Month: March 2008

Categories
Healthy Recipes

Ten-Minute Gazpacho

Many nutrition experts advise choosing vegetables and fruits in deep colors – dark green, yellow, orange and red. Since different colors often indicate the presence of different phyto-chemicals, eating a rainbow of colors is a good way to bolster your health defenses.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups tomato juice, preferably reduced-sodium
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. bread crumbs
1/2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup seeded and diced cucumber
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1 plum tomato, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup zucchini, finely diced (optional)
1 hard boiled egg white, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions:

In a blender, purée tomato juice, garlic and olive oil. Add bread crumbs and vinegar, and blend to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a covered container and chill well, from 2 hours to overnight.

When ready to serve, adjust seasonings if necessary. Divide soup among 4 serving bowls. Add 1 Tbsp. each of diced cucumber, pepper, tomato and onion, plus zucchini and egg white if desired. (Or add diced vegetables to juice mixture before serving.)
   
Nutritional Information:

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 70 calories, 3 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 10 g. carbohydrate, 2 g. protein, 1 g. dietary fiber, 97 mg. sodium.

Categories
Laughter, The Best Medicine

HEALTH WAR EXPLAINED IN CREATION

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Kreme Donuts. And Satan said, 'You want chocolate with that?'

And Man said, 'Yes!' and Woman said, 'and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles.' And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.

So God said, 'Try my fresh green salad.' And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, 'I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them.' And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the
roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it 'Angel Food Cake,' and said, 'It is good.' Satan then created chocolate cake and named it 'Devil's Food.'

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger, then said, 'You want fries with that?' And Man replied, 'Yes! And super size them!' And Satan said, 'It is good.' And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created HMOs.

Categories
Ask Utopia Silver

Hidradenitis Supperativa

Q:
I am disabled due to SEVERE Hidradenitis Supperativa.  I have read the testimonials from other sufferers.  I recently saw a man on TV who is turning blue due to taking what I thought they said was this colloidal silver.  Is that a possible side effect of this drug?

Trena G.

 
A:
Hi Trena,

We have addressed this story several times the past few months, but since the media keeps harping on it, I’ll go to it again.

First, colloidal silver is not a drug, it is a mineral (silver) supplement in water. Supplements are simply nutrients such as minerals, vitamins and herbs consumed to compensate for the lack of nutrients in the normal food diet. Today’s foods are generally severely deficient in many essential trace minerals having been depleted by the raising of crops on the same soil for generations. Except for some “organic” oriented farms who add a broad spectrum of minerals back to the soil, most mass producers of food add only potassium, nitrate and phosphorus. This makes for beautiful fruit and vegetables, but is sorely lacking in other essential trace minerals. The general ”lack of taste” as many of us have noticed over the years is an good indicator of this fact.

This “Blue Man” story is 14 years old and probably true, but Mr. Karason consumed large quantities every day for years. That kind of consumption can cause Argyria using the wrong colloidal silver product, silver in saline solution, silver nitrates, and silver in gelatin/protein. For more info, go to:  http://utopiasilver.com/faq/can-colloidal-silver-cause-argyria.htm

The most telling aspect of this is the fact that if it were truly an issue with colloidal silver, there would be many, many examples of it. The fact is the anti-silver people (the pharmaceutical companies and their media puppets) have to recycle the very few cases in order to give the impression that it is a problem. To give perspective to this hyped up media event is the fact that thousands of people die each year from using anti-biotics and over-the-counter pain killers (even aspirin), but you seldom if ever hear a peep about it on Oprah or in the so-called “news”. To see where the real health concerns lie, read “Death By Medicine” by Gary Null. http://utopiasilver.com/emailtemp/articlepages/deathbymedicine.htm and “To Catch A Deadly Germ”, by Betsy McCaughey http://utopiasilver.com/emailtemp/articlepages/deadlygerm.htm

For additional articles, go to http://www.silverbulletin.utopiasilver.com , then “The Best Years In Life” on the left hand menu, then to the article “Colloidal Silver Has Mainstream Medicine Singing the Blues”.

