support proper cell protein configuration.*

Potassium also supports the adrenal glands.* These glands are often severely impaired from a protracted period of functioning in a continual state of stress response.

Potassium supplements help to support healthy sugar balance in the body.*

Potassium is necessary for healthy muscle contraction and rapid transmission of nerve impulses through the body.* Proper conduction of nerve impulses is essential for smooth and coordinated movement of muscle as related to motion.*

Potassium is essential for supporting nerve impulses, maintaining acid-base balance, and converting blood glucose to glycogen (stored carbohydrates that make up the body's priority fuel reserves).* It also helps widen the blood vessels during exercise, thereby increasing blood flow to help carry away heat.*

Scientific References

Dyckner T. Relation of cardiovascular disease to potassium and magnesium deficiencies. American Journal of Cardiology. 65(23):44K-46K, 1990.
Fotherby MD. Potter JF. Potassium supplementation reduces clinic and ambulatory blood pressure in elderly hypertensive patients. Journal of Hypertension. 10(11):1403-8, 1992.
Froldi G. Pandolfo L. Chinellato A. Ragazzi E. Caparrotta L. Fassina G. Protection of atrial function in hypoxia by high potassium concentration. General Pharmacology. 25(3):401-7, 1994.
Heseltine D. Thomas T. Wilkinson R. James OF. Potter JF. Potassium supplementation in the treatment of idiopathic postural hypotension. Age & Ageing. 19(6):409-14, 1990.
Iseri LT. Ginkel ML. Allen BJ. Brodsky MA. Magnesium-potassium interactions in cardiac arrhythmia. Examples of ionic medicine. Magnesium & Trace Elements. 10(2-4):193-204, 1991-92.
Kawano Y. Minami J. Takishita S. Omae T. Effects of potassium supplementation on office, home, and 24-h blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension. American Journal of Hypertension. 11(10):1141-6, 1998.
Kawasaki T. Itoh K. Kawasaki M. Reduction in blood pressure with a sodium-reduced, potassium- and magnesium-enriched mineral salt in subjects with mild essential hypertension. Hypertension Research. 21(4):235-43, 1998.
Khaw K-T and Barrett-Connor E. Dietary potassium and stroke associated mortality: A 12 year prospective population study. N. Eng. J. Med. 316:235-240, 1987.
Khaw K-T and Thom S. Randomized double-blind cross-over trial of potassium on blood pressure in normal subjects. Lancet. 2:1127-1129, 1982.
Krishna GG, Miller E and Kapoor S. Increased blood pressure during potassium depletion in normotensive men. N. Eng. J. Med. 320:1177-1182, 1989.
Langford HG. Dietary potassium and hypertension: Epidemiologic data. Ann. Intern. Med. 98(part2): 770-772, 1983.
Lazar HL. Enhanced preservation of acutely ischemic myocardium and improved clinical outcomes using glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) solutions. American Journal of Cardiology. 80(3A):90A-93A, 1997.
Macgregor GA, et al. Moderate potassium supplementation in essential hypertension. Lancet. 2:567-570, 1982.
Maloney JD. Detrano R. Jaeger FJ. Leatherman J. Morant VA. Castle LW. Potassium loading as adjunct treatment of repetitive ventricular arrhythmias. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 57(3):223-31, 1990 May.
Manary MJ. Brewster DR. Potassium supplementation in kwashiorkor. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition. 24(2):194-201, 1997 Feb.
Meneely GR and Battarbee HD. High sodium-low potassium environment and hypertension. Am. J. Cardiol. 38:768-785, 1976.
Ophir O, et al. Low blood pressure in vegatarians: The possible role of potassium. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 37:755-762, 1983.
Sacks FM. Brown LE. Appel L. Borhani NO. Evans D. Whelton P. Combinations of potassium, calcium, and magnesium supplements in hypertension. Hypertension. 26(6 Pt 1):950-6, 1995.
Skrabal F, Aubock J and Hortnagl H. Low sodium / high potassium diet for the prevention of hypertension: Probable mechanism of action. Lancet. 2:895, 1981.
Taddei S. Mattei P. Virdis A. Sudano I. Ghiadoni L. Salvetti A. Effect of potassium on vasodilation to acetylcholine in essential hypertension. Hypertension. 23(4):485-90, 1994.
West SG. Light KC. Hinderliter AL. Stanwyck CL. Bragdon EE. Brownley KA. Potassium supplementation induces beneficial cardiovascular changes during rest and stress in salt sensitive individuals. Health Psychology. 18(3):229-40, 1999 May.
Zehender M. Meinertz T. Faber T. Caspary A. Jeron A. Bremm K. Just H. Antiarrhythmic effects of increasing the daily intake of magnesium and potassium in patients with frequent ventricular arrhythmias. Magnesium in Cardiac Arrhythmias (MAGICA) Investigators. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 29(5):1028-34, 1997.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Take a look at: Eniva Minerals for Life® Potassium It's a liquid dietary supplement of the Cell-Ready® mineral Potassium in a proprietary nutrient delivery system.

