Month: March 2009

By Ben  Taylor

The Gangsters in Government are working hard at the behest of the Pharma-Industrial Complex and their New World Order cronies to classify colloidal silver as a ‘pesticide’ so that the EPA can claim (unlawfully of course) that they have the right to regulate it. We all know that their real intent is not to ‘protect the environment’ and the people, but to ‘regulate’ silver products off the market. Whether you believe it or not, these criminals in the one world government movement have mass bio-terrorism planned for America and they do not want the people to have access to anything that might be used to thwart that plan.

Classifying silver as a pesticide flies in the face of any logical analysis and here is where a minute amount of common sense will reveal the truth without studying volumes of research papers. While closing a blind eye to the undisputed fact of environment pollution by millions of gallons of chlorinated and fluorinated water going down the drains, agricultural pesticides and herbicides being sprayed on crops and ending up in streams and lakes and in underground water and dangerous pharmaceuticals being flushed into the sewers and also ending up in the water supplies, the EPA is instead focused on a naturally occurring mineral that has no known toxicity for multi-celled organisms and the volume used is a micro-fraction of a percentage of the volume of the truly dangerous pesticides noted above. It is these simple numbers and known scientific facts that are easy to see and which points us to the truth. The dangerous pesticides not under attack are known to kill, not only one-celled organisms, but to also kill or seriously harm multi-celled organisms, such as people and animals. So, why the focus on a few thousand gallons of colloidal silver rather than on the ‘real’ harm done by tens of millions of gallons of truly dangerous, but EPA approved and therefore ‘acceptable’ pesticides?

If there was ever reason to stand up, that time is now! We must make our voice heard as encouraged in the article below by health writer and researcher Tony Isaacs. If the EPA and the other so-called ‘regulatory’ agencies fail to heed our voice and that of reason it will not be the end because we have right on our side and simply must peacefully decline to follow the directives of The New World Order. They have no lawful authority to take any action against Colloidal Silver and we will continue to fight these gangsters as we always have. We will fight them alone if need be, but our real strength is in standing together against this intrusion against our right to use mankind’s oldest natural anti-biotic and immunity booster. Mark these words, ‘we will need it in the coming days and years’ because patented antibiotics will not work – make no mistake about that.

If there was ever reason to stand up, that time is now! We must make our voice heard as encouraged in the article below by health writer and researcher Tony Isaacs. But if the EPA and the other ‘regulatory’ agencies fail to heed our voice and that of scientific fact, then it is not the end; we truth and we have right on our side and simply must peacefully decline to follow the orders of The New World Order. They have no lawful authority to take any action against Colloidal Silver and we will continue to fight these gangsters as we always have. We will fight them alone if need be, but our real strength is in standing together against this intrusion against our right to manufacture and use mankind’s oldest natural anti-biotic and immunity booster. Mark these words, ‘we will need it in the coming days and years’- make no mistake about that.

URGENT ACTION ALERT!
Big Pharma Backed Activist Groups Have Used the Public Comment Extension Period to Flood the EPA with Thousands of Comments and Make False Claims about a "Major New Study"

By Tony Isaacs

Only three days are left to prevent the EPA from regulating colloidal silver as a pesticide – and petition that has been exposed as a Big Pharma effort to use environmental and other activist groups to help eliminate competition from a substance that the EPA itself has tested to be safe in the past and which millions of Americans use instead of the expensive, side effect laden and often less effective antibiotic drugs that generate literally billions of dollars in profits each year.

Though the efforts to regulate silver appear to come from activist groups, recent investigations have found that the large majority of the groups routinely receive funding from pharmaceutical companies and they are pulling out all the stops to take colloidal silver and other nano-silver products off the market, including massive email and regular mail campaigns to their members, thousands of comments generated by automated comment forms on their websites and publishing a misleading report in the closing days of public comment which they falsely claim is proof of silver causing harm to humans.

Many may have thought that the initial efforts to further erode our health freedom and take yet another supplement away from the public were thwarted by an outpouring of public comments to the EPA against the petition.  As you will see in the story that follows, such thinking was premature and the reality is that while many of us have been lulled to sleep, the Big Pharma backed activist groups have regained the upper hand by redoubling their efforts after the initial deadline was extended.  Now, only scant days remain to again take action and reverse the tide or very likely see access to colloidal silver taken away.

