Month: January 2012

Amazingly, the information reveals that the massive corporation is also intensely involved in the passing and regulations concerning the very GM ingredients they are responsible for. In fact, the information released by WikiLeaks reveals just how much power Monsanto has thanks to key positions within the United States government and elsewhere. Not only was it exposed that the U.S. is threatening nations who oppose Monsanto with military-style trade wars, but that many U.S. diplomats actually work directly for Monsanto.

What the leaked documents reveal — Military style trade wars, government corruption
In 2007 it was requested that specific nations inside the European Union be punished for not supporting the expansion of Monsanto's GMO crops. The request for such measures to be taken was made by Craig Stapleton, the United States ambassador to France and partner to George W. Bush. Despite mounting evidence linking Monsanto's GM corn to organ damage and environmental devastation, the ambassador plainly calls for 'target retaliation' against those not supporting the GM crop. In the leaked documents, Stapleton states:

"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices."

The undying support of key players within the U.S. towards Monsanto is undeniably made clear not only in this release, but in the legislative decisions taken by organizations such as the FDA and USDA. Legislative decisions such as allowing Monsanto's synthetic hormone Posilac (rBGH) to be injected into U.S. cows despite being banned in 27 countries. How did Monsanto pull this off?

The biotech juggernaut managed to infiltrate the FDA positions responsible for the approval of rBGH, going as far as instating the company's own Margaret Miller as Deputy Director of Human Safety and Consultative Services. After assuming this position, Miller reviewed her own report on the safety and effectiveness of rBGH.

Many US diplomats pawns of Monsanto's GM agenda
While it may be shocking to you if you are not familiar with the corrupt influence of Monsanto, the cables also show that many US diplomats are pushing GMO crops as a strategic government and commercial imperative. Interestingly enough, the U.S. focused their efforts toward advisers to the pope specifically, due to the fact that many Catholic figureheads have openly voiced their opposition to GM foods. With this kind of political influence, is it any wonder that many food staples are now predominantly GM? Nearly 93% of U.S. soybeans are heavily modified conservatively, with many other staple crops coming in at similar numbers.

U.S. diplomats have unique opportunities to spread honest and intellectual campagins that can serve to better mankind and end suffering, however they are instead spreading the roots of Monsanto deeper and deeper into international territory. As a substitute for the betterment of mankind, these paid-off diplomats are now spreading environment desecration and health destruction.

As if there wasn't already enough information to reveal Monsanto's corruption, the biotech giant also spends enormous amount of money lobbying government each year. Monsanto spent an astonishing $2 million lobbying the federal government in the 3rd quarter of 2011 alone, according to mainstream sources. Why so much cash? The government lobbying focuses on issues like regulations for GM crops and patent reforms. This 'legal' form of persuasion is the reason government agencies like the USDA and FDA let Monsanto roam freely.

Satisfying government officials' financial vested interest is all that matters when dealing with corrupt mega-corporations like Monsanto. As long as these financial ties continue to exist, Monsanto will continue to reign over the food supply and continue to wreak devastation to the environment, ecosystem, and humankind.

The new paper adds to the highly positive conclusions previously published by professor Camesano on the health benefits of cranberries. Earlier WPI studies have shown that their juice can prevent infectious bacteria, specifically a virulent form of E. coli, from attaching to the wall of the urinary tract. This strain is covered with hair-like projections that help it hook onto urinary tract cells.

Exposure to bioactive elements in cranberries reduce the ability of the bacteria to adhere to healthy cells. As a result, the E. coli is unable to form a biofilm, which would allow the bacteria to grow and spread further. Eventually they are easily eliminated by the natural flow of urine.

The new experiments have focused on observing the difference between the use of pills containing cranberry flavonoids and the intake of natural juice. Until now, a group of flavonoids called proanthocyanidins, or PACs, were thought to be responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of cranberries. Based on this assumption, pharmacologists have tried to artificially replicate and increase the effects of this substance through the use of concentrated doses in pills.

The scientists' study proves these assumptions were wrong all along. Although at first they focused on the PACs themselves, the team's new experiments show that the natural remedy has greater effect than the isolated compound. "The data shows that they aren't the silver bullet, cranberry juice's ability to prevent biofilms is more complex than we may have originally thought," said Dr. Terri Camesano.

