Month: September 2012

Flax Oil

Olive oil improves cardiovascular health
The 2003 issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association published a study involving over 3,000 men and women showing that a diet rich in olive oil, fish, fruits, and vegetables decreased the risk of heart disease and inflammation. When cross-matched for body mass index, exercise levels, age, gender, and education levels, only a healthy diet made the difference between illness and wellness.

The Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology published a study in 2009 stating that there was clear evidence that olive oil consumption, as a part of a Mediterranean diet, is associated with a lowered risk for cardiovascular disease.

The World Journal of Gastroenterology concurred in a clinical study also published in 2009. Scientists stated that not only do olive oil and the Mediterranean diet in general lower the risk of heart disease; olive oil also decreases triglycerides in the liver, improves insulin levels, and regulates blood sugar levels.

Olive oil supports liver health
In 2007, Oxford University noted that the global obesity epidemic was due in part to the increased consumption of fast foods, soft drinks, saturated fatty acids, trans fats, and foods containing high fructose corn syrup. These foods elevate serum lipid levels of fat cells in the bloodstream. The extra fat creates inflammation in the body, which leads to organ dysfunction. Eventually, diseases such as fatty liver, cirrhosis, hepatitis, and liver cancer can occur.

Olive oil reduces the cytokines in the liver which lead to inflammation and the development of tumors. It does this by removing undesirable fat from the liver. Doing so cleans out the serum lipid levels in the bloodstream, which lowers cholesterol levels in overweight individuals.

Olive oil reduces blood pressure
The reason olive oil reduces blood pressure is because of its high oleic acid content of roughly 70-80 percent. Scientists at the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America suggest that consuming olive oil increases the oleic acid levels in cell membranes, which control protein signaling, thus reducing blood pressure. The scientists also noted that oleic acid analogues, such as soybean oil, have no effect on blood pressure, which means that the type of oil needed to reduce blood pressure is very specific.

One fairly recent, major medical controversy that seemed, strangely, to have no trending epidemic, is the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer. The blatant profit-mongering behind the development of the premiere vaccine, Gardasil, was transparent enough that it served to further inflame the ongoing vaccination controversies to a point that the media could no longer fail to report on it.

The politics and profits involved in the medical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the media industry become more obvious and prevalent every day. Before taking any pharmaceutical product, you should take ownership of your own health. Conduct your own research on the ingredients and side-effects. Find out where your doctor gets his information. Many of them are paid to promote specific pharmaceutical products. Others simply get their information from sources they trust such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Still, others are told by their legal departments not to speak out.

Facts you probably don't know about HPV and Gardasil
In August, the Health Ranger interviewed neurosurgeon Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D. on tv.naturalnews.com. Dr. Blaylock shared some little known facts about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the quick development of a vaccine to address it. Dr. Blaylock says the vaccine is "predicated on an absolute lie."

Some empowering facts you may not know about the human papillomavirus and Gardasil:

1. First, the basis is wrong. HPV by itself does not cause cervical cancer. Evidence shows it takes a combination, or co-infections – multiple viruses or virus/bacteria combinations to cause cervical cancer. Examples include Epstein Bar virus, HIV, and Chlamydia, along with HPV.

2. Birth control pills and other hormonal drugs also increase the risk of HPV.

3. It has never been proven that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer. There is no scientific evidence of any kind.

4. There are over 100 strains of HPV, only about 15 of which can contribute to cervical cancer.

5. HPV vaccines only include two to four strains, leaving you open to more than two-thirds of the dangerous strains. You will still need to get routine screenings for cervical cancer.

6. You don't change or reduce the incidence of cancer by receiving the vaccine. Studies show that the human immune system develops resistance to the strains given in the vaccine, allowing others to become predominant.

7. The CDC website states that the human body's immune system clears HPV within two years, 90 percent of the time (70 percent in one year). Without the vaccine.

8. One of the most powerful connections proven to increase the risk of cervical cancer is smoking. Women who smoke have 2.3 times higher incidence of the precancerous lesions that lead to cervical cancer.