Also, read an article I wrote called “The Blue Man, To be Blue or to Be Dead?”. For that one, go to “Health and Freedom” also in the left hand menu.

You are appreciated in Utopia.

Ben Taylor

Utopia Silver Supplements

830 966-2315

www.utopiasilver.com

 

Notice: We are not doctors and we suggest that you consult a healthcare professional,preferably a qualified naturopathic doctor or one who has been trained in integrative medicine if you have a life or health threatening illness.

Categories
Customer Testimonials

What A Relief!

For over a year I have been having chronic problems with my ears nose and throat… Constant throat infections, sinus problems, allergies, otitis in middle ear… coughing spattering you name I had it… many types of antibiotics, steroid nasal sprays, and antifungal syrups were given to me to no avail..

They would disappear for a week or so… These horrible symptoms would constantly return… Not only was my life a living misery but my husbands life was made miserable also… My mood swings and the worries that it caused for me, did not make me a nice person to live with… (He's a very patient man) Then six weeks ago I was referred to ENT (ears, nose and throat specialist) they thought I may have had cancer in the throat… But I had to wait as many weeks to see him…

Two weeks ago, I simply had enough of all the pain, sore throat, blocked hears and nasal passages… The possibility of the worst news kept lingering… But I asked my husband if he could go and buy me some silver… This he did… Against the concerns of well wishers whom are close to me I started placing the colloidal in my ears and nose… and I drunk it as well… The next day I felt even worse, but I kept it up… Gradually as the detoxification progressed… I started to feel much better, but I still had some breathing problems and a blocked nose…

Earlier on today I finally was able to see the specialist and after listening to my story he examined me… After the examination told me that it was unbelievable that I had suffered all these symptoms as my ears and throat were very healthy. No sign of infection ever being there…He also said whatever you have been doing has done its job…I told him about the colloidal silver, he said that he had never heard of it… Who knows???…

However I do have a problem… Deviated Septum (nostril is closing up) which he said it will require an operation… But it does not feel as bad prior to having stated using the colloidal silver… As for the infections…. Hurray they have all gone….

Freebeans
 

Ben Taylor Comment:

Freebeans, I would suggest that you also try using the colloidal silver with a nasal mist sprayer. You can find them at http://utopiasilver.com/products/accessories/ .

It may also be helpful to occasionally clear and flush your sinuses to break up impacted materials with this simple protocol.

With a towel over your head, run hot water through a basin/sink allowing steam to rise. Inhale this steam through your nose, but be careful not to get it too hot. Do this for 5-15 minutes or until you feel your sinuses are reasonably cleared.
Mix about ¼ cup of distilled water very lightly with Himalayan or Sea Salt and flush it through your nose using an eyedropper or small measuring spoon. http://utopiasilver.com/products/accessories/
Last, using the eyedropper or mist sprayer flush your sinuses with colloidal silver.
 
You may have to repeat this process several times, but wait several hours in between.

Categories
Natural Remedies

Earache

• Ease the pain and pressure of an ear infection with a store-bought blend of mullein (Verbascum densiflorum) and garlic (Allium sativum) infused oils. 
These oils kill pain and fight bacteria. Before bed, warm the drops. One way to do that is by placing the bottle in your armpit for 45 seconds. Tilt your head and squeeze 5 drops into the infected ear and then place a cotton ball in your ear for a few minutes to keep the drops from running out. You should experience immediate relief.

• Colloidal Silver : Using an eyedropper put one or two droppers of colloidal silver into your ear as you tilt your head to the side. Then gently massage the fleshy part of your ear at the base of its opening so that the silver can run into the ear. Do this 3 or 4 times every 2-3 hours until the pain and infection are gone. It should not take more than 3 or 4 applications.