After the initial tide of public comments turned against the thousands of comments solicited by the activist groups, the original deadline for comments was extended from January 20th to this Friday, March 20th.  In the interim, the well orchestrated campaign redoubled their efforts and they have dumped several thousands of the fill-in-the-blanks "form letters" and other comments on the EPA sight. They have also published a report from a so-called major study in China which actually proved to be anything but a major study and which actually proved that colloidal silver prevents the deadly E. coli bacteria from multiplying, exactly what colloidal silver, which has been found to be effective against virtually all pathogens, actually does.  NO human cells were even used in the study.

As Spencer Jones reports at the Colloidal Silver Secrets blogspot:
"First they state, "Yet another major study on nano-silver toxicity has been published during the comment period."

What's wrong with that statement? First of all, the study they are referencing is hardly what you could call a "major" study. It is in fact a very small study conducted in the People’s Republic of China (yes, Red China, home of the melamine scandal and tainted toothpaste scare) by a little known group calling themselves the Bio-X Life Science Research Center.

Interestingly, the Bio-X Life Science Research Center admits on their own web site that they are operating in association with two major drug companies, AstraZeneca International and Roche.

Who are These 2 Big Drug Companies?

Roche (aka Hoffman-LaRoche) is a huge, well-known multi-national drug company which makes Bactrim, Rocephin, Lariam, Tamiflu, Invirase and numerous other antibiotic and antiviral drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases.

AstraZeneca, another huge, multi-national drug company, state right on their web site that they too are focusing a large part of their business model on developing and marketing infection-fighting antibiotic and anti-viral drugs and vaccines. In fact, they state, “We aim to build a leading franchise in the treatment of infectious diseases by increasing the sales of the marketed brands Synagis, Merrem and Flumist and bringing new products to market by exploiting our structural and genomic-based discovery technologies and our antibody platforms.”

In other words, the group behind the study supposedly demonstrating that nano-silver is harmful is, in reality, in bed with two of the largest drug companies on the face of the earth, both of which are major players in the antibiotic drug, anti-viral drug and vaccine markets.

These are the among the very same drug companies that hate colloidal silver and other silver-based products the most, and have the most to lose if silver ever becomes a major resource in products designed to prevent and cure infections and related disease!

More Deception and Exaggeration from the Environmentalists

Once their first exaggeration is established, the radical environmentalists go on to say in their statement that “The study found that nano-silver used in food storage materials, such as plastic bags and containers, can directly interact with genomes and bind with DNA, interfering with DNA replication.”

Sounds serious, but is this true? No. Once again, it is a cleverly worded deception.

First of all, according to the study abstract, the study authors first openly admit that “…information on whether or how nano-silver particles bring changes in genetic materials remains scant.”

In other words, the study authors admit they simply don’t know whether or not tiny particles of silver bring about changes in genetic materials, or how it might happen if they did. It is all speculation. And that speculation is fueled by the radical neo-Luddite environmentalists who oppose the use of tiny silver nano-particles in on behalf of the major drug companies who pay their bills.

Secondly, and most importantly, the study is not even specifically designed to prove that products containing silver nano-particles are potentially harmful to humans, or even that silver nano-particles could, by themselves, could harm to humans. Yet the environmentalists would have you believe the exact opposite.

Indeed, their statement is cleverly designed to make you think that the study authors actually took plastic bags and other containers with silver particles embedded in them and tested to see whether or not the silver would somehow leach from the bag or container, and then enter a human being and harm human DNA replication. In reality, the study did no such thing.

What Really Happened

Here’s what the researchers actually did, and what the study actually demonstrated:

First, the researchers exposed E. coli cell cultures – not human cell cultures, but bacterial cell cultures — to three different types of nano-silver, including colloidal silver. (As most people know, E. coli, also known as Escherichia coli, is a gram negative bacteria most widely known for its ability to cause food poisoning.)

And what did they find? They found that “The results showed that the replication fidelity of the rpsL gene was differentially compromised by all three kinds of nano-silver particle compared with that without nano-silver.”