9. Diet is key. A poor diet increases risk while a diet that includes high amounts of vitamin B12 and folic acid have a 79 percent reduction in HPV infections and cervical cancer. Vitamin C, curcumin, quercetin, and other flavonoids are powerful inhibitors against cervical cancer.

10. Dietary combinations have been proven to have far greater effect against HPV than any vaccine.

11. All the marketing assertions are false. It is one of the largest, most harmful medical hoaxes of our time.

12. Officially, the vaccine has been associated with approximately 100 deaths, and 500 have been left permanently disabled.

13. Those numbers are based on voluntary reporting, which historically means only two to ten percent of cases are represented. The vast majority of cases are never reported. So, conservatively, 5,000 young girls and women have been harmed by the vaccine.

14. Cervical cancer is one of the rarest cancers in the U. S., with 12,000 cases reported per year and 4,000 deaths.

15. The number of girls and women that experience serious complications from the vaccine meets or exceeds the number of deaths.

16. Side-effects include: Multiple sclerosis, encephalitis, blindness, pericarditis, coma, and death among many others.

17. The vaccine Gardasil was "fast tracked." This was illegal. The FDA requires new vaccines to undergo testing and a waiting period of 4 years. Gardasil was developed and on the market in 6 months, with FDA approval.

18. Texas governor Rick Perry tried to force all girls in Texas entering the sixth grade to receive the vaccine in 2007, despite the fact that the incubation period for HPV averages 20 years with the median age of sufferers being 48. He mandated it over the legislature's objections.

19. People thought they were required to receive the vaccine, but that too was untrue as it wasn't an actual law.

20. Perry received huge amounts of money from the manufacturer.

21. Perry's former chief of staff became a hired lobbyist for Merck, the maker of Gardasil in 2009, exposing the connection to the pharmaceutical giant, and the motivation for pushing the vaccine.

22. The Texas Legislature overturned Perry's executive order requiring girls to get the vaccine due to the huge backlash from the public. However, the precedent had been set, and other states and countries began to follow suit.

23. Pap smears alone prevent over 80 percent of cervical cancer. A yearly pap smear reduces your chance of getting cervical cancer to .002 percent.

24. HPV vaccines have been illegally administered to millions without informed consent as the risks are rarely disclosed.

25. What people don't know is that there are Informed Consent laws that are there to protect patients. They provide a legal strategy for people who have experienced vaccine damage.

26. Vaccine manufacturers do not want doctors to discuss and disclose the risks associated with vaccines because they don't want people to realize they can opt out. This has been documented in multiple medical journals. Yet it is illegal for doctors NOT to disclose the risks.

27. The vaccine was only tested on 21,000 girls and women before being pushed on millions of children, teens, and adults worldwide, according to the FDA website.

28. The FDA website has no mention that the vaccine was ever tested on males, yet the CDC says the vaccine is "recommended for all teen boys and men through age 21."

29. The Informed Consent laws also address questions about the efficacy of vaccines. Meaning you have a right to ask questions and receive answers about how well it works, why you should allow it to be administered, as well as the risks.

30. Vaccine manufacturers have gone to the legislature(s) to get a law passed that you cannot sue over vaccine complications.

After learning the ins and out of the underhanded and unethical practices involved in bringing this vaccine to market, people should wonder why and how medical professionals and legislators continue to go along with promoting it unquestioningly. If this were a financial situation, there would be enough evidence to bring charges against manufacturers, the legislators, and the CDC. The vaccine industry regularly operates in criminal practices. They violate marketing laws with false statements and exaggerated extrapolations/over simplification of the facts; they doctor their statistical numbers, and present their marketing as science. Gardasil was being tested before it was licensed. They have yet to offer a plausible explanation as to why girls aged 9-12 need a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease, much less one that only offers two years of "protection."

You have to question who is making the decisions to allow the shortcuts that have resulted in so many deaths and disabilities. Are these the same "powers that be" that are disseminating the information to your doctor that it is safe and recommended for your daughter?

Rather than produce and sell pure chicken meat as most people assume they do, many conventional chicken producers inject all sorts of liquid fillers and chemicals into the meat prior to packaging it, all for the purpose of making poor quality meat appear and taste superior. The process is not only deceptive, as it tricks consumers into thinking they are getting more chicken than they really are, but it also increases the sodium content of chicken by as much as 500 percent.