During the experiments, researchers incubated two different types of E. coli in the presence of two different mixtures of cranberry juice. At the same time, the bacteria was also incubated in the presence of a substance similar to the one found in cranberries. The results showed that in the presence of natural juice, the bacteria was completely unable to form a biofilm and create the conditions needed for an infection. The PACs, on the other hand, had a limited impact on the E. coli and only after a prolonged exposure. "This study shows that cranberry juice is better at inhibiting biofilm formation than isolated A-type cranberry flavonoids and PACs, although the reasons for this are not yet clear," the professor concluded.

"Cranberries have been recognized for their health benefits for a number of years," explained the professor. Besides their unmatched ability to fight urinary tract infections, they are a source of bioactive substances that can help maintain a vibrant health.

Raw cranberries have elevated antioxidant contents that help the immune and cardiovascular systems, as well as fight free radicals. Medical experts remind us that substances found in these fruits can help prevent tooth decay by inhibiting the formation of plaque. Moderate amounts of dietary fibers, vitamin C and various essential minerals can also be obtained from the regular consumption of cranberries.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.wpi.edu/news/20112/more-power-cranberry.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111028103725.htm

http://www.wpi.edu/news/20101/2010cran.html

Too often we misinterpret thirst for hunger. Our signal for thirst may cause us to eat as we mistake it for hunger pains. Reach for water first and make sure you are well hydrated before eating any meal throughout the day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Where possible make sure to drink your water at least 30 minutes before eating as this will allow time for the water to properly penetrate the cells of your body and hydrate your stomach lining in preparation for proper digestion. I like to add lemon juice and apple cider vinegar to my water or green it up with barley grass powder, wheatgrass powder, spirulina or chlorella. Yum!

Green juices are an amazing way to add life giving and detoxifying plant chlorophyll to your bloodstream. As Jason Vale says in the upcoming new 'Food Matters' film, "juicing is the ultimate fast food, it is a 15 minute nutrient express to health". Some of my favorite and simple green juice recipes include:

Green Juice Recipe Ideas:

– Celery, lemon and pear (or apple)
– Celery, cucumber, lemon (leave the skin on) and pear (or apple)
– Celery, cucumber, kale, lemon and pear (or apple)
– Celery, cucumber, lemon, parsley and pear (or apple)

I also like to stir whatever green powders I have laying around the house into my juices to green them up even more! Again try barley grass, wheatgrass, spirulina or chlorella powders.

Parsley and cilantro (corriander) are very powerful natural green plant foods for detoxing heavy metals out of your body. Add these amazing herbs to juices, salads, soups and meals. Mike Adams from Natural News talks more about this also in the new upcoming 'Food Matters' film.

 Heavy Metal Detox Pesto Recipe:

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup Brazil nuts (selenium source) or macadamia nuts
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds (cysteine source)
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (zinc, magnesium sources)
• 1 cup fresh cilantro (corriander)
• 1 cup parsley
• 2/3 cup cold pressed olive oil
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice (Vitamin C source)
• Big pinch of sea salt and or dulse flakes to flavor

Soak the seeds and nuts over night to release the enzyme exhibitors. Process the parsley, cilantro (corriander) and olive oil in a blender until chopped. Add the garlic, nuts, and seeds, salt / dulse and lemon juice and mix until the mixture is finely blended into a paste. Store in dark glass jars if possible. It freezes well also if needs be. Enjoy!

Deep breathing, where you fill your belly and expand your diaphragm downwards, is one of the most powerful exercise you can do to activate your lymph system which helps to detoxify your body. Think of your lymph system as your own personal garbage removal system (which most of us will need in full steam after the holiday season). Practise 10 deep slow breaths counting 4 seconds in, 8 seconds hold and 8 seconds out. You can do this exercize watching the TV, walking the dog, during meditation or whilst practising yoga.
According to the 'Tao of Breathing' up to 70% of our body’s waste products are eliminated via our lungs and the rest through the urine, skin and feces. When the efficiency of our lungs is reduced due to poor breathing less oxygen is available to our cells, it slows down the flow of blood which carries wastes from the kidneys and lungs. Our lymphatic system which fights off viral and bacterial invaders is weakened along with a slower digestive process.

Breathe long slow and deep in a mindful state as often as possible.

