Sunday, December 30, 2012

THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF A BLOATING BELLY


by Natasha Longo


The number one cause of a bloating belly is not flatulence, irritable bowel syndrome or gastrointestinal stress as claimed by many doctors. These are only symptoms, not causes. If you would like to address factors that affect a bloating belly, look no further than food intolerance.
The first step in figuring out the cause of abdominal bloating is determining whether it’s associated with eating or drinking, or both.
Our digestive system simply cannot process everything, and you know best on your own limitations. Not respecting this, and ingesting ingredients that are harmful to you, will inevitably result in undigested food fermenting in the intestines, where bacteria feeds on it, producing yet more gas.
Many people consume dairy their entire lives without realizing that have low grade intolerance. Many of us lack enzymes (lactase) that break down dairy. Rather than try to use supplements and enzymes to facilitate digestion, it is better to find alternatives and avoid dairy products altogether if you are intolerant. Try a week without dairy and see what the results are. You’ll notice the difference in just three or four days if you are intolerant to dairy.
Lactose intolerance generally develops in individuals as they age. People tend to become lactose intolerant around their teenage years, or during adulthood (ages 30 to 40). Generally, lactose intolerance most commonly runs in families and is related to specific genes.
Lactose intolerance can also be brought on by infections, chemotherapy, penicillin reactions, surgery, pregnancy. Additionally, specific ethnicities are more likely to suffer from lactose intolerance than others. Over generations, these ethnic groups don’t pass on the enzyme to break down dairy because they aren’t consuming dairy. The most common cause of lactase deficiency is a decrease in the amount of lactase that occurs after childhood and persists into adulthood, referred to as adult-type hypolactasia. This decrease in lactase is genetically programmed, and the prevalence of this type of lactase deficiency in different ethnic groups is highly variable. So we might ask ourselves, when did we start consuming the milk of animals in the first place?
There are more health risks associated with the consumption of wheat than there are nutritional benefits claimed by the wheat industry. Many are asking why there continues to be such a strong emphasis on the development of wheat products all over the world when there are so many adverse and crippling effects such as neurological impairment, dementia, heart disease, cataracts, diabetes, arthritis and visceral fat accumulation, not to mention the full range of intolerances and bloating now experienced by millions of people?
A powerful little chemical in wheat known as ‘wheat germ agglutinin’ (WGA) which is largely responsible for many of wheat’s pervasive, and difficult to diagnose, ill effects. Researchers are now discovering that WGA in modern wheat is very different from ancient strains. Not only does WGA throw a monkey wrench into our assumptions about the primary causes of wheat intolerance, but due to the fact that WGA is found in highest concentrations in “whole wheat,” including its supposedly superior sprouted form, it also pulls the rug out from under one of the health food industry’s favorite poster children.
Each grain of wheat contains about one microgram of Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA). Even in small quantities, WGA can have profoundly adverse effects. It may be pro-inflammatory, immunotoxic, cardiotoxic … and neurotoxic.
You are the solution
There is no such thing as a minor reaction to food. If you are reacting to the food you are eating, there is a problem that you need to address. Whether it be excessive gas, bloating, energy drain, diarrhea, constipation, or simply feeling too cold or hot after a meal, they’re issues that could be related to your diet and you shouldn’t ignore them despite how you interpret their severity.
People go through their whole lives not understanding that they have an intolerance or allergy to wheat and gluten. They feel bloated and gassy their whole lives and think it’s normal. This is more common than the medical community is even aware of (or ever admit they’re aware of).
If you have a food intolerance, don’t ignore it. Change your dietary regimen and stop eating foods that are making you uncomfortable. If you don’t know exactly which foods are causing the problem–experiment. Avoid foods for at least week, create a food journal and write down how you feel before, during and after consumption. Then reintroduce the eliminated foods to see if there is indeed a correlation.
Natural Remedies For Bloating
  • Ginger tea
  • Peppermint tea
  • Clove oil
  • Eucalyptus oil
  • Boiled water with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (sweetened with honey, if desired)
  • Probiotics: Acidophilus and Bifidus
  • Detox Bath: The daily routine of the Detox Bath activates bowel movement, easing blockages due to waste accumulation in the intestines. These accumulations are represent a breeding ground for bacteria causing gas and bloating etc. A 10-minute Detox Bath can instantly relieve bloating by naturally encouring the release of gas from the abdomen.

You simply cannot be healthy and energetic when your digestive system and elimination process are malfunctioning. Fortunately, bloating is not a symptom that needs to be permanent and following the simple tips above will help boost your digestive health and drastically reduce bloating in your daily life.
Sources: 
centerfornaturalmedicine.com

greenmedinfo.com
pureinsideout.com
Natasha Longo has a master’s degree in nutrition and is a certified fitness and nutritional counselor. She has consulted on public health policy and procurement in Canada, Australia, Spain, Ireland, England and Germany.
Find out more: Prevent Disease 
Image credit 
http://myscienceacademy.org/2012/10/19/the-number-one-cause-of-a-bloating-belly/

CHINESE PLANT COMPOUND WIPES OUT CANCER IN FORTY DAYS, SAYS NEW RESEARCHER

by October 18th, 2012

plantcompound 235x147 Chinese Plant Compound Wipes out Cancer in 40 Days, Says New Research
A little-known plant with a truly bizarre name is now making headlines as a cancer killer, with the compound of the plant vanishing tumors in mice with pancreatic cancer. Known as the ‘thunder god vine’ or lei gong teng, the Chinese plant is actually integrated into Chinese medicine and has been used for ages in remedying a number of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis.
According to the new research out of the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center, the thunder god plant compound led to no signs of tumors after a 40 day period — even after discontinuing the treatment. Published in the journal Science Translational Medicine and funded by the National Institutes of Health, even the scientists working on the project were stunned by the anti-cancer properties of the compound. Known to contain something known as triptolide, which has been identified as a cancer fighter in previous research, it is thought to be the key component that may be responsible for the anti-tumor capabilities.
Study leader and vice chairman of research at the Cancer Center explained to Bloomberg how he was blown away by the effects of the simple plant:
“This drug is just unbelievably potent in killing tumor cells,” he said.
And just like with numerous other powerful substances like turmeric and ginger, mainstream science is still slowly confirming what many traditional practitioners have known for their entire lives. This is, of course, due to the fact that there is simply no money for major corporations in researching the healing powers of natural herbs and compounds such as the compound found in the thunder god vine. Turmeric and ginger, for example, have been found to be amazing anti-cancer substances that are virtually free compared to expensive and dangerous cancer drugs.Nevertheless, the Big Pharma sponsored corporate scientists have managed to ignore these spices as much as possible. In fact, they have even been caught time and time again faking thousands of studies to fraudulently demonstrate the supposed value of pharmaceutical drugs pushed by major pharma juggernauts — many of which are later forced to pay millions in fines which only slightly stack up against their billions in profits.
Profits that are threatened by the many real studies that were performed by scientists examining the rejeuvenating power of cheap ingredients like turmeric, which has been found by peer-reviewed research available on PubMed to positively influence over 590 conditions.
While it is great news that this study is bringing the beneficial effects of inexpensive and near-free plant compounds to light, the bad news is that the individuals responsible for the research are actually looking to create a pharmaceutical drug from the essential component triptolide. A drug that will seek FDA approval and ultimately be patented, nutritionally ruined, and sold for exorbitant amounts of cash. Instead, just get your hands on some thunder god vine for yourself.
Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/chinese-plant-compound-cancer-research/#ixzz2GaluDEq3