Antibiotics and Your Child's - or Your Sore Throat

A sore throat can be caused by an infection due to a virus or bacteria. Most of the time, a sore throat is part of a viral illness like a cold. Less often, it can be due to a strep infection, which is a bacterial infection. However, antibiotics will not work for sore throats from colds or the flu, which are viral infection.

A study by Harvard researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association surveyed national statistics on doctors visits from 1995 to 2003 and found that 53 percent of children with sore throats got antibiotics though only 17 percent were diagnosed with strep.

Ask your doctor if your child needs a strep test before any antibiotics are prescribed for a sore throat. And if an antibiotics is used it should be given with extreme caution.

Bacteria gradually develops a resistance to antibiotics, which means that the drugs become less affective the more they are used.

Remember, antibiotics can work on bacterial infections, but antibiotics won't work for infections caused by viruses! Yet doctors often hand out an antibiotic prescription anyway.

For a sore throat caused by a virus, such as from a cold or the flu, try a Natural Remedy, as in the article Sage - An Herbal Remedy for Sore Throat, Congestion and Cough

To Juice or Not to Juice - What is the alternative?

The benefits of juicing have been well known over the last 75 years. Juicing is the second easiest way to get the nutrients to your body's tissues and organs, without putting a lot of stress on your digestive system, which takes energy away from building your immune system.

Juicing can promote healthy cells, joints and heart function... Even if you are in perfect health.

It boosts the immunity, improves digestion, and enhances the detoxification process. With juicing, you get the nutrients from all parts of the fruit or vegetable. The stem, the leaves, the rind, whatever it's made of.

When you take liquid nutrients you get the nutrients in a concentrated form that is gentle on your digestive system. Liquid nutrients frees up energy previously used on breaking down fiber and allows your body to focus on repairing and restoring tissues and organs. Plus, it gives your much-overworked system a chance to cleanse and detoxify.

Therefore it should come as no surprise that the so-called degenerative diseases are now being linked to nutritional deficiencies.

Why is this? Because we are well fed BUT Malnourished. Centuries of cultivating the same surface soil have slowly drained it of essential minerals.

Most crops are grown on the same farmland and in the same soil, which has been tilled, year in and year out for centuries. Pesticides and herbicides kill beneficial soil microorganisms which keep the soil fertile. See Senate document 264 "even Congress knows"

Chemical fertilizers are added to replace only the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium because these chemicals will force crops to achieve maximum yield. Essential minerals, trace minerals and rare minerals are not replaced and food crops have become severely deficient in them. The crops will not contain many of the 90 + nutrients that we need. Even organic farming is not able to replace the depleted minerals.

One way to get nourished is to eat 75% of your diet raw. Another is to drink 2 glasses of juiced vegetables and fruits each day and/or take Vitamins.

What are the downside of juicing?

I used to juice. Had a wonderful Champion. Lugged it around in or motor home for several years. I began to hate it. I had to go to the market and buy the best and freshest foods I could find, bring them home, wash them, and juice them, drink the wonderful drink within 10 minutes or the juice would lose it nutritional value and then spend at least 10 minutes washing the juicer for the next use.

When I got rid of my arthritis 25 years ago I juiced and took vitamins I would buy in the health food stores, twenty-three different vitamins every day. I spent most my time setting out the days allotment. Before and after breakfast, before and after lunch. Before and after dinner. It worked but it was not a great life style.

An alternative to juicing is to use a All-In-One Liquid Nutritional.

I know... I sort of keep harping on this but I talk to some very sick people almost everyday and always try to provide the best advice I can find.

Vibe is a liquid blend of essential nutrients, powerful antioxidants, concentrated minerals and vitamins, and green tea extracts which makes it an exceptional cellular defense product, ideal for combating free radicals that ravage our bodies every day.

Science-based, body balanced formula not only provides the nutrition to help individuals reach the 9 to 11 servings of fruits and vegetables they need on a daily basis, it also supports targeted health goals common in today’s world – heart health, immune health, and cellular health.