• Make garlic oil: chop one to two bulbs of fresh garlic. Place the garlic in a double boiler, and cover with an inch of olive oil. Cover the pot, and warm the oil gently over low heat for one hour. Strain the oil through a piece of cheesecloth, and store it in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator. To use the garlic oil, place a small amount in a metal spoon and heat it gently over a flame until warm. Suction the oil up into an ear dropper, place a couple of drops into each ear canal, and plug the canal with a soft cotton ball. Repeat this every hour or as needed. Do not use garlic oil to treat an external ear infection or if you suspect a punctured eardrum.

• Garlic, Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey, Eye Dropper , Warm Towel or Pad. Cut two to three cloves of garlic(fresh)into a bowl. Slice it in half real good so the juice comes out. Pour in about a teaspoon and a half of vinegar and melt in a little honey, not a lot (you may heat it up warm if you prefer). Get an eye dropper and make sure you stir the substance up very well. Take the eye dropper and suck up a little solution at a time and put it in the ear. Let it sit for a few seconds and drain it out. After draining it a few times the pain should sub-side. Add a warm to mildly hot pad or towel.

• Another garlic oil remedy is to take garlic gel capsules and pierce the capsules to squeeze 4-6 drops in each ear. Garlic has a natural antibody called allicin. Repeat two to three times daily. Also take some of the capsules orally. You should see marked improvement in two to three hours and near complete resolution in 24 hours.

• Cut an onion in half. Take the outer layer of 1 to 2 of the onion and put it over a flame and then put enough oil inside this outer layer to wet a cotton ball. Put this cotton ball in the ear once or twice for one day. (from Mexico)

• Extract one teaspoon juice from mango leaves. Slightly warm and use as ear drops for ear infection.

• Although most ear infections are because of bacteria, some people that get a lot of ear infections might actually be allergic to dairy products, egg whites, wheat, peanuts or soy. Or, their intake of fatty foods may be too high.

Categories
Featured Articles

Stay In School To Outsmart Death?

(WebMD) When it comes to education, does having more mean you live longer? A new study shows that highly educated Americans are expected to live longer than those with fewer years of schooling.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School looked at data from the National Health Interview Study from 1966 to 2003. From the 1980s to 2000, the findings show that those who lived the longest were the most highly educated.

The "highly educated" were defined as anyone who had had at least one year of college. The researchers defined "low level" of education as having at most graduated from high school.

More Findings

At age 25, life expectancy went up 1.5 years for the highly educated. During that same time, life expectancy for people with fewer years of schooling rose by just six months.

Across the board, life expectancy is on the rise, but just barely for those who have had at most a high school diploma.

Overall, the researchers found that African-Americans still die five years earlier than whites. An exception is that young African-American men narrowed the gap between education and life expectancy.

Why the Higher-Educated Are Expected to Live Longer

Researchers say one big factor is quitting smoking . More and more people have quit smoking , but the quitters have been among the highly educated groups.

Obesity is more common among the less educated. According to the study, recent research suggests that obesity might contribute to as many deaths as does smoking.

The study's authors urge creating a wider net of health-awareness programs in less-educated groups. The study appears in the March/April issue of Health Affairs.

The research team was led by Ellen Meara, PhD, at Harvard Medical School.

Categories
Featured Articles

Ex-Drug Sales Rep Tells All

Former Eli Lilly Rep Says He Wined and Dined Doctors to Make a Sale

To sell their drugs, pharmaceutical companies hire former cheerleaders and ex-models to wine and dine doctors, exaggerate the drug's benefits and underplay their side-effects, a former sales rep told a Congressional committee this morning.

Shahram Ahari, who spent two years selling Prozac and Zypraxa for Eli Lily, told a Senate Aging Committee chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., that his job involved "rewarding physicians with gifts and attention for their allegiance to your product and company despite what may be ethically appropriate."

Ahari claims that drug companies like hiring former cheerleaders and ex-models, as well as former athletes and members of the military, many of whom have no background in science.

