Month: July 2012

The same people who thirty years ago used to urge us to eat plenty of meat and cheese, shifted to encourage us towards vegetables and low fat salad dressings. And the tide is turning once again: there is a great deal of emphasis on the importance of good fats and essential fatty acids, most notably the Omega 3 kind. My point here is that it is foolish to establish absolute and narrow rules, especially about single ingredients in diets. Context counts.

A low fat diet is good for people who have eaten lots of meat and cheese and fat during their lives; it will help them re-balance and return to a more healthful equilibrium. On the other hand, a low fat diet is bad for people who have been eating raw food, fruit and vegetables for most of their lives. Not only that, a high fat diet is good for people with neurological disorders, particularly seizures. Seizures are not uncommon among young children, especially those who have been vaccinated.

Seizure disorder, or epilepsy, is "an abnormality of the electric potentials or waves produced in the normal brain." We fluctuate between the normal 9-to-14 alpha waves per second of the waking state and the 3-to-6 per second delta waves of the sleeping state. In epilepsy these waves go out of step, and an electro-encephalograph will indicate abnormal firings of the brain's neurons.

Symptoms include grand mal seizures, with loss of consciousness and contraction and relaxation of all muscle groups, lasting a few minutes; petit mal seizures, which involve limited convulsions or temporary alteration of consciousness, sometimes extremely subtle; and psychomotor epilepsy, which consists of uncontrolled and unpremeditated behavior. In addition, related neurological disorders include severe headaches, absence seizures or staring episodes, dizzy spells, or impaired memory. Many of these conditions, incidentally, are common in criminals and juvenile delinquents1.

It is a fact little known by the general public that dietary modification can help seizure disorders. For example, the medical community has long been aware that fasting improves and even eliminates seizures. In the early 1920's, R.M. Wilder introduced a diet intended to mimic the physiological effects of fasting. This diet consists of high amounts of fat (as much as 80% of calories) and low amounts of protein and carbohydrate (no more than 20% of calories total)2.

Like fasting, it provokes ketosis, the production of certain acids called ketone bodies which, in the absence of dietary carbohydrates, will be metabolized instead of glucose as fuel for the brain3; for this reason it was named the ketogenic diet (KD). Ketosis is demonstrated by testing the urine with dip-and-read sticks available in most drugstores.

From early on, the KD showed clinical effectiveness in suppressing and avoiding seizures. I had not heard about this until late 1994, when I read something about the ketogenic diet in a publication. When I discussed it in one of my classes, Carol Ellis, MD, a physician with an interest in alternative medicine, mentioned that she had studied the KD as a seizure controlling technique in medical school twenty five years earlier! Unfortunately, as it requires a great deal of effort to follow, and as even a small amount of extra carbohydrate can bring on seizures again within 3 1/2 hours, the KD was eventually neglected in favor of anticonvulsant drugs.

With the recent recognition that diet impacts health, interest in the ketogenic diet has returned. Johns Hopkins Medical Center has used it with great success to treat intractable seizures. In one review of 58 cases, seizure control improved in 67% of patients, and 75% of these improved patients continued the diet for at least 18 months. Sixty_four percent had AEDs (anti-epileptic drugs) reduced, 36% became more alert, and 23% had improved behavior . In St Louis Children's Hospital it was found that 50% of patients on the KD, ranging in age from seven months to 38 years, had become free of seizures, and another 20 to 30% had experienced considerable improvement in control of their seizure5.

A version of the KD developed in Booth Hall Children's Hospital in Manchester, Great Britain, requires that 50-70% of the calories be given as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), a type of oil, plus 11% as other fats, plus 10% protein and 19% carbohydrate, a more palatable combination. The MCT oil is recommended for frying, grilling and in baked foods; it is also given as part of an emulsion to be sipped throughout meals, consisting of 200 ml MCT oil, 200 ml water, a teaspoon of powdered gelatin, and skim milk.

At first, this diet may provoke temporary abdominal pain, vomiting, or diarrhea, but rarely any other adverse effects; when effective, it may permit the reduction of anticonvulsant drugs without a return of the seizures. In a paper published in the October 2001 journal Pediatrics, a follow-up study of children with epilepsy found that "Of the original 150 patient cohort, 20 (13%) were seizure-free and an additional 21 (14%) had a 90% to 99% decrease in their seizures. Twenty-nine were free of medications, and 28 were on only 1 medication; 15 remained on the diet."6

Some researchers speculate that the high fat intake helps repair the myelin sheath around the nerves, a structure that is damaged in such widely disparate conditions as multiple sclerosis and adreno-leuko-dystrophy (the illness shown in the movie "Lorenzo's Oil"). Children with seizures need to remain very strictly on the diet, with not even the slightest deviation towards carbohydrates, for about two years. After that time they can slowly widen their food intake somewhat.