In other words, they discovered that silver disrupts the ability of this infectious microorganism to replicate. That’s it. They actually proved what colloidal silver users have been saying all along, i.e., that tiny particles of silver destroy pathogens from the inside out!

So what did this study have to do with human cells? NOTHING. And what did this study have to do with products containing silver nano-particles? NOTHING."
Big Pharma Companies Linked to Funding of the Activist Groups Behind the Petition to Regulate Silver
It was reported recently that that a handful of the activist agencies behind the petition to the EPA to regulate nano-silver as a pesticide have received funding from pharmaceutical giant Merck, which annually has hundreds of billions of dollars in profits from patented antibiotics.  Now, further investigation by this author has discovered that the initial revelations may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Merck and other pharmaceutical companies' funding of the groups who support the EPA petition.
As it turns out, virtually all of the activist groups receive funding and support connected to major pharmaceutical companies with donations running from the tens of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars – and that is only what could be found with simple internet searches.  No one really knows the true scope of such funding and support, since many such donations and efforts are made anonymously and shielded from the public.
For more information about the funding links which were uncovered, see:
"Merck, other Pharma Companies Funding Activist Groups behind the EPA Petition to Regulate Silver"
http://www.tbyil.com/EPA_Petition_Funding.htm
Clearly, the EPA petition is little more than a thinly disguised effort from the same people who tirelessly work to circumvent DSHEA and limit our health freedoms and access to vitamins, minerals and other natural supplements in order to protect their monopoly on our health and dictate to us through unconstitutional laws and agency codes how we are allowed to address what should be our very private health issues however we choose.
I urge each and every one of you who values liberty, health freedom and what should be your unalienable right to make your own health decisions to go to the EPA site and let them know exactly how you feel – and do so immediately, because time is running out and the powers of greed and suppression are holding sway.
Quoting again from Spencer Jones:
The public comments deadline is this Friday, the 20th of March. So the next three days are, euphemistically speaking, our “midnight hour.”

And like Gideon of old, who was instructed to attack at the midnight hour with his tiny, rag tag band, we need to start…

Sounding the trumpets (i.e., emailing the EPA)…

Breaking open the lanterns (i.e., faxing the EPA)…

And shouting at the tops of our voices (i.e., calling the EPA on the phone)

We need to let them know in no uncertain terms that we don’t want them to regulate nano-silver in any form as a “pesticide,” and especially, we don’t want them to enforce such “pesticide” regulations against any form or brand of dietary colloidal silver.

We need, simply speaking, to unleash a final massive renewed storm of protest over the plan to have silver regulated as a “pesticide.” Nothing less will do.

So if you can do all three things (i.e., phone, fax and email) please get to it right away. It is absolutely critical that we, like Gideon of old, shake the adversary up like he has never been shaken before. We literally need to make them tremble at the sound of our voices, the light of our determination to maintain our basic health freedoms, and the sword of truth in regards to the safety and benefits of colloidal silver.

Here is the contact information you’re going to need:

Email Your Comments: Email your comments opposing the petition to regulate silver particles as “pesticides” to the new EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Her email address is: [email protected]
Phone the EPA Administrator's Office: To call the EPA Administrator's office and voice your opinion on this issue, dial (202)-564-4700

Fax Your Comments: Fax your comments to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, at her Washington DC fax number: (202)-501-1450.

It is simply too late to write personal letters at this point in time, so I’m not going to bother to reprint that contact information, though you can find it in the previous post entitled “Dirty Tricks in the Battle to Save Colloidal Silver from EPA Regulation.”

If you don’t have personal access to a fax machine (they are available to use for just a few dollars at just about any local “Mail Boxes Etc.” or “UPS Store”) then use the EPA public comments page. But that’s only a last ditch choice. Right now, faxes will make the most dramatic impact, followed by your personal phone calls and emails.

If you can, please do all three. We need to make a righteous noise for the next three days. And we need to start now. Just call, fax and email the EPA saying the following:

“I respectfully request the EPA reject the petition by environmental groups such as Center for Technology Assessment and Friends of the Earth to force the regulation of silver nano-particles ass ‘pesticides.’ The petition is clearly without merit, as there is no evidence to suggest that tiny particles of silver are causing any harm whatsoever to the environment. Such a new regulatory burden should not be undertaken by the EPA with such flimsy evidence, which amounts to little more than conjecture and exaggeration on the part of the environmentalists. It is particularly important that you do not attempt to regulate any form of colloidal silver dietary supplement – regardless of its content — as a “pesticide” as this is not only outside of the regulatory purview of the EPA, but is detrimental to the widely acknowledged health freedoms of all Americans.”