Vibe can be found in the Physicians Desk Reference for Non-Prescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements, and carries the Consumer Labs seal of approval.

Over the years, nutritional supplements in pill, tablet and chelate form have been the traditional choice for millions of people. But scientific study has led many people to rethink their supplement choices.

Most classically designed supplements in tablet and pill form are poorly absorbed and used by the body due to poor formulation design. These forms contain nutrient designs heavy in poor quality raw materials, excessive fillers and binders, and the outer waxy coating. Pills and tablets are in the wrong form for proper absorbtion.

Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

For the United States - Click Here

For Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom - Click Here

An Unfortunate Error - Doctors say "Oops!"

The medical profession candidly admits that its past practices were wrong, that they were "UNFORTUNATE ERRORS".

The medical profession no longer advocates bloodletting, leeching, purging, puking, mercury treatments, tobacco and alcohol treatments, or a long list of other injurious and deadly practices of the past.

The medical profession continues to defend drugging, vaccinations, blood transfusions and a whole host of injurious and deadly practices.

That the medical profession admits it has been in error in the past is disturbing. One must wonder why treatments of the past are "unfortunate errors" and the ones currently administered are not.

Is it not wrong, immoral and unjust to coerce anyone to accept their beliefs and practices yet admit that those they forced upon their brethren heretofore were "unfortunate errors"?

Are not the profession's current practices subject to being "unfortunate errors"?

Has not, indeed, the whole history of the medical profession been a massive "unfortunate error"?

Cases of persecution and coercion are a significant indicator of the extent to which medical practitioners are aware of the conflict between their beliefs and practices and man's better senses.

The issue is not one of "unfortunate errors". The real issue is: Why has the medical profession found it necessary and desirable to avoid and suppress free inquiry and enforce subjection to its practices?

If reason supports the practices of the medical profession, why has the medical profession displayed such eagerness to enforce its dogmas, whatever they may be at the moment, and to eliminate dissent through the power of the state?

Why has the medical profession refused to allow its beliefs and practices to compete in a free marketplace of ideas?

The answer is obvious and revealing - The medical profession is peddling a spurious product, one that cannot withstand critical investigation. They are unable to compete favorably with other theories and practices.

It has sought to gain a monopoly through a state franchise. This means, of course, the repression of reason and inquiry, of destroying and eliminating competing and superior ideas and practices through the use of the might forces of the state.

Examples are abundant. Why are our law makers always trying, and so far failing, to pass laws that vitamins be sold only by prescription?

That would be a boon to the doctors and drug companies in the billions.

Why have they tried and in lots of cases succeeded in shutting down places like the retreat I went to, using the theory that they are dangerous... They have ruined some people and put them out of business... When all these places were and are showing people how to live according to Bible teaching and common sense.

Yet drug companies can go on television and in magazines and say how their drug will cure all sorts of ailments and then in very small print put all the dangerous side effects?

We do not have freedom of speech to the extent the drug companies have.

Changing our health is simple and easy. If and when you decide to make your health your priority and take a major role in your health care.

Aspirin - The Bitter Pill That Kills

Regarding the May 31st. 2005 Quirks and Quarks Science Program on Aspirin was interesting, however, statements such as quoted below sounded more like an ad for aspirin.

"Now, imagine taking this pill daily to prevent cancer and Alzheimer's disease. A growing number of studies suggest that regularly popping an aspirin or other similar anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce your risk of these diseases by 30 to 40 percent."

Wow! What they don't tell you is that some earlier studies tell us quite a different story. Some of these have indicated that you can get strokes and Colon cancer and aspirin may even cause Macular degeneration. While much safer anti-inflammatory foods such as Turmeric; and vitamin C to prevent Colon cancer already exist.

Aspirin The Bitter Pill That Kills Aspirin

An aspirin promotion group called the Aspirin Foundation boasts that the chemical "probably has been taken, at one time or another, by almost every human being on earth." Wishful thinking, no doubt, but pill-happy Americans scarf down 25 million aspirin tablets a day. The British take it in a powder, the Italians take an effervescent, champagne-like mix, the French take it rectally, and the Thailanders put it in their morning and evening tea.

Chemical companies produce 90 billion aspirin tablets a year. If all those tablets were placed end to end they would stretch to the planet Infinity and back. Did you ever think that you would see the day when Americans by the millions would be popping aspirin for their health*

Do all these people really have an aspirin deficiency? Did God forget to put aspirin in our food? Will an aspirin a day keep the doctor away? You'd probably say no to all of the above because it doesn't make any sense to take a chemical as if it were a vitamin. But it took the British to figure out how the aspirin industry and the AMA pulled off such a scam.