At a time when low fat is the defining factor for "healthy" eating, I find it deliciously ironic that a high-fat diet could help with such a difficult problem as intractable seizures, and that it has been shown to be effective where drugs have failed. As someone once said, all food can be medicine, and all food can be poison; the secret is in using the right food at the right time. And there, my dear friends, lies the rub, and the reason for the many different prescriptions and recommendations in the dietary marketplace. It is essential that we keep an open mind.

How does one plan such a high fat diet? Following my inclination to use only real foods (not manufactured fats), I like what I found in a study from India. It includes the following daily foods used in the KD:

    – butter and ghee (clarified butter) (6 oz)
    – eggs (2)
    – bread and chapati bread, (2 pieces)
    – whole milk (10 oz)
    – meat or dal (bean sauce) (2 oz)
    – mixed vegetables (8 oz)
    – orange (1).7

These foods could be divided as follows

Breakfast: 1 egg fried in 1/2 oz butter, one slice toast with 1/2 oz butter, 4 oz whole milk.

Snack: 1 orange.

Lunch: 4 oz mixed vegetables sautéed in 1 oz. butter, 1 oz meat with 1 oz melted butter.

Snack: 4 oz whole milk, 1 slice bread with 1/2 oz melted butter.

Dinner: 4 oz mixed vegetables sautéed in 1 oz butter, 1 oz bean sauce with 1 oz ghee, 1 egg fried with 1/2 oz butter.

Detox Protocol
Zeolite

The U.K.'s Guardian and others are reporting that a multi-million dollar research fund, which just so happens to have been started and funded by Microsoft founder and vaccine enthusiast Bill Gates, is being used to fund the project. A large balloon hovering at 80,000 feet over Fort Sumner, New Mexico, will release the sulfates into the atmosphere within the next year.

The stated purpose for this massive release of toxic sulfate particles is that doing so will allegedly reflect sunlight back into the atmosphere, and thus cool the planet. But many environmental groups and advocates of common sense are decrying the idea as dangerous, and one that could result in permanent damage to ecosystems all across the globe.

"Impacts include the potential for further damage to the ozone layer, and disruption of rainfall, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, potentially threatening the food supplies of billions of people," said Pat Mooney, Executive Director of the ETC Group, a Canadian environmental protection group.

"It will do nothing to decrease levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere or halt ocean acidification. And solar geo-engineering is likely to increase the risk of climate-related international conflict, given that the modeling to date shows it poses greater risks to the global south."

But the Gates-backed cohort is persistent in its efforts to geo-graffiti the world, as its scientists insist that governments are not doing enough to fight back against the supposed environment impacts of global warming. If governments refuse to implement high enough carbon taxes to eliminate greenhouse gases, in other words, then Gates and Co. believes it has no choice but to "save the planet" by polluting it with sulfate particles.

Spraying the skies with sulfate particles will destroy the planet faster than 'global warming' ever could
Sulfate particles are toxic, though, and constitute the very same type of ambient particulate matter (PM) that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers to be a noxious air pollutant. Deliberately spraying the skies with tiny particles composed of any material, for that matter, is hazardous both to respiratory health in humans and animals, as well as to water sources, soils, and other delicate environmental resources.

"Sulfate particles from acid rain can cause harm to the health of marine life in the rivers and lakes it contaminates, and can result in mortality," says an online water pollution guide (http://www.water-pollution.org.uk/health.html). A University of Washington (UW) report also explains that sulfate particles "contribute to acid rain, cause lung irritation, and have been a main culprit in causing the haze that obscures a clear view of the Grand Canyon."

Blocking the sun with reflective particles will also deprive humans of natural sunlight exposure, which is a primary source for naturally generating health-promoting vitamin D in the body. So once again, Bill Gates is at the helms of a project that seeks to control the climate in artificial ways using toxic chemicals, an endeavor that is sure to create all sorts of potentially irreversible problems for humanity and the planet.