Perhaps the worst part about plumping, though, is the fact that chicken producers can still label their plumped chicken as being "100 percent natural," since this terminology is not properly regulated, and does not have a standardize legal definition. As long as the injected substances are considered to be "natural" themselves — "natural" technically cannot be legally defined in this context, either — then anything goes as far as chicken production is concerned.

According to Foster Farms, a large chicken producer that claims not to plump its chickens, the average consumers inadvertently spends about $1.50 per package of plumped chicken just on salt water. Throughout the course of a year, this translates into a hidden cost of more than $100 per year for a family of four eating chicken with their meals roughly four days a week. (http://www.saynotoplumping.com)

Plumped chickens can contain waste byproducts of other animals like pigs, cows
Besides containing high levels of refined salt chemicals like monosodium glutamate (MSG), arsenic (http://www.naturalnews.com/032659_arsenic_chicken.html), and various other chemicals, plumped chickens may also contain bits and pieces of other animals and animal waste.

The U.K.'s Independent reported back in 2009 that many restaurants throughout Great Britain had been caught injecting their chicken meat with the bones and gristle of both pigs and cows. Similar to the agenda behind plumping with water and salt, injecting these animal waste byproducts is intended to fatten up chicken meat in order to make it appear larger, weigh more, and thus generate higher profits. (http://www.independent.co.uk)

Another investigation by BBC revealed similar plumping methods involving the flesh of other animals. It turns out that chicken processing in general often involves injecting chicken meat with the protein material of other animals. Some producers even try to cover up this dirty practice by deconstructing the DNA of the foreign animal matter so that it cannot be detected in tests. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/3047159.stm)

This is all very disturbing news, of course, especially for folks who, for religious or dietary reasons, specifically eat chicken in order to avoid eating other forms of meat. Little do they know that, since the 1970s, conventional chicken manufacturers have been pumping up chicken meat with foreign materials and animal waste in order to turn a higher profit.

Stick with local, pastured varieties when eating chicken
The best way to avoid falling victim to the food industry's chicken deception is to buy only local or specifically pasture-raised chicken meat. It is important also to make sure that the chicken meat you buy is organically fed, regardless of whether or not it is officially certified as such, since conventional birds are often deliberately fed arsenic, a cancer-causing chemical compound.

    
But will this really solve New Yorker's obesity woes? Not even, partly because artificially sweetened drinks are actually worse for your body overall then sugared drinks. None of this ill-contrived plan deals with the real issues of our desperate need for nutrition in our diets and lack of healthy lifestyles with exercise. Making sugared drinks a "whipping boy" is a distraction from the reality that soda drinks are just one small part of the whole problem.

Sodas – Which is worse, diet or regular?
So they are going after the sugared drinks saying they cause obesity. Well, they are right on when they say that sugared drinks contribute to the slippery slope for unhealthy and fat people. But the artificial drinks can be even worse. If you think diet soda is better for your health, think again. The only way you lose weight on diet drinks is by being sickened with the poison – not from some miraculous drop in calories brought to you by chemical companies.

Most diet sodas contain an artificial sweetener called aspartame. Aspartame is made up of aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol and is some 200 times sweeter than table sugar. Dr. M. Adrian Gross, a former senior FDA toxicologist, stated before Congress: "Beyond a shadow of a doubt, aspartame triggers brain tumors" and, "therefore, by allowing aspartame to be placed on the market, the FDA has violated the Delaney Amendment, which forbids putting anything in food that is known to cause cancer… And if the FDA itself elects to violate its own law, who is left to protect the health of the public?"

Aspartame toxicity is often overlooked as a disease even though it has been reported countless times to independent organizations and scientists (Mission Possible 1994, Stoddard 1995). Patient and physician alike presume that worsening conditions are a normal progression of the illness when it can be in actuality, chronic aspartame poisoning. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption.

Sick on soda
Research demonstrates that soda consumption, sugared or diet, enhances kidney stone formation with their high acidity and radical mineral imbalances. Your body buffers the acidity of soft drinks with calcium from the bones. As this calcium eliminates via the urine, it slowly forms kidney stones.