Thursday, December 27, 2012

BLACK SALVE CANCER TREATMENT

Posted on |                       
I just received the following testimonial from a woman who used black salve to draw out part of a breast cancer tumor. This is an old treatment that is used for drawing out anything from an ingrown toenail to a splinter, but some people have used it to remove a skin cancer growth, or even a breast tumor as you will see.
“Yes I have cancer – but I was diagnosed 2yrs ago (september 2009) and told that if I didnt have ‘treatment’ immediately I would die.
Well – I’m still here – and healthier than I’ve been for a long time lol.
My lump also hasn’t got any bigger for the whole time I’ve been using alternative treatment. (it initially got much bigger after they did the biopsy though and thats when it began to get painful)
Tried a few different alternative treatments so far including amygdalyn (laetrile).
One of the most effective, visual ones (one I could see physically working) was black salve – I managed to extract part of my tumour out through my skin (its usually recommended more for skin cancer) – but omg its so painful – I wouldn’t recommend anyone try it without having some morphine on hand. Unfortunately it was a waste of time even asking my doctor for some because our laws prevent my doctor helping me in any way to overcome cancer using alternative therapies. (research the cancer act of 1939 -uk)
I know the black salve sounds ridiculous and if I hadn’t experienced it for myself I wouldn’t have believed it, but I found out that it was widely used many years ago for the treatment of cancer. From what I’ve seen, I’d say its probably very similar to the Hoxsey treatment. I found this online – an original book from when they used to use it in clinics:
http://sunwatt.mystarband.net/valueofescharotics1948.htm
I’ve also recently discovered another treatment called protocell that I’m looking forward to trying. I think I’ll know within a few months if this is going to be the right one for me. Sometimes I think certain things work for some and other things for others.
The black salve however, works – FULL STOP. (research it, youll be amazed)
Here’s a couple of examples: http://www.altcancer.com/products/testimonials
http://blacksalveinfo.com/blacksalvemov.htm
Of course you’ll find quackwatch telling that it doesn’t work and that it burns your skin but its not true – I’m living proof of that. Before I used it, I tried it on a bit of healthy skin for a day or so and NOTHING HAPPENED. That says it all.
I had to persist with the salve where my tumour is, and I think I had success because my tumour is actually attached to the underside of my skin and that’s why after a few applications it came into contact.
I can’t tell you how painful it was though once it started killing the cancer. I haven’t been brave enough to try it on the rest although I know for sure that if I were in a life/death situation I could get rid of it that way.
It’s yet another example of a cure that cant be patented so they’ll do their utmost to ban it. It’s actually been banned now for use in humans but not for use on animals so many sites have to sell it under the guise of it being for someones pet.
You also know its not a scam when these people actually tell you how to make it. Problem is, the herbs used to make it have been banned in our country so not much chance of that. (the only chemical in it is DMSO which is used as a ‘carrier’ to help it penetrate through the skin)
All I can say is it works – and my family know it works so they now no longer worry about most cancers.” -Michele
Here are two recipes for black salve. The person who sent me the above testimonial says some of the ingredients are illegal in the USA. I am not giving medical advice or recommending for anyone to use this, I am just putting this here for my own and other people’s information. The recipes below are from http://www.quantumbalancing.com/blacksalve.htm
I am mirroring it because it is not uncommon for sites disseminating information on natural remedies, especially ones for cancer, to get suddenly shut down or censored.
Cansema Black Salve Recipe #1
One tablespoon each of powdered bloodroot and polk root
1 tablespoon zinc chloride
DMSO (5 drops per 4 ounces of salve)
One tablespoon Charcoal (optional)
Vitamin A, 10,000 IU (more vitamin A can be added up to 200,000 IU.
Pine tar (one teaspoon to one tablespoon)
Pascalite clay
Dissolve the zinc chloride in one to two tablespoons of warm distilled water. Use only enough water to dissolve. Set aside. (Be careful with this, do not get it directly on skin and keep locked from children), and do not breathe fumes.
Mix bloodroot, charcoal and polk root in a separate container with a little cooking oil, just enough to cover the herbs, mix well. Carefully add the zinc chloride and water mixture, stirring well. Gently heat the mixture in double boiler, stirring constantly for 30 minuets Remove from heat, stir well, let cool, add DMSO.
Next, mix one teaspoon to one tablespoon at a time of the Mennonite clay to the bloodroot mixture until you have a smooth, thick paste that is easily spreadable. Do not put too much of the clay into the mixture or it will be lumpy. If the mixture is too thick, add a few drops of oil or water to thin. If too thin, add a small amount more of the clay. The clay is important in this recipe since it helps to draw out impurities from the skin. If you do not have clay and need to make the paste right away, it can be thickened with flour.
You will only need to apply this paste once. Apply to the cancer, cover with gauze and tape (band aids will not work), leave undisturbed for 12 hours. At the end of 12 hours, wash area with soap and water, and then clean with hydrogen peroxide. This can be applied every 2-3 days if you feel you need to, usually one application is all that is needed for very small cancers. The cancer will drop off by itself in one to five weeks. Your may have pain, fever, stinging, intense itching or burning; this is normal. You can apply some chickweed salve to the area for the itching, but do not use anything else such as healing salves. Healing salves will heal up the area before it has time to kill the cancer.
Cansema Black Salve Recipe #2
Cansema is a natural skin cancer treatment. The active ingredients of Cansema are Zinc, bloodroot, and chaparral. It can be ordered from Alpha Omega Labs in the Bahamas. There is a Recipe available.
This is a recipe for a black paste very similar to the Cansema. But this is a preferred paste for melanoma and all suspect skin cancer like lesions. This paste also has worked well for all manner of cancers provided that they have become exposed to or close to the surface of the skin.
1/2 cup powdered Blood Root (Sanguinaria Canadensis)
1/2 cup Zinc Chloride, crystals or liquid
1/2 cup common white flour
1 1/2 cup warm water
100ml Chaparral extract or 100gm of powdered Chaparral (Larrea mexicana)
Pre-mix all but the water, thoroughly, before adding to the water. Using a stainless steel double boiler. Put in water, then stir in the other ingredients. Stir in well using a wooden spoon. Cook for thirty minutes over boiling water, stirring constantly. Application is much the same as Cansema. Apply a thin layer (2-3mm) of the paste over the affected area and cover for 24 hours. Then remove the covering but do not disturb the lesion at all, do not attempt to pull the cancer out at any time, it should fall out in 10 days or so. Some people with sensitive skin put Vaseline around the cancer so that the paste does not irritate the skin.
DISCLAIMER: The contents of this post is for information purposes and should not be construed as medical advice.
http://thetruthergirls.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/black-salve/

Sunday, December 9, 2012

COMPLETE GUIDE: HOW TO BURN LOWER AB FAT,LOSE LOVE HANDLES AND STUBBORN FAT, LOWER AB FAT WORKOUT

TOP FIVE BEST EXERCISES TO LOSE BELLY FAT

by Aurora Geib

(NaturalNews) Who doesn't want flat abs? People desperate to lose weight will willingly starve themselves, take expensive supplements or do the latest fad diet that promises to give them that flawless figure in 30 days. Thankfully, belly fat is metabolically active and easier to lose. However, if proper nutrition is not observed and the resort is made to low calorie diets, weight loss may not happen within the desired time frame. Hunger and calorie deprivation will eventually kick in and dieters confronted with that favorite food they have been avoiding will have the tendency to binge at the first opportunity. The likelihood of gaining more weight than they originally lost is not far-fetched.

According to Christine Rosenbloom, a nutrition professor at Georgia State University, eating a calorie-controlled diet and 60 minutes of daily moderate exercise activity will result to weight loss and can even help with the desired weight maintenance. In fact, according to Professor Michael Jensen of the Mayo Clinic, intense aerobic exercise will result to being leaner around the abdomen.

It is important to remember that keeping the body's metabolism up and running so that the body continuously burns calories prevents it from going into the fat-storing mode that causes unnecessary weight gain.

Why exercise is necessary

Most people involved in weight loss believe that it's all about the calories. If you burn calories more than you take in, you lose weight. If you take in more calories than you can burn, the body gains fat. While this piece of logic may make sense, it is only partly true. What burns calories nonstop is actually the lean muscle mass underneath body fat that allows more intake of calories without weight gain.

