To keep yourself and your children healthy and maintain good bowel health on an ongoing basis, make the following dietary guidelines your normal, regular diet.

Everyone in your family should follow these guidelines, whether they suffer from gut issues, or not, since they get the disease-causing elements out of your daily diet and replace them with health-promoting foods.

Those of you who have my book, Listen To Your Gut, will recognize this diet – it is the final diet in the sequence of Healing Diets, that you follow once you are symptom-free (no more gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc.)

JINI’S HEALTH MAINTENANCE DIET

• No processed, pre-packaged foods. It doesn’t matter if it’s organic; if it comes in a package on a shelf, the nutrients have usually been compromised or denatured – boxed breakfast cereal with extruded grains are a good example of this. Eat fresh!

• No foods containing preservatives, nitrates & nitrites (these have actually been banned by the FDA, as they are so carcinogenic to the gut, but the meat industry refused to comply and so they are still in all your commercial hot dogs and deli meats), monosodium glutamate (MSG – it interferes with neural functioning), carrageenan (large quantities have been used to induce Ulcerative Colitis in guinea pigs and primates), or anything else that sounds like a manufactured chemical compound.

• No margarine or butter substitutes – often treated with chemical solvents and bleaches, resulting in deformed, highly toxic, trans-fatty acids. Even the cold-pressed margarines are not good as your body doesn’t need so much of those oils, and they prevent you from using butter – which your body needs a lot of. Use real organic butter (from raw milk if you can get it), cold-pressed virgin olive oil, or unrefined coconut oil instead. Do not use regular mayonnaise either – use only mayonnaise made from cold-pressed oils.

• No artificial sweeteners of any kind (like aspartame, nutrasweet, saccharine, splenda, sucralose, acesulfame-K, etc.) – these are toxic and proven to cause memory loss, can also be highly addictive and contribute to hyperactivity and seizures in some people. No artificial colors or flavors – especially since the introduction of neural flavor blockers and enhancers.

• No pasteurized milk products; milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc. Raw milk products are okay and actually promote health, but pasteurized or ultra heat-treated (UHT) dairy products must be strictly avoided. For more info on the health benefits of raw milk, or to find a supplier in your area: www.realmilk.com

• Keep your sugar intake as low as you can. Use stevia, honey, rapadura sugar, molasses, maple syrup instead when you need sweetness. Here are some healthy treat recipes to get you started. I teach my kids to save their sugar for when it counts – this means you only have a sugar item when you REALLY want it and then you stop eating as soon as you’re not super lovin’ it.

For detailed dietary information on what to eat and how to prepare your foods for maximum nutrition and absorption, see the articles database at: www.westonaprice.org or purchase the cookbook, Nourishing Traditions.

A low-residue diet can be helpful during an IBD or diverticulitis flare-up, to get rid of common irritants and to help calm the gut. This low-residue diet can also be used as a low-fibre diet (less than 10 grams of fibre per day) before or after surgery to reduce bowel volume.

Of course, the best way to calm a flare and produce minimal fecal matter is an elemental diet – but as that can be costly, you can try this low-residue diet first and see if it’s sufficient to calm inflammation.

Good supplements that help calm intestinal inflammation quickly are George’s Aloe Vera Juice, MucosaHeal, L-Glutamine (take on an empty stomach if you want to reduce diarrhea) and probiotics.

JINI’S LOW RESIDUE DIET

Grain Products:
• avoid wheat – since an intolerance or allergy to wheat is highly likely.
• white rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat
• gluten-free cereals
• gluten-free crackers (unflavored), rice cakes
• rice or quinoa pasta

Fruits:
• fresh non-acidic fruit juices (except prune juice) like apple, pear, mango, papaya – but keep to a minimum to avoid the sugar load
• applesauce, apricots, banana (1/2), cantaloupe, honeydew melon, peaches, watermelon, mango, papaya (very soothing)
• avoid raw and dried fruits, raisins and berries.

Vegetables:
• fresh-juiced vegetable juices
• red potatoes (no skin)
• well-cooked and tender vegetables including green/yellow beans, carrots, celery (remove strings), mushrooms, squash, zucchini, cucumber, butter lettuce only, avocados
• avoid vegetables from the cruciferous family such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, onions, etc.
• avoid beans and lentils, soybeans and soy derivatives
• avoid nightshade family vegetables; tomatoes (too acidic), peppers, eggplant

Meat and Protein:
• organic chicken or turkey, fish and eggs
• avoid tofu

Nuts and Seeds:
• avoid all nuts and seeds, as well as foods that may contain seeds

Dairy:
• pasteurized dairy (milk, cheese, yoghurt, etc) is another top allergen, so avoid.
• raw milk or raw cheddar (unpasteurized) can be okay, so test. Raw goat milk is usually more easily tolerated than raw cow’s milk.
• organic butter (raw or pasteurized) is usually okay.

Fats:
• unrefined coconut oil (MCT’s are healing for the gut), extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed flax or Udo’s oil and organic butter
• avoid commercial vegetable oils like canola, soybean, safflower – anything that is not cold-pressed, margarine or butter substitutes, deep fried or high heat pan frying

Additives:
• no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors
• no preservatives, conditioners, extenders, MSG, nitrates/nitrites (found in deli meats and hot dogs), or anything else that sounds like a chemical compound. Just buy and eat FRESH!

NOTE: A reader asked whether it is okay to eat organic, grass-fed beef on a low-residue diet. Technically, beef is not included in the list of allowable foods. However, I feel it would be okay if sliced super thin and eaten raw – like carpaccio. Or, the best way would be to consume as Beef Broth. So here is a recipe for you to use for a strengthening, nourishing beef broth where you will benefit greatly from both the gelatin and the minerals which are pulled out of the bones by the vinegar. Don’t worry about the vinegar as any acidity disappears during the cooking process. Recipe excerpted from The IBD Remission Diet.

Beef Bone Broth

• 3 pounds grass-fed or organic beef soup bones (marrow, knuckle, ribs or neck bones)
• 5 whole celery stalks
• 1 whole onion peeled
• 1 bunch of parsley (optional)
• 8 cups of water
• 2 tbsp. Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp. of salt (use sea salt or Himalayan salt for better flavor and electrolytes)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle beef soup bones with salt and roast, covered in the roasting pan, in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Cook the bones long enough so that the meat on them is done (you can also cook the bones in a large saucepan, on the stove top if desired – but the taste won’t be as good).

2. Fill a large stock pot with water up to ¾ full (or 6 – 8 cups of water), and bring to a boil. Place the cooked bones, onion, parsley, apple cider vinegar and celery in the boiling water. Boil uncovered for half an hour and remove any scum from the top. Then cover and simmer on low heat for 7 – 10 hours.

3. Remove pot from heat, mix well and then pour contents through a fine strainer into a large bowl (give bones to your dog, or neighbour’s dog). Place this large bowl uncovered in the fridge for 12 – 24 hours, or until broth has become jelly-like and the fat has risen and congealed on top.

4. Skim fat off top of bowl with a spoon. Portion up the remaining beef soup jelly into individual servings in zip-lock plastic bags and put them in the freezer to use as needed. Don’t worry about making too much because even when you’re back on regular food, this beef bone broth is excellent as a stock for soups, sauces, etc. When you’re ready to eat some soup, stir in 1 tsp. – 1 tbsp. of organic butter or coconut oil to each serving of soup. Add sea salt to taste.

I had three friends call me up this week for help/advice about their kids’ digestive troubles. This signals to me that many others must be having the same issues and it’s time for a blog post to share the knowledge!

First, my friend Cecile called me about her 10-year-old daughter, Megan. Megan had pretty much refused to eat for most of week. She said that everything she ate hurt and that Megan had no appetite. Cecile told me that she looked very pale and at times green, during a pain episode. Their doctor had already ordered a gliadin test (for gluten allergy) and hemoglobin (oxygen-carrying red blood cells) test. Megan’s bowel movements were normal in texture and frequency and there was no blood in the stool, toilet bowl or left on the toilet paper. Here’s what I told Cecile:

If the child (or adult) is experiencing significant pain after eating, that usually means there is inflammation present. Now, the gastrointestinal tract may be inflamed for any number of reasons, and it takes time and testing to figure out what exactly are the underlying causative elements.

What’s Wrong With GI Exploratory Tests?

The medical treatment route at this point is usually to perform invasive GI exploratory tests (endoscopy, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, barium enema, barium swallow, etc.) to determine the actual physical markers. Personally, if it were my child, I would never submit to these tests unless every previous indicator (starting with blood tests) pointed to cancer. And even then, with my knowledge base, I would try other natural treatments first.

The reason you don’t want to rush your child into the GI exploratory tests is that firstly, they are seriously traumatic and frightening for the child. And in many cases, painful. Secondly, the GI tests significantly alter the bacterial flora in the gut and leave it wide open to secondary infection – in many cases, the scope itself infects the colon. In the case of colonoscopies, the colonoscope itself can cause colitis (called gluteraldehyde-induced colitis).

So your child may not have had Crohn’s or colitis initially, but by the time the gastroenterologist gets done with him, he may have. Download my Colonoscopy Dangers Report for all the details (from peer-reviewed medical publications) on the risks of these supposedly “standard” procedures and what you can do before and afterward to protect your child (or yourself) if you truly need to have one done.

So, in my personal opinion, there is no need to have any medical exploratory tests done at this point and Cecile has plenty of time to figure out what’s causing Megan’s intestinal inflammation/pain.

Usually, intestinal inflammation and pain is caused by one or a combination of these factors:

• Pathogenic (disease-causing) bio-terrain in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract
• Food allergy or food intolerance
• Stressful or upsetting emotional component
• A standard western diet

Let’s take a more detailed look at each of these causative factors…

1. Pathogenic bio-terrain in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This means too much (overgrowth, or infection) bad bacteria, yeast/Candida, fungal organisms or hybrids, viruses, etc. and not enough good bacteria (probiotics).

2. Food allergy or more often, food intolerance. Food intolerance is a tricky thing to nail down, because children often have tolerance thresholds for a particular substance. For example, if Joey is intolerant to wheat, he may be okay to have one wheat-containing item twice a week, but if he goes above that, he gets symptoms. Or, he might be okay if the wheat item does not contain yeast, but add the wheat and yeast together and it tips him over his threshold. This is why careful, methodical testing is necessary and yes, this is VERY difficult.

It is so much easier to take the drug your doctor wants to give you to suppress your child’s symptoms. But know that this will just force the damage deeper into the child’s body. If your child’s body is sending clear messages, “don’t feed me wheat,” but you give him a drug to suppress the messages, the damage from the wheat will continue. You will just be unaware of it until it has built to the level where it is going to burst forth in full force – in this way a food allergy or intolerance develops over time into irritable bowel syndrome, or if other factors are also present, into colitis, or Crohn’s.

As with everything else involved in raising a child, there are no shortcuts: pay now, or pay later. If you don’t put the time and work in now to figure out what the actual, underlying causative problem is (and no, your standard MD is not interested, nor trained to do this) it will just bite you in the butt big-time later. And your child’s suffering will be exponentially increased. Believe me, I help thousands of people a year heal themselves from digestive diseases and if you let it get to the colitis, Crohn’s or diverticulitis stage, you have a hard road ahead. A holistic Healing Journey may seem very difficult initially, but it is nothing compared to the never-ending drugs/surgery/hospital route of the medical system.

Just remember when testing for food allergies/intolerances, you need to completely eliminate the suspect for a minimum of 10 days – then reintroduce it to test. My book, The IBD Remission Diet tells you how to do this (following a bowel rest diet to clear allergens) and has a Food Reintroduction chart to guide you step-by-step. If you don’t need the bowel rest diet (see below), there are plenty of instructions on allergy testing and food reintroduction on the Internet.

3. A stressful, or upsetting emotional component. The gut is the “second brain,” (a book with this title has been written by an MD), there is an entire field now established to study the brain/gut/emotional connection called pyschoneurogastroenterology. Go and watch my Healing Journey Movie and at the end you can download a teleseminar I did with Dr. Gabor Mate (MD) all about this topic, called When The Body Says No (named after his amazing book of the same title). You really need to get this and understand that ANY gut issue is also the child simultaneously crying out for help. Most likely, your child doesn’t consciously know what’s wrong, or doesn’t know how to articulate it. Again, you have to be the detective and lead your child on the path of exploration into his emotions, stressful events, fears, etc.