Note: In your faxes and emails, please be sure to reference “Petition for Rulemaking Requesting EPA Regulate Nanoscale Silver Products as Pesticides,” and Docket #: EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0650-0506. That way the EPA knows exactly what you are talking about.
And I might add, send this notice to as many people and groups as possible.
Yours in health freedom and liberty,
Tony Isaacs
For more information:
http://www.colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/
http://www.tbyil.com/EPA_Colloidal_Silver.htm

by Mike Adams

(NaturalNews) The health community is up in arms over the discovery that a highly-respected and influential clinical researcher, Dr. Scott Reuben, fabricated the data used in over twenty pharmaceutical studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals.

These studies promoted the safety and "benefits" of drugs like Bextra (Pfizer), Vioxx (Merck), Lyrica, Celebrex and Effexor. The lead researcher on these studies, Dr. Scott Reuben, was being paid by Pfizer and Merck, so there's a verified financial connection between this clinical researcher and at least two of the drug companies that benefitted from his fabricated findings. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/h…)

Note carefully the names of the medical journals that published Dr. Reuben's fabricated data (see below). These so-called "science journals" claim to be peer-reviewed, which means these studies were approved by multiple scientists who agreed with the findings.

What this scandal reveals is that even peer-reviewed medical journals cannot be trusted to publish truthful, accurate information about pharmaceuticals. In fact, they are just as much a part of the Big Pharma / FDA conspiracy as the pill-pushing researchers who fabricate these studies, in my opinion.

The only honest medical science journal I've found is PLoS Medicine (http://medicine.plosjournals.org). Everything else I've seen is just tabloid medicalized fiction sandwiched in between pages of false advertising.

And conventional doctors, for all their self-proclaimed intelligence and scientific skepticism, were universally hoodwinked by this faked data! Apparently the best way to convince doctors that a drug is safe and effective is to just invent whatever story you want and submit it to a medical journal, which then gladly publishes it.

If you're looking for a career as a fiction writer, the heck with authoring books sold in the "fiction" section of the local bookstore… just write for medical journals and drug companies! They pay is better and the fiction is even more outrageous!

Speaking of fiction and false advertising, here's a list of studies authored or co-authored by Dr. Scott Reuben who admittedly fabricated at least twenty-one of these studies. Dr. Reuben was recently a faculty member at Tufts Medical School and co-founder of the Orthopedic Anesthesia, Pain and Rehabilitation Society, by the way. You can read more about his fraud in Scientific American (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id…).

Medical studies authored / fabricated by the shamed Dr. Scott Reuben
Preventing the development of chronic pain after thoracic surgery.
Reuben SS, Yalavarthy L.
J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2008 Dec;22(6):890-903. Epub 2008 May 7. No abstract available.
PMID: 18834790

A prospective randomized trial on the role of perioperative celecoxib administration for total knee arthroplasty: improving clinical outcomes.
Reuben SS, Buvenandran A, Katz B, Kroin JS.
Anesth Analg. 2008 Apr;106(4):1258-64, table of contents.
PMID: 18349203

Update on the role of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and coxibs in the management of acute pain.
Reuben SS.
Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2007 Oct;20(5):440-50. Review.
PMID: 17873597

The effect of initiating a preventive multimodal analgesic regimen on long-term patient outcomes for outpatient anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.
Reuben SS, Ekman EF.
Anesth Analg. 2007 Jul;105(1):228-32.
PMID: 17578979

Evaluating the analgesic efficacy of administering celecoxib as a component of multimodal analgesia for outpatient anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.
Reuben SS, Ekman EF, Charron D.
Anesth Analg. 2007 Jul;105(1):222-7.
PMID: 17578978

Preventing the development of chronic pain after orthopaedic surgery with preventive multimodal analgesic techniques.
Reuben SS, Buvanendran A.
J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2007 Jun;89(6):1343-58. Review.
PMID: 17545440