The body actually adapts to the changes it undergoes. Losing weight without exercising increases the risk of losing lean body mass, slowing the metabolism and putting the body into fat-storing mode. People who have lost body fat and muscle mass may notice that they don't have the muscle mass they once had. Worse yet, once they overeat even a little bit, they start filling up on body fat once again.

Building up muscle mass

An important thing to remember when undergoing a weight loss program is to understand what needs to be done. Realistic and achievable goals can help in building the confidence needed to make the necessary leap for the achievement of a desired weight.

Researchers at the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University took a look at some popular abdominal exercises and ranked them. Results of the study revealed that exercises that require constant abdominal stabilization and body rotation resulted in the most muscle activity in the abdomen.

Below are the top five belly exercises as ranked by the study:

1. The Bicycle Exercise - best for targeting the six pack muscles and the obliques. To do this exercise, get into a supine position with hands at the back of your head. Bring knees to the chest while lifting shoulders off the floor. Slowly bring your right elbow towards your left knee as you straighten your right leg. Switch sides and continue in a pedaling motion. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

2. The Captain's Chair Leg Raise - This exercise requires a captain's chair, a rack with padded arms allowing for the legs to hang free that is commonly found in gyms or health clubs. To do this exercise, stand on the chair and grip hand holds. Press back against the pad then raise knees to the chest to contract the abs then lower them back down. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

3. Exercise Ball Crunch - For this exercise, an exercise ball is necessary. In this routine, the abdomen does more exerting but will still need the entire body to stabilize it throughout the routine. To do this exercise, lie on the ball with your lower back fully supported. Place hands behind the head. To lift the torso off the ball, contract the abs to pull the bottom of the rib cage towards the hips. Keep ball stable as you curl up, then lower back down to stretch the abs. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

4. Vertical Leg Crunch - Performing this exercise is similar to doing a leg crunch except that the legs are straight up, forcing the abs to work and adding intensity to the routine. To do this, lie on the floor with the legs straight up, knees crossed, and place the hands beneath the head for support. Contract abs lifting the shoulders off the floor and keep legs in a fixed position to crunch. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

5. Long Arm Crunch - This is a variant of the traditional floor crunch where the arms are held straight behind you, adding a lever to the move and making for a challenging exercise. To do this, lie on the floor or a mat then extend arms straight behind, keeping them clasped and next to the ears. Slowly contract abs and lift shoulders off the floor carefully to keep the arms straight. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

The best strategy to weight loss is to observe a healthy diet coupled with exercise of at least an hour a day. Although there is no sure fire way to deal with belly fat, there are a number of activities from which to choose and enjoy. As long as you're having fun, you can lose weight without realizing it. It is important to look for an exercise you enjoy. If the suggested exercises above do not suit your taste, taking a hike, swimming or biking are just as effective in burning fat and toning muscles.

Sources for this article include:

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/u/weightlossbasics.htm
http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises_10.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/011285.html
http://www.acefitness.org/getfit/studies/BestWorstAbExercises.pdf

8 QUOTES FROM A CANCER SURGEON THAT WILL SET YOUR HAIR ON FIRE

by Jon Rappoport

(NaturalNews) His name is Marty Makary. He's a cancer surgeon and researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the School of Public Health.

Propublica's Marshall Allen interviewed him about patient harm, in conjunction with an ongoing propublica investigation.

http://www.propublica.org

Keep in mind that these quotes are coming from a mainstream doctor who is inside the system and who believes in the system. That makes Makary's statements all the more shocking.

"...1 in 4 hospital patients are harmed by a mistake."

"A cardiologist in Wisconsin was fired for pointing out that EKGs were misread more than 25% of the time."

"We [doctors] are also evaluated by the number of 'value units' at the end of each fiscal quarter. Our management will sit down with us and say your work units are down or up and in order for you to receive a large bonus you need to increase the number of operations you do..."

"There is New England Journal of Medicine-level data that suggests that almost half of [health] care is not compliant with evidence." [In other words, almost 50% of all health care in America isn't even based on published mainstream studies...and, I should add, there is conclusive evidence that half of these studies are untrustworthy in the first place. Therefore, to say that conventional doctors are winging it is a vast understatement. JR]

"...up to 30% of health care in unnecessary..."

"I saw cases where a patient was not told about a minimally invasive way of doing a particular surgery because of physician preference or training, and the doctor would just hope the that he [the patient] wouldn't find out."

"Medical mistakes are fifth-or-sixth-most common cause of death in the United States, depending on the measure."

"...The desire and reflex of docs to offer something to patients, even when there's not much more else they can offer. There's a strong financial incentive. Doctor groups pay for new equipment that they purchase on borrowed money." [In other words, 'we have this expensive equipment, we have to use it to pay for it.' JR]

Since Dr. Makary works at Johns Hopkins, he is no doubt familiar with a landmark review done by the late Dr. Barbara Starfield, who also worked at Hopkins for many years.

On July 26, 2000, the Journal of the American Medical Association published Starfield's review, "Is US health really the best in the world?" Starfield revealed the following facts:

In the US, the annual death rate, as a direct result of medical treatment, is 225,000 people. Of those, 106,000 are killed by FDA-approved pharmaceutical drugs. The other 119,000 are killed by medical mistreatment in hospitals. This makes medically caused death the third leading cause of mortality in America.

In 2009, I interviewed Dr. Starfield.

http://jonrappoport.wordpress.com

She assured me that, since the publication of her review in 2000, no federal agency had contacted her to ask for help in fixing this unconscionable horror, and no agency had undertaken a significant program to reverse the third leading cause of death in the US.

Aside from the medically caused death rate, there is medical maiming. In 2001, the LA Times published a shocking article by Linda Marsa.

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/08/health/he-9609

The
article revealed that, in addition to the deaths, 2.1 million more people were admitted to US hospitals every year, as a result of severe reactions to pharmaceutical drugs. And, every year, there were 36 million adverse drug reactions in America.

Those people who support the onset of Obamacare might reflect on all these things. With millions of new people brought into the medical system, the horrific pain-and-death numbers cited in this article are going to escalate. And those numbers equal real human beings.

But don't worry. You're humane to want Obamacare. You'll get a gold star on the blackboard for your sentiments.

Keep sending me your emails expressing those sentiments. I print them and tape them to my wall, right next to the death-and-maiming numbers. It's a nice collection.

Jon Rappoport
The author of an explosive collection, THE MATRIX REVEALED, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at www.nomorefakenews.com

About the author:
The author of an explosive new collection, THE MATRIX REVEALED, Jon
was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of
California. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an
investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics,
medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine,
Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon
has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic,
and creative power to audiences around the world.
www.nomorefakenews.com