The Real Hero: Magnesium

The much-promoted Physician's Health Study proving that taking aspirin regularly will prevent heart attacks didn't use just aspirin but aspirin plus magnesium in the form of Bufferin.

Research done years ago proved that magnesium protects the heart. It dilates blood vessels, aids in absorption of potassium into cells (which will prevent heartbeat irregularities), acts as an anticoagulant (blood thinner) and keeps the blood cells from sticking together (thrombosis).

Autopsy of the heart muscle following death by heart attack almost always reveals that the heart muscle is deficient in magnesium. So the doctors (and their patients) have been conned again by the group that has been leading them around by the nose for 75 years - the pharmaceutical industry. A British study using only aspirin revealed that aspirin had absolutely nothing to do with lowering the incidence of heart attacks.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?

The American study was so flawed that you can't help but wonder if the aspirin industry financed it. The subjects were white, male, mostly non- smoking doctors who were not monitored, and who reported their condition by letter - post office research. The study used an extremely healthy group with only one eighth the death rate of the general population. Even with such a healthy group, the study results had some ominous overtones.

That's the part the aspirin companies don't want you to know about. Though heart attacks were relatively rare, strokes and sudden death from other causes were more common among the aspirin group than with the placebo group. This information is very significant. The claim for reduction in heart attacks among the aspirin group was 47 percent.

But the small print (very small print) in the report said that when death from all causes was considered, there was no difference in the mortality rates of the two groups.

Thus, death from other causes among the aspirin group increased substantially - an amount equal to 47 percent of all heart attacks in the non-aspirin group. Did you know that every time you take aspirin you bleed a little into your gut? A microscope will show that the bowel movement of someone on daily aspirin has blood in it every time. If it's happening in your intestinal tract, how do you know it's not happening in your brain? How many strokes are precipitated by chronic aspirin intake? How many fatal hemorrhages of the brain, spleen, liver, intestine, or lung occur after an automobile accident because the blood has been thinned with aspirin? Nobody knows and nobody is checking. Prevention That Works There are many natural ways to protect yourself from heart attack without enriching the Bayer Company:

Magnesium, as mentioned above, is absolutely essential for a healthy heart and should be given credit for the beneficial results obtained in the aspirin study.
Salmon oil contains a strong platelet antisticking agent called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
Garlic blocks the clotting mechanism.
Niacin is a well known anti-atherosclerotic agent.
Vitamin C is an important factor in prostaglandin production.
Vitamin E is also important in the production of prostaglandins.
Bromelin reduces platelet stickiness.
Zinc is a necessary catalyst, along with the enzyme d-6-d, in certain fatty acid metabolic processes essential to the health of your coronary arteries.
Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) converts the highly atherogenic homocysteine to cystathionine. This prevents meat protein from damaging your arteries. Also stops platelet aggregation.
Folic Acid neutralizes the enzyme XO in homogenized pasteurized milk. XO hardens your arteries.
Carnitine and Taurine, two of the amino ' acids considered nonessential by most nutritionists, are absolutely essential for a healthy heart. There are other nutrients for a healthy heart, but you get the picture. So who needs aspirin?

The Cancer Connection

But in addition to the reports showing aspirin has no preventive effect on heart attacks, new reports show that aspirin may cause cancer. And what's more, a study of California researchers reported in the British Medical Journal that older men and women who take aspirin every day almost double their chances of developing so-called ischemic heart disease.

Ischemic heart disease accounts for a wide range of illnesses involving blockage of the arteries carrying blood to the heart. Aspirin-users were also more likely to develop kidney and colon cancer, the study found. Lawrence Garfinkel, Vice President for Epidemiology at the American Cancer Society said, "It would give one pause about using aspirin routinely to prevent an initial heart attack. This is going to be very confusing to the public.

"The new study concluded: "Our study would not recommend that these people routinely consume aspirin." There are a few other reasons why you shouldn't take aspirin: indigestion, bleeding ulcers with possible hemorrhage and death from exsanguination (internal bleeding) and hemorrhagic stroke.

I'm Vain About My Brain

Leo Dropperman started taking aspirin to prevent a second heart attack, as advised by his doctor and the TV commercials. But when he read that daily doses could increase his chances of getting a hemorrhagic stroke, he quit. "I'd much rather have a heart attack than a stroke," said the Tennessee psychologist. "I'm very vain about my brain."

Of course, it may be even worse than that. The British report mentioned earlier found no beneficial effect on heart attack frequency from taking aspirin, but the California study goes even further in suggesting that daily aspirin use may actually increase the odds of having a heart attack, as well as give you kidney and colon cancer.