Cecile embraced this component and identified that Megan was being bullied at school and was also carrying stress due to the family’s financial troubles. A meeting with the school teacher and principal ensued and then lots of talking and explaining to Megan about their finances and their plan for moving forward. This helped Megan to feel safe and relax, rather than continually picking up and carrying the “money stress” vibes in the family.

Once children know clearly what’s going on and that there’s a plan in place (for which they may have good insights and ideas to contribute – I know mine usually do!) their stress levels usually drop and they feel more safe and that someone’s in control. For more serious issues, or traumatic events, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a fabulous tool you can learn yourself – the Basic Training Manual is available at no charge – or you can take your child to a therapist. My kids actually ask me to do EFT for them now, since they’ve seen repeatedly how effective it is.

4.  A standard western diet. If your child is eating what all of his peers eat, you are damaging his gut daily and not providing him with the building blocks for a healthy body. No, I am not exaggerating. Our diet and consequent health is so poor, that we have lost perspective on what a normal, healthy child looks like – because there are hardly any left! The “average” child gets sick with colds or flus 12 times a year. Medical doctors tell you this is normal. But for people who are feeding their kids diets that promote and protect health (along with protective supplements like probiotics, vitamin D and cod liver oil, whilst minimizing environmental pollutants like pesticides and WiFi radiation), their kids are sick about 1-3 times per year – and in my experience, recover in 1/5 – 1/3 of the time a “normal” child takes.

See the end of this article for the standard Health Maintenance Diet that all kids (and adults!) should follow to get the pathogenic elements out of your standard western diet. For specific dietary help, for more complicated circumstances, you can visit the article database at: www.WestonAprice.org for more in-depth info and guidelines. Or if your child already has IBS or IBD, then you’ll need the specific Healing Diets in my book, Listen To Your Gut.

So now that we know what usually causes intestinal inflammation, what are the steps needed to get on the pathway to healing childhood tummy pains?

1.  Elimination (Bowel Rest) Diet – if your child’s pain or loss of appetite is severe (as in the case of Megan) the fastest, easiest way to both heal and test for food intolerances is to put the child on an clearance diet (to provide bowel rest) and then introduce foods one by one to test for food allergies or intolerances. Depending on your child’s palate, a bowel rest diet can consist of one or several of these:

a) Absorb Plus - this is a pre-digested, elemental shake I formulated specifically for people with inflammatory bowel disease. I used this formula to heal myself when I was 99 pounds (normal weight is 130) and hemorrhaging from my colon. There’s lots of free reports and usage instructions on the Absorb Plus website, or you can get my book that details everything step-by-step: The IBD Remission Diet.

b) Raw (unpasteurized) cow or goat milk – type in “raw milk” in the search box on this blog or my website and it will pull up all the articles I’ve written on this – including podcasts, teleseminars and videos where I go on a Raw Milk Diet. The key points to implement are to make sure the milk is from pasture-fed animals only (not kept in a barn and/or grain-fed) and that the farmer tests regularly for pathogens to ensure the milk is healthy. Raw goat milk is the most similar in composition to human breast milk, but it is not so good for weight gain and many kids can’t tolerate the taste. If you use raw cow’s milk, also give magnesium once per day if needed to facilitate bowel movements (raw cow’s milk contains a lot of calcium; great for bones and teeth but it can slow down the bowels in susceptible people, when consumed exclusively).

c) Raw vegetable juices - this is harder to do with kids since they usually don’t have the palate to tolerate veggie juices. Sure, you can add a bit of apple or carrot to improve the taste, but if you add too much then you’re feeding your child a high sugar diet, which will increase Candida albicans (yeast infection) and bad bacteria.

d) Free-form amino acid shake – If your child is completely allergic to dairy (remember Absorb Plus has the most common allergenic milk components removed – casein protein and lactose – so is often fine for people with a dairy allergy) then you can use just a natural free-from amino acid product like Nutramed. But keep in mind, that your child will not gain weight (and may even lose weight) on a free-form amino acid product. So if your child is underweight, or needs to be on a bowel rest diet for more than a week, you may want to try Absorb Plus or raw goat milk first.

If you’re going to use elemental shake products other than the ones given here, be sure and read the ingredient list carefully: If there is too much oil (often listed as triglycerides or MCTs) it can cause the intestines to spasm (even in a healthy person!), if there is a lot of sugar (often listed as corn syrup, corn solids, glucose, etc.) it will just increase pathogenic (bad) yeast and bacteria. If there are artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners, it will be just one more product that is degrading your child’s health. Lastly, you need to check the protein sources in these products – if they contain casein, or whey concentrate, or soy, then they are highly likely to be a cause of allergic reaction.

Along with whichever daily nutrient source you choose to use, you also need to give your child Bone Broths (explanation and recipe) as the gelatin is key in healing the mucosal lining of the gut. Absorb Plus also contains plenty of L-glutamine and other key amino acids specifically targeted to heal the intestines.

If your child’s pain or discomfort after eating is not so severe, then often doing a half-elemental diet, or a low-residue diet can be enough to calm things down.

2.  Medical Blood Work – Gluten allergy (gliadin) test and basic blood work (hemoglobin, iron stores, vitamin D and if possible, mineral levels). Gluten allergy is increasingly rapidly among both children and adults, so get this tested right off the bat to know whether you’re dealing with Celiac disease. Megan’s gluten test came back negative – she is not allergic to gluten – however, there is still a good likelihood that she is gluten intolerant, or intolerant to wheat. Her father decided to test this and gave her some toast while Mum was out – Megan immediately went into intestinal agony that lasted 16 hours.

3. Vitamin D – Vitamin D helps the body combat just about any disease and improves viral immunity, so it’s very important to know whether your child is getting enough vitamin D3 and in the right form, here’s lots more information on dosing with Vitamin D and Cod Liver Oil - fish oil and good fats (see Diet below) are also crucial for intestinal health.

4. High Dose Probiotic Supplementation – children need 1/2 tsp of each Natren powdered probiotic (mix in milk, yoghurt, pudding or non-acidic juice) – Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Digesta-Lac (if you want to be extra-sure, add Life Start as well) per day. The Natren powders come in dairy-based or dairy-free formulations – the dairy-based is milder tasting and mixes undetectably in yoghurt. If your child is old enough to swallow capsules, then you can also give capsules instead – unless there are heartburn or esophageal issues, then stick with the powders. Detailed dosage/usage instructions are in any of my books, or you can download a Probiotic Report on my Free Stuff page.

How Long Should My Child Stay On A Bowel Rest (Clearance) Diet?

In Megan’s case, Cecile got the single-serving, 3-flavor sample pack of Absorb Plus and Megan liked the Chocolate Royale, so they decided to use Absorb Plus to provide bowel rest. When Cecile tucked Megan into bed and they had their quiet time together, she asked Megan to close her eyes, place her hand on her tummy, take some deep breaths, and ask her body how long she needed to stay on Absorb Plus and chicken broth. Megan said, “Six days.”

Cecile was blown away by this, but also thrilled. The added bonus of having the child direct the treatment, is the child then provides most of the motivation to stick to the diet. I told Cecile that healing takes a lot of energy. So whilst she could put Absorb Plus in a thermos for Megan to take to school, she should let Megan decide whether she wanted to go to school during the six days, or stay home and rest.

By the end of six days, Cecile said Megan was feeling fantastic, she’d been “eating” lots of Absorb Plus shakes and organic chicken broth and when she began eating regular food, she had no pain and had a huge appetite. I warned Cecile to take it easy though with the Food Reintroduction though, as too much too soon can trigger old issues. It’s key not to lose self-discipline at this point, because the child is feeling so good, but to stick with the slow, methodical food testing.

It was at this point that Megan’s father gave her toast and she reverted instantly back into pain and refusal to eat. I advised Cecile (after commiserating with her frustration and desire to pummel her husband) to put Megan back on Absorb Plus and chicken broth and get things calmed down again – likely it would take only a few days this time. Then go back to the careful process of Food Reintroduction – and by the way, wheat is a Stage Four (final stage) food to test.

For most children with no bleeding or anemia (which can often signal hidden bleeding), 7 – 10 days is a sufficient time on the bowel rest diet to calm inflammation and clear allergens. For people with a diagnosis of IBD, colitis or Crohn’s, the duration varies between 3 weeks and 6 weeks (in stubborn Crohn’s cases, up to 3 or 4 months). Diverticulitis usually requires the person stay on the liquid diet for the length of time it takes for the infection to subside, or the blockage to clear, plus an extra few days just to cement the healing.

When Cecile started Megan on the Absorb Plus shakes she also started giving her the probiotics – you can mix (by hand, do not use a blender as it will damage the bacteria) them into the shakes and give once per day (or twice if you really want to speed up the good flora process). I told Cecile that she must keep going with 1/2 tsp of each probiotic even after Megan was back on regular food and continue at this dosage for at least one year.

For my family, my kids have had no digestive issues but I give them probiotics ongoing (sometimes daily, sometimes every 2 or 3 days), they also drink raw cow’s milk (contains probiotics and enzymes) and eat ice cream made from raw milk and raw cream. Their cheese is also made from raw milk (widely available now throughout the US and Canada)

Once a gut flora has been compromised, it takes a long time to bring it back to the levels where it can actually be protective. As Megan continues on the probiotics, she will gradually be able to eat more foods, or increase her tolerance thresholds, as her digestive and absorptive capabilities improve. I have plenty of information on why it is crucial to give Natren probiotics – yes they are expensive, but nothing else we’ve tested provides the same efficacy, nor shows (via stool sampling) that the gut flora has actually improved.

Natren are available in high quality health or organic stores (or they can order them in for you) – just make sure they have been kept refrigerated at all times to preserve their potency. If you’re going to buy them online, you need to buy only from vendors that store them in a refrigerator and provide refrigerated shipping – otherwise, again, you are not getting what you pay for.

Check For Constipation

Constipation is also on the rise among children and once your kids start going poo on their own, they often won’t tell you when they start going only once every 2 or 3 days. Also, they may not be aware that they are only passing small amounts of stool and never having a complete evacuation. So it is important to ask AND have your child show you their stool after every bowel movement for a few weeks.

Constipation can also cause tummy pain and loss of appetite, so this may be a quick-fix and worth checking into first, if your child has those symptoms. If your child is seriously constipated (where occasional magnesium citrate or dietary changes are not sufficient) then I recommend you get my book on natural healing for constipation: Listen To Your Colon, which has specific instructions for treating constipation in children after every section – or at least download the free stuff available there on the site and watch the helpful videos.

If your baby is constipated, then this article may be enough to provide you with a solution: Constipation Protocol For Babies

My friend Laura found this was the case with her son, Nicholas – he was constipated, but had never said anything about it until she questioned him specifically. Nicholas was seven-years-old and he was complaining of tummy pains, his appetite was diminished (but still present), he wasn’t sleeping well and he had a rash on his face and leg that just wasn’t going away.

Assess WiFi Exposure

I went through all of these points with Laura, but the sleep disturbances and rash also hinted there may be another complicating element at work. Sure, both these symptoms can be caused by an unbalanced (pathogenic) gut flora and hence constipation, but they can also be caused by microwave radiation – in the form of WiFi, cell phones, cordless phones, iPads, Wii, PlayStation3, etc. exposure. Again, I have done plenty of blogging and videos about this very hidden pathogen that most people have never even considered – just type “WiFi” into the search box on my site and it will pull up the relevant info for you. Or just go directly to this excellent teleseminar I did with international expert, Magda Havas, PhD

Nicholas is considered a high-exposure case since his parents have cordless phones and wireless Internet at home, his school is a very high WiFi environment, with every student working on a laptop. He also has a Wii in the home that is played regularly and both his parents use cellphones.