"On my first day of sales class, among 21 trainees and two instructors, I was the only one with any level of college-level science education," Ahari told ABCNews.com on Tuesday.

During their five-week training class, Ahari claims that instructors teach sales tactics, including how to exceed spending limits for important clients, being generous with free samples to leverage sales, using friendships and personal gifts to foster a "quid pro quo" relationship, and how to exploit sexual tension.

"The nature of this business is gift-giving," says Ahari. He claims that he's heard stories about sales reps helping to pay the cost of a doctor's swimming pool and another doctor who was routinely taken to a nightclub where a hostess was paid to keep him company.

Drug reps develop a positive view of their drug and a negative view of the competitors, according to Ahari. "You drink the Kool-Aid. We were taught to minimize the side effects and how to use conversational ploys to minimize it or to change the topic."

According to Ahari, the benefits could be lucrative for sales reps, who tended to earn more than researchers. On top of a base salary for starting reps of $50,000, "there were four quarterly bonuses, an annual bonus, stock options, a car, 401K, great health benefits, and a $60,000 expense account."

Included in his prepared remarks, Ahari cites a quote from a senior marketing executive at Parke-Davis: "I want you out there every day selling Neurotonin. Neurotonin is more profitable than Accupril, so we need to focus on Neurotonin. Pain management, now that's money…. I don't want to see a single patient coming off Neurotonin before they've been up to at least 4,800 milligrams a day. I don't want to hear that safety crap, either."

A spokesman for Parke-Davis did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

A spokesman for Eli-Lilly emphasized that Ahari's testimony didn't allege any specific product misconduct on the part of the company but rather focused on industry practice.

"We think his examples are exaggerated. We have policies in place that allow us to engage in interactions with health care professionals at an appropriate level and they are intended to provide information about our products so that they will be able to make appropriate medical decisions for their patients," the spokesman said.

One doctor who says he has resisted the pitches of sales reps is Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine.

"I don't see drug reps and haven't seen them for probably 35 years," he tells ABCNews.com's Audrey Grayson. "One important question: why would the drug industry spend so much money on advertising if they didn't think they were influencing physicians? The notion that this is all for physician education is nonsense."

Democrats in Congress are pushing for a bill to counter the pharmaceutical companies' sales campaigns by paying nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals to present objective academic literature on prescription drugs to doctors.

A drug industry group, Coalition for Healthcare Communication, is not opposed to the measure but questioned the role of politicians and the federal government.

"The First Amendment provides everyone with a right to speak, including Uncle Sam," John Kamp, CHC director told the Associated Press. "But I question whether the federal government needs to be in the business of countering pharmaceutical sales."

Categories
Featured Articles

Whooping Cough Cases Have Doubled in Last Year Alone

Cases of whooping cough have almost doubled in the last year, according to newly released figures.

Provisional data from the Department of Health that was obtained by the Conservative Party showed there were 1,071 cases in England last year.

This is up on the 539 cases in 2006 and a 177 per cent rise on the 386 cases in 2003.

Cases of tuberculosis (TB) have risen 17 per cent, from 6,741 in 2003 to 7,862 in 2006.

Cholera has risen from 25 cases to 38, while typhoid has gone up from 174 cases in 2003 to 203 in 2006.

There were also 1,442 cases of mumps in England and Wales and 1,876 cases of scarlet fever last year – although these were down on the previous year.

Whooping cough (also called pertussis) can last up to 10 weeks and cause long bouts of coughing and choking. It is a highly infectious bacterial disease of the respiratory tract and is spread by droplet infection.

It is not usually serious in older children, but it can be very serious and lead to death in babies aged under one.

A vaccine is given to babies. It forms part of the DTaP/IPV/ Hib jab, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and haemophilus influenzae type b.

Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: "Labour have pumped billions into the NHS but they haven't made it a priority to stop people getting ill in the first place.