Here's to a healthy, happy and wonderfully abundant 2012!

In good health,

James, Laurentine and the 'Food Matters' team.

According to reports, Fernandez had undergone surgery on January 4 to have her thyroid gland removed after doctors diagnosed her with thyroid cancer following initial tests. But tests conducted on her thyroid tissue after the fact revealed that there was actually no cancer at all. Needless to say, the "false positive," as it is often referred to, will now require Fernandez to take thyroid hormone replacement therapy for the rest of her life as she no longer has a functioning thyroid gland in her body.

"This result was always within the realm of possibility. It does not mean that the original diagnosis was mistaken," said Eduardo Faure, a thyroid cancer expert out of Buenos Aires, to Reuters about the situation. Apparently in Faure's world, diagnosing a person with cancer when they really do not have cancer is still an accurate diagnosis.

To the rest of the rational world, however, Fernandez' original diagnosis was, indeed, incorrect. And while some experts say this type of scenario is rare, it is actually quite common among potential thyroid cancer patients. According to Dr. Glenn Braunstein, director of the Thyroid Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, doctors commonly remove the thyroid gland if they suspect even as little as a 20 percent chance that cells in the gland might be cancerous.

In 2010, a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that cancer "overdiagnosis," as they are more politely calling it, is a growing problem that is hardly being addressed by mainstream medicine. The researchers involved with that study found that at least one-quarter of all mammograms and about 60 percent of all prostate cancer screenings come up with false positives, which result in needless surgeries and life-altering treatments.

Reuters Africa reports that corn gluten shipments into the EU have basically stopped as a result of contamination concerns, and that many traders are now trying to figure out a solution. However, the report slants the issue and blames EU restrictions, rather than the US tainted food supply, for the ordeal, and suggests that the EU needs to loosen its standards to keep the supplies going.

The EU has already capitulated to heavy pressure from the biotechnology industry and its advocate countries like the US to fast-track GMO approval. And even though EU labeling requirements for GMOs have largely eliminated them from the food supply — when given the choice, of course, the vast majority of people will choose non-GMO foods. GMOs still sneak their way into the European food supply via an animal feed loophole.

In fact, the EU Commission recently decided to end its zero tolerance policy for GMOs because, frankly, it is near-impossible to avoid GMO contamination these days, especially when the imported goods are coming from the US. So even though Europeans resoundingly oppose GMOs, they are still exposed to them every time they eat meat from a conventionally-raised animal.

But in the case of the tainted corn gluten feed, the contamination in question comes from a certain type of GM corn, Syngenta's MIR162 Agrisure Viptera variety, which has not yet received EU approval. Only 37 GM crops have been approved for import into the EU, and MIR162 is not one of them, as EU standards for approval are much more stringent than they are in the US.

But rather than loosen its standards as many are demanding, the EU would do better to preserve its own food supply by looking for new corn gluten vendors in nations that have not capitulated to the demands of the biotechnology industry. The only way to end the expanding tyranny of GM food is for countries that oppose them to stop trading with the countries that cultivate them.

Alan pulled out of his coma from white-out pneumonia (lungs whited out in X-rays) and complications with leukemia. He had been on life support, and doctors were threatening to turn it off and let him die when his family intervened. They went through a series of sagas and legal hassles to get the hospital to administer IV C.

The doctors complied at first, and there was enough improvement to convince the hospital staff not to pull the plug on his life support as they had threatened. But the hospital felt they knew better and stopped the IV C. Alan's condition worsened. After legal intervention, they continued at only two grams IV C daily instead of the 50 grams daily before. Alan's condition went into a critical limbo.

Alan Smith only began to improve after taking Lypo-Spheric packets.
You can view the first segment of the 60 Minutes Alan Smiths story here (http://www.3news.co.nz/Living-Proof-Vitamin-C—Miracle-Cure/tabid/371/articleID/171328/Default.aspx).

So how did six grams per day of a special vitamin C oral compound manage to do the work of 50 to 100 grams of IV C daily?

The mechanics of liposomal encapsulated vitamin C

Cardiologist and orthomolecular specialist Dr. Thomas Levy discovered exactly why the clinical results of this type of oral C could match the efficacy of many times as much vitamin C by IV.