Considering that microwave radiation (microwave radio frequency waves) could be causing her son’s health problems was a big leap for Laura to make – particularly since she works for a telecommunications company! So, I suggested that she start by implementing some easy testing and see if his symptoms changed. I suggested that she at least give him a low intensity EMR environment during the night – by unplugging all the cordless phones and the wireless internet and the Wii from the wall. It is not enough to just turn these devices off (I have personally tested this) as they will continue to transmit radiation – even if the power light is off. In many cases, you may have to actually phone your internet service provider and get them to turn off WiFi at source (and switch to cable Internet) in order to stop the transmission. If you have a DECT baby monitor then throw it in the garbage as this is a major cause of sleep disturbance in infants.

Whether this will be enough of a reduction in electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure to make a difference to Nicholas’ health, remains to be seen. Coincidentally, one of the girls in my weekly art class is in Grade 11 at the same school Nicholas goes to. After she came to class repeatedly complaining of a headache, or stomachache, I asked her how many of her friends at school suffered the same symptoms. She thought for a bit and said, “Everyone.” Is this due to a high stress environment at school, or microwave radiation both at school and at home? Until you test it, you cannot know. My point is, that until we do know, we should hardwire all the computers at schools and ban cellphones on school grounds – why are we experimenting blindly with our children’s health?

So again, currently there is not enough awareness of biological (cellular) effects of non-ionizing (non-heating) radiation – so don’t expect your doctor to connect the dots on this one. You will just have to eliminate all possible factors, including wireless radiation exposure and see what results in a reduction or disappearance of symptoms.

An adult friend of mine developed severe IBS and through a process of elimination discovered it was caused solely by the WiFi internet in her home office. The kicker is that she thought she was on cable, but the telco had turned on WiFi without even notifying or asking her. When she had the telco turn off the WiFi at source, her symptoms disappeared. Unfortunately though, she has now been rendered electrohypersensitive and so has to shield herself using radiation blocking cloth – particularly over her head – wherever she goes. There are many stories like this and if this sounds familiar, then you need to get active in pushing for governments to force industry to make these technologies safe.

The good news is, if you implement all the health-protective measures recommended in this article, you will at least be giving your child’s body  support to repair the cellular damage from WiFi and to reduce his susceptibility.

Do You See Any Blood With Bowel Movements?

If there is a small amount of blood loose in the toilet bowel, streaking the poo, or on the toilet paper after wiping. First check whether it is due to a rectal fissure or tear, or hemorrhoids. You can either get your doctor to check this (bring along comfrey salve to use as the lubricant – very healing), or you can just try some FissureHeal suppositories, or comfrey applied inside the anus with a finger tip or Q-tip and see if this takes care of the problem first. If your child’s stool is hard, or large, be sure to apply comfrey, or insert a FissureHeal suppository (break off a 1/2″ piece – no need to use the entire suppository) prior to a bowel movement to prevent further tearing. Then apply/insert again at night for maximum undisturbed healing.

If bleeding is moderate to severe and occurs several times a day (often accompanied by loose stools) then you need to get my comprehensive book of treatments (over 500 pages), Listen To Your Gut. Again, you do not need a medical diagnosis to begin treatment using Listen To Your Gut, since all the treatments are based on symptoms – which you can easily define yourself.

If you have any questions – but please be aware that I legally cannot give personal health advice – just leave them in the COMMENTS section below.

If you wish to consult with a medical doctor who is familiar with my protocols and can guide you through testing and treatment, Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND is very good and so is Dr. Silvio Najt MD.

JINI’S HEALTH MAINTENANCE DIET

To keep your children healthy and maintain good bowel health on an ongoing basis, make the following dietary guidelines their normal, regular diet. In fact, everyone in your family should follow these guidelines:

•    No processed, pre-packaged foods. It doesn’t matter if it’s organic; if it comes in a package on a shelf, the nutrients have usually been compromised or denatured – boxed breakfast cereal with extruded grains are a good example of this.

•    No foods containing preservatives, nitrates & nitrites (these have actually been banned by the FDA, as they are so carcinogenic to the gut, but the meat industry refused to comply and so they are still in all your commercial hot dogs and deli meats), monosodium glutamate (MSG – it interferes with neural functioning), carrageenan (large quantities have been used to induce Ulcerative Colitis in guinea pigs and primates), or anything else that sounds like a manufactured chemical compound.

•    No margarine or butter substitutes – often treated with chemical solvents and bleaches, resulting in deformed, highly toxic, trans-fatty acids. Even the cold-pressed margarines are not good as your body doesn’t need so much of those oils, and they prevent you from using butter – which your body needs a lot of. Use real butter (preferably made from raw, organic milk), cold-pressed virgin olive oil, or unrefined coconut oil instead. Do not use regular mayonnaise either – only mayonnaise made from cold-pressed oils.

•    No artificial sweeteners of any kind (like aspartame, nutrasweet, saccharine, splenda, sucralose, acesulfame-K, etc.) – these are toxic and proven to cause memory loss, can also be highly addictive and contribute to hyperactivity and seizures in some people. No artificial colors or flavors – especially since the introduction of neural flavor blockers and enhancers.

•    No pasteurized milk products; milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc. Raw milk products are okay and actually promote health, but pasteurized or ultra heat-treated (UHT) dairy products must be strictly avoided. For more info on the health benefits of raw milk, or to find a supplier in your area: www.realmilk.com

• Keep your sugar intake as low as you can. Use stevia, honey, rapadura sugar, molasses, maple syrup instead when you need sweetness. Here are some healthy treat recipes to get you started. I teach my kids to save their sugar for when it counts – this means you only have a sugar item when you REALLY want it and then you stop eating as soon as you’re not super lovin’ it.

Intestinal obstructions can result from a number of different factors: Strictures or scar tissue that has built up to the point where the intestine is extremely narrowed, or a spasming length of intestine, or a volvulus (twist/kink in the intestine), or a diverticulitis flare-up. It is thought that mechanical blockage of a diverticulum, possibly by a piece of feces or food particles, leads to infection of the diverticulum. (Review article: management of diverticulitis Aliment Pharmacol Ther 26 Suppl 2, 67–76 2007 M. M. SZOJDA, et al)

What Can Help?

Long-term healing of diverticulitis and recurring strictures involves a 4-step process:

1.     Healing inflammation and eliminating infection

2.     Restoring a beneficial gut flora (good bacteria and reduction/elimination of bad bacteria, fungi, yeast, etc.) throughout the GI tract

3.     Restoring intestinal tissue (tone, structure) and mucosal lining

4.     Normalizing digestion, absorption (throughout the gastrointestinal tract) and defecation

Detailed instructions, explanations and dosages for each of these healing protocols are contained in my book, Listen To Your Gut. For now, let’s look at a short-term strategy you can implement right away to bring relief and start you on your pathway to healing.

Note: In the case of strictures, if the scarring is severe, you also need to go a step further and implement strategies to directly soften the scar tissue; like craniosacral/visceral manipulation therapy, hot castor oil packs and DMSO.

Resting & Flushing The Colon

For the best treatment and management of diverticular  or obstructive GI disease, your diet should vary according to your symptoms. During good/calm times, it’s best to eat a diet that promotes easy digestion and absorption and tonifies the intestinal wall. But during a flare-up (diverticulitis or acute stricture), it’s best to consume a liquid, pre-digested diet to provide a form of bowel rest and flushing of the colon, to help prevent a blockage or obstruction from occurring. It is also easiest to heal infection or inflammation whilst on a liquid (but highly nutritious) diet.

When you are in a diverticulitis flare (the diverticula – pouches – are inflamed or infected) it’s ideal if you can immediately consume liquid nutrients only. By ingesting only liquids, you give your body the best chance to flush out the food particles that are stuck in the diverticulae and you also avoid causing an intestinal obstruction through the build-up of stuck food.

Additional substances, like wild oregano oil, aloe vera juice, probiotics and MucosaHeal can be used to eliminate the infection and heal inflammation during this time.

Eating During A Diverticulitis Or Stricture Flare-Up

There are three forms of liquid nutrition that work very well during diverticulitis or an acute (narrowed/inflamed) stricture:

1.     Raw vegetable juicing – juice primarily vegetables, with only enough fruit added to make them palatable (or sweeten with stevia instead).

2.     Raw (unpasteurized) cow or goat milk – from pasture-fed animals only (not barn-raised and grain-fed).

3.     Absorb Plus elemental shakes

Each of these liquid nutrient sources are best when combined with homemade bone broths (Chicken and Beef Broth). You can derive your nutrients from only one of these sources, or you can mix and match and combine them together.

If you consume raw vegetable juices, buy organic or ‘no spray’ produce and juice fresh every day (or freeze portions to consume later). Make sure you consume enough juice to provide you with adequate energy each day. Or, combine raw juicing with raw milk or Absorb Plus to add the protein and good fats needed for energy.

You can find a raw milk supplier in your area by going to: www.RealMilk.com – just make sure the animals are pasture-fed only and the farmer tests regularly for pathogens.

Absorb Plus Elemental Nutrition for Diverticulitis & Stricture Flares

Absorb Plus is probably the easiest way to consume excellent nutrition during a flare. Since it was specifically formulated for people with all forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), it contains many substances targeted to calm inflammation and promote mucosal healing of the intestines, like:

• 1000 mg of L-Glutamine per serving – primary substance used to rebuild the intestinal mucosal cell lining and used for muscle repair and growth
• L-Serine – needed for proper metabolism of fats and fatty acids, aids in production of immunoglobulins and antibodies
• L-Threonine – helps maintain protein balance in the body, aids formation of collagen and elastin
• L-Cystine – aids in skin formation, helps heal burns and wounds, assists in the supply of insulin to the pancreas
• L-Aspartic Acid – increases stamina, protects the liver, aids cell function and RNA/DNA formation
• L-Proline – used in healing cartilage, strengthens joints, tendons and the heart muscle
• L-Tyrosine – aids function of pituitary, adrenal and thyroid glands.

The ion-exchange whey protein in Absorb Plus also creates sustained increases in glutathione (a key antioxidant and antiviral) which creates resistance to a variety of diseases and carcinogens. Other components of whey protein isolate provide the following beneficial actions in the body:

• Alpha-lactalbumin consumption enhances tryptophan and immune function and reduces the stress hormone cortisol
• Tryptophan is used by the brain to manufacture serotonin. This is important because serotonin deficiency plays a role in the development of depression, anxiety, moodiness and insomnia

• Glycomacropeptides stimulate the hormone cholecystokinin, which is responsible for the release of pancreatic enzymes and the healthy contraction of the gallbladder and bowels
• Lactoferrin is an antioxidant that is also a powerful antiviral and antibacterial agent shown to inhibit the growth of E.coli, salmonella and candida in the gut. It also helps ensure the optimal use of iron in the body by binding to iron and preventing oxidation.

Whey protein is also an alkaline food, so it’s ideal for counteracting the usually hyper-acidic body pH levels of people with gastro-intestinal problems. If you have heartburn, don’t be surprised if it lessens or disappears after using Absorb Plus regularly – especially if you consume 3 or more servings per day.

Since Absorb Plus is 100% natural, most of the vitamins, minerals and trace minerals are natural-source extractions, the maltodextrin and fructose are certified non-GMO, the whey protein is lactose-free and cold-extracted – so the protein is not denatured, the amino acids are specifically targeted for gut inflammation and the flavors are certified organic – I think I can safely say that it is the highest quality elemental nutrition shake on the market.

If you’ve read the story of Absorb Plus, you’ll know that I originally formulated Absorb Plus to heal myself of intestinal hemorrhaging. Although I’m healthy now, I continue to use it whenever I’m too tired to cook or I simply don’t have time. Many of my readers use it for breakfast every morning, since it’s a great way to give themselves a healthy start to the day.

How Much Should I Take?

If you’re using Absorb Plus during a flare – or whenever you’re under stress, or likely to develop a flare – you should drink the number of shakes you require for your specific caloric needs each day.

Each Absorb Plus shake (blended with 1 tablespoon of cold-pressed flax or Udo’s oil) equals roughly 480 calories. Normal people usually require 15 calories per pound of body weight. So if you weigh 100 pounds, you need 1500 calories per day to maintain that weight. So you would consume three Absorb Plus shakes per day.

If you want to use this time to drop a few pounds, then you simply figure out how many calories you need to consume to maintain a weight that is 20 pounds less than your current weight – and consume the number of shakes needed to maintain that weight.