Detox Protocol

Symptoms of MSG poisoning
The following are some of the symptoms you may develop from eating food laced with MSG. Headaches, numbness, dizziness, burning sensations in the neck and chest, tingling nausea, palpitations, elevated blood pressure, difficulty breathing, panic attacks, sleepiness, depression, confusion, cognitive disorder, and food cravings are common symptoms for sensitive people.

MSG can produce life-threatening, allergic reactions including hives, swelling of the face, tongue and throat preventing breathing, and causing anaphylaxis. This condition requires immediate medical attention.

Avoiding MSG
Avoid processed and packaged foods, pre-cooked soups, salad dressings and sauces. Steer clear of restaurant foods, especially salad and hot bars. Most fermented foods such as soy sauce contain high levels of MSG. Skip Chinese and Asian food unless you make it yourself or know with absolute certainty that the restaurant doesn't use MSG. Specifically request "no MSG" when ordering and consume foods freshly prepared for you with no additional sauces.

Remedies for MSG poisoning
Cream of Tartar: Keep a small container of cream of tartar nearby. When mixed with water, cream of tartar will immediately neutralize MSG poisoning, relieving most symptoms. Cream of tartar creates an alkaline-forming environment when ingested, raising the blood pH and stabilizing the system. Mix 1/2 teaspoon in eight oz. of water and drink, or sprinkle some in a small bottle of water, shake and drink.

Homeopathic MSG: A homeopathic remedy is available made from MSG, and is useful to antidote the effects of the toxin, relieving most symptoms. Here's how to use it:

Place one or two tiny pellets in a 1 oz. brown dropper bottle. Fill half way with distilled water and top up with vodka. Label the bottle. Grip the bottle in one hand and slap the bottom of the bottle against the palm of your other hand firmly but not hard enough to break. Slap it five times, open the bottle and take a sniff if you're experiencing symptoms from consuming MSG. Replace the lid. This is called an olfactory dose. Take one or two doses for relief. If symptoms persist, contact a homeopath or other natural health practitioner for further treatment.

Drink water: Flush your system by drinking lots of clean water after consuming food with MSG.

MSG by any other name…
Learn the alternate names for monosodium glutamate and read labels when shopping. Unless it expressly says it's MSG-free, assume everything processed or eat in a restaurant contains it in some form.

Here are some of the names used to refer to MSG; there are others. Yeast nutrient, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, textured protein, monopotassium glutamate, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, yeast food, hydrolyzed corn gluten, natrium glutamate, hydrolyzed protein, carrageenan, maltodextrin, natural beef flavoring, natural pork flavoring, whey protein protease, malt extract, malt flavoring, natural chicken flavoring, soy protein isolate, citric acid, ultra-pasteurized, anything that's enzyme modified, soy sauce, soy sauce extract, whey protein concentrate, stock, broth, bouillon, pectin, soy protein, soy protein concentrate, barley malt, whey protein isolate, protease enzymes, anything protein fortified, flavors and flavoring, natural flavor and flavoring, fermented foods, enzymes, seasonings.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and the Harvard Medical School in Boston have revealed the result of their research into the negative impact of external stressors on telomere length. Publishing in the journal PLoS ONE, the study team has shown that a common form of anxiety, known as phobic anxiety, was associated with shorter telomeres in middle-aged and older women. The study suggests that phobic anxiety is a possible risk factor for accelerated aging.

Telomeres are known to protect chromosomes from deteriorating and guard the genetic information at the ends of chromosomes during cell division. Telomeres are considered markers of biological or cellular aging, and premature shortening has been linked to increased risk of cancers, heart disease, dementia and mortality. Essentially, when a telomere has reached the end of its life-cycle, cell death ensues and the process of aging is accelerated, leading to increased risk of chronic disease.

Stress and anxiety reduction can add up to six years to your lifespan
To conduct the study, researchers obtained blood samples from 5,243 women, aged 42 to 69 years, who were participants in the Nurses' Health Study. The study team then analyzed the telomere length of white blood cells from all blood samples collected, and contrasted against the participants perceived degree of anxiety or stress related symptoms as determined by a validated questionnaire. The scientists noted this was the first cross-sectional study to analyze and compare telomere length (a measurable biomarker) with differing levels of stress.