Dr. Levy was skeptical at first. He has treated thousands of patients with IV C and is seriously involved with orthomolecular (high dose vitamin treatment) medicine. He couldn't believe what was happening with this oral C compound's ability to match or surpass clinical results with much higher doses of IV C.

He came to realize that the combination of vitamin C and essential phospholipids radcially improved cellular bioavailability. Less than 20 percent of IV C gets into cells. But the Lypo-Spheric compound permits 90 percent of the C to get into cells. That's because cell walls are made of fats. Vitamin C is water soluble.

Tiny particles of vitamin C coated with phospholipids create molecules of vitamin C coated with a substance similar to the cell walls. Thus those coated vitamin C molecules can slip into the cells easily. The encapsulation also avoids diarrhea thresholds of normal oral C.

Though not nearly as expensive and much more accessible than IV C treatments, the product might not fit long term use on a low budget. So make your own! The homemade version might be slightly less than 90 percent bio-available to your cells.

Lawsuit results in unusual defense
An Illinois man is suing Pepsi, claiming he found a mouse in his can of Mountain Dew. Ronald Bell of Edwardsville, a small town near St. Louis, alleges there was a mouse in a can of soda he purchased and drank in 2009. Bell says he spit out the mouse and called the company to complain. At the soda manufacturer's request, he sent them the mouse corpse. Pepsi had a veterinary pathologist examine the body. Their scientific expert found the rodent could not have been in the can since the soda case was sealed in August 2008, and its body would have dissolved as a result of the acid in the soda.

Bell says that Pepsi destroyed the evidence in the case and is seeking judgment. Pepsi's legal team has moved to dismiss the case. Bell's suit initially also involved the owners of the convenience store chain where he purchased the beverage, but those defendants have been dropped from the case and an amended suit was filed. The trial was set to begin in late 2011; however a Madison County Circuit Court judge granted Pepsi another month to argue for dismissal.

Quench your thirst with some chemicals
NaturalNews has reported many times in the past on the health dangers of soda, including the fact that Mountain Dew and other fruit-flavored beverages contain a flame retardant chemical (http://www.naturalnews.com/034448_brominated_vegetable_oil_soft_drinks_chemical.html). The bright green color of this soda obviously derives from food colorings, many of which also have negative health consequences. Like many sodas, Mountain Dew derives its fizzy quality from phosphoric acid, a substance which health experts have long warned can destroy tooth enamel.

Now it appears that, in order to win a lawsuit, Pepsi has conducted its own animal testing on its products and is putting forth evidence that their soda causes organic tissues, as the legal brief states, to become a "jelly-like substance." One has to wonder whether, in the interest of protecting themselves from similar future lawsuits, their scientific experts put dead mice in containers in each of their beverage products to compare the rates of disintegration.

Let's hope that anyone who thinks drinking Mountain Dew is a relatively harmless dietary indulgence hears about this case and thinks twice before swigging some of the bright green beverage. If a mouse can become jelly over the course of the shelf-life of a can of soda, imagine what it can do to your body, especially if you drink this substance regularly over the course of several years. An early advertising slogan for Mountain Dew, back in the 1960s, was "Ya-Hoo Mountain Dew. It'll tickle you innards." Maybe Pepsi can revive this slogan, changing the word "tickle" to "dissolve." Or perhaps, given the soda's more recent marketing association with extreme sports, they can present mouse-chugging as a "wild" activity to fuel skateboarding achievement.

On a much more serious note, depression can be a temporary passing experience or a deeply disturbing condition that may lead to suicide. Except in cases of minor depressive states, professional attention is generally recommended to help a person go through this emotional experience in a conscious manner.

The real dangers of conventional medical treatment

Recent studies published in leading medical journals have seriously questioned the efficacy of conventional pharmaceutical treatment of people with mild or moderate depression.

In early 2010, major media reported on a significant review of research testing antidepressant medications.(1) What is unique about this review of research is that the researchers evaluated studies that were submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), though the researchers discovered that many studies submitted to the FDA were unpublished (they found that the unpublished research consistently showed negative results of antidepressants).

This meta-analysis of antidepressant medications found only modest benefits over placebo treatment in published research, but when unpublished trial data is included, the benefit falls below accepted criteria for clinical significance.