Easy carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup put a huge strain on insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The pancreas responds by secreting large amounts of insulin for the body to process them, placing heavy burdens on the pancreas, taxing its ability to keep up with the body's need for insulin.

Scientific studies provide evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. Researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.

A miracle solution to sodas – Drink water
People often drink sodas to quench the thirst. But that is probably the worst time to drink soda. Dehydration brings with it low levels of saliva needed to neutralize acids and wash your teeth clean. Drinking a single 330 ml can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than one pound of weight per month.

So, how about some real solutions to obesity… Healthy diet (without sodas and easy carbs), exercise and paying less attention to shills, whipping boys and shell games.

Offit is famous for saying that, theoretically, a baby should be able to tolerate 10,000 vaccines. Offit is considered the leading advocate for childhood vaccines in America, and he wants all religious and philosophical exemptions from vaccines outlawed.

In her report, Atkisson pointed out that Offit, the chief of infectious disease at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, occupies a research position sponsored by vaccine maker, Merck, to the tune of $1.5 million. He also holds a patent on an anti-diarrhea vaccine, Rotateq, for which he's received unspecified royalties (estimated to be in the millions of dollars.)

On the heels of Atkisson's report, Offit wrote a response that was published in the Orange County Register.

Almost three years later, the Register ran a startling and lengthy retraction: "a number of Dr. Offit's statements, as quoted in the OC Register, were unsubstantiated and/or false."

Here are those Offit statements the Register retracted:

Sharyl Atkisson lied. RETRACTED.

CBS News sent a "mean-spirited and vituperative email" bearing Atkisson's signature, stating to Offit, "You're clearly hiding something". RETRACTED.

Offit provided CBS News the complete details of his connections with Merck. RETRACTED.

In 2009, Atkisson did another report for CBS on Swine Flu statistics, pointing out that the Centers for Disease Control had actually stopped counting Swine Flu cases in America. (Therefore, how could the CDC possibly know the extent of the "epidemic?" )

Atkisson, who has won investigative-reporting awards for her coverage of gun-walking (Fast&Furious), the US bank bail-outs, medical drug safety, vaccine safety, and the Red Cross, now has her own blog. It does not appear to be an official part of CBS News.

On it, she writes, stunningly for a high-profile mainstream reporter: "Beware the paid naysayers and fringe bloggers who propagate false Web propaganda against me and others who investigate their industry and conflicts. Watch for pharmaceutical interests disguised as 'scientists' or pretending to be average 'commenters' on ridiculously vitriolic blog stories that claim those who look into vaccine safety are 'anti-vaccine' or 'nutty.' They want you to believe that for a reason. You know better. The public is getting wise."

Yes, the public is getting wise. The con artists and shills for the vaccine industry can anonymously write all the lies they want to. The truth about vaccine toxicity and ineffective results is expanding. Those who put on the mantle of official authority, to preach to the masses about their "superior knowledge," are transparent.

The last phony epidemic they promoted, Swine Flu, left governments with large unused stocks of vaccine in their warehouses. Diminishing numbers of people believe these medical "crises" are anything more than sales promotions for vaccinations.

In response to a query, a national news reporter wrote to me:

"Apparently the Wiki[pedia] problem is rampant and widespread… the special interest/PR groups etc learned years ago that if they started then — and put in a lot of time and innocent edits — they could build their way up to very powerful editing positions. They now have those positions and use them, disguised as anonymous 'volunteers' with pseudonyms, to skew and monitor pages and biographies. Much of it I've noticed is medical related (making sure people don't know vaccines can cause problems for example)…Wiki is a mess and is being used as a tool by cloaked special interests."

A few mainstream reporters have awakened. The one thing they lack is the green light to go after a story mercilessly, week after week, month after month, and expose its guts. Their editors and publishers simply won't allow it. And that's why major media are dying. The public wants to know the truth, once they get a whiff of it, and the place to find it is here, online.

    
There's no credible evidence that proves "aspirin therapy" can lower heart attack risk either. In fact, aspirin damages the stomach, causes ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhagic strokes and has recently been linked to causing cancer. A study published by the National Cancer Institute found that women who took two or more aspirins a week for more than 20 years had a 58 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared with women who rarely, or never, used aspirin. The risk of pancreatic cancer rose the more aspirins were taken. Women who took 14 or more aspirins a week had an 86 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer over non-users.