The authors found that having a high phobic anxiety level was associated with significantly shorter telomere lengths. The difference between reported anxiety levels was shown to increase lifespan by a factor of six years for those experiencing the lowest degree of stress. The lead study author, Dr. Olivia Okereke concluded "this study is notable for showing a connection between a common form of psychological stress, phobic anxiety, and a plausible mechanism for premature aging."

Many people with phobic anxiety are placed on a deadly regimen of anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals that alter brain metabolism and neurotransmitter function. Common side effects include drowsiness, confusion, dizziness, memory problems, and physical dependence. Eliminating external stressors that are within your control by engaging in regular physical activity, meditation or yoga may be the key to extending your natural years by maintaining telomere integrity.

Radiation Protocol

A recent news story described a newborn being taken away from her mother shortly after birth because of the mother's refusal to accept a Hepatitis B vaccine. In my law practice, I also hear stories from time to time about newborns being vaccinated in the hospital after birth without the parents' permission and against the parents' wishes. Most of the time, these kind of problems are avoidable with a information about your rights and some common sense preparation.

Russia Today (RT) reports that a team of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory recently constructed some models designed to assess the impact of Fukushima radiation over the longer term. To do this, they simulated ocean currents in the Pacific, and evaluated how radiation would both disperse and travel.

They discovered that, within the next few years, the worst of Fukushima's radiation releases will make its way across the Pacific and hit the American coastline. So-called "packets" of radiation are also expected to continue forming as the larger plumes travel via the ocean currents, which could result in highly radioactive waves of ocean water striking West Coast beaches in the very near future.

"Within one year, it will have spread over the entire western half of the North Pacific, and in five years we predict it will reach the U.S. West Coast," says Claus Boning, co-author of the study, about the Fukushima radiation releases. "The levels of radiation that hit the U.S. coast will be small relative to the levels released by Fukushima. But we cannot accurately estimate what those levels will be because we do not know for certain what was released by Fukushima."

Leaked – Fukushima clean-up crews covered up true radiation readings
And the world may never know just how much radiation was, and potentially continues to be, released by Fukushima, as a recently leaked recording verifies that Fukushima plant workers were encouraged to lie about radiation readings at the plant. According to RT, clean-up workers were given lead boxes which they were told to use as "shields" to block radiation readings in order to make them appear lower than they really were.

This obviously insinuates that radiation readings were far higher at the Fukushima plant than the world was told they were, and that these levels more than likely far exceeded the maximum exposure levels considered to be safe for plant workers. The company accused of the cover-up, Build-up, later admitted that workers were encouraged to wear these deceptive radiation shields.

Radiation readings at Reactor 1 reach record levels
The situation at the Fukushima plant itself appears to still be highly problematic as well, as reports indicate that radiation levels at Reactor 1, the fuel rod of which sustained 70 percent damage as a result of the disaster, are the highest they have ever been. According to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which owns the Fukushima plant, levels of radiation at Reactor 1 reached 10 times higher than levels recorded at Reactors 2 and 3.

"Workers cannot enter the site and we must use robots for the demolition," said TEPCO officials about the severity of the situation. According to reports, levels of radiation in the basement water of Reactor 1 reached 10,300 millisieverts per hour (mSv/hr), which is the equivalent of receiving the maximum annual dose of radiation in just 20 seconds, or enough to become gravely ill in just a few minutes.

The mother whose child was taken away had planned a home birth, and made the mistake of not having a contingency plan, a "Plan B" in case they ended up in the hospital, as some planned home births inevitably do for one reason or another. Once in the hospital, they refused the Hep B vaccine, but not in a manner consistent with their state's legal options. Sadly, we don't have the right to decide what goes into our and our children's bodies, at least not absolutely. As disturbing as that be to many of us, it's the legal reality. So, if you're expecting a baby, find out what your state's vaccine requirements and exemption options are!

These may vary from state to state, so go to an authoritative source—a site that posts the actual laws (links to three such sites are here (www.vaccinerights.com/exemptions.html), or to your local or state health department (call them or go to their website). Non-authoritative sources such as anti-vaccine websites mean well, and they often have great information about vaccine health concerns, but they also often misunderstand and misrepresent exemption rights and procedures, and some have lost rights by relying on them. Where legal rights are concerned, if it's important, it's worth getting right the first time.