http://www.naturalnews.com/038249_cancer_surgeon_John_Hopkins.html

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

HOW TO DECALCIFY YOUR PINEAL GLAND

MERCURY AMALGAM FILLINGS-REMOVAL & DETOXIFICATION

My body has been steadily accumulating mercury through amalgam fillings since I was about eight years old. The grand total of fillings was 13, collected over some 38 years. All this time I have been absorbing mercury in ever increasing amounts daily via different routes: chewing food; having hot drinks; breathing in the vapour; swallowing the saliva containing mercury; chewing of gum in my teenage years. Even brushing one’s teeth can cause the emission of mercury to increase by five to ten times, with this raised emission continuing for 1-2.5 hours afterwards. Over days, months and years that adds up to a lot of mercury. To alleviate this I used an amalgam blocking toothpaste and, since my symptoms of coldness did decrease to an extent, this did help to reduce the intake. Added to this is the constant leeching of the mercury into the circulatory system, bones and tissues. Mercury poisons all cellular functions and has a significant effect on the enzyme and hormonal systems. Figure 1 shows the proximity of the main facial arteries to the position of teeth, and how easy it is for this poison to move through the body, particularly to the eyes and brain. Removal of fillings only prevents a further increase in the absorption of mercury, so it is vital to follow removals with detoxification specifically for the removal of mercury, otherwise it will remain lodged in the brain and major organs of the body, as well as tissue and skin, and cause further problems.
Main Facial Arteries
At the age of 46, the seemingly unrelated symptoms steadily worsened to a level that I believe would have become life-threatening in the immediate future. Apart from the symptoms discussed later, I was finding it increasingly difficult to continue from day to day. It was as if all my systems were coming to a halt at an alarming speed. I had almost closed my practice, which had already been reduced due to parental illness the previous year. Now it seems silly not to have done something sooner, but I had approached doctors and dentists and been told there was nothing wrong, and ‘to pull myself together’. This left me not knowing where to turn. However, having read articles and books, and realizing that my life was deteriorating rapidly, I knew I had to do something quickly and found a sympathetic dental practice in Edinburgh. My initial appointment was in April to assess the treatment required. We agreed on removals in four sessions over six weeks. This allows the body time to adjust and clear any further release that may occur during removal but also means that the fillings are removed fairly swiftly and the detoxification process can begin properly. The removals were set for September/October. Despite having to wait all this time, it was good to know that something would be done. It was also a relief to meet someone who knew exactly what was wrong – I had gone there armed with copies of articles and reasons for the removals, and for once I had no need of them. I was talking to someone knowledgeable both of the havoc mercury can create in the body and also of the safety procedures required for such removals, which inspires great confidence.

Symptoms

The following symptoms were experienced throughout my teenage years and adult life to different degrees. I tried to alleviate them using essential oils, herbal and homeopathic remedies and diet, but these stood little chance in the face of such toxicity. I found a small amount of relief initially with some, but this did not last, presumably due to the increasing mercury in my system. The inability of such remedies to help also led me to realize just how widespread the problem was. It is interesting to note that since the removals I have used remedies and their effect has been good.

Mouth

The inside of my mouth was aggravated by the mercury. I would find myself biting the skin to such an extent that it would be torn, sore and inflamed. I would be fine until early afternoon and then I would find myself suddenly tearing at the inside of my mouth with my teeth as if something had to be released or removed. Sometimes I managed to prevent this with a lot of willpower, but it was something beyond my control. Amazingly, my body would have worked all night to repair the damage and the skin would be perfectly smooth the next morning. My gums looked pale and unhealthy and bled when I brushed them, and my teeth sometimes felt loose. The teeth did not really feel like part of me – they were separated by this toxic barrier. I was always aware of the fillings.

Eyes

My eyes have become increasingly light sensitive and easily tired. Over the past two years I have had the help of a vision therapist, and we have worked to improve my vision through exercises, palming and the use of eye patches to allow the eyes to work individually as well as together. But again this had limited effect since the cause was not being addressed.

Ears

The main problem was when descending in an aeroplane. I would suffer excruciating pain along my jaw and up to my ears and temples. My head felt as if it would split. I just sat in dreadful pain with tears pouring down my cheeks. Some pain would continue for several hours and I would feel unwell for two or three days after. Not surprisingly, I had decided that I never wanted to fly again after the most recent occasion. I also had recurrent bouts of piercing pain but with no evidence of infection. As my mother has had problems with her ears, I thought perhaps this was hereditary.

Nose

Over the past three years I have had small cuts inside my nose which would not heal and became infected on several occasions. The inflammation did clear from using tea tree and neem oils, but not the cuts, and I often felt as if I were getting flu.

Periods

In my mid-teens these became extremely heavy with a lot of clotting. In my 20s and 30s they were not so heavy but later again became heavy with increased clotting, cramps, fluid retention and mood swings. They were increasing to twice monthly but I managed to regulate them using a blend of essential oils, so in this case the oils did manage to break through the mercury blockade. Periods have become worse in recent years: very heavy with clotting, 6-7 days’ duration, mood changes beforehand, headaches, feelings of not being able to cope and fluid retention for 14 days prior combined with breast tenderness and sometimes sharp pains. There was very sharp, intense cramping always only on the right-hand side on the first day and night of the period, followed by more general cramping plus lower back pain. The whole process was rapidly affecting not just the duration of the period, but the weeks on either side, and also my relationships with my husband and daughter because of the effect on my health.

Sciatica

This began three years ago and always occurred at the start of the period and lasted for one day. It was so painful that I had to take painkillers during the day and before going to bed and I would feel tired and unwell the following day (perhaps due to the painkillers).

Circulation

As a schoolgirl I suffered from very painful chilblains every autumn through to Easter and I would become chilled waiting for the bus to and from school. My feet would be numb during gym class (we had to do this in bare feet on cold wooden floors) and it was painful to walk. The doctor suggested an operation but thankfully we declined this. Since then, the coldness in my body has increased, seeming to come from within, from the marrow of my bones and especially down my spine. My temperature control was either one extreme or the other and I disliked change – of temperature and of surroundings. Five years ago, I was diagnosed as having Reynaud’s disease, as my fingers and toes and the balls of my feet would easily become numb, white and painful, and take a long time to warm up. I had to wear thick bed socks and have a hot bottle at my back and double covers, but still I never felt really warm from within. In the daytime I wore thermal vests, layers and socks, but my feet still became numb, even in the house. I dreaded autumn, winter and spring, but also going on holiday to a warm climate as I would overheat. The problem of excessive sweating which began in my teens continued and was more of a nuisance than a physical hardship – finding the most suitable clothes’ styles and fabrics to avoid staining. In desperation I used a very strong antiperspirant once and it resulted in my being very ill for several days, with lumping under my armpits. I preferred to change my tops at least twice or more daily if necessary.

Fatigue

This became noticeable when I was in my 20s and was working in offices. I had difficulty getting going in the morning. I was never late for work but it took a great effort to get up; some mornings would be much worse than others but I could never work out the reason. My doctor thought I was just lazy. I did not want an excuse to stay off work; I needed to find out the cause so that I could remedy it. I had the energy to attend night classes and to complete a full day’s work, but at that time it was in the morning that I felt unwell. Our daughter was born 16 years ago. The birth lasted 12 hours and forceps were required, so afterwards I was badly bruised internally and in great pain but also very tired. I fed Jane myself for nine months so any fatigue then was put down to feeding during the day and often at night. I expected to feel an improvement as the years went on, but this did not happen. Tests have been carried out on a couple of occasions, but these proved negative and no helpful advice was given. I felt like a hypochondriac and was treated like one.
Having to get up at 6.45 am to ensure Jane got to school on time has kept me going. I am not sure that I would have had the determination to do that otherwise. Once I had my first shot of mercury via a hot mug of tea or two, I would feel much better. I altered my diet and became vegetarian over ten years ago to try to solve the mystery. No matter what I included or excluded there was no pattern emerging. Last year my energy levels became seriously low, which prompted me to find a mercury-free dentist. I was so exhausted all the time, to a point where resting for half an hour or even longer made no difference. There was no way to replenish the energy I was losing. This affected my spirit and I felt very light and not of this world at times, which was frightening. My thoughts were negative and I was reducing what I did rather than looking to expand my business and to the future ahead. I could see no future.

Brain

Over the past three years I noticed that I was finding it more difficult to take in information and to remember it. My brain seemed to be at capacity, or as if it were jammed. I began to notice slurring of speech and difficulty in finding words, which soon became a daily occurrence. We joked about it, but I was aware of how serious a problem this could be. Tingling in my fingers and a slight numbness in the arms occurred on several occasions. I was anxious that these symptoms might indicate multiple sclerosis or a similar disease, but I also knew it was the mercury fillings that were causing them. My fear was of my daughter having to visit a mother of 50-60 years old who was unable to communicate or recognizse her and for this to continue for many years instead of the close friendship we enjoy.