The natural answers for pain
• Water is always the first choice of natural treatment for pain. Drinking two eight ounce glasses of natural spring water or reverse osmosis water can chase away abdominal pain, heartburn, back pain, arthritis pain, colitis, angina and even migraine headaches and more. Water has been reported to prevent and reverse premature aging, cure asthma in a few days, cure hypertension without diuretics or other medications and even help with weight loss effortlessly and naturally, without strict dieting.

• Fish oil reduces inflammation pain. A 2006 survey of arthritis patients found that daily fish oil supplements reduced pain in 60 percent of patients. One study found 59 percent of pain med takers discontinued taking their prescription NSAID medications for pain and 80 percent stated that their joint pain had improved after taking fish oil for one month. The kicker: There were no significant side effects reported with fish oil.

• Vitamin D deficiency was noted in 69 percent of inflammatory joint diseases or connective tissue diseases, 77 percent of soft tissue rheumatism, 62 percent of osteoarthritis, 75 percent of back pain, and 71 percent of osteoporosis. Avoid taking synthetic calciferol and get your vitamin D naturally from the sun or take the natural cholecalciferol D3 form.

Other natural remedies are Meadowsweet and Willow Bark,, Fructo Borate (shown to reduce joint pain in 79 percent of mild to moderate osteoarthritis), Bromelain (reduces pain and swelling, improves joint mobility and promotes tissue repair), cilantro tablets move pain-causing heavy metals out of the tissues while chlorella tablets bind to the metals for removal, Boswellia (works like the current OTR COX-2 inhibitor drugs), coffee enemas (reduce body toxin loads and inflammation), liver cleanses (unburden the liver and gall bladder that are the cause of a lot of mid-back pain), and acupuncture (works by releasing adenosine – a natural painkiller).

Stop treating the symptoms
Would you purposefully cut the wire to your oil warning light to your car engine to keep it from blaring at you? It costs about $6 for a quart of oil and $3,000 or more for an "engine transplant." There is no big money in selling the customer the quart of oil, but there is a lot of money to be made in the "hospital" (mechanics shop).

There's a king's ransom being paid to Big Pharma to do just this with our body's pain signal system. Big Pharma medications short the body's system out by treating the symptoms only. Pain is a symptom and not a disease to be "managed." Find the cause and fix it.

Natural News recently reported frightening information regarding the development of new, antibiotic-resistant strains of MRSA and flesh-eating bacteria appearing in hospitals around the country. These findings indicate that even the last-stand antibiotic Vancomycin is no longer effective against the ravages of these deadly infections. http://www.naturalnews.com/036031_MRSA_antibiotics_infections.html

In addition to my five previous recommended remedies, here are five more powerful natural treatments that protect against MRSA, flesh-eating bacteria, and other superbugs.

First, a two-fold approach to prevention
There are two methods of prevention for using natural medicines to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. One of the best ways to lower susceptibility is to strengthen your system by eating alkaline foods like fresh fruits and vegetables. The most effective way to obtain medicinal benefits from your food is through juicing. If you're scheduled for elective surgery, start juicing immediately to strengthen your immune system beforehand by creating an alkaline environment where no bacteria, fungus or virus can survive.

Additionally, use colloidal silver prophylactically to protect yourself before a hospital stay. Start taking it daily in small doses as soon as you find out when you'll be admitted. If you end up in the hospital in an emergency situation, start taking colloidal silver as soon as possible; and in both cases, continue it through the duration of your stay, and for at least two weeks thereafter.

Fighting anti-biotic resistant MRSA and superbug infections
If you contract MRSA or a flesh-eating bacteria use one or more of the following natural treatments; or combine them with those mentioned in my other article.

Pascalite is a type of bentonite clay found only in the mountains of Wyoming. It possesses remarkable healing powers. When used topically, it's known for its ability to draw infections from wounds in a matter of hours or days, bringing about total recovery.