It's not only important to know the law for your own sake, but because many people on the other side of the fence misunderstand the law and your rights, too. For example, North Carolina has health department regulations allowing parents up to three months to get their newborn his or her first Hep B vaccine. You don't need an exemption to say "no" in a NC hospital at the time of your child's birth, at least according to the law. However, I was once contacted by a new parent who said she was threatened by a doctor with having her baby taken away from her right after birth if she didn't get the baby vaccinated. So, we need to know our rights to be able to defend against, and counter the abuse of, the medical community.

Why would a doctor do this? Well, in addition to being among the all-too-common narrow-minded pharmaceutical salespeople that so many doctors are, the truth is that most professionals have a legal requirement to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect, and that could include any parent who is not in compliance with the law with respect to their children. The woman referred to above whose child was taken away? She was, essentially, attempting to exercise a philosophical exemption in a state that had only medical and religious exemptions.

So, by politely refusing the Hep B vaccine, she was, in effect, declaring herself to be a legally neglectful parent (yes, one can become legally "neglectful" as an unintended side-effect of being a more intelligent and informed parent <sigh>). The hospital social worker really may not have had a choice, if she was to adhere to the law strictly, but to take the mother's baby away. I'm not suggesting that the social worker could not have cooperated with the new mother, I'm saying that at least technically, the social worker's actions were probably legally correct and defensible. Maybe reprehensible as well from a common sense point of view, but legally correct. In fact, if the social worker hadn't taken the baby away, she might have put her own job at risk. Such is the insanity of our present society.

So, how do you avoid situations like the one described above? First, regardless of whether or not you are planning a home birth, you should plan for a hospital birth in case you end up there. Second, you should take steps to exercise an exemption, document it in writing, and make sure that everyone has a copy in advance of the writing. For those planning a home birth, have the document ready ahead of time in a hospital bag so that if you end up rushing to the hospital unexpectedly, you don't have to take time to look for it or worry about forgetting it. In short, put it in writing, use some common sense, be prepared.

There's one more potential complication with birth vaccines, that being that many exemption laws are written in language that contemplates school enrollment. There probably aren't many exemption laws written specifically for refusing the Hep B vaccine for newborns. So, you may have to improvise a little. Do what the law says for school exemptions, or write a statement consistent with one or more of your state's exemption laws. If you have doubts, or if you have to explain your religious beliefs opposed to immunizations, consult a knowledgeable attorney, as there are pitfalls to avoid that you won't catch with a "common sense" approach. If it's important, it's worth doing right.

One final comment: The insanity referred to above? We have the power to fix that, to change the world. There are two basic parts to this. First, learn all you can about the science and the law, the propaganda and your current rights. Second, take steps to preserve and expand your right to free choice. This means becoming legislatively aware and active. Laws are being passed to restrict access to vaccine exemptions and to enable children to consent to vaccines.

Many of these laws are unconstitutional—but legislatures pass them anyway. If we don't make our voice heard loud enough and soon enough, we will all soon be required to get more and more vaccines with little or no right to say 'no.' If this is not acceptable to you, join the NVIC's Advocacy Portal (www.nvicadvocacy.org), and the Pandemic Response Project's mailing list.

The above is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to be legal or medical advice.

The American Academy of Pediatrics defines an adequate vitamin D blood level in children as 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L), but many researchers have begun to argue that 75 nmol/L are actually necessary for good health.

"There are a lot of studies demonstrating associations between low levels of vitamin D and a laundry list of poor health outcomes," lead researcher Jonathan Mansbach said.

Vitamin D plays a critical role in bone health and development, and guidelines for safe levels were originally set with those effects in mind. Yet new research suggests that higher levels may be necessary for the vitamin to help regulate the immune system and protect against cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders and infection.

In the current study, researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which measured vitamin D blood levels of approximately 5,000 children between 2001 and 2006. The study participants were designed to comprise a nationally representative sample.

The researchers found that if 75 nmol/L is taken as the cutoff point, 92 percent of black children, 80 percent of non-black Hispanic children and more than two-thirds of all children have insufficient levels of the vitamin. Mansbach called the numbers "astounding."

"If 75 nmol/L or higher is eventually demonstrated to be the healthy normal level of vitamin D, then there is much more vitamin D deficiency in the U.S. than people realize," Mansbach said.

Even using the lower level of 50 nmol/L, a full 20 percent of children still had insufficient vitamin D levels. Nationally, this would translate into six million people.

Sun exposure is still considered the best source for vitamin D.