If you are malnourished or underweight, you can use this period of liquid nutrition to gain some muscle (healthy weight). In that case, you would take your ideal weight and multiply it by 20. So if you want to weigh 170 pounds, you need to consume 3400 calories per day; which is seven Absorb Plus shakes per day. If your infection is severe, or if you want to gain weight quickly, add another two shakes per day (so you would consume nine shakes per day).

How Long Should I Use Absorb Plus?

Ideally, it’s best to consume only liquid nutrition for entire duration of your flare-up. For some people, this means three days, for others, it means a few weeks. Since your diverticulitis or stricture flare-ups will depend on the severity of your disease, your environment (is it healing, or stressful?), other healing strategies or substances you are using, and your foundational level of health – your healing may be a lot faster, or a lot slower than someone else’s.

So, it’s best to listen to your own body and stay on Absorb Plus shakes for as long as your infection is acute and you are at risk of a blockage. It’s also best to alternate your Absorb Plus shakes with bone broths since the gelatin in the broth is very healing for the gut and the savoury soup provides needed taste variety.

When you’re ready to introduce solid foods again, start with pureed foods and soups to gradually ease yourself back into solid foods. You may want to stay on a mix of Absorb Plus shakes and soft foods for an additional week or two, just to be sure you are well over the flare and give your body the best time/space for healing.

In my continuing quest for cavity-free dental health for my family, I have taken a second look at fluoride. Whilst knowing that fluoride hardens tooth enamel very effectively, we have stayed away from it because of the negative systemic effects (toxicity and fluorosis).

As I took a second, more in-depth look at this mineral though, I came to realize that there is a big difference between ingested fluoride (fluoridated water, fluoride supplements) and topical fluoride (toothpaste, mouthwash, fluoride trays on your teeth at the dentist).

Watching my daughter receive three anesthetic injections prior to her latest dental work, I thought, “Okay, but which is more toxic to her body: fluoride toothpaste topically, or these drugs directly into her bloodstream?”

I’m also wondering about the synergy of using fluoride in toothpaste and then holding the Bone Support nano-sized minerals in the mouth immediately afterwards – would this re-mineralize the teeth further and provide even harder enamel?

“A report by Czechoslovakian researchers indicates that fluoride matters little when it comes to preventing tooth decay. A study of 745 children aged 6 to 14 years, from several localities of Czechoslovakia where the drinking water contains calcium and magnesium in large amounts, showed impressively fewer caries in these children than in others throughout the country. This finding was no surprise to other scientists who reported previously that calcium combined with magnesium has a beneficial effect on the resistance of teeth to caries. Interestingly, in all of the localities where tooth decay was below average, the fluoride content of the water was also low.” (Cesk. Stomat., May-June, 1966.)

“Fluoride gets a lot of the credit for preventing tooth decay that should go to magnesium, a University of Colorado dental researcher says. He is Dr. Lewis Barnett, who has been doing research into tooth decay since 1950. Barnett said that magnesium also strengthens teeth and bone. ‘It is just as feasible for communities to add magnesium to their water supplies,’ he said. Given a choice between fluoride and magnesium, Barnett said, he would choose magnesium.” (“Researcher Says Magnesium Aids Dental Health,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug. 28, 1966)

You’ll notice that these two quotes both referred to fluoride in the drinking water – not topically applied fluoride. As you read through this report, you’ll begin to understand what the difference and significance is between these two methods of usage.

What follows is a sampling of my research into the fluoride issue and what led me to my decision to try topical fluoride next for my family:

DOWNLOAD FLUORIDE USAGE REPORT HERE

And then please tell me your thoughts, questions and own stories in the COMMENTS section below…

Soar higher,
Jini

Jini Patel Thompson interviews Natasha Trenev – author of 5 books and founder of Natren probiotics – about probiotic usage and dosing for “normal” people, i.e. people without a chronic illness.

Natasha answers these common questions:

• Should “normal” people also take probiotics?
• What about prebiotics – do they help good bacteria to colonize and do you recommend them?
• Should you take probiotics during and after a course of antibiotics? And at what dosage?

Use these guidelines for all the members of your family and to pass along to friends.

Probiotic Dosing During Antibiotics Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1040)

Five days after the birth of my third child, Hugo, I was diagnosed with seven different bacterial infections. No one could figure out why/how they occurred, but the most serious involved two bacterial infections in my blood (sepsis) and also a bacterial lung infection (pneumonia).

As an aside: I know why they occurred – it involves a mind/body pathology and I’ve written briefly about it here. Back to my story…

Unfortunately, we do not have any naturopathic or holistic hospitals in Vancouver, so I had to check into a regular medical hospital BUT I agreed to do so only if my MD brother would oversee my treatment – thus ensuring my safety.

The first thing he did was to make them culture out the infective bacteria to identify the pathogens and see WHICH antibiotics were effective against the pathogens. Only then were they allowed to administer those antibiotics (which we knew would work).

This is not standard procedure. In many hospitals, they immediately start with a common antibiotic and hope it works. This means you could end up cycling through numerous antibiotic drugs until they find the one(s) that work. Obviously, this is not a good thing since drug antibiotics create a lot of collateral and systemic damage. Not to mention the extra time you’ll spend in a very unhealthy (infective) environment.

Next, my brother Millan researched the drugs they said I should receive for 10 days and discovered plenty of recent research showing a 7-day course was just as effective, so my treatment time was cut to seven days, rather than ten.

I took my own Natren probiotics into the hospital with me. Since I was on IV antibiotics, I didn’t worry about scheduling (normally you would take probiotics 2 hours after antibiotic dose), but just took 1 tsp. of each powder, 3x/day. I also did not touch the hospital food and instead drank Absorb Plus shakes (with all the healing supplements added as recommended in The IBD Remission Diet) and homemade broth for all my meals, along with Emergen-C. The Absorb Plus was doubly needed since my mouth had broken out in painful ulcers from the antibiotics.

Lastly, I brought in my own 100% cotton bedding and used a lambskin (from Ikea) for a mattress pad – this keeps you from breaking out in bed sores or pressure sores, the wool regulates your body temperature and it is just really comfortable. I also made sure the window was left open (just a bit) night and day to provide fresh air.

The woman in the bed next to me could not use the toilet, otherwise, I would have had to take extra precautions to ensure I didn’t pick up any infections from her feces. Regardless, I brought my own toilet paper and Kleenex.

At first, I didn’t want my children to visit and risk picking up an infection from the hospital (SARS, MRSA, etc.). But that was just too hard on all of us and so I had Ian bring them, but from the second they stood outside the hospital door, they had to clasp their hands behind their backs and were not allowed to touch anything (no door handles, elevator buttons, chairs, counters, etc.). In retrospect, it probably would have been easier to get them to put on a pair of disposable surgical gloves (available at any pharmacy).

When I checked out after a week in the hospital on IV antibiotics, my lungs still weren’t completely clear of fluid. So here’s what I did next to clear them, further heal the damage done by the antibiotics and ensure against any secondary or opportunistic infection:

Pneumonia Natural Treatment Protocol

- Acupuncture daily for 5 days, then 3x/week for a month, with infrared heat lamp on lungs.

- Intravenous Vitamin C (the Vitamin C must drip in slowly over 3 – 3.5 hours to be effective, no faster), 10 sessions, every other day

- Intravenous Hydrogen Peroxide, 10 sessions, every other day. This is the heavy-hitter antibiotic and although it gave me headaches on the day of treatment, it was well worth it.

- Inhaled Glutathione (through a nebulizer) 3 times/week

Something to keep in mind: Not only did  the infection clear completely and the fluid drain completely from my lungs, but there is also no residual scarring. It is now 4 years later and I have also not had pneumonia or any other bronchial infection occur during the winter.

This regimen would no doubt help viral infections as well – since between the Vitamin C and the Hydrogen Peroxide, you’ll pretty much kill everything and give the immune system a tremendous boost (glutathione is also key for immune system and detox.).

Unless you can find an integrative MD, all these therapies are available through a naturopathic (or perhaps an osteopathic doctor).

The only side effect is the IV hydrogen peroxide can sometimes cause a temporary headache in susceptible people. Also any good doc will proceed/test slowly with the IVs initially just to rule out rare allergies, etc.

I’m wary about trying hydrogen peroxide orally since my intuitive feel is that it might be too harsh for the GI tract. It would probably be fine for a normal person, but someone with a history of IBS or IBD would need to proceed/test very slowly; starting with diluted amounts and gradually building up to the recommended dose. Here’s a very detailed instruction manual for all methods of using hydrogen peroxide.

Something you can try at home is a Hydrogen Peroxide Footbath. I don’t know how well it works and haven’t tried it myself, but many MD’s have reported good results from it. Also, I know from applying progesterone to the soles of the feet that the uptake into the system is very good:

Hydrogen Peroxide Footbath

5 cups of warm water
8 ounces (1 cup) of 3.5% Hydrogen Peroxide (use food-grade to ensure purity)*
1 teaspoon of Epsom Salt
1 Foot tub (big enough to comfortably place your feet without crunching your toes).

Soak feet for 15 – 20 minutes. If redness or irritation occurs, the amount of peroxide used can be reduced. This foot soak is also used by diabetics to restore leg circulation.

*A 3.5% solution can be made quite easily by first pouring 1 ounce of food-grade 35% hydrogen peroxide into a pint jar. To this add 11 ounces of distilled water. This will make 12 ounces of 3.5% hydrogen peroxide. Be VERY careful when handling 35% hydrogen peroxide as it will burn your skin instantly on contact. If it’s in a plastic bottle, then direct the opening away from you when you open it, in case it spits some out from the pressure build-up.

Note:

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IF THE AUTO INDUSTRY OPERATED LIKE A PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM…
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This is a really fun (but at the same time sobering) article that highlights some of the problems with prescription drugs – use, manufacture, sale, price, etc.

On the positive side, as with anything in our world (factory farming, cell phone towers, GMO foods, etc.) industry follows the money. And what we spend our dollar on, determines what businesses stay in existence. So my doctor just informed me that the pharmaceutical reps are starting to present him with NATURAL remedies for ailments – like Iberogast. Change is a comin’…..

Also, this article came from an interesting health website with free e-books on topics you may be interested in.
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If the auto industry operated like Big Pharma: fifteen things you might notice

1. Your average car would cost $4.5 million, representing a 30,000% markup over cost, which is typical for prescription drugs. Automakers would justify this price by saying they needed the money to fund research and development, but in reality, most of their research would be funded by taxpayer dollars through government grants and university research centers.

2. That exact same car could be purchased in Mexico or Canada for under $5,000.

3. Automakers would lobby Congress to outlaw or regulate alternative forms of transportation such as bicycles and airplanes, forcing Americans to rely exclusively on cars.

Explanation: the drug industry works hard to discredit alternative medicine, herbs and nutritional supplements, hoping to force consumers to rely on drugs alone.

4. Cars with no safety systems (no seatbelts, no airbags, no crumple zones) would be declared perfectly safe by federal regulators. Car companies, rather than address this lack of safety features, would focus on publicizing the dangers of riding bicycles.

Explanation: the FDA currently approves deadly drugs as “safe.” Meanwhile, drug companies ignore the dangers of their own drugs and, instead, try to get people to believe that herbs or vitamins are dangerous.

5. The manufacturers of those cars with no safety systems would grow tired of being sued by customers who were injured in their cars, and they would lobby Congress to pass “legal reform” that would immunize all car companies against class action lawsuits.

Explanation: drug companies are currently trying to get Congress to pass laws that would make it illegal for consumers to sue for damages. This would shield them from the financial consequences of their dangerous products that kill hundreds of thousands each year.

6. All auto imports would be banned, forcing consumers to buy only U.S. manufactured cars. And if you bought a Toyota and drove it to the U.S., you might be arrested or searched.

Explanation: the FDA works hard to maintain a U.S. monopoly on all prescription drug sales. The agency once famously conducted a “drug raid” search of a bus load of senior citizens returning from Canada who had purchased nothing more than prescription medications.