On hearing that news, drug companies quickly folded their medicine tents and split. Their commercials connecting aspirin with beneficial effects on heart disease were scrapped. Sterling Drug (Eastman Kodak) pulled its commercial depicting the Bayer aspirin logo over a pulsating heart monitor and substituted the old logo: "the wonder drug doctors themselves take more often for pain." Bristol-Myers dragged out Angela Lansbury to say: "A cup of tea and a couple of Bufferin allow me to do the things I want to do."

Sterling Drugs even went so far as to introduce a Bayer calendar pack to remind people to take their aspirin.

Consumers are beginning to question all these contradictory studies. They don't know who to believe anymore. So, when it comes to advice on drugs, who can you trust? The FDA?

Well, in December, 1984 the FDA recommended allowing drug companies to promote the use of aspirin to reduce the chances of a second heart attack.

Can you trust the medical journals? In January, 1988, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that an aspirin every other day reduced the risk of heart attacks. (Is it coincidental that the drug companies have been able to get their slimy fingers into the New England Journal of Medicine with multi-million-dollar advertising contracts?)

Can you trust the medical advice given by actors on TV commercials? Forget I asked. Can you trust the hospitals and their doctors?

12 Reasons to Reject Fluoridation

by, Chris Gupta

For over 100 years, science and medicine have understood the poisonous nature of fluoride. In the 1930's and 40's, giant US companies, e.g. ALCOA, were sued for millions of dollars due to toxic fluoride waste escaping from factory smokestacks killing crops and livestock.

ALCOA's owners (Mellon) figured that if people could be persuaded fluoride isn't poisonous but is good for teeth, profits could be protected. So, to introduce water fluoridation, they hired the brilliant 'father of propaganda' Edward L. Bernays.

Joined later by other fluoride polluting industries (e.g. nuclear) and the multi-billion dollar sugar, toothpaste, confectionary and soft drink industries, they became strong financial supporters of dental associations that promoted fluoridation. One such support group, the Dental Health Education & Research Foundation (DHERF) was founded in Australia in 1962.

It's Governors, Members and donors comprised key representatives from Coca-Cola, CSR, Kelloggs, Colgate-Palmolive, Wrigleys, Arnotts, Scanlens, Cadbury Schweppes, etc.

The following 12 points require no expertise in fluoride toxicity, just common sense.

Only parents or individuals have the right to decide if they or their children take drugs. This point should end the debate on compulsory fluoridation. (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration show fluoride isn't a food, nutrient or dietary supplement: "Sodium fluoride used for therapeutic effect *[e.g. water fluoridation] would be a drug, not a mineral nutrient." F.D.A. 1963).

Claiming fluoride is natural, as it is found in the Earth's crust or water, is misleading. So is arsenic, mercury and other poisons. The fluoride chemical used for fluoridation in Australia is untreated toxic waste captured inside fertilizer factory smokestacks.

Doctors have legal and medical restrictions in prescribing drugs. A patient's medical history, age, weight, sex, allergic reactions, other drugs taken and illnesses must be determined. After an adequate medical examination, scripts must be for a specific person, drug, duration and dose - never 'take some whenever you're thirsty'. Harmful side-effects must be explained. You have the right to refuse! These 14 safety requirements are vital. All are ignored with fluoridation.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer, reports sodium silicofluoride [as used for fluoridation in Australia] as, "... an insecticide, fungicide, bactericide and rodenticide [rat poison] ... [and] a fluoridating agent for municipal drinking-water. ... The Commission of the European Communities (1978) requires that sodium silicofluoride be labeled as toxic by inhalation, in contact with the skin or if swallowed." I.A.R.C. Monograph on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans, 27-4-82, p 250.

Fluoride deaths. In a 5 month court case of world experts in Pittsburgh 1978, scientists, led by Dr Burk, a US National Cancer Institute founder and its Chief Chemist for 35 years, proved fluoridation **kills 10,000 yearly (cancer), admitted by opponents under cross-examination. In Brisbane, 2 year old **Jason Burton died after taking 6 fluoride pills. His death certificate states, 'Fluoride poisoning'. In New York, 3 year old **William Kennerly died from a 'fluoride rinse' at a dentist. The Court awarded US$750,000.

Fluoridation is undemocratic. We've rejected fluoridation in over 90% of referendums with votes as high as 98% against. Now, referendums are denied us.