Mood Swings

Mood changes were outside my control. I would have planned to spend a morning with my husband and to have anticipated this all week only to feel on the day that that was the last thing I wanted to do and there was no way to change this. I would be stuck in that mind-set the whole day. It spoilt so many occasions. I always felt that it was like someone else doing it and deep down I did not want to be grumpy and bad company. There was anger inside, dissatisfaction with my life, with myself. I could see no logical reason for these feelings when I looked at them objectively, so why did I continue to feel and act like this? It wasn’t the real me.
All these symptoms could possibly be coped with singly, but together they engulfed me. On several occasions I felt that my husband and daughter would be better off if I were not living with them. They would not have had to put up with the fallout and the negative energy I must have been exuding. When giving treatments, I blocked out all the symptoms. I was totally committed to giving the best treatment I could and my concentration was centred on the client. My standards remained consistent and I am confident that no clients received lesser treatments at any point during this time. If I could not have maintained this, I would have closed In Harmony at once.

The Removal Process

The initial consultation with my dentist was to assess the level of leeching of the mercury and the state of the teeth, and plan a removal programme and the preventative measures both in the surgery and through supplements. We decided on four sessions at fortnightly intervals: three on the upper left, four on the lower left, three on the upper right and finally three on the lower right (see Figure 2). The gap between sessions allows the body to clear any mercury that may be absorbed during the extraction process despite the precautions taken. Any trauma to the gums has time to settle.
The sessions lasted two hours each. The extractions were fairly quick due to the drill, which allows chunks of filling to be removed, thereby reducing mercury particles. Any stray pieces in the mouth are easier to see and remove. A suction tube remains in the mouth during the extractions, removing mercury and saliva; a rubber dam around the teeth helps to prevent absorption during drilling; a protective nose mask reduces inhalation of mercury dust and vapour; goggles protect the eyes; a protective apron covers the body from neck to toe; an extraction fan removes air which may contain mercury particles and vapour, to protect the patient, dentist and staff, and further patients. The dentist herself wore a protective mask. I required extra local anaesthetic on two occasions to ensure total numbness of the areas. There should be no pain whatsoever. The numbness took a few hours to disappear, but two doses of Arnica tablets taken orally and Arnica cream massaged into the cheek area resulted in very little bruising. I also massaged the gum gently and washed out my mouth with chamomile tea regularly to soothe the gums, cheeks and teeth. The tea helped to calm my whole body and aid the healing process.
The refilling of the cavities is carried out once all traces of the mercury fillings have been removed. There was decay under almost all my fillings, which would have gone undetected until it became so bad that I needed them removed. The filling of the cavities requires skill and precision, as do the removals. The material used is a non-toxic composite, which is compatible with the teeth and has the added bonus of looking good. The cosmetic effect of white fillings should not be underestimated. I have admiration for my dentist who carried out the procedures with immense care and concentration over each two-hour session. The effect on my health and life cannot be calculated and I owe her so much.

Detoxification Programme

Prior to the Treatments
I took Essiac daily for three months, a herbal blend of burdock root, turkey rhubarb root, sheep sorrel and slippery elm bark. It rids the body of metabolic wastes, increases cellular metabolism by normalizing blood chemistry and rebuilds the immune system. This was to boost my body’s systems so that once the mercury amalgam was removed I could go straight into the cleansing tonics to clear the major organs of the mercury. On the day of removals I took charcoal tablets before and after to absorb the mercury and expel it from the body. Selenium and zinc are used up quickly by the body when dealing with heavy metals, so daily supplements were recommended: selenium 100mcg and zinc 15-20mg.
Catherine Crawford – post Mercury Amalgam removal

After the Treatments

After all the removals are completed, cleansing of the vital organs must follow. One cleansing tonic should be used at a time. This process should be undertaken consistently to ensure success, particularly with the colon cleanse parts 1 and 2. These help to clear old faecal matter, allowing for easy removal, aid regular evacuation, and draw out poisons, toxins and heavy metals. It can seem awkward and unpleasant to keep to the programme at times, but the benefits are too great to abandon it. The daily amounts are small so that the body is not overloaded by the detoxification process and no healing crisis should occur. I have had a minor recurrence of some of the symptoms during the cleansing, but these have passed quickly. The other cleanses that followed were:
  • Liver and gall bladder cleanse: dandelion root, cinnamon bark, liquorice, juniper berries, cardamom, bearberry leaf, cloves, ginger, milk thistle, Oregon grape root, Swedish bitters and colloidal silver. Freshly squeezed organic orange juice precedes the cleanse each morning;
  • Kidney cleanse (preceded by fresh organic lemon juice): corn silk, bearberry leaf, dandelion, horsetail, burdock root, goldenrod, juniper berries and colloidal silver;
  • Blood cleanse: red clover, chapparal, garlic, burdock root, gotu kola, cayenne, Echinacea, cat’s claw, gingko biloba, horsetail, poke root and colloidal silver;
  • Brain tonic: gingko biloba, gotu kola, calamus root, rosemary, kola nut, cayenne and colloidal silver.
All these herbs help to cleanse the systems of the body while aiding the healing process. These cleansing tonics should ideally be taken in rotation throughout the year to cleanse the body of pollutants as well as poisons such as mercury. The courses last two to four weeks.

Recovery

I continued my vegetarian diet, including neem tea and kombucha tea, which both aid the immune system and detoxify the body. Energized water (two litres daily) is necessary to flush the toxins and wastes out of the body while hydrating it. It is easier to continue a well-established habit than to try to cope with several changes at once. There is much more likelihood of success without a healing crisis.
Mercury had been in my body for so long that I thought it would take months for any improvements to show. After just the first removals I felt much lighter, more positive and less tired. These changes continued, improving with each session. The difference made by removing just three fillings demonstrates the amount of mercury leaking into my body daily.
All of the symptoms listed above have been reduced or removed. I now have more energy and if I do become tired a short rest revives me. I wake up looking forward to the day ahead and have a positive outlook; I feel grounded; my eyes are less light sensitive and stronger; I have started up my business with new and existing clients and extended my product range; I can control my mood, so we have had many enjoyable occasions since October; slurring of speech and loss for words are improving; my brain feels clearer and does not race. We flew to Dublin for a few days and I was amazed to feel no pain at all when landing – it was marvellous. Period-related problems have greatly decreased – less fluid retention, lighter and shorter, very mild sciatica, mild headache, only slight grumpiness. Excess sweating has ceased. My body temperature has risen so I no longer feel cold in my bones – I feel constantly warm and have no need of bed socks and layers of thermal vests. I only experience numbness in one finger occasionally and it warms up quickly. Any coldness I may feel when outside seems external and easily dealt with. There has been no recurrence of tingling fingers or numbness of arms. The gums look pink and do not bleed; my teeth feel part of me. Of great interest to me is the regeneration of the tissue of my upper and lower lips, which has filled out. My facial skin has a pink glow even without make-up and the shadows under my eyes are now pink/brown not almost black as before. The cuts inside my nose healed up and have recurred only once. A fungal infection under my little toenail has totally cleared now and a new nail has grown up slowly. The best improvement is that I can enjoy life and look forward to the future and I know I am much more pleasant company now.
http://www.harmonikireland.com/mercuryamalgamfillings/
http://unitedtruthseekers.com/profiles/blogs/mercury-amalgam-fillings-removal-detoxification?xg_source=facebookshare