Turmeric has been used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat a wide range of infections. It's antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties have been found to be highly effective in the treatment of bacterial infections and can be used internally and topically for MRSA and other skin lesions.

Both turmeric and Pascalite should be made into a paste or combined with each other by mixing them with water and applying directly to the skin lesion. Keep moist by covering with plastic wrap or warm compresses. Reapply as needed. Additionally, you can mix either or both powders with Manuka honey for a potent remedy to treat MRSA and flesh-eating bacteria.

Oil of Oregano is an essential oil and best known for its ability to kill bacteria, controlling staph infections like MRSA. It has antiseptic, antioxidant, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory, and pain relieving properties. Science Daily reported in 2001 on the results of a Georgetown University research study stating that the germ-killing properties of oregano oil were found as effective as most antibiotics — including vancomycin — for treatment of antibiotic-resistant superbugs such as E. coli, Salmonella, MRSA and flesh-eating bacteria.

Tea tree oil is a potent antibacterial, essential oil that has been shown effective in killing antibiotic-resistant MRSA on the skin. Therapeutic-grade tea tree oil must be used undiluted for this purpose. The highest quality oils are very mild, making it an excellent treatment even on open wounds.

Olive leaf extract has been used for centuries to fight bacterial infections and is currently being used to treat MRSA infections in some European hospitals. It contains an active compound that provides immune system support at the same time as it fights antibiotic-resistant infections.

Light colored honeys are generally milder in flavor while darker ones are more robust. Depending on the bees' nectar source, the color and flavor of honey may differ. There are currently more than 300 kinds of unique honey in the United States.

Forms of honey
Although honey is normally found in a liquid state, it can also change into a semi-solid state otherwise known as granulated honey. This condition can sometimes happen when glucose, the main sugar in honey, separates from the honey solution creating crystallization; losing its water content. The crystal then forms a framework that places other elements of honey into suspension resulting in the semi-solid state.

The displaced water condenses in some part of the container increasing moisture content; jump-starting the growth of yeast and fermentation. Although honey can sometimes crystallize on its own, dust and pollen or air bubbles can serve as triggers for crystallization of honey. To avoid crystallization, it is essential to store honey properly. Using air tight, moisture resistant containers is recommended when storing honey for long periods of time.

Honey that has crystallized; however, does not need to be thrown out as it has not gone bad. Heating it slowly in a warm bath will dissolve the sugar crystals back to liquid form. Other forms of honey include comb honey, which is honey in its original state, cut comb honey; which is liquid honey with added chunks of honey comb in the jar, liquid honey; which is honey extracted from the honey comb and whipped honey, which is brought to markets in a crystallized state. According to Honey.com, crystallization is controlled so that the honey can be spread at room temperature like jelly or butter. Whipped honey is a popular choice in certain parts of the world and, for breakfast, it is sometimes preferred over liquid honey.

Most of the honey available in the United States is in liquid form.

Uses of honey and its nutritional benefits
Honey is popularly known as a sweetener, but many do not know that it also contains nutritional and medical qualities praised by none other than Hippocrates, the father of medicine.

Nutritional Benefits

According to a Swiss study that discussed the nutritional value of honey, honey is rich in carbohydrates but has a low glycemic index (GI). Its GI varies within a range of 32 to 86 depending on the botanical source. Fructose rich honey, such as acacia honey, has a low GI; lower in fact than sucrose which is pegged at 60 to 110. Foods with low GI release glucose into the blood slowly and steadily; high GI foods cause blood sugar to spike. High GI foods are not suitable for diabetics; but those after a workout or are experiencing hypoglycemia will benefit from its ability to give immediate energy.

Honey contains the following trace minerals: potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, chloride, sulfur, iron, copper, iodine and zinc which although marginal, may contribute to the recommended daily intake requirements. It contains choline, a B-vitamin essential for brain and cardiovascular functions, cellular membrane composition and repair; and a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine.

Medical Benefits

Honey has anti-viral, anti-microbial and anti-parasitic effects. Its capacity to inhibit the growth of micro-organisms and fungi is well documented. The low water activity of honey inhibits bacterial growth and honey glucose oxidase produces the anti-bacterial agent hydrogen peroxide.