7. Car companies would heavily publicize the release of new car models each year, but in reality, the new models would essentially be “me-too” cars with no real improvements over those made in the 1970′s. Explanation: most prescription drugs, even though they are touted as “breakthrough” drugs, are little more than me-too drugs that do nothing different than older, off-patent drugs.

8. Car crash dummy tests that produced fatalities and other disturbing data would be censored by the auto industry, never to see the light of day. Any safety scientist who produced such results would be blackballed from ever conducting crash tests again. Explanation: drug companies routinely bury clinical study results that show the dangers of their drugs. They specifically design studies in a way that exaggerates benefits and minimizes risks. Researchers who don’t “play ball” and help distort these drug trial results are blackballed and will never find work in the industry again.

9. Car dealers would be visited by hoards of automobile sales reps promising bribes, first-class vacations, free food and free cars as long as those car dealers would push the right products onto consumers. Explanation: drug companies spend billions each year on handouts to physicians, including outright bribes, fully-paid vacations to exotic resorts (disguised as “Continuing Medical Education” programs), free drug samples, and a never-ending supply of free lunches and other food items.

10. Driver’s education programs would be cancelled nationwide. Instead of teaching people how to avoid accidents or repair damaged cars, automakers would encourage people to keep buying new cars. Explanation: organized medicine doesn’t teach healthy safety or disease prevention. Instead, the entire system is designed around waiting for people to get sick, then treating them with expensive drugs, surgeries and other medical procedures. The system actually encourages chronic illness by neglecting to teach prevention.

11. Companies would make up new reasons why you need more automobiles, hoping to convince you to buy a dozen or more. They might say you need one car to make you feel happy, another for basic transportation, a third to match the color of your house, and so on. Explanation: drug companies frequently invent new, fictitious diseases, and then try to sell you drugs to treat those made-up afflictions. Examples include ADHD, FSD (female sexual dysfunction), General Anxiety Disorder, and other made-up diseases that have no purpose other than selling drugs. Essentially, Big Pharma wants to define everyone as diseased in some way, and then convince people they need a lifetime of prescription drugs to “manage” those diseases. From the moment you’re born, the drug companies say, you’re already diseased.

12. Car advertising would show happy, healthy people driving down country highways with the wind blowing through their hair. But once you get the car, you find out it breaks all the time, it doesn’t perform as promised, and after a couple of years, it won’t even start anymore. Explanation: prescription drugs are advertised with images of happy, healthy, youthful, energetic people. But the reality is that once you start taking prescription drugs, the health of your entire body and nervous system (brain included) starts to go downhill. People who take lots of prescription drugs are nearly always extremely unhealthy, with obvious disease physiology and muddled cognitive function.

13. Cars would be hyped to buyers with fancy, full-color brochures touting all the benefits of the vehicle. But federally-mandated warnings about car safety problems would be printed in 6-point type on a tiny label hidden under the driver’s seat. Explanation: drug companies are required by the FDA to print safety warnings on certain product labels and advertisements, but these warnings are almost always presented in an impossible-to-read format and are, therefore, routinely ignored by doctors and patients alike.

14. Driving certain cars would have unexpected side effects. Driving one car, for example, would make you extremely aggressive and violent… perhaps even suicidal. Driving another car might make all your muscles hurt. And a third car might make you feel an instant loss of sexual drive. Explanation: prescription drugs always have unintended side effects. Antidepressant drugs cause violent behavior and suicides. Statin drugs can cause severe muscle pain (rhabdomyolysis) and loss of cognitive function. They also block the production of cholesterol, the precursor to sex hormones.

… and finally …

15. Cars would be sold to you with high-priced features like a sunroof, air conditioning, 6-CD changer, navigation system and other items, but upon delivery, you would find none of the features you paid for. The car would be completely different from the one you thought you bought. Explanation: drugs are sold to patients with hyped-up promises of multiple health benefits. But once people start taking the drugs, they find the benefits were exaggerated. In other words, the drug they end up taking is nothing like the drug they thought they purchased — the drug advertised with all the features and benefits on TV.

NewsTarget Network (c)2004,2005 Mike Adams. All Rights Reserved.

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Detailed information on prescription drugs used for Crohn’s, colitis and IBS, why you should wean off them, and how to do this, are in LISTEN TO YOUR GUT, Chapter Five. Topics covered include:

- Suppression vs. Healing
- Symptoms Or Messages?
- Symptoms Or Side Effects?
- Immunosuppressive Drugs & Hormonal Health

“The Listen to Your Gut program is a tour-de-force in better understanding our body’s second brain. From the specificities of a wide variety of physical treatments, to probing the inner workings of our psyches and how they relate to our gut, it has something to offer almost anyone who has an intestinal tract. In fact, I have already recommended it to two friends with intestinal/rectal problems and begun using a few of the recommended supplements myself.”
- John W. Travis, MD, MPH
Co-author, Wellness Workbook: How to Achieve Enduring Health and Vitality Founder, first wellness center in USA Co-founder, Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children
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In the last year or so, I’ve received a few emails from people suggesting that Absorb Plus is not actually an elemental diet product. And that only products with free form amino acids as their protein source qualify as “elemental”. Back when I first formulated Absorb Plus (in 1998), whey protein isolate was considered one of the best protein sources for an elemental diet. And at the time, the clinical studies on “elemental diets” varied between using free form amino acids, whey isolate, whey concentrate, egg albumin, etc. and all were considered acceptable ingredients in an “elemental” shake.

However, I’ve conducted a review of the current med literature and it seems that the definitions are shifting, but as yet, are still not clear. Here’s a summary…

According to the Medical Dictionary:

Elemental Diet – contains nutrients as small molecular weight compounds, i.e. proteins as amino acids or peptides, carbohydrates as oligosaccharides or monosaccharides, and fats as medium-chain triglycerides. Used in the treatment of gastrointestinal disease. Called also monomeric diet.

So according to that definition, whey isolate (which Absorb Plus contains) would qualify as an “elemental” product since it is a protein peptide.

However, according to this paper, Absorb Plus would be considered “semi-elemental” and a “specialized formula”:

The EN [elemental nutrition] formulas differ in their protein and fat content and can be classified as elemental (monomeric), semi-elemental (oligomeric), polymeric or specialized. Elemental formulas contain individual amino acids, glucose polymers, and are low fat with only about 2% to 3% of calories derived from long chain triglycerides (LCT) (3). Semi-elemental formulas contain peptides of varying chain length, simple sugars, glucose polymers or starch and fat, primarily as medium chain triglycerides (MCT) (3). Polymeric formulas contain intact proteins, complex carbohydrates and mainly LCTs (3). Specialized formulas contain biologically active substances or nutrients such as glutamine, arginine, nucleotides or essential fatty acids (Table 1). Although elemental and semi-elemental formulas cost about 400% more than polymeric formulas (4) they are still widely used because they are believed to be 1) better absorbed, 2) less allergenic, 3) better tolerated in patients with malabsorptive states and 4) cause less exocrine pancreatic stimulation in patients with pancreatitis.

(Source: Elemental and Semi-Elemental Formulas: Are They Superior to Polymeric Formulas? By Diklar Makola, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., Gastroenterology Fellow, University of Virginia Health System, Digestive Health Center of Excellence, Charlottesville, VA. PRACTICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY • DECEMBER 2005

In terms of taking this into the realm of practical application, I stand behind what I first discovered using elemental diets for myself and consequently wrote about in The IBD Remission Diet and that is that whilst free form amino acids are considered more ‘hypo-allergenic’, they are not often useful for inducing disease remission – because the person cannot gain weight and address malnutrition using only free form aminos. This becomes especially important when dealing with children on an elemental diet, who need to make up for lost growth and height.

I searched high and low to find the answer as to why people would not gain weight ingesting only free form amino acids as the protein source and finally learned why from a PhD in nutrition, who specialized in treating athletes: He said that the body will use free form amino acids more as a supplement (hormone pathways, mucosal lining, etc.), but it cannot use them to build muscle unless they piggy-back on a di-peptide (or higher) bond protein (like whey isolate). A really good paper that goes into this in detail is Protein digestion and amino acid and peptide absorption By D. B. A. SILK et al, Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Central Middlesex Hospital, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (1985), 44, 63-72

Yet more evidence that a semi-elemental diet is preferable to a strictly elemental diet is provided in numerous clinical trials, like this one with Crohn’s disease:

“A controlled trial was performed to compare enteral feeding with either an amino acid based feed or a whole protein feed as sole treatment for active Crohn’s disease.” In the group given the amino acid feed, 69% achieved remission within 3 weeks. In the whole protein feed, 72% achieved remission. But the interesting thing was, when researchers then switched the groups over onto the other diet – i.e. the amino acid group got switched to whole protein and the whole protein group got switched to amino acids only – 43% in the group switched to amino acids relapsed, but NONE of the group switched to whole protein relapsed.
(Source: Enteral feeding as sole treatment for Crohn’s disease: controlled trial of whole protein v amino acid based feed and a case study of dietary challenge. A H Raouf et al, Gut 1991;32:702-707)

So, as to whether Absorb Plus is an elemental or semi-elemental product, the jury’s still out. However, I would say the literature is evolving to eventually classify it as “semi-elemental”. But that will not take into account that back when many of the clinical trials were conducted on elemental diets, Absorb Plus was at that time considered elemental and so can reference these results for expected outcomes. Although, not really.

Because keep in mind that the IBD Remission Diet is NOT just a straight elemental diet, like those used in the medical clinical trials – it is so much more and I will do another blog post specifically on the differences. Likewise, Absorb Plus differs significantly in ingredients and quality from the pharma elemental products used in clinical trials – so in my opinion, the outcomes are likely not comparable; I would think using Absorb Plus and the IBD Remission Diet would result in much higher remission rates than current clinical trials indicate.

Then there is yet another ambiguous term in play in the world of elemental diets: hydrolyzed whey protein, or, hydrolysates. Again, it is difficult to pin down a consistent definition of this substance – that is used consistently throughout the literature. Here are two definitions that are pretty similar, but again, one includes peptide proteins and the other only free form amino acids.

Protein Hydrolysate – a sterile solution of amino acids and peptides prepared from a protein by acid or enzymatic hydrolysis and used intravenously for the maintenance of positive nitrogen balance in severe illness, after surgery of the alimentary tract, in the diets of infants allergic to milk, or as a high-protein dietary supplement.

OR

Protein Hydrolysate - a mixture of amino acids prepared by splitting a protein with acid, alkali or enzyme. Such preparations provide the nutritive equivalent of the original material in the form of its constituent amino acids and are used in special diets or for patients unable to take the ordinary food proteins.

Sounds like protein hydrolysates would be highly tolerated and nicely hypo-allergenic if used in an elemental diet shake, right? But again, we have the same problem with it being difficult to build muscle from these formulas. And the other huge problem is that hydrolysates are incredibly bitter in flavor, thus difficult to ingest and usually paired with lots of synthetic, artificial flavoring agents to make them palatable. Many however, are just pumped in via a stomach shunt, or intravenously.

If, for some reason, you cannot tolerate Absorb Plus and you must use a free form amino acid elemental formula, then the best ones (natural, no nasties added) I’ve found are the Alpha formulas from Nutramed. Most of the mainstream pharmaceutical formulas contain a truck-load of sugar, really high oil content and artificial flavors, colors, etc. – so although they can be cheaper, they are not what I would call a ‘health product’. In fact, here’s a quick price comparison of elemental shake products.

For a probiotic to have reliable, therapeutic results, it must fulfill ALL of the six criteria listed to below to ensure safety, potency and bioavailability:

1. Manufactured in a cGMP Facility and stored in dark, glass bottles only

Make sure the probiotic is manufactured in a facility that carries the cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) certification, otherwise you risk consuming a contaminated product. Contaminants could consist of lead, mercury (and other poisonous heavy metals), and undesirable bacteria. A 1990 independent laboratory study found that nine out of ten brands of popular Lactobacillus acidophilus probiotics actually contained no acidophilus at all. All nine contained contaminants and other species of lactobacilli instead. Probiotics are also sensitive to (and damaged by) light and moisture. Only a glass bottle will keep out all moisture – all plastic is permeable to varying degrees of moisture. In addition, the glass must be dark (or amber colored) to keep out light, which also damages bacteria.