The efficacy of postoperative perineural infusion of bupivacaine and clonidine after lower extremity amputation in preventing phantom limb and stump pain.
Madabhushi L, Reuben SS, Steinberg RB, Adesioye J.
J Clin Anesth. 2007 May;19(3):226-9.
PMID: 17531734

Chronic pain after surgery: what can we do to prevent it.
Reuben SS.
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2007 Feb;11(1):5-13. Review.
PMID: 17214915

The analgesic efficacy of celecoxib, pregabalin, and their combination for spinal fusion surgery.
Reuben SS, Buvanendran A, Kroin JS, Raghunathan K.
Anesth Analg. 2006 Nov;103(5):1271-7.
PMID: 17056968

Acute post-surgical pain management: a critical appraisal of current practice, December 2-4, 2005.
Rathmell JP, Wu CL, Sinatra RS, Ballantyne JC, Ginsberg B, Gordon DB, Liu SS, Perkins FM, Reuben SS, Rosenquist RW, Viscusi ER.
Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2006 Jul-Aug;31(4 Suppl 1):1-42.
PMID: 16849098

Postoperative modulation of central nervous system prostaglandin E2 by cyclooxygenase inhibitors after vascular surgery.
Reuben SS, Buvanendran A, Kroin JS, Steinberg RB.
Anesthesiology. 2006 Mar;104(3):411-6.
PMID: 16508386

The incidence of complex regional pain syndrome after fasciectomy for Dupuytren's contracture: a prospective observational study of four anesthetic techniques.
Reuben SS, Pristas R, Dixon D, Faruqi S, Madabhushi L, Wenner S.
Anesth Analg. 2006 Feb;102(2):499-503.
PMID: 16428550

The effect of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition on acute and chronic donor-site pain after spinal-fusion surgery.
Reuben SS, Ekman EF, Raghunathan K, Steinberg RB, Blinder JL, Adesioye J.
Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2006 Jan-Feb;31(1):6-13.
PMID: 16418018

Interscalene block superior to general anesthesia.
Reuben SS.
Anesthesiology. 2006 Jan;104(1):207; author reply 208-9. No abstract available.
PMID: 16394719

High dose nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs compromise spinal fusion.
Reuben SS, Ablett D, Kaye R.
Can J Anaesth. 2005 May;52(5):506-12.
PMID: 15872130

More on current issues in pain management for the primary care practitioner. Acute pain: a multi-modal management approach.
Carr DB, Reuben S.
J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2005;19(1):69-70. No abstract available.
PMID: 15814519

The effect of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition on analgesia and spinal fusion.
Reuben SS, Ekman EF.
J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2005 Mar;87(3):536-42.
PMID: 15741619

The prevention of post-surgical neuralgia.
Reuben SS.
Pain. 2005 Jan;113(1-2):242-3; author reply 243-4. No abstract available.
PMID: 15621388

Surgery on the affected upper extremity of patients with a history of complex regional pain syndrome: the use of intravenous regional anesthesia with clonidine.
Reuben SS, Rosenthal EA, Steinberg RB, Faruqi S, Kilaru PA.
J Clin Anesth. 2004 Nov;16(7):517-22.
PMID: 15590255

Preventing the development of complex regional pain syndrome after surgery.
Reuben SS.
Anesthesiology. 2004 Nov;101(5):1215-24. Review. No abstract available.
PMID: 15505459

Evaluation of efficacy of the perioperative administration of venlafaxine XR in the prevention of postmastectomy pain syndrome.
Reuben SS, Makari-Judson G, Lurie SD.
J Pain Symptom Manage. 2004 Feb;27(2):133-9.
PMID: 15157037

Analgesic effect of clonidine added to bupivacaine 0.125% in paediatric caudal blockade.
Joshi W, Connelly NR, Freeman K, Reuben SS.
Paediatr Anaesth. 2004 Jun;14(6):483-6.
PMID: 15153211

The perioperative use of cyclooxygenase-2 selective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may offer a safer alternative.
Reuben SS, Connelly NR.
Anesthesiology. 2004 Mar;100(3):748. No abstract available.
PMID: 15109000