"In fact, they have slashed the number of staff working in public health. Now we're seeing the consequences, and illnesses that we thought were being wiped out are on the increase again.

"The Government needs to stop dithering and take urgent action to halt the rise in cases of these diseases."

Categories
Featured Articles

US Says UCB Cough Medicine Overdose Can Kill

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, March 11 (Reuters) – U.S. health officials warned parents and doctors about Tussionex, the prescription cough medicine, saying it may have fatal side effects if used inappropriately.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert on Tuesday saying it had received reports that indicate doctors may be over prescribing the cough medicine made by UCB.

Some people also are taking the medicine, Tussionex Pennkinetic Extended-Release Suspension. more frequently than every 12 hours, the recommended time interval, or giving it to children under age 6, the FDA said. Tussionex is not approved for children younger than 6 years old.

The FDA said it had received numerous reports of health problems and deaths among children and adults who took Tussionex, which contains the narcotic pain reliever hydrocodone. Too much hydrocodone can cause life-threatening breathing problems.

Five deaths have been reported among children under 6 who took Tussionex since its approval in 1987, company spokesman Eric Miller said on Friday. He said then that UCB has proposed a stronger warning for the medicine following the reports of the deaths.

Miller said on Tuesday the number of deaths reported to the company for that age group remained at five.

The FDA urged doctors and patients to follow prescribing instructions and to only use a medical syringe or other device designed to measure liquid medications. Household spoons vary in size and should not be used, the FDA said.

"There is a real and serious risk for overdosing if this medication is not used according to the labeling," Dr. Curtis Rosebraugh, acting director of the FDA office that regulates prescription cough medicines, said in a statement.

UCB, based in Belgium, will update the Tussionex label to address the concerns, the FDA's statement said.

"The FDA's alert is fully in line with our efforts to make sure this product is properly used," a spokeswoman for UCB told Reuters, adding the company had already taken steps to clarify the label of the product in 2007.

The spokeswoman said she could not see any reason why UCB would withdraw the product as the FDA alert only addressed an improper use of the medicine.

Tussionex sales in the U.S. totaled 114 million euros ($176 million) in 2007, the spokeswoman added.

 

Categories
Featured Articles

Appeals Court Blocks Fines For Reporter

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court Tuesday temporarily blocked a lower court's order requiring a former USA TODAY reporter to pay thousands of dollars in fines.

Toni Locy would not identify sources who named former Army scientist Steven Hatfill as a possible suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Lawyers for Locy, now a West Virginia University journalism professor, had requested that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit block the fines while they appealed a contempt order by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton.

The fines of up to $5,000 a day were set to begin at midnight Tuesday. Walton had ordered that Locy — not her former employer or others — pay the fines as long as she refused to identify her sources who linked Hatfill to the attacks that killed five people.

In the brief court ruling Tuesday afternoon, a three-judge panel said Locy had "satisfied the stringent standards required" for the stay. No date was set for a hearing by the court on the contempt appeal.

"I'm relieved and thankful that the Court of Appeals has found that my legal arguments are worthy of its consideration," Locy said Tuesday.

 Her attorneys argued the sanctions amounted to "destructive financial penalties" for a reporter who acted in "good faith."

Twenty-nine other media organizations, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, had joined in the appeal and described the fines as potentially "ruinous."

Hatfill, who was publicly identified in 2002 by John Ashcroft, then attorney general, as a "person of interest" in the attacks, has never been charged.

Hatfill's lawyers say the source information is needed to pursue a civil lawsuit in which they contend the Justice Department violated his privacy.

Hatfill attorney Patrick O'Donnell could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Locy was one of six reporters Hatfill subpoenaed to disclose government sources who named him as a possible suspect in the anthrax attacks. Four of the reporters obtained waivers from their sources, allowing them to identify the officials.

Walton is considering a contempt order against a fifth reporter.

Locy has obtained waivers from three of about a dozen sources. But she says she does not remember which sources linked Hatfill to the government's inquiry.