2. Different species must not be touching each other

Different species of bacteria placed together will compete for space and try to dominate each other, resulting in competitive exclusion by the dominant species. In vitro studies have shown that when you place different species together, the dominant (strongest) species will usually produce bacteriocins that kill closely related species.(1)

Therefore, each species (eg. acidophilus, bifidum, bulgaricus) must be kept in its own bottle or in separate capsules. Refrigeration does not prevent this from happening either, since certain bacteriocins have proved stable at temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celcius. I know most probiotic manufacturers sell regular capsules or powders with anywhere from 3 to 14 different species packaged together in one jar, or one capsule. Again, I’m absolutely mystified as to why they do this. However, check the bottle and you’ll see that none of these manufacturers guarantees the number of live, viable bacteria in their product at the time of opening, or consumption. Nor do they guarantee how many of each species and strain remains alive and viable for effective colonization in the gut at time of consumption. See Quality Concerns below.

3. Probiotics must be kept refrigerated at all times

The bacteria need to be stored in a fridge at the store and they must also be shipped in refrigerated trucks to the store. Heat quickly kills bacteria and even at room temperature they will become active and soon live out their life cycle – think of what happens if you leave yoghurt on the counter. The best way to preserve bacterial potency is by keeping it cold at all times, until you’re ready to ingest it. Freeze drying is the best method of preserving the bacteria and for this to be maintained, they must be kept very cold at all times until you’re ready to ingest them. Of course, keep your probiotics refrigerated at home too.

4. Strain and number of bacteria per serving must be listed on the bottle

Only certain strains of bacteria are potent and effective (eg. L. bulgaricus DDS-14 is excellent, L. bulgaricus DDS-13 is useless – remember, ‘bulgaricus’ is the species, ‘DDS-14′ is the strain). If the manufacturer just lists ‘acidophilus’ for example, chances are they’ve used a cheap and ineffective strain of L. acidophilus. There are approximately 200 identified strains of L. acidophilus, of these, only 13 have good antibiotic (against bad bacteria) qualities, thus, the strain is indeed very important. They must also list the number of bacteria guaranteed per serving (and this should be between 2-5 billion colony forming units per serving) at the time of opening. This guarantee is key: If a manufacturer only guarantees the number of bacteria at the time of manufacture, this is meaningless. At manufacture, a bottle may contain 2 billion cfu (colony forming units) per serving – however, by the time that bottle gets to you, the bacteria may be mostly dead. Another trick to watch out for is that manufacturers will list (for example) two different strains of L. acidophilus, one of which is a good strain and the other a cheap useless one. Then they will list the total guaranteed bacteria per serving at 2 billion cfu. However, they haven’t told you how much of that total count is the effective strain and how much is the ineffective one. It’s also a good idea to use human strains (vs. bovine or porcine strains) for safety’s sake.

5. Avoid centrifuged or filter-extracted bacteria

The cheapest way of extracting the bacteria from their growing culture is by centrifuge extraction. In centrifugal extraction, the bacteria (which are embedded/attached to their growth medium) are put in a centrifuge and whirled around with great force at high speed. This greatly damages the bacteria as they’re hurled against the walls of the centrifuge and many of them are left ruptured and useless. However, the manufacturer can still put this damaged, ruptured bacteria in a bottle and include it in the guaranteed count per serving. Technically, you’ll still be ingesting that amount of bacteria, it just won’t do you any good. In ultrafiltration extraction methods, the bacteria are pressed through a filter that removes the larger molecules of their growth medium. However, when bacteria are growing in their culture, they form into chains as they multiply. Ultrafiltration results in the breakup of these chains, separates the bacteria from their beneficial growth medium (supernatant) and can also damage the bacteria themselves. The best method of preserving bacteria (and the most expensive) is to freeze dry it along with its growth medium. Many scientists maintain it’s best to consume bacteria along with it’s growth medium (also known as the substrate or supernatant) since this protects the bacteria from stomach acid and provides a ready food source for the bacteria to consume as they establish themselves in your gastrointestinal tract. Also, as the bacteria grow in the culture (of milk or vegetable matter), the growth and culturing process produces valuable substances such as vitamins, antioxidants, immune system factors, antimicrobial compounds and digestive enzymes that greatly benefit your body when ingested. Make sure your brand of bacteria states on the bottle that it doesn’t use ultrafiltration or centrifugal extraction methods (if it doesn’t say so, chances are it does use these methods) and ideally, purchase bacteria that is freeze dried along with its growth medium.

6. Avoid prebiotics

Some companies package their probiotics with fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and/or inulin – indigestible substances referred to as prebiotics, which they claim feed the bacteria, thereby improving performance. Keep in mind though, that many bacteria (both good and bad) can feed on these substances. So if you have a predominantly bad bacterial flora (as most, if not all people with IBD do) consuming prebiotics may exacerbate your symptoms. Also, most FOS is manufactured via chemical synthesis and in many instances has been shown to cause abdominal pain, bloating and gas. I especially don’t recommend it for people with IBS or IBD. Also avoid FOS and inulin in vitamin/mineral supplements, whey protein powders, etc. Be sure to read labels as it’s become popular to add it to all kinds of products. For perfectly healthy people with an established good bacterial flora, prebiotics are probably okay, especially if they are not able to obtain these substances naturally through a good diet.

If you’ve read any of my books, you’ll know that the only probiotics I’ve found so far that meet all of these selection criteria are Natren brand. And I’m also a big fan of making your own yoghurt using Natren’s Yoghurt Starter and lacto-fermenting veggies – to get ongoing food-source probiotics in your diet.

Health Canada put out a pretty good discussion paper on probiotics, which addressed some of these concerns about most probiotics not being manufactured or stored properly to ensure potency. Here are just a few highlights from that paper:

Impact of processing, environment and diet on probiotic bacteria

“Probiotics in NHPs [natural health products] and foods are fragile and particularly sensitive to processing conditions (such as freezing, drying, exposure to oxygen) and to storage conditions (such as room temperature, oxygen, moisture).”

Quality Concerns

“A significant quality issue for probiotic supplements is the viability of bacteria in the product, specifically how many organisms are alive when the consumer purchases it as many products claim only the amount at the time of manufacture. As well, the product should contain the bacterial species that it claims on the label, and potentially pathogenic microorganisms should not be present.

A recent Canadian study assessed whether commercially prepared probiotic products contained viable organisms, as claimed by the manufacturers, and particularly whether products labeled as containing Lactobacillus did so.(2) An additional objective of the research was to identify and quantify as many species as feasible and to compare them with the contents listed on labels. The design was randomized, double-blind trial of 10 brands of probiotic preparations bought over-the-counter in British Columbia ‘s lower mainland. Only products claiming to contain Lactobacillus were included in the study. The study measured the viable organisms in each probiotic brand and quantities of Lactobacillus in each product.

The results showed that none of the 10 products tested matched their labeled microbiologic specifications and two brands grew nothing aerobically or anaerobically. No Lactobacillus grew in five brands, although their labels stated that this was the main species. Eight brands contained viable cells, but only 10% of the number stated by their manufacturers. Most product labels did not adequately identify or quantify microbes which led the author to conclude that the use of probiotics should not be recommended at this time.

In research conducted by a media outlet and broadcasted in 2003(3), two different probiotic capsules were each tested twice, including newly stocked retail product to determine the number of live bacteria and secondly near the end of the product’s shelf life to test if the counts had fallen. The first label claimed 6 billion live cultures per capsule but testing showed only 1.7 billion and within two weeks, millions more bacteria died, with 460 million still alive. The second product did contain the label claim of more than one billion in the first test. But on the follow-up test, 692 million bacteria remained alive.

Dr. Gregor Reid, director, Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics, Lawson Health Research Institute, and professor of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario , London was quoted on the program as stating “This is particularly disheartening, as you’re getting a massive drop in viability, even within two weeks. You’ve picked two products but you could have picked 10 or 15 and, according to European studies, you’d find the same kind of results where you get a drop off in viability.”

Research has further shown that products should contain between one million and one billion live bacteria to be efficacious.(4) The media program concluded by stating that ” … manufacturers can say whatever they want on those containers. That’s because there are no Canadian government regulations on how much live bacteria there should be, and no rules on what labels have to tell us about quantity”.”

References:

(1) “Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium in irritable bowel syndrome: Symptom responses and relationship to cytokine profiles” by Liam O’Mahony et al. Gastroenterology March 2005;128:541-551,783-785

(2) Huff, B.A. 2004. Caveat emptor. “Probiotics” might not be what they seem. Can. Fam. Physician. Apr. 50:583-7.

(3) CBC MARKETPLACE: PROBIOTICS. Testing bacteria levels. September 9, 2003. www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/ files/food/yogurt/

(4) Reid G, Jass J, Sebulsky MT , McCormick JK. 2003. Potential uses of probiotics in clinical practice. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 16:658-672.

WOW!! I think this trailer for Reid Bryant Kimball’s upcoming documentary film on alternative treatments for Crohn’s and colitis is fantastic! And I can’t wait to be able to watch the whole film.

Let me know what you think….(in the COMMENTS section below…)

WANTED: Crohn’s End – Trailer “Take Control” from Reid Bryant Kimball.

And remember to donate if you’d like to help make this film happen.

Soar higher,
Jini

Following is a fantastic article showing that high dose vitamin C greatly improves the efficacy of antibiotics. Similarly, since Wild Oregano Oil is also an antibiotic, it too should be potentized if taken with high doses of vitamin C.

Shortly after the birth of my third child, Hugo, I had to go to the hospital and receive IV antibiotics for seven different bacterial infections, including pneumonia – even my blood was infected with 2 different kinds of pathogenic bacteria.

In case you’re wondering why/how this happened – no one really knows for sure. But, I had a cough/cold infection for the last 2 months of my pregnancy, but stupidly just assumed there was nothing I could take for it, since I was pregnant – I learned later that I could have taken intravenous hydrogen peroxide and inhaled glutathione. The other huge contributing factor was that I was absolutely petrified of having another child – Hugo was our “surprise!” baby as both Ian and I had decided we couldn’t physically handle the work load and sleep deprivation of another child – and then here we were having one. So I was VERY emotionally affected by this event. I didn’t know much about EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) at that time, but if I had, I would have immediately booked with Annabel Fisher to address all these emotions before giving birth – and that would likely have prevented the infectious outburst.

Anyway, upon completing the IV antibiotics in the hospital, I then embarked upon a course of 10 IV treatments of hydrogen peroxide alternating with ten treatments of 10,000 – 15,000 mg of IV vitamin C at my naturopathic doctor’s clinic. By doing this, I:

a) healed much of the damage done by the antibiotics (I also took high dose Natren probiotics during and after and drank only Absorb Plus whilst in the hospital – to protect myself from toxic hospital food!)

b) prevented secondary or opportunistic infections from occurring (very common following IV antibiotic use)

c) cleared up the remaining pneumonia and fluid in my lungs (I also used inhaled glutathione, Infrared heat on my lungs and acupuncture)

Another “must-take” supplement that I recommend – vitamin D (but must be cholecalciferol – D3) is also recommended by this article as an immune system regulator. I recommend 3,000-4,000 IU per day in the winter if you live in a low-sunlight area. See my blog post for lots more info on vitamin D supplementation.

Also, remember that people with IBD or IBS need to take their vitamin C in mineral ascorbate form to prevent it triggering diarrhea.

Click here to see the vitamin C and vitamin D that I recommend.

And now, here’s the article:
_______________________________________________________________

ANTIBIOTICS AND VITAMINS WORK TOGETHER
_______________________________________________________________

(OMNS Dec 3, 2007) The benefits of using vitamin C together with antibiotics are considerable. In a controlled trial with dairy cows with infected udders, high dose vitamin C has been shown to have synergistic effects when used with antibiotics. [1] The cows were divided into two groups. One group was treated with antibiotics alone, and the other group was treated with antibiotics and the human equivalent of 10,000 mg/day injections of vitamin C. The vitamin C group got well much sooner: in just over half the time.