Perhaps most startling about this research is the fact the FDA only requires drug manufacturers to provide them with two positive studies on depression to attain FDA-approval status, even if these same drug companies submit many more studies with negative results. Such information forces consumers to question the efficacy of "FDA approved drugs," and it explains why so many conventional medications eventually get withdrawn from the marketplace.

At the same time that the above review research was published, another review of research was published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), and they found similar results, "The magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medication compared with placebo increases with severity of depression symptoms and may be minimal or nonexistent, on average, in patients with mild or moderate symptoms."(2) These researchers did find benefits from the use of antidepressants in the treatment of severe depression, but because the majority of people taking antidepressants today do not have "severe depression," it is prudent for many people with depression to talk to their doctors about safer and more effective alternatives.

Sadly (and strangely), when conventional doctors today do not obtain adequately effective results with one drug, they often simply prescribe more drugs in hopes that one of them, or their combination, will be more effective (whether this increased use of drugs is effective or not, there are certain "benefits" that drug companies receive from this strategy). However, increasing research is finding that "polypharmacy" (the use of multiple drugs concurrently) may lead to worse, not better, results. New research has shown that polypharmacy with psychotropic medications in suicidal adolescent inpatients has been linked to a significantly increased risk for early re-admission.(3)

Presented at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital, the researchers found that suicidal adolescent inpatients receiving 3 or more different classes of psychotropic medications had a 2.6-fold increased risk of being re-admitted within 30 days of discharge.

Cynthia A Fontanella, PhD, the lead researcher, asserted, "Our finding that polypharmacy was associated with an increased risk of readmission is concerning, although not surprising." Even though the serious problems with polypharmacy are known and expected, polypharmacy is growing in mental health care, not decreasing.

Other researchers discovered a disturbing trend among the over 13,000 visits of outpatients with mental disorder diagnoses: the number of psychotropic medications prescribed increased in successive years. Visits in which 2 or more medications were prescribed increased from 42.6% in 1996-1997 to 59.8% in 2005-2006, and those in which at least 3 medications were prescribed virtually doubled from 16.9% to 33.2%.(4)

Why mental illness is increasing

There are numerous theories for why the number of people suffering from mental illness is increasing and why it is afflicting people at younger and younger ages. The homeopathic analysis for this epidemic is unique and may provide additional insight as to why this is occurring.

Like most observers of health and medicine today, homeopaths do not believe that there is simply one reason for the increase in mental illness, though many homeopaths assert that iatrogenesis (doctor-induced disease) plays a much greater role than is commonly recognized.

Homeopaths, like modern-day physiologists, understand that symptoms of illness represent the body's defenses in its efforts to adapt to and respond against infection, environmental assault, or stress of some kind. As discomforting as symptoms can be, they still represent the living organism's best efforts at the time to try to defend and heal him or herself. Such defenses are an innate part of our evolutionary efforts to survive. The symptoms that a person experiences are a part of the body's innate wisdom, commonly referred to as "vis mediatrix naturae" (the healing power of nature).

Using conventional medications to inhibit or suppress a symptom may be effective temporarily, but THIS is often the "bad news." Because symptoms as diverse as fevers, coughs, nasal discharges, or even high blood pressure are recognized by physiologists as adaptations and defenses of the body, drugs that inhibit these symptoms may provide a short-term benefit, but such drugs also reduce the person's ability to get over the illness. More significantly and more seriously, conventional medications may actually suppress the disease process and the wisdom of the body, thereby creating a deeper and more serious illness.

The irony to "modern scientific medicine" is that the evidence that doctors proudly show that a drug "works" is often actually evidence that the drug is effective in suppressing, not curing, a specific symptom (there are, of course, many exceptions to this general observation, such as antibiotics, but antibiotic drugs create other problems about which this writer and many others have commented already).

For over 200 years homeopaths have observed the ability of many conventional drugs to suppress acute illness into more deep chronic illness. During this time, homeopaths have also found that this disease suppression also creates more and greater mental illness. When reviewing the side-effects of many drugs, it is not uncommon to find that drugs are known to lead to various states of mental illness from depression to delusion to suicidal propensities.

Just as suppressing one's emotions often leads to a later explosion of these emotions to someone who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, suppressing physical symptoms can lead to a more serious physical disease or a more disturbing mental illness. Using drugs to provide temporary relief does not have some type of cost, and the cost is usually a later and more serious ailment.