Fluoridation does not reduce decay. Few (4%) countries are fluoridated yet nearly all have decades of falling decay rates, including all 10 (unfluoridated) in west continental Europe. WHO (www.whocollab.od.mah.se)1. Also, decay was reducing decades before fluoridation, e.g. NZ school records since 1930 show steep decay reductions for 25-35 years before fluoridation.

Fluoride is so toxic it causes fluorosis, a disease of constant 'whole body' fluoride poisoning. Its first sign is chalky white mottling of teeth called dental fluorosis. Teeth can also fracture, pit or become dark brown. This irreversible, disfiguring tooth decay is the cellular break down of teeth. Australia's three major government fluoridation inquiries (Tas 1968, Vic 1979, ACT 89-91) all reported that up to 10% of children will get mottled teeth if water is fluoridated. In practice, mottling is as high as 48% (UK Govt. York Report, 2000). Dentists make $600-$1,200 per tooth to hide (cover) fluorosis.
Fluoridation aside, most other decay is due to a poor diet of lots of processed carbohydrates, e.g. we average 22 teaspoons of sugar a day. The only reason teeth get badly decayed is they weren't filled early enough as parents often can't pay the high costs charged by dentists (earning up to $500,000 a year).

Australian authorities often make mistakes. Fluoridation is claimed to be safe, but so was Arsenic, DDT, Thalidomide, Dioxin, Asbestos, Agent Orange, the Dalkon Shield, Deildrin, Mercury, Lead and more recently, Vioxx, all shown later to harm or kill people. But at least they weren't compulsory. Fluoridation is!

If someone tried to force us to take a pill every time we drank a glass of water, we'd suggest they go where it's eternally hot. The only real difference with fluoridation is that the pill is dissolved in the water before they make us take it.

Among experts, the controversy rages over fluoridation. Regardless of who's right, if the safety of any drug is so hugely controversial, doesn't common sense demand it not be used at all? Certainly not forced on millions of people for their whole life!

The Key To Happiness is Exercise

A good exercise program is not only one of the prime keys to great health but is absolutely essential to it. And true happiness can only be born of a condition of health.

If you doubt this just look around to the people you know and love.

Brisk exercise can stimulate the production of the body's hormone, noradrenaline, which gives a feeling of high spirits and well being. This hormone is also called norephinephrine.

This hormone is said to be "the chemical key to our happiness."

It is further said that 10 minutes of exercise will double the body's level of this hormone, destroying depression - and the effect is long lasting.

A sense of euphoria proceeds from a healthy body. I also suggest that the general cleansing, purification and exercise can account for such a heightened sense of well being.

Exercise is just one part of your wellness life. You must add other things. Which we go into in other articles in this newsletter at different times.

A little consideration of the muscles of the body and their importance to the functions of life will make clear the vital importance of daily exercise.

It is by muscles that we move and work. It is by means of muscles that we do all the things we do. Muscular tissue is one of the most amazing tissues of the body, second only to that of the brain and nerves.

Muscles enable us to do all the activities of our daily living. It is the muscle that pumps blood through the body, day and night, beginning the work before birth and ceasing only at death.

It is the muscle that determines the size of the arterial channels through which the blood flows, so that they direct more blood or less blood to a part, depending on the need.

It is muscle that expands and contracts the chest, thus making it possible to breathe.

It is my muscular action that we chew and swallow our food and it is muscular action that moves the food along in the digestive tract.

It is the muscle that expels the excretions of the body. It is by muscles that we smile or frown, that we move our eyes in seeing.

I did not realize all that! Did you?

More than 1/3 of the total body protein is found in the muscles. Muscles are servants of the brain and a brain without muscles to do its bidding would be powerless.

The muscular tissue of the normal body constitutes more than half of its bulk. With muscles constituting so predominant a part of the human body and performing so many and such vital roles in human life, it should not surprise us that that human happiness and efficiency depend largely upon the health and welfare of the muscular system.

A genuine physical culture is among the most important elements of any true educational system.

For only by regular and appropriate use of the muscles can these be kept in a condition of vigor and usefulness.

Vitamin D - The Sunshine Vitamin

Vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin, is an essential nutrient that is identified as a "pro-hormone" in the body. It goes to work at the DNA level in supporting multiple body systems to promote health.

Evidence is clear that adults and children are not getting enough Vitamin D, even if they live in a sunny climate. Research also clearly shows that a deficiency of Vitamin D may increase the risk of various health challenges.

Health professionals and health organizations are strongly supporting widespread Vitamin D supplementation for the promotion of health of both adults and children.