An evaluation of the safety and efficacy of administering rofecoxib for postoperative pain management.
Joshi W, Connelly NR, Reuben SS, Wolckenhaar M, Thakkar N.
Anesth Analg. 2003 Jul;97(1):35-8, table of contents.
PMID: 12818939

An evaluation of the analgesic efficacy of intravenous regional anesthesia with lidocaine and ketorolac using a forearm versus upper arm tourniquet.
Reuben SS, Steinberg RB, Maciolek H, Manikantan P.
Anesth Analg. 2002 Aug;95(2):457-60, table of contents.
PMID: 12145071

Preoperative administration of controlled-release oxycodone for the management of pain after ambulatory laparoscopic tubal ligation surgery.
Reuben SS, Steinberg RB, Maciolek H, Joshi W.
J Clin Anesth. 2002 May;14(3):223-7.
PMID: 12031758

Intravenous regional anesthesia with clonidine in the management of complex regional pain syndrome of the knee.
Reuben SS, Sklar J.
J Clin Anesth. 2002 Mar;14(2):87-91.
PMID: 11943518

Preemptive multimodal analgesia for anterior cruciate ligament surgery.
Reuben SS, Sklar J.
Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2002 Mar-Apr;27(2):225; author reply 225-6. No abstract available.
PMID: 11915075

Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of the perioperative administration of rofecoxib for total knee arthroplasty.
Reuben SS, Fingeroth R, Krushell R, Maciolek H.
J Arthroplasty. 2002 Jan;17(1):26-31.
PMID: 11805921

The preemptive analgesic effect of rofecoxib after ambulatory arthroscopic knee surgery.
Reuben SS, Bhopatkar S, Maciolek H, Joshi W, Sklar J.
Anesth Analg. 2002 Jan;94(1):55-9, table of contents.
PMID: 11772800

by Sherry Baker

(NaturalNews) A host of religious and spiritual traditions, as well as many natural health advocates, have long advocated periods of fasting. And in recent decades, scientists have found that calorie restriction appears to increase life span and may slow down aging. Now new research just published in the online issue of the journal Nature suggests restricting calories could help fight some cancers.

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have pinpointed a cellular pathway that could explain why some cancerous tumors respond to dietary restriction. By studying human prostate, breast, brain, and colon cancer cell lines in mice, the researchers discovered that when this pathway (identified as PI3K) is permanently "turned on" through a mutation, cancer tumors grow and spread no matter how much food is consumed. But when the PI3K pathway operates normally, a 60 percent restriction of dietary calories results in far smaller, weaker tumors.

In a statement to media, the researchers noted the link between food consumption and cancer growth has long been known. For example, in the early 20th Century, scientists found there was a correlation between a restricted diet and a decrease in some tumors' size and incidence.

"Our findings indicate that each tumor cell bears a signature that determines whether or not that cell will be affected by dietary restriction," Nada Kalaany, first author of the paper and a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Whitehead scientist David Sabatini, said in the press statement. "We think that mutations in the PI3K pathway are a major determinant of the sensitivity of tumors to dietary restriction."

Dr. Sabatini added that the results of Dr. Kalaany's research could lead to cancer treatments tailored specifically to the characteristics of an individual person's cancer tumor cells. He also pointed out in a media statement that the relationship between too much food and an increase in tumors was intriguing. "We already know that the United States has an epidemic of obesity and that obesity is probably the biggest contributor to cancer in the U.S., even more so than smoking. Does this research have anything to do with that correlation between obesity and cancer, that if we make animals really obese, that this pathway is also involved in determining their sensitivity to cancer? Answering that question is the next step," he stated.

An earlier study by Swedish researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that caloric restriction in early life greatly reduced the risk of invasive breast cancer in women. In addition to possibly helping fight cancer, calorie restriction was shown in recent research by the Salk Institute to improve the memory of elderly adults.

by Reuben Chow

(NaturalNews) According to the Macular Degeneration Foundation, macular degeneration is the number one cause of blindness among persons aged over 65 in the United States and the United Kingdom. Some good news, though, was revealed in a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. It had found that intake of vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid could help prevent the onset of the disease.

About the Macula and Macular Degeneration

The retina is the surface at the back of the eyeball which is opposite the lens, while the macula is the central part of this surface, situated directly opposite the lens. The macula contains cones, or cells, which give us the ability to see things in fine detail and color. There are three types of cones, and every type is most sensitive to each of the primary colors: red, green or blue.