Depending on its botanical source, honey gives significant anti-oxidant activity protecting against oxidation responsible for chronic diseases. It also has anti-mutagenic, anti-tumor as well as anti-inflammatory qualities that stimulate anti-body production.

Honey is effective in dressing wounds. It has recently been used in clinical settings for treating fist sized ulcers extending to the bone as well as in the treatment of first, second and third degree burns. Complete recovery has been reported with no infections, muscle loss or any need of skin grafts. When the wounds are clean, honey acts as a healer. Garlic honey, which is just a mixture of honey and garlic, can be applied directly to infected wounds to clean the area. Dr. Peter Molan of Waikato University in New Zealand observed that honey was more effective in managing infections on burn wounds than anti-bacterial ointments used in hospitals.

Moreover, in a study conducted by Penn State University, honey was discovered to be better at alleviating cough than over the counter drugs. The study led by Dr. Ian Paul found that a small amount of buckwheat honey, given before bedtime, provided better relief for kids from night time cough and sleep difficulty than the use of dextromethorphan (DM). DM is an over the counter cold medication. This finding is significant in light of a recent Food and Drug Administration advisory that cautioned against giving cough and cold medicine to children below six years old due to its potential side effects ineffectiveness. Incidentally, consumers spend billion of dollars each year for medication not proven to give significant relief.

Who can benefit from honey?
Clinical studies have found that honey sits well with infants. It was observed to increase their weight, haemoglobin content, give them better skin and digestion while increasing their immunity from disease. In fact, honey has been observed to produce a mild laxative effect and is recognized as a treatment for constipation in Eastern Europe.

Athletes will find honey to be an effective source of carbohydrates that can improve their athletic performance. Patients suffering from hepatitis A can benefit from honey's capacity to cause a decrease in the alanine aminotransferase activity (an increased ALT is indicative of liver damage) and a decrease in bilirubin production (a product breakdown responsible for the yellow color in bruises and urine and increased levels may indicate certain diseases). Among cancer patients undergoing cancer radiation therapy, honey was observed to reduce incidents of radiation mucositis, a common toxicity for head and neck cancer whose consequences include pain, weight loss and micro-nutrient deficiencies.

Side effects
Generally, honey is safe for children and adults even in large qualities. Avoid giving honey to infants under 12 months to avoid the risk of botulism poisoning. Allergic reactions to honey have also been reported in individuals allergic to pollen.

Researchers from both Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California and the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) at Oregon State University (OSU) collaborated with one another to test the effects of high doses of NAM administered to both live mice and human blood infected with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). What they found was that vitamin B3 significantly boosts the number and effectiveness of neutrophils, or white blood cells that target infections.

It turns out that, when taken in doses far higher than those recommended by the federal government, vitamin B3 is capable of significantly boosting the body's own natural immune system to the point where many diseases simply cannot survive. According to the study, vitamin B3 is capable of increasing immune capacity by 1,000 times, allowing the body to naturally fight MRSA and other deadly pathogens.

"This could give us a new way to treat staph infections that can be deadly," said Adrian Gombart, an associate professor at LPI, about the dramatic findings. "It's a way to tap into the power of the innate immune system and stimulate it to provide a more powerful and natural immune response."

NAM is not just effective against S. aureus, though. Several other virulent pathogens, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), also seem to respond favorably to NAM's dramatic immune-boosting capacity. By bolstering the immune system's natural defenses, NAM appears to facilitate the destruction and elimination of a host of deadly pathogens and viruses.

"NAM is not only effective against S. aureus, it also has demonstrated efficacy against other major human pathogens, such as K. pneumoniae (Klebsiella pneumoniae) and P. aeruginosa (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), in our human peripheral blood killing assay," wrote the authors in their discussion. "We have demonstrated that NAM, as an HDAC inhibitor, can improve host defense and thereby promote bacterial clearance."

And unlike antibiotic drugs, vitamin B3 does not destroy all the beneficial bacteria in the gut along with the harmful bacteria. So for most people, taking mega-doses of therapeutic vitamin B3 is preferable to taking immune-destroying antibiotics that can later promote the growth of Candida albicans and other harmful yeast overgrowths and bacterial imbalances within the body.