In humans, an astoundingly high 120,000 mg/day (nearly 2,000 times the RDA) of vitamin C delivered intravenously has been demonstrated to accelerate healing of burned skin in a blinded clinical trial. [2] 1,000 to 3,000 mg/day (100 times the RDA) of niacin is a standard treatment for controlling cholesterol. [3] Similar doses of niacin have been demonstrated to reduce inflammation [4] and to reduce injury to the brain after strokes. [5]

Extensive evidence shows that vitamin D serves as an important regulator of immune system responses. [6] Many of these regulatory pathways are optimized when vitamin D is present in the bloodstream at levels considerably higher than average values in the American population. Regular vitamin D supplementation, by taking a daily multivitamin and an additional daily 1,000 IU of vitamin D, is recommended. In addition, a one-time dose of up to 5,000 IU of vitamin D at the onset of a serious bacterial infection should be considered. Physicians now have access to routine tests of vitamin D status. Periodic blood testing is recommended for anyone regularly taking very large amounts of vitamin D.

Physicians managing life-threatening bacterial infections have many options for administering vitamin C and niacin. The simplest is oral supplementation at modest doses of 2,000 to 10,000 mg/day of vitamin C and 100 to 500 mg/day of time-release niacin or “no flush” niacin (inositol hexaniacinate). Injections can be used to deliver much higher doses directly to the site of infection. For improved at-home management of respiratory infections, extra vitamin C, vitamin D and niacin should be taken along with antibiotics or other prescribed medication. There are now dozens strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria. They are estimated to kill about 100,000 Americans per year, more than AIDS, breast cancer, and auto accidents combined. High potency vitamin supplementation can prevent many of these deaths and speed recovery.

References:
[1] Naresh, Ram; Dwivedi, S. K.; Swarup, D.; Patra, R. C. Evaluation of ascorbic acid treatment in clinical and subclinical mastitis of Indian dairy cows. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 2002. 15(6), 905-911. ‚Ä®[2] Dubick, Michael A.; Williams, Chad; Elgjo, Geir I.; Kramer, George C. High-dose vitamin C infusion reduces fluid requirements in the resuscitation of burn-injured sheep. Shock, 2005. 24(2), 139-144. ‚Ä®[3] Brown, B. Greg. Can niacin slow the development of atherosclerosis in coronary artery disease patients already taking statins? Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine, 2005. 2(5), 234-235. ‚Ä®[4] Yu, Bi-lian; Zhao, Shui-ping. Anti-inflammatory effect is an important property of niacin on atherosclerosis beyond its lipid-altering effects. Medical Hypotheses, 2007. 69(1), 90-94. ‚Ä®[5] Maynard, Kenneth I. Natural neuroprotectants after stroke. Science & Medicine (Narberth, PA, 2002). 8(5), 258-267. ‚Ä®[6] Tavera-Mendoza, L.E. and W! hite, John H. Cell Defenses and the Sunshine Vitamin. Scientific American, November 2007, 62-72.
Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org
The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.
Editorial Review Board:
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.
Damien Downing, M.D.
Harold D. Foster, Ph.D.
Steve Hickey, Ph.D.
Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D.
Erik Paterson, M.D.
Bradford Weeks, M.D.
Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. – Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org

Find out what PhD wireless radiation expert Dr. Magda Havas would do if her child (or grandchild) was in a school with wireless computers.

What’s wrong with having a cordless phone in your home?

Why do you need to get your school to remove the wireless computers and hard-wire instead?

Dr. Magda Havas answers these questions and more in the last installment of this 4-part interview on the dangers of wireless and cellphone radiation and what we need to do to protect ourselves and our children.

PART 4 OF 4

WiFi and Cellphone Radiation - Problems and Solutions Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1554)

If you missed the previous installments, then click here to listen to Part 1, or Part 2, or Part 3.

You can download all the tools we discuss to use with your school, neighbours, info pack, etc here at my kids’ site: www.RadiationEducation.com

Magda Havas, MSc., PhD, is Associate Professor of Environmental & Resource Studies at Trent University; where she also does research on the biological effects of environmental contaminants. Dr. Havas received her PhD from the University of Toronto, completed postdoctoral research at Cornell University, and taught at the University of Toronto before going to join Trent University, also in Ontario, Canada.

Here is Part 3 of this 4-part series with wireless and cell phone radiation expert Dr. Magda Havas.

Do you have children in a school with wireless computers?

Do you work in an office with wireless computers and a cordless phone?

Do you use a cell phone, carry it close to your body, or let your kids use it?

Do you have a chronic illness, or immune system malfunction?

Do you suffer from headaches, or don’t sleep well at night?

…then you simply MUST educate yourself about this ubiquitous health hazard and learn what you can do to protect yourself.

PART 3 OF 4

WiFi And Cellphone Radiation Protection with Dr. Havas - Part 3 [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (12710)

*If you missed Part 1, you can listen to it here. Or, here is Part 2.

You can download all the tools we discuss to use with your school, neighbours, info pack, etc here at my kids’ site (or order a t-shirt!): www.RadiationEducation.com

Magda Havas, MSc., PhD, is Associate Professor of Environmental & Resource Studies at Trent University; where she also does research on the biological effects of environmental contaminants. Dr. Havas received her PhD from the University of Toronto, completed postdoctoral research at Cornell University, and taught at the University of Toronto before going to join Trent University, also in Ontario, Canada.

The idea for this topic came from a reader with a family vacation coming up. And she was really nervous about how to go on a holiday without triggering a flare. Amazingly enough, this had not even occurred to me before – since I travel so often, I’ve got my “safe travel routines” down pat. Well, now I’m going to share them with you.

I find there are basically two areas that account for 90% of the stress whilst traveling: Food and sleep. These are the two crucial areas for someone with IBD or IBS that must be maintained in order to avoid a flare.

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FOOD
___________________________________

Let’s talk about food first. When travelling in North America, unless you’re eating in an upscale restaurant with an actual chef, you can be pretty sure that everything you order will have been processed in some way – this is why I say it’s actually easier to travel to somewhere like Thailand and eat off a street vendor – at least you get fresh, unprocessed food! In many of the chain or “family” restaurants you can be pretty much guaranteed that everything comes out of a box, a bag, or was treated with tenderizers, preservatives, MSG, artificial flavor enhancers, etc. You may be able to handle one or two meals like this, but not only are you risking triggering a flare, who wants to eat crappy food like that anyway?

So, the easiest way around this, is to always book accommodation with a kitchen. Locate the organic grocery stores in the area before you leave home and go do your shopping the day (or second day) you arrive. Items you should bring from home: spices, salt, pepper, tea.

Your next safeguard is to take Absorb Plus with you. For those of you who don’t know what this is: Absorb Plus is an elemental (pre-digested) shake product that I formulated specifically for people with IBD. All you have to add is cold-pressed flax oil, or Udo’s oil (my favorite), water, and 4 scoops of Absorb Plus. Whip it up in a blender, pour it over ice, and you have a completely nutritious meal that will actually soothe your gut and help you maintain your health whilst away.

Many business travelers use a hand held blender to whip the shake as it’s so much smaller/lighter then packing a regular blender and easy to use if you’re on the go. Check with your accommodation though, as many rentals now provide blenders. One of my readers is a film producer, and he never goes on location without Absorb Plus – he says he’s been able to shoot everywhere in the world without flaring, since he always has his shakes when the food’s bad, or his system needs a break. Make sure you take a large glass or container to whip the shakes in if using a hand held blender (you have to be able to put the blender all the way down to the bottom of the glass to be able to whip it properly).

For myself, even if I don’t need to make that many shakes, I find the psychological relief has a huge impact on my stress and feelings of safety. Especially if you’re in the US, there are going to be times where you simply cannot find a restaurant that serves non-processed, chemical-free food (without reserving ahead at a five-star). Also, if you have kids, things can get stressful trying to provide food for them (especially if they’re picky eaters), so not having to worry about yourself, knowing you can have a shake, is often a huge stress reliever. It’s wonderful to know that whatever happens, you’re okay, you can just make a shake. So you won’t have to suffer any ill effects of toxic food, and you feel relieved because you know you’re getting great nutrients.

Of course, take everything with you that you need to make the shake – a tablespoon, large size travel mug with lid, straws, your supplements, Udo’s Oil etc. Ice, you can find pretty much everywhere. Remember that your Udo’s Oil, or flax oil needs to stay cold at all times – see the section below on “Probiotics” for instructions on how to pack and store your Udo’s oil for traveling.

If you’ve never tried Absorb Plus, then make sure you try it well in advance to ensure you like it and can tolerate it.

The other thing that can provide you with that “safety net” in the food department is to make some really nutritious muffins and cookies to take along. These travel really well and then you can always eat these with a nice hot cup of tea if you can’t find decent food (or enough of it). Pack them in an airtight tin in your suitcase and they’ll stay fresh and un-crushed.

The other thing is to make sure you pack your own food for the journey (plane or car), because that way you can start out well and there’s also very little chance you’ll be able to buy good food on the go.

What to Eat When You HAVE To Eat Fast Food:

- Sushi would be the best thing if you can find it. Many airports now have sushi to go.

- Next best, try to find a sandwich place and order a Tuna sandwich rather than anything containing processed meats. Next best choice would be Chicken Salad (don’t order thinly sliced chicken as it’s most likely processed, containing nitrates), or if you can tolerate dairy, then Cheese and Tomato.

- Another possibility is a vegetable noodle soup (ramen or udon), but ask them if they can do it without MSG. If they can’t, then just eat the noodles and vegetables and don’t drink the broth.

__________________________________________________________

PROBIOTICS
__________________________________________________________

I’ve traveled extensively with probiotics, both throughout the US, Hawaii, and also to the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and Asia.

I used to take them as carry-on luggage, but then I got to thinking that they probably receive a lot more radiation that way then if they go through checked baggage – especially with the increased airport security since 9/11. Some internet research revealed conflicting evidence as to which radiation is stronger – so I’m still not sure whether it’s best to take them carry-on, or in your checked luggage. But, even flying to a hot country, your ice packs (as described below) should hold out for at least 24 hours.

So here’s what I do: I take a thermal insulated (soft-sided) carrier bag and line it with frozen gel ice packs (gel stays cold longer than water) – the more ice packs, the better. If you order Natren probiotics, you will automatically have gel packs that came with your shipment. I take the large size bottles of loose powders, since I normally go for 2 weeks or more. I pack it in my suitcase. If you’re bringing Udo’s Oil, or flax oil for your Absorb Plus shakes, pack the oil in with the probiotics as it too has to stay cold, and store it the same way in your hotel.

Natren says that if you are taking the Healthy Trinity capsules, then you do not need to pack them on ice (they are more stable than the powders) and they will be fine for two weeks as long as they are kept out of direct light and high temperatures. So in that case, you would take them carry-on (as the baggage hold is not temperature controlled) and then put them in a refrigerator when you get to your destination.

When I arrive at my hotel, I do indeed try to make sure I have a fridge or bar fridge (just take out the hotel snacks/drinks and put them on the dresser to make space) and then I keep them in there. For the trip home, get the hotel staff to re-freeze your ice packs 2 days prior to leaving.

If you can’t get a fridge in your hotel, then it does work well to keep them in the ice bucket, surrounded by ice, but then you need to replace the ice once or twice per day, so it’s a bit of a hassle.

I know they stay potent, because we once had a big family trip to a resort in Mexico (only 3 star – never again!), there were 12 of us there and every single person got ill (diarrhea, some vomiting) at one point – except my family – who were all taking the Natren probiotics prophylactically.

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SLEEP
_______________________________________________________

Getting a good night’s sleep is also crucial to maintaining your health. The amount of stuff you need to take to ensure a good sleep will depend on your current state of health and whether you’re a light or deep sleeper.

If your health is fairly poor, then you’ll be more affected by toxins. In this case, you should bring all your own bedding – mattress pad, sheets, pillow, quilt, etc. Hotel laundering uses lots of chemicals, so you’ll want to avoid inhaling these while you sleep. You should also bring your own towel or two, for the same reason. If you’re going for 2 weeks or more, than also bring an extra set of sheets and pillowcases so you can freshen your bed, or in case something spills on it.

If you’re a light sleeper and you’re travelling with your family, then seriously consider booking your own room. Remember, if you get sick, no one’s going to enjoy the holiday.