Macular degeneration is a condition whereby the cells of the macula which sense light stop functioning properly or even stop working altogether over time. Sharp, central vision is then gradually lost; such vision is needed to view things clearly and to undertake day-to-day activities such as reading and driving.

This ailment tends to hit persons aged above 60, although hereditary forms of the disease also affect children and teenagers; the former is referred to as Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), while the latter is called Juvenile Macular Degeneration. The condition does not cause pain, and progression of symptoms can be so gradual that the change is hardly noticeable.

Among Americans aged 55 to 64, the incidence rate of macular degeneration is 1 in 6; among those aged 65 to 74, it's 1 in 4; among those over 75, it's 1 in 3. It is estimated that as many as 12 million Americans could suffer from macular degeneration, and about 10% of these people will suffer severe central vision loss each year. Every year, about 200,000 of this group will suffer total loss of central vision in at least one eye.

Details and Findings of Study

For the said study, which was funded by the National Eye Institute, researchers had used data from a cardiovascular disease study which involved over 5,200 women aged above 40 years; those women had reported that they did not suffer from macular degeneration at the commencement of that study.

By random assignment, the women consumed a daily combination of vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements or a placebo; the dosages used were more than the recommended daily amounts. Annually for a period of 7 years, the women filled in surveys regarding their consumption of these supplements and their health status.

It was found that the women who took the supplements had a 41% lower likelihood of getting macular degeneration, as compared to those in the placebo group. These findings are groundbreaking. "This is the first randomized trial to indicate a possible benefit of folic acid, B6 and B12 vitamin supplements in reducing the risks of age-related macular degeneration," said William Christen, an associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the leader of the study.

High levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, have been linked to heightened risk of ARMD, and that could provide a clue to why these supplements helped to ward off the disease. "It's fairly well-established that folic acid, B6 and B12 can reduce blood levels of homocysteine, so there's a reason to suspect a possible benefit," said Christen. The researchers believe that, even though the study was only conducted on women, its findings could probably be extrapolated to all older Americans.

How to Prevent Macular Degeneration – Simple Tips and Suggestions

With macular degeneration affecting such a large proportion of the older population, you may want to take some precautionary steps to prevent this disease. These measures would also be useful for those who are already affected by the condition.

Diet – Low Fat, Low Cholesterol
To function well, the macula requires a constant and rich supply of ions, oxygen and nutrients. A diet which is high in saturated fats and cholesterol could result in plaque formation in the macula's blood vessels, restricting its blood supply. This affects the optimal functioning of the macula and, in the long run, leads to its degeneration.

Antioxidants
Consume foods high in potent antioxidants like vitamin C (broccoli, red peppers, citrus fruits) and vitamin E (whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds). Antioxidants help to protect against fatty deposits attaching themselves to the walls of blood vessels.

Dark Green, Leafy Vegetables
Consume at least two servings each day. Examples of these vegetables include collard greens, kale and spinach. Besides a host of beneficial nutrients, such vegetables are rich in lutein, an antioxidant in the carotenoid family. Lutein is the main carotenoid found in the macula, and it may help protect the macula against potentially damaging types of light.

Avoid Cigarette Smoke
This applies to both smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke. Cigarette smoke, like fats and cholesterol, also affects the blood and oxygen supply to the macula, thus again contributing to its malfunction and deterioration.

Exercise
A recent study conducted by the United States Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that running helped to protect against the onset of ARMD. You may read more about that study at http://www.naturalnews.com/025755.html.

Do the above suggested lifestyle and dietary habits sound familiar? Indeed, they are a subset of any health-promoting lifestyle and dietary protocol. This tells us that, by taking good care of our bodies overall, there is a great likelihood that healthy eyes will also follow, barring the presence of any specific risk factors for eye disease.

by Mike Adams

(NaturalNews) The culture of deceit and fraud that permeates conventional medicine became even more apparent today with the announcement that Howard Richman, the former vice president of a pharmaceutical company named Biopure, faked his own cancer and even impersonated a doctor in order to convince a federal judge that he was dying from colon cancer.