Homeopathic treatment of depression

The Menninger Clinic is world-renowned as one of the leading mental health centers for research and treatment. Most people don't know it, but the founder of the Menninger Clinic, Charles Frederick Menninger, MD, was originally a homeopathic physician. He was even the head of his local homeopathic medicine society and was so frequently impressed with the results that he got from homeopathic medicines, he once said, "Homeopathy is wholly capable of satisfying the therapeutic demands of this age better than any other system or school of medicine."(5)

Numerous studies have shown benefits in using the herb, St. Johns wort, to treat mild to moderate depression. However, homeopaths generally find that it is preferable to prescribe individualized homeopathic remedies to each patient to attain better long-term sustained results without having to take continual doses of any medicine (natural or otherwise). In fact, a study published in a medical journal published by Oxford University Press found that individualized homeopathic treatment is as effective and is safer than Prozac in the treatment of people with moderate or severe depression.(6)

This study included 91 outpatients with moderate to severe depression who received an individually chosen homeopathic medicine or fluoxetine (Prozac) 20 mg/day (up to 40 mg/day) in a prospective, randomized, double-blind double-dummy 8-week trial. The primary efficacy measure was the mean change in MADRS depression scores (MADRS is a commonly used observer rated depression scale, with a score of 32 representing the "severe depression"). The average MADRS of patients in this study was 29.

The mean MADRS scores differences were not significant on the 4th (p=0.654) and 8th weeks (p=0.965) of treatment, which suggests that the two methods are treatment are equally effective. There were also no significant differences between the percentages of response or remission rates in both groups. The study also found a higher but non-significant percentage of patients treated with Prozac reported troublesome side effects, and there was a trend toward greater treatment interruption for adverse effects in the Prozac group.

Those people who claim to be "skeptics" of homeopathy will be surprised and impressed to know that two specialty medical journals published a double-blind and placebo controlled study on mice and found that one of the medicines in the above study, Gelsemium sempervirens, had anxiety-related effects.(7)(8)

Jonathan Davidson, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University, conducted a small study of adults with major depression, social phobia, or panic disorder. He found that 60% of the patients responded favorably to homeopathic treatment.(9) When one recognizes the considerable safety of homeopathic medicines and the benefits that some patients get from this safer method of treatment, it is remarkable that the majority of psychiatrists and psychologists do not yet refer appropriate patients to homeopaths prior to prescribing powerful conventional drugs for them.

A clinical outcome study of interest involved 14 physicians of the United Kingdom's Faculty of Homeopathy (13 NHS GPs and 3 private practitioners) who treated a wide variety of people with chronic ailments.(10) The outcome scores from 958 individual patient conditions having two or more appointments found that 75.9% experienced a "positive outcome," 14.7% had no change, and 4.6% experienced deterioration in health. Patients with the highest positive scores (over 50% of patients who self-scored a +2 or +3 on a 7-point Likert scale from -3 to +3) were achieved in the treatment of anxiety, catarrh, colic, cystitis, depression, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, and PMS. A total of 63.6% of patients with depression self-scored a +2 or +3 result from homeopathic treatment.

More information on the homeopathic treatment of mental illness and more scientific evidence verifying its efficacy is contained in a newly published textbook on the subject, Homeopathy and Mental Health Care: Integrative Practice, Principles, and Research.

How NOT to use homeopathy for depression

In early 2010, Alexa Ray Joel, the daughter of singer Billy Joel and actress/model Christy Brinkley, supposedly tried to kill herself by taking a homeopathic medicine, called Traumeel. Anyone with the simply elementary knowledge of homeopathy knows that one cannot commit suicide taking homeopathic medicines due to the extremely small doses in these medicines. Even homeopathy's most ardent skeptics must have had a good laugh at this media report.

After the initial media report about Alexa Ray Joel's suicide attempt, she went public with the fact that she suffered from depression as a result of a break-up in a relationship. And yet, Ms. Joel did not choose to correct her misunderstanding of homeopathic medicine or apologize for the slanderous assertions that she made by claiming that she (or anyone) could kill themselves with a homeopathic remedy. Sympathy is certainly appropriate for anyone who experiences such emotional trauma from the break-up of a love relationship to consider suicide. However, people who are emotionally wrought do not deserve any sympathy when their actions inappropriately seek to tarnish the reputation of good companies or safe medicines.