Vitamin D has been found to support:

Healthy heart function
Healthy cellular replication
Healthy bones and muscles
Healthy mood and mental health
Healthy immune function
Healthy neurologic function
Healthy endocrine function-including blood glucose

For in-depth information regarding Vitamin D, visit the Office of Dietary Supplements - National Institutes of Health website.

For my recommended source of Vitamin D - Click Here

Understanding Digestion

Foods as we eat them are the raw materials of nutrition. As proteins, carbohydrates and fats. These are usable by the body. But they must first undergo a disintegrating, refining, and standardizing process.

Although this process of digestion is partly mechanical, as in chewing, swallowing and churning of food, the physiology of digestion is very much a study of the chemical changes foods undergo in their passage through the alimentary canal.

We will concentrate on mouth and stomach digestion first.

This process is affected by a group of agencies called enzymes. Due to the fact that the conditions under which these enzymes can act are sharply defined, let's talk about what enzymes are.

It is a catalyst. They are involved in the reduction of complex food to simpler compounds that are acceptable in the bloodstream and usable by the cells of the body in production of new cell-substance.

Bacterial by-products are poisonous. Each enzyme is specific in its action... As with sugar. The enzyme that acts upon maltose is not capable of acting upon lactose...

Digestion is a step by step process. It starts in the mouth where all foods are broken up into smaller particles by the process of chewing and where they are saturated with saliva.

Starch digestion begins in the mouth. The saliva of the mouth, which is normally an alkaline fluid, contains an enzyme called ptyalin, which acts upon starch, breaking this down into maltose; a complex sugar which is further acted upon n the intestine by maltase and then converted into the simple sugar dextrose.

Ptyalin is destroyed by a mild acid and also by a strong alkaline reaction.

Stomach or gastric juice ranges all the way from nearly neutral in reaction to strongly acid, depending upon the character of the food eaten.

It contains 3 enzymes…pepsin, which acts upon proteins: lipase, which has slight action upon fats: and rennin, which coagulates milk.

The only one of concerns us here is Pepsin. This is capable of initiating digestion on all kind of proteins. It is the only enzyme with that kind of power.

Just as the sight, odor or thought of food may occasion a flow of saliva, a "watering of the mouth," so these same factors may cause the flow of gastric juice, that is "watering the stomach."

We get different reactions depending on the type of food we just ate. Eating meats you get a secretion of thick, viscous saliva, from the sub maxillary gland. This mucous secretion serves to lubricate the food and lets us swallow.

Excessive bacteria action may lead to intestinal troubles, such as diarrhea, or more serious problems. When we over eat, have anxiety, fever, inflammations etc, we are asking for digestive problems.

If our food ferments in the stomach we are not getting our proper nourishments from that food.

You must have a stomach that digests the foods otherwise the stomach is full of poisons.

Anything that reduces digestive power, anything that slows up the processes of digestion, anything that temporarily suspends the digestive process will favor the bad bacterial activity.

Eating too many cooked foods and eating them without chewing and not digesting them leads to gas on the stomach, foul stools and you have abdominal distensions and distress.

Millions of dollars are spent yearly for drugs which afford a temporary respite form the discomfort and distress.

For natural solutions for stomach and digestive problems visit the Stomach Disorders page on this site.

Macular Degeneration And Diseases Linked to Vegetable Oils

From, Chris Gupta

"In the 1920s and 30s they started to get big presses that produced hundreds of tons of vegetable oil," Dr Beaumont said. "In 1957 margarine outsold butter so we've had this massive infiltration of our food chain by vegetable oils."

Vegetable oils are implicated in diabetes, which also leads to blindness, heart disease and cancer... due to loss of Vitamin E from to the processing these oils.

"Even more convincing was a prospective study where they looked at patients with the disease and those eating too much vegetable oil progressed at 3.8 times the rate of those eating a little vegetable oil.

"I think we have to have a warning on the packages similar to a warning of a cigarette package: 'vegetable oil can lead to macular degeneration',"

Here is an anther indictment, as if another was needed, against processed (junk) foods. For profits, continued propaganda to increase the use of fragmented, synthetic foods and squelch competition are order of the day! Hence traditional foods have always been relegated to the bottom of the heap.

And the industry shills and the so-called experts continuously badger the masses with the mantra: pill for every ill. Totally oblivious of the fact that the prerequisite for good health is good nutrition. Surely without the building blocks (nutrients) no disease can be cured or prevented!

And of course the health regulatory bodies are as usual are defending the industry instead of its constituents! One should be far better without them then with them!

REPORTER: Anna Coren

Macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in Australia but new research suggests avoiding vegetable oils could prevent the condition.