For myself, I always bring my own pillow and then I get to sleep MUCH easier. The more familiarity, the less stress – plus hotel pillows are just disgusting anyway and I don’t want toxins right in my face as I sleep! I bring pillows for the kids too. And I bring my own 100% cotton sheets. There’s nothing worse than sleeping on polyester, especially in a hot country (I mostly travel to hot places).

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Jini’s Personal List of Easiest Countries to Travel To:
_______________________________________________________

Italy
France
Japan
Sweden
Portugal
Switzerland

Why? Because it’s very easy to find cheap, local restaurants that cook fresh, homemade food from scratch in these countries. Therefore, they can cook it to your requirements and your gut will not be irritated by hidden chemicals, preservatives, MSG, artificial flavors and colors, etc.

If you have any tried and true travel tips, or maybe you’ve gone to a resort that had really good quality food, or could cook to cater for food intolerances, please post your info in the COMMENTS section below.

Happy Trails!

Ever feel like you’re the only one on the path of natural healing?

Or maybe you’re thinking about getting off the drugs and asking for more out of life, but you’re unsure. Perhaps it seems like such a longshot…

Here’s a video clip from Reid B. Kimball – who’s working on a documentary film about successful alternative healing methods for Crohn’s and colitis – where he interviews some people who are getting MORE out of life by using natural healing methods (hint: recognize the last person, at the very end of the video??):

WANTED: Crohn’s End – Palm Connections Trailer

Reid Says: Based on interviews I’ve done so far, these are the core principles I see many using who overcome their diseases:
1. Change your mindset, believe you have control over your health and can overcome the disease.
2. Change diet and lifestyle choices.
3. Use probiotics.

Less common but important principles followed by people:
4. Use a natural antibiotic.
5. Heal the intestines.

If you’d like to learn more about Reid’s film project – and perhaps even support his efforts, here’s another video for you (hint: recognize the song at the end of this next vid??)

Soar higher,
Jini

For those of you who missed my email about my Healing Journey Movie – I’ve also posted it here. Here are some comments from people who’ve watched it:

“I loved the movie. It reminded me to just slow down and really appreciate the wonderful moments each day. “Stop and smell the roses” really applies to this movie. Thanks for all that you do.”
- J.A.

“THANK YOU SO MUCH! REALLY ENJOYED A UPLIFTING MOVIE TO WATCH AND LOOK INTO YOURSELF.”
- D.D.

“Thank you so much Jini. I enjoyed the message in your movie.

I feel much more in power now after a few years of trial and error, since diagnosed with Crohn’s since 2003. It’s so wonderful to feel that I am gaining control again of my own body and well-being. It is a healing journey, with some ups and downs, but it definitely only gets better. Thank you for your valuable advice, website, books, videos etc.”
- A.L.

“Thank you!! What great encouragement to wake up to this morning.”
- G.W.

CLICK HERE to watch….

Soar higher,

Jini

Join us for Part 2 of this 4-part series with wireless radiation expert Dr. Magda Havas.

Jini Patel Thompson asks clear and practical questions about the risks and safety measures for all of us living in this wireless age of microwave radiation.

If you have a chronic illness, immune system malfunction, or young children then you simply MUST educate yourself about this ubiquitous health hazard and learn what you can do to protect yourself.

PART 2 OF 4

WiFi And Cellphone Radiation with Dr. Havas - Part 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1800)

*If you missed Part 1, you can listen to it here.

Concerned about WiFi in your kid’s school? Download an info pack and array of tools to educate teachers and principals and protect your child.

Magda Havas, MSc., PhD, is Associate Professor of Environmental & Resource Studies at Trent University; where she also does research on the biological effects of environmental contaminants. Dr. Havas received her PhD from the University of Toronto, completed postdoctoral research at Cornell University, and taught at the University of Toronto before going to join Trent University, also in Ontario, Canada.

Just spent a day in L.A. being interviewed by Reid B. Kimball – who is making a documentary film on alternative treatments for inflammatory bowel disease. Reid is a real sweetheart, very down-to-earth and his sincerity shines through every question he asks.

After 3 hours of that, he interviewed Natasha Trenev, the founder of Natren probiotics – who knows just a wee bit about what’s going on behind the scenes in this industry! And then we all had dinner together.

Reid has already interviewed Jay Baluk from CrohnsBoy – who is the nicest guy and a real blast. And I understand he’s also been in touch with Dr. Silvio Najt, MD and Dr. Carolyn Dean MD, ND.

I can’t wait till he’s got the trailer put together and I will definitely be posting it here for you to see first up. It’s a very exciting project and will be a true service to all others newly diagnosed, or who are simply looking for a clear, in-depth overview of natural alternatives to drug and surgical treatment for colitis, Crohn’s, diverticulitis and IBS. Stay tuned…..

I just returned from pretty much back-to-back trips – one to Edmonton and the other to Los Angeles.

In Edmonton, my cousins laughed at me for not having a cell phone.

In L.A., not only does the airport have free WiFi, now the planes do as well! Although, if you’re 30,000 feet in the air, can it really be WiFi? Wouldn’t it be satellite internet? At any rate, it’s not good – in an enclosed metal tube, where the radiation bounces around and zaps you over and over.

Between people’s personal cell phones, messaging, iPads, laptops and then businesses rushing to  provide blanket WiFi coverage – those of us who have actually done the research and KNOW that this technology has serious negative health effects, have lost our freedom of choice.

The CBC National News recently did an excellent piece on this issue and review of the science – let me know if you’re still laughing at my quaint little self after you watch….

We need to educate ourselves, educate others and start making some serious noise to get this technology restricted in public places – just like cigarette smoking. Wireless, WiFi, RF, EMR, microwave radiation – whatever you want to call it – is a PUBLIC health issue, NOT a private choice.

Those of you who are familiar with my protocols know that I often recommend and utilize plant-based foods for detox, healing and ongoing health. However, I never say they should be eaten to exclusion – without animal protein and more importantly, animal fats.

The article below highlights many of the reasons for my recommendations and I have also provided links to past articles of mine that give more in-depth data on each point…

People with acute/active digestive disease often cannot tolerate much fat of any kind, so during the initial healing phase they often need to minimize fats. However, as they progress along using my protocols to heal their digestive system and restore digestive/absorptive functioning, I urge them to likewise increase the good fats in their diet: organic – preferably raw – butter, unrefined coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, cod liver oil and organic, grass-fed animal fats, or oily fish. This ensures that not only is gut functioning restored, but also hormonal balance – which is damaged in any chronic illness.

WASHINGTON, DC. February 3, 2010:  “Animal foods like meat, liver, butter, whole milk and eggs contain ten to one hundred times more vitamins and minerals than plant foods,” says Fallon Morell. “Plant foods add variety and interest to the human diet but in most circumstances do not qualify as ‘nutrient-dense’ foods.”

“For years before becoming deathly ill, I followed the dietary suggestions in the Whole Foods plan,” said Kathryne Pirtle, author of Performance without Pain. “I ate large amounts of organic salads, vegetables and fruits, lots of whole grains, only a little meat and no animal fat. I had chronic pain for twenty-five years on this diet, then acid reflux, then a serious inflammation in my spine followed by chronic diarrhea. Without switching to nutrient-dense animal foods, including eggs, butter and whole dairy products, not only would I have lost my national career as a performing artist, I would have died at forty-five years old! I am not alone in this story of ill health from a low-fat, plant-based diet, which does not supply a person with enough nutrients to be healthy and can be very damaging to the intestinal tract.”

“The growing emphasis on plant-based diets deficient in animal protein also serves to promote soy foods as both meat and dairy substitutes,” says Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN, author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food.   ”Soy is not only one of the top eight allergens but has been linked in more than sixty years of studies to malnutrition, digestive distress, thyroid dysfunction, reproductive disorders including infertility, and even cancer, especially breast cancer.”

“Low-fat patients are my most unhealthy patients,” says John P. Salerno, MD, a board certified family physician from New York City. “The reason we are spiraling into diabetes and obesity is because of the low-fat concept developed by the U.S government decades ago. Low-fat diets have a low nutrient base, and phytonutrients in vegetables cannot be properly absorbed without fat.”

Fallon Morell cites recent studies from Europe showing that low-fat diets promote weight gain in both children and adults, and also contribute to infertility. A meta-analysis published January, 2010 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found no significant evidence that saturated fat consumption is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Whole Foods CEO John Mackay has stated that eating animal fats amounts to an addiction. But in fact, animal fats are essential for good health,” says Fallon Morell. “The nutrients in animal fats, such as vitamins A, D and K, arachidonic acid, DHA, choline, cholesterol and saturated fat, are critical for brain function. In the misguided war against cholesterol and saturated fat, we have created an epidemic of learning disorders in the young and mental decline in the elderly.”

- The Weston A. Price Foundation is a 501C3 nutrition education foundation with the mission of disseminating accurate, science-based information on diet and health. Named after nutrition pioneer Weston A. Price, DDS, author of the book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, the Washington, DC-based Foundation publishes a quarterly journal, supports 400 local chapters worldwide and hosts a yearly conference. The Foundation headquarters phone number is (202) 363-4394, westonaprice.org

Jini Patel Thompson interviews a PhD expert on WiFi and cellphone radiation – Dr. Magda Havas – and gets us clear answers as to what exactly we should be concerned about and how to protect ourselves and our children in this wireless age.

There are so many misconceptions and misinformation when it comes to what is called microwave radiation / radio frequencies. So we’re talking about WiFi, wireless computers, cell phones, Nintendo’s, Wii, all of these wireless devices.

We have journalists, telecom executives and government agencies saying things like, “Well, you don’t need to worry because a year sitting in a classroom near a wireless network is roughly equivalent to 20 minutes on a cell phone.” Or: “The health protection agency in the UK points out that a person sitting in a WiFi hotspot for a year would be exposed to only the same amount of radiation from a 20-minute mobile phone call.”

If that’s true, then why do we have thousands of people diagnosed with electrohypersensitivity (EHS)? Why are leukemia and brain cancer rates in children through the roof? Find out the real truth and what you can do about it….

THIS IS PART 1 OF 4

WiFi And Cell Phone Radiation - Problems and Solutions - Part 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1447)

Magda Havas, MSc., PhD, is Associate Professor of Environmental & Resource Studies at Trent University; where she also does research on the biological effects of environmental contaminants. Dr. Havas received her PhD from the University of Toronto, completed postdoctoral research at Cornell University, and taught at the University of Toronto before going to join Trent University, also in Ontario, Canada.

THIS IS PART 1 OF 4

Nanoparticle or angstrom-sized iron is especially exciting for people with gut disorders, since normal iron is quite irritating to the gut and can trigger intestinal bleeding and/or result in constipation. However, due to its extremely tiny particle size (smaller than DNA) angstrom iron does not need to be digested. It is instantly absorbed into the bloodstream.

Previously, with conventional iron supplements, I advised quite a multi-step process in Listen To Your Gut for taking iron in order to boost absorption and guard against adverse effects. Most of that becomes unnecessary with angstrom or nanoparticle-sized iron, since it does not require digestion and therefore does not irritate the GI tract. As long as you take angstrom iron with plenty of water, there does not seem to be any ill effects.

We have been testing the Angstrom Minerals Iron Plus Vitamin C over at JPT Wellness Circle for several months now. Even people with some active bleeding have found it does not increase or trigger bleeding. Two people reported a tendency to constipation, but as soon as they began ingesting it with 4-8 ounces of water, the constipation disappeared.

I even tested it by taking 8x and then 16x the dose on one day – to see if a mega-dose would trigger anything. My stool turned green at the 16x dose, but that was all. In my teleseminar with pH balance expert, Maraline Krey (who prescribes a lot of nanosized minerals), she confirmed that this green color indicated my body was throwing the excess off into my bowels.

I wanted to test the super high dose because I was concerned by research on nanoparticle ferric oxide in rat models – which showed that it caused oxidative damage in their lungs when instilled intratracheally. However, ferric oxide is a pretty irritating form of iron and who breathes iron in anyway? But still, being cautious, I wanted to test it extensively on myself first, before recommending it to others.

Initially, I used this iron myself to raise both my hemoglobin and my ferritin (iron stores), taking 1 tablespoon once or twice per day. It works really