Monday, November 26, 2012

SHAMPOO BAR SOAP RECIPE

I begin my journey into soap making almost 2 years ago. It all started when I read this post and began to understand how easy and cost-effective making my own really is!
I am by no means a soap making expert. I usually stick to pretty basic recipes and I haven’t experimented much with scents or creative designs.
Hot processed soap is the way to go for me. Cold processed takes a long time to cure and I’m just to impatient for that! (Okay…don’t freak out if you have no idea what I just said! Stay with me on this!)
Determine Your Method
There are so many recipes and soap-making methods out there. If you are new to soap making I strongly suggest you read through these super informative posts and find what will work for you. Here are just a few:
I would also recommend borrowing a few of these books from the library if you really find yourself wanting to know more:
Why shampoo bar soap and not just baking soda?
What a great question! I’m so happy you asked (smile). I have found that baking soda has more of a clarifying effect on my hair. Even after a vinegar rinse, my hair is still very dry and it doesn’t feel conditioned.
I have long hair and I was so frustrated. I could hardly even brush through it. This even after a month of allowing my hair the transition away from commercially-prepared product.
I really didn’t want to be dependent on store-bought shampoo! I know about all of the nasty, toxic chemicals in it  and they kind of freak my out. With more people bringing awareness to the problem, I knew it was time to commit to a change.
So I set out to create a solution!
Gather The Supplies
Alright! Here we go. It’s time to gather all of the supplies and ingredients. If you are new to soap making there is going to be an initial start up cost. But, I’m going to recommend to you the suppliers that I have found to have the cheapest prices. And the savings in the long run are huge!
Lye
I purchase lye, sodium hydroxide, online through The Soap Dish. Last time I checked I was $6.95 for a 32 oz container. This will get you through quite a bit of soap recipes and lasts a long time!
You will need to run your recipe through a lye calculator to be sure that you are using the proper amount of lye and liquid (i.e. water, coconut milk, goat’s milk, etc.). I use the recommended amount of lye for a 5% superfat soap. (Trust me, this will make more sense when you start working with the lye calculator.)
Do you really want to learn a sustainable practice? Check out this information on making homemade lye from wood ashes!
Note: Be careful when working with lye and follow all of the recommended precautions. What I’m trying to say is, I can not be held responsible for any craziness, mishaps, explosions, etc. that may happen when working with this recipe. 
Oils
Shop around for the cheapest oil prices. I like to purchase from a combination of local stores, The Soap Dish, and Mountain Rose Herbs.
You can design the properties of your soap based on the oils you use. For example, use:
  • Lard or tallow for a hard, long-lasting soap
  • Coconut or castor oil for lathering
  • Olive or canola oil for moisturizing and conditioning properties
  • Cocoa butter, shea butter, and jojoba oil for a luxurious, extra moisturizing effect
Have fun and experiment!
Equipment
Most of the equipment you will need can be found in your kitchen. I do not have appointed tools for soap making simply because I use glass and stainless steel bowls and utensils. However, it would be necessary to have tools specifically for this task if you were to use wood or plastic.
See this exhaustive list of recommended equipment, tools, and molds.
Note: I do have a dedicated crock pot for soap making. It is an older model that I purchased from the thrift store for $4. The older models don’t seem to get as hot and that is a good thing.
Now on to the recipe!
Luxurious Shampoo Bar Soap Recipe
-9 ounces coconut oil
-9 ounces olive oil
-5 ounces castor oil
-3 ounces jojoba oil
-2 ounces shea butter
-2 ounces cocoa butter
-1 ounce beeswax
*Please note, all amounts are per weight. You will need to use a kitchen scale for these measurements.
-4 ounces water
-6 ounces coconut milk*
-4 ounces lye
*You could use only water, an herbal infusion, or any other type of milk.
Optional Essential Oils
-Rosemary and peppermint for dark hair
-Lavender and lemon for blonde hair
-Lime and coconut for all types
*Use approximately 0.5-1 ounce of essential oils for this recipe. Yes they are a fun addition, but not necessary.
Directions:
1. Place the water and coconut milk into a large glass measuring cup.
2. Measure out the lye by weight into a 1 cup measuring glass.
3. Carefully add the lye into the liquid and stir to combine. (Adding the liquid to the lye could cause and eruption.) Be careful, the liquid is caustic and not to be touched in anyway. The outside of the bowl will be extremely hot as well. Note: Take the necessary lye precautions with this step.
4. Allow the lye mixture to stay under a vent and cool down while you prepare the oils.
5. Measure all oils, by using a kitchen scale, and pour into a pot.
6. Warm oils and beeswax on low heat until all are melted.
7. Pour melted oils into a crock pot. Be sure the crock pot is on the lowest setting. Note: Do not allow the oils to get to hot.
8.
Add the lye/liquid mixture to the oils in the crock pot and stir. Note: Any equipment the lye touches needs to be neutralized in a mixture of vinegar, soap, and water. Vinegar will neutralize the lye.
9.
After a brief stir, grab your stick blender and get to work! Blend the oils, lye, and liquid in the crock pot for at least 3-5 minutes. We are working toward ”trace.”
10. Blend until the mixture becomes a thick, pudding like consistency.
11. Once the mixture is pudding-like, cover the crock pot and “cook” the soap for approximately 1 hour.
12. By the end, the mixture should have folded in on itself and it should be completely transparent. Turn off the crock pot.
13. Now it’s time to prepare the molds. I just use a standard glass loaf pan greased with coconut oil and it’s always worked perfectly.
14. Now is the time to add the essential oils (if using).
15. Spoon soap mixture into molds.
16. Allow soap to cool and harden for 24 hours.
17. Remove from mold on to cutting board and cut into 1 inch thick bars.
18. Place bars on a tray with good airflow so that they can harden further. But go ahead and use your first bar!!!
Notes
-I’m telling you, this is the most amazing natural hair product I have used! My hair is so shiny, soft, and manageable. And the real test…my husband even uses this shampoo bar soap and LOVES it!
-When showering, be sure to complete the use of this shampoo bar soap with a 1 part apple cider vinegar and 3 part water conditioning hair rinse. I like to put this in a spray bottle and spray my hair with it just prior to leaving the shower. I do not rinse it out (more conditioning that way). The smell of vinegar will dissipate once the hair dries.
-You can purchase the beeswax used in this recipe here. Or if you prefer to purchase a bar of this soap pre-made by yours truly…you can do that here (thank you in advance for your support)!