It's spreading like a disease - a blindness called macular degeneration affecting at least 800,000 Australians and costing $1.5 billion per year in health care.

But with the latest research pointing to vegetable oils as the main culprit, it's possible we may be able to fend off this disease by simply changing our diets.

You might not cook with vegetable or canola oil but take a look at the ingredients in any sauce, dip, bread, margarine or biscuit - any processed food for that matter. Vegetable oil is hidden in all of them.

Most of us have been consuming these processed foods from the time we could walk. Dr Paul Beaumont from the macular degeneration foundation has been studying the link.

"[The research] showed that people eating vegetable oil got the disease twice as commonly as the people who didn't," Dr Beaumont said.

"You look at bread, they make it on margarine, you look at currants and they've gone and sprayed vegetable oil on them to stop them from sticking, you go and try and get tinned fish and they've put it in vegetable oil.

"So yes, it's become ubiquitous, it's crept right into our food chain and you hardly know you're eating it."

Gwen Oliver was diagnosed with macular degeneration two years ago. She was astonished when Dr Beaumont told her to steer clear of vegetable oils and to only cook with extra virgin olive oil.

"I was surprised about diet and all the products that we've been eating in the past," Ms Oliver said. "We've always had it advertised that vegetable oil was far better for us."

The macular sits at the back of the eye. It's made up of many different nerve cells. The oils that you eat become part of your eye but normally they're used and flushed out.

When you're eating vegetable oils, researchers believe the eye can't seem to biodegrade the oil and it ends up blocking the cells and causing macular degeneration.

Dr Beaumont says he doesn't envisage vegetable oil being removed from all foods, but says there should be a consumer health warning.

"I think we have to have a warning on the packages similar to a warning of a cigarette package: 'vegetable oil can lead to macular degeneration'," he said.

The major reason for blindness in Australia 30 years ago was diabetes and it was rare to find macular degeneration.

Today the condition has overtaken diabetes five-fold and is now the leading cause of loss of vision in Australia. Two-thirds of those who lose their vision are blind due to macular degeneration.

"I've seen an exponential rise from the early 1970s through to the 1990s," Dr Beaumont said. "If we look at Japan 40 years ago the disease was rare, now it's common."

"I don't think there's any doubt we have an epidemic."

Dr Paul Beaumont is horrified at the rate macular degeneration has multiplied. He's seen a tenfold increase in the last 30 years.

"I think we could halve the number of people going blind with macular degeneration if we could change their diet, cut out the vegetable oil," Dr Beaumont said.

When macular degeneration strikes, patients like Gwen Oliver are first given laser therapy to help stem the bleeding. They're also told to look at a chart daily and if they see any difference in the lines on the charts - such as a straight line looking bent - it's back to Dr Beaumont for treatment.

But for Jillian Price, laser therapy didn't work. Her last chance is a cutting edge treatment called photodynamic therapy. It doesn't look like much but it causes plenty to happen inside the body.

"You inject a chemical that slowly accumulates in that blood vessel and doesn't accumulate in normal tissues," Dr Beaumont said. "And then you shine a light on the eye and it selectively activates that chemical that shuts down the abnormal tissue and [does] not damage the normal."

For Jillian Price, the disease has disabled her life as an active woman.

"Two months is very fast to lose so much sight; I've lost a lot of my independence," Ms Price said. "The distance, everything is distorted, getting on the buses, shopping is very hard, I can't read labels any more."

"One day I was doing crosswords and the next day I couldn't."

A specialist told Colin Noble he'd be blind within 18 months. Luckily Colin sought a second opinion and today he's one of the lucky 10 per cent who regain vision after having photo dynamic therapy.

Usually the treatment merely stops or slows down the degeneration.

"It's a miracle, I'm so grateful for this man," Mr. Noble said. "It's had a big effect on my life and my family's life … it's allowed me to do so many things."

"I can still tie a fish hook, important things like that … I'm a very lucky bloke."

Dr Beaumont has lobbied the federal Health Department to help fund this huge problem, but to date nothing has happened.

"I think they should move fairly urgently," he said. "I don't think we can afford to delay in informing the public about something which can be affecting their vision."

The federal Health Department is looking into this massive problem but wouldn't tell us any more than that. As for the Australian Food and Grocery Council - the voice of the food manufacturers who use vegetable oil - they had nothing to say, except that they were waiting to hear more evidence linking vegetable oil and macular degeneration.

"There are hundreds of thousands of Australians waiting for that advice," Dr Beaumont said. "And I think the government has to move quickly."

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