It is further surprising that her parents, Billy Joel and Christy Brinkley, would not apologize to the public and to the makers of Traumeel for their daughter's offensive and wrong accusations to this safe and effective natural medicine. Billy Joel and Christy Brinkley have a long history of having misinformation about their lives promoted in the tabloids, and therefore, one would hope and think that they would not encourage their daughter or the media to spread misinformation about the safety of homeopathic medicines.

It is therefore appropriate to call out to Billy Joel and Christy Brinkley (and their daughter) to apologize to the homeopathic community for their indiscretions. Until they do so, they are showing a disregard for truth and a disdain for safe natural medicines. One might think that these celebrities would be sensitive to such mis-reporting in the media, and yet, in this case, they were the creators of this misinformation. It will be interesting to see where their hearts and minds really are.

Why homeopathy makes sense for depression

Homeopathic medicines are not prescribed based on the person's diagnosed disease but on the unique way the person experiences his or her disease. In other words, homeopathic medicines are prescribed based on the SYNDROME of various physical and psychological symptoms, not just a single symptom or disease label. Although the selection of the correct homeopathic prescribing is more complex than the use of conventional drugs or even many herbal preparations, the system of prescribing that is individualized to the whole person is intellectually sound…and its results are often significant, if not substantial.

The premise behind homeopathy is that symptoms of illness are not just something "wrong" with the person but are actually efforts of their bodymind to fight infection and/or to adapt to stress. Instead of using large doses of pharmacological agents to inhibit or suppress symptoms, very small and specially prepared doses of medicinal substances are individually prescribed to a person for their unique ability to cause in overdose the similar symptoms that the sick person is having. By finding a medicine that matches the symptoms of the sick person, the medicine supports and augments the body's defenses. Ultimately, homeopathy is what Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, called "medical aikido" because it goes with, rather than against, the force of the disease. It is also a type of "medical biomimicry."

There is, indeed, much more that could be said about the sophisticated system of healing that homeopathy embodies and on the historical and scientific evidence that verifies its safety and efficacy, but the above information and insights provide a good introduction to why people with depression might be consider seeking professional homeopathic care.

REFERENCES:

(1) Kirsch I, Deacon BJ, Huedo-Medina TB, Scoboria A, Moore TJ, et al. (2008) Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. PLoS Med 5(2): e45. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045 http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045

(2) Fournier JC, DeRubeis RJ, Hollon SD, Dimidjian S, Amsterdam JD, Shelton RC, Fawcett J. Antidepressant Drug Effects and Depression Severity: A Patient-Level Meta-analysis. JAMA. 2010;303(1):47-53. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/303/1/47?home

(3) Fontanella CA, Bridge JA, Campo JV. Psychotropic medication changes, polypharmacy, and the risk of early readmission in suicidal adolescent inpatients. Ann Pharmacother. 2009 Dec;43(12):1939-47.

(4) Mojtabai R, Olfson M. National Trends in Psychotropic Medication Polypharmacy in Office-Based Psychiatry. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67:26-36.

(5) Menninger, C. F. The Application as Well as the Similar, Transactions of the American Institute of Homeopathy, 1896, pp. 317-324.

(6) Adler UC, Paiva NMP, Cesar AT, Adler MS, Molina A, Padula AE, Calil HM. Homeopathic individualized Q-potencies versus fluoxetine for moderate to severe depression: double-blind, randomized non-inferiority trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Aug 17. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/520182/

(7) Bellavite P, Magnani P, Zanolin E, Conforti A. Homeopathic Doses of Gelsemium sempervirens Improve the Behavior of Mice in Response to Novel Environments. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Sep 14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19752165?dopt=Abstract

(8) Magnani P, Conforti A, Zanolin E, Marzotto M, Bellavite P. Dose-effect study of Gelsemium sempervirens in high dilutions on anxiety-related responses in mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 Apr 20.

(9) Davidson, J, Morrison, R, Shore, J, et al., Homeopathic Treatment of Depression and Anxiety," Alternative Therapies, January, 1997,3,1:46-49.

(10) Mathie, RT, Robinson, TW. Outcomes from Homeopathic Practice in Medical Practice: A Prospective, Research-Tarageted, Pilot Study, Homeopathy. 2006,95:199-205.