http://frugallysustainable.com/2011/12/shampoo-bar-soap-recipe/

Thursday, November 15, 2012

DIY: FIVE WAYS TO GIVE YOURSELF AN AMAZING MASSAGE

Between talking, texting, typing, and cross-training, life can really take a toll on your body. It’s no wonder that prescription pain medication sales have jumped 90 percent since 1997, according to an Associated Press investigation. That’s a lot of pills, especially when massage can be just as effective in some cases, and almost free. Whether it’s your head, shoulders, knees, or feet that need attention, there’s an easy massage you can give yourself, no expensive meds required.
Trouble Spot: Your hands
The Solution: A wrist workout
Sitting at a desk all day long can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, irritation of a nerve in your wrist and fingers, but this series of exercises, ideally done every hour, can prevent pain from creeping into your day.
1. Hold your left hand up, palm facing outward. Using your right hand, pull the fingers back toward your wrist until you feel a stretch, and hold that position for 5 seconds. Repeat the stretch on your right hand.
2. Press the palms of your hands together at chest height. Lower them towards your lap until you feel the stretch in your wrists. Hold for 5 seconds.
3. Spread your fingers wide for 5 seconds.
4. On your left hand, gently pull the thumb back toward your wrist until you feel the stretch. Hold it for 5 seconds, and then repeat the move on your right hand.
5. Curl your fingers into a fist: Start with your pinky finger, and gradually fold the remaining four fingers into a fist. Then curl your wrists inward until you feel the stretch, and hold it for 5 seconds.
6. Massage the inside and outside of each hand, and then gently shake them out.
Trouble Spot: Your feet
The Solution: A tennis ball and frozen water bottle
Whether you have a job that requires you to be on your feet all day or you’re a devoted runner, lots of factors can play into foot pain. The key to keeping it at bay is to massage and ice those feet after a hard day (or a long run). Massage your feet with the tennis ball: Place it under one heel, and then stand and sink your body weight onto the ball. Slowly roll the ball from the heel to the base of the toes, spreading your toes wide when the ball passes near. Repeat on the opposite foot. A soup can or a golf ball can also stand in if you don’t have a tennis ball handy. Use the water bottle to ice your feet down afterward, rolling it back and forth under each foot.
Trouble Spot: Your shoulders or back
The Solution: Another tennis ball
This basic massage move will help anyone who sits hunched in front of a computer screen all day or suffers from any form of back pain. Lay on the floor with a tennis ball placed near the area that hurts most, such as your lower back or the spot between your shoulder blades. Roll the tennis ball around until you hit the spot that’s most tender, and lie there for 1 to 5 minutes, or until you feel your muscles relax.
Trouble Spot: Your knees
The Solution: A foam roller
Made from hard foam, these rollers will run you anywhere from $11 to $19 at most sporting goods stores, but you can also just go to your local hardware store and buy a piece of PVC pipe to pick up a discounted version. When you place a foam roller or the pipe underneath your muscles, the pressure gives your muscles a much deeper massage than you’ll get from simply rubbing them.
How does that help your knees? Foam rollers help massage muscles that, when tight, can lead to knee pain. One is your iliotibial band, commonly called the IT band, which is a tough strip of connective tissue that runs down the outside of your thigh, starting on your hip bone and connecting just below your knee, writes Jordan D. Metzl, MD, in the Men’s Health Athletes Book of Home Remedies. When it gets tight, it can lead to knee pain.
To fix that, lie on your right side and place your right hip on your roller. Put your hands on the floor for support. Cross your left leg over your right and place your left foot flat on the floor. Roll your body to your right, allowing the roller to move from your hip to your knee as it massages the entire length of your outer thigh. Then roll back and forth for 30 seconds. Switch to your left side and repeat with the roller under your left hip.
Whenever you get to a sore spot, stop. Applying extra pressure to sore areas will help release tension.
Trouble Spot: Your whole body
The Solution: Cool gadgets
If you have a lot of spots that get creaky or sore, it might be worth investing in some tools that will target certain areas (or doing lots more foam rolling; check out these whole-body foam roller exercises from Prevention). Here are two of our favorites.
Spoonk Mat: The mat uses acupressure (a form of massage based on traditional Chinese medicine) to relax your muscles. When you lie or stand on the mat, the plastic stimulation points apply pressure to nerve endings, which increases blood flow and the release of endorphins that, in turn, reduce levels of stress hormones in your body. You can stand on it, lie on it, or roll it up and place it behind your neck or lower back to ease tension in any of those areas. $79; spoonkspace.com
PTFit Multi-Roller: A few rolls with this thing and you might understand why dogs shake their legs when you scratch their bellies. It just feels so good! The solid-wood massager is shaped like a hook with rollers on the tip and along the handle so you can target small spots, such as your neck, or larger muscle groups like your calf or quadriceps muscles (the manufacturer’s site has lots of how-to videos to show you how to use it). It functions much like a foam roller, placing pressure on tight muscles to massage them and cut down on pain. Unhinged, it gets at those hard-to-reach sore muscles between your shoulder blades, and hinged (as in the picture), you can use it on your legs and lower back. It beats foam rollers, though, for people who aren’t nimble enough to lie down on a roller on the floor and for office-bound workers with stiff muscles—you can use the device while sitting in your chair. $54.95; ptfitusa.com
http://blog.womenshealthmag.com/thisjustin/diy-5-ways-to-give-yourself-an-amazing-massage/

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

GUIDE: HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DEODERANT

Posted on by Sonnet Lauberth: Holistic Health Coach, For The Love of Food Blog
 Guide: How to Make Your Own Deodorant
For many years deodorant has been the bane of my existence.  As a teenager I learned that there is a strong connection between the aluminum in deodorant and Alzheimer’s disease.  As a result, I was committed to using only natural deodorants.  I have tried every stick, spray, roll-on, and crystal I could find. The result? Disappointment.  I hate to say it, but I never found a product that worked for longer than an hour.  In my frustration I found my way back to using conventional deodorant, stressing with each application about what I was putting into my body.
Then I  heard from a friend that if you didn’t use deodorant for a period of time your body will naturally adjust to it and you wouldn’t need to use it.  Let’s just say I tried that for a week and it was a failed experiment.  And gross.
After searching around the internet, I discovered there are a ton of DIY deodorant recipes that use natural ingredients like baking soda, corn starch, and coconut oil.  I have tried several different batches of homemade deodorant using different proportions of these ingredients and different essential oils.  My first batch used peppermint oil which irritated my skin, my second batch had too much baking soda which also irritated my skin, but this final batch?  Just right.
Since I live in a colder climate, coconut oil is usually solid (except in summer) so I had to gently heat it to a liquid so I could mix my ingredients.  When it cooled again, my deodorant was a solid gel.  I’ve heard mixed reviews from others who have put homemade deodorant into empty twist-up deodorant containers – some say it crumbles while others think it works fine.  I haven’t tried this myself because I think it’s easier to keep the deodorant in a small jar and apply by hand.  If you live in a warm climate, your mixture might not solidify (unless you keep it in the fridge) so it will be even easier to apply by hand because it will be in a liquid state.
I have been super impressed with how well this deodorant works and it actually works better for me than conventional deodorant.  I think I have to say that again.  It actually works better than conventional deodorant – the ones with the aluminum!  If only I had known about this years ago. Sigh. I guess the perfect deodorant search is over.
DIY Deodorant
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 Tablespoons corn starch*
  • 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking soda*
  • 20 – 25 drops lavender essential oil
Directions:
  1. Melt your coconut oil (if necessary) and mix with the corn starch and baking soda.
  2. Add the essential oil.
  3. Mix.
  4. Transfer to a glass container.
  5. Use up!
  6. Will last 2 -3 months depending on usage.
*Notes: My batch has less baking soda and corn starch than some recipes I’ve seen because I experienced skin irritation from these ingredients at a higher ratio.  If this mixture is not effective for you, you can increase the amount of baking soda and corn starch by about 2 teaspoons.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/guide-how-to-make-your-own-deodorant/

Friday, October 26, 2012

PROSTRATE CANCER TESTS 'MORE HARM THAN GOOD

ABC October 27, 2012,
A group representing Australian general practitioners says the risks of being screened for prostate cancer outweigh the benefits.
In its latest book of preventative health guidelines, the Royal Australian College for GPs advises its members not to recommend prostate cancer screening to patients.
Professor Chris Del Mar from Bond University on the Gold Coast says the process is invasive and can lead to health problems.
"To find out whether you've got it involves an involved diagnostic procedures, a biopsy done through the rectum into the prostate," Professor Del Mar said.
While there's a 50 per cent chance men over the age of 60 will have the disease, Professor Del Mar says prostate cancer is entirely benign in most cases.
Professor Del Mar says if he had the disease, he would not want to know.
"The chances are - still - that it won't ever shorten my life," he said.
He says patients who are tested often develop serious infections, erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
Professor Del Mar says he is concerned about public awareness campaigns encouraging men to be screened for prostate cancer.
"There's a lot of confusion in the minds of GPs and the general public," he said.
"Screening for prostate cancer ends up doing more harm than good."
The college has always opposed screening for prostate cancer and says, increasingly, medical literature supports its position.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/15231774/prostate-cancer-tests-more-harm-than-good/

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DRUG COMPANY CHIEF: OUR DRUGS DO NOT WORK ON MOST PATIENTS



by Steve Connor
A senior executive with Britain's biggest drugs company has admitted that most prescription medicines do not work on most people who take them.
Allen Roses, worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), said fewer than half of the patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs actually derived any benefit from them.
It is an open secret within the drugs industry that most of its products are ineffective in most patients but this is the first time that such a senior drugs boss has gone public. His comments come days after it emerged that the NHS drugs bill has soared by nearly 50 per cent in three years, rising by £2.3bn a year to an annual cost to the taxpayer of £7.2bn. GSK announced last week that it had 20 or more new drugs under development that could each earn the company up to $1bn (£600m) a year.
Dr Roses, an academic geneticist from Duke University in North Carolina, spoke at a recent scientific meeting in London where he cited figures on how well different classes of drugs work in real patients. Drugs for Alzheimer's disease work in fewer than one in three patients, whereas those for cancer are only effective in a quarter of patients. Drugs for migraines, for osteoporosis, and arthritis work in about half the patients, Dr Roses said. Most drugs work in fewer than one in two patients mainly because the recipients carry genes that interfere in some way with the medicine, he said.
"The vast majority of drugs - more than 90 per cent - only work in 30 or 50 per cent of the people," Dr Roses said. "I wouldn't say that most drugs don't work. I would say that most drugs work in 30 to 50 per cent of people. Drugs out there on the market work, but they don't work in everybody."
Some industry analysts said Dr Roses's comments were reminiscent of the 1991 gaffe by Gerald Ratner, the jewelry boss, who famously said that his high street shops are successful because they sold "total crap". But others believe Dr Roses deserves credit for being honest about a little-publicized fact known to the drugs industry for many years.
"Roses is a smart guy and what he is saying will surprise the public but not his colleagues," said one industry scientist. "He is a pioneer of a new culture within the drugs business based on using genes to test for who can benefit from a particular drug."
Dr Roses has a formidable reputation in the field of "pharmacogenomics" - the application of human genetics to drug development - and his comments can be seen as an attempt to make the industry realize that its future rests on being able to target drugs to a smaller number of patients with specific genes.
The idea is to identify "responders" - people who benefit from the drug - with a simple and cheap genetic test that can be used to eliminate those non-responders who might benefit from another drug.
This goes against a marketing culture within the industry that has relied on selling as many drugs as possible to the widest number of patients - a culture that has made GSK one of the most profitable pharmaceuticals companies, but which has also meant that most of its drugs are at best useless, and even possibly dangerous, for many patients.
Dr Roses said doctors treating patients routinely applied the trial-and-error approach which says that if one drug does not work there is always another one. "I think everybody has it in their experience that multiple drugs have been used for their headache or multiple drugs have been used for their backache or whatever.
"It's in their experience, but they don't quite understand why. The reason why is because they have different susceptibilities to the effect of that drug and that's genetic," he said.
"Neither those who pay for medical care nor patients want drugs to be prescribed that do not benefit the recipient. Pharmacogenetics has the promise of removing much of the uncertainty."
Response rates
Therapeutic area: drug efficacy rate in per cent
  • Alzheimer's: 30
  • Analgesics (Cox-2): 80
  • Asthma: 60
  • Cardiac Arrhythmias: 60
  • Depression (SSRI): 62
  • Diabetes: 57
  • Hepatitis C (HCV): 47
  • Incontinence: 40
  • Migraine (acute): 52
  • Migraine (prophylaxis): 50
  • Oncology: 25
  • Rheumatoid arthritis: 50
  • Schizophrenia: 60
Originally published on Monday, December 8, 2003 by the lndependent/UK
Webmaster's notes:
"Response rate", an often misused term.  It has nothing to do with actual cure rate, and it does not necessarily indicate any significant improvement or symptom alleviation. It only means that some kind of positive response was observed, however small it may have been. When it comes to cancer, the term "response rate" is often abused to sell patients on expensive chemotherapy drugs or other mainstream treatments which often have extremely poor success rates.
The GSK vice-president blamed the drugs failure on genetics.  Yes, there must be something about natural human genetics which does not respond well to unnatural chemical compounds which attempt to force the body to function abnormally to repress symptoms of illness and in the process create more medical conditions and the need for more and more drugs.  As opposed to natural herbs, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients which help the body function normally and help prevent and actually cure illness by addressing the root causes instead of just symptoms. 

Saturday, September 29, 2012

JOE ROGAN SEEK TO IMPROVE YOURSELF

CANCER ROW OVER GM FOODS AS STUDY SAYS IT DID THIS TO RATS... AND CAN CAUSE ORGAN DAMAGE AND EARLY DEATH IN HUMANS

  • French team claim bestselling brand of GM corn caused tumours and multiple organ damage
  • Leading scientists have questioned the study and its results, claiming it has 'no value'
By Sean Poulter
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Rats fed a lifelong diet of one of the bestselling strains of genetically modified corn suffered tumours and multiple organ damage, according to a controversial French study published today.
Scientists said the results raised serious questions about the safety of GM foods and the assurances offered by biotech companies and governments.
The first lifetime trials involving rats fed on GM corn found a raised incidence of breast tumours, liver and kidney damage.
The French team has released shocking images of tumours in mice caused by exclusively eating GM corn. However, the research has been criticised as being of 'no value' by other researchers
The French team has released shocking images of tumours in mice caused by exclusively eating GM corn. However, the research has been criticised as being of 'no value' by other scientists
Dr Michael Antoniou, a molecular biologist at King’s College, London, and an expert on GM foods, said: ‘It shows an extraordinary number of tumours developing earlier and more aggressively – particularly in female animals. I am shocked by the extreme negative health impacts.’
The research was carried out by Caen University in France, and has been peer reviewed by independent scientists to guarantee the experiments were properly conducted and the results are valid.
It is the first to look at the impact of eating a GM diet over a lifetime in rats, which is two years. To date, safety assessments of GM crops have been based on rat feeding trials lasting 90 days.
The corn was genetically modified to withstand spraying with glyphosate, the main chemical in the weedkiller Roundup, developed by Monsanto. The idea is that the corn can be sprayed without being damaged, while weeds are destroyed.
The tests looked at the impact of several scenarios including eating the GM corn (NK603), eating the GM corn sprayed with Roundup, and consuming Roundup at low doses in water.
The results were compared against those for a control group fed a ‘clean’ diet without GM or Roundup.
Public concerns: A GM food protestor dressed as the grim reaper in a field of GM maize crops in Over Compton near Sherborne, Dorset
Public concerns: A GM food protestor dressed as the grim reaper in a field of GM maize crops in Over Compton near Sherborne, Dorset
The researchers found:

  • Between 50 to 80 per cent of female rats developed large tumours by the beginning of the 24th month, with up to three tumours per animal. Only 30 per cent of the control rats developed tumours
  • Up to 70 per cent of females died prematurely compared with only 20 per cent in the control group
  • Tumours in rats of both sexes fed the GM corn were two to three times larger than in the control group
  • The large tumours appeared in females after seven months, compared to 14 months in the control group. The team said the tumours were ‘deleterious to health due to a very large size’, making it difficult for the rats to breathe and causing digestive problems.
Significantly, the majority of tumours were detectable only after 18 months – meaning they could be discovered only in long-term feeding trials.
Agent orange to kill GM weed
The study – led by molecular biologist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, a  critic of GM technology, and published yesterday in US journal Food and Chemical Toxicology – said the GM corn and Roundup weedkiller ‘may cause hormonal disturbances in the same biochemical and physiological pathway’.
The Daily Mail’s Frankenstein Food Watch campaign has long highlighted problems with the lack of rigorous safety assessments for GM crops and food.
Although GM corn is widely used in the US, British consumers have turned their backs on the technology because of  concerns about its impact on human health and the environment.
Although it is not available in British supermarkets, it is fed to farm animals including chickens, pigs and dairy cows.
Mustafa Djamgoz, professor of Cancer Biology at Imperial College, London,  said the findings relating to eating GM corn were a surprise.
‘We are what we eat,’ he added. ‘I work at the molecular level on cancer. There is evidence what we eat affects our genetic make-up and turns genes on and off.
‘We are not scaremongering here. More research is warranted.’
Dr Julian Little, of the Agricultural  Biotechnology Council, which speaks for the GM industry, insisted GM foods were safe, adding: ‘The industry takes all health concerns regarding biotech food and feed very seriously.’
Anthony Trewavas, professor of cell biology at Edinburgh University, questioned the way the research had been conducted, saying the number of rats involved in the study – 200 – was too small to draw any meaningful conclusions.
‘To be frank, it looks like random  variation to me in a rodent line likely to develop tumours anyway,’ he said.
He also claimed Professor Seralini was an anti-GM campaigner and that previous studies questioning the technology’s safety had not withstood scrutiny.
Major doubts have been raised over the safety of GM foods by a new study which found they can cause tumours and organ damage in mice
Major doubts have been raised over the safety of GM foods by a new study which found they can cause tumours and organ damage in mice
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2205509/Cancer-row-GM-foods-French-study-claims-did-THIS-rats--cause-organ-damage-early-death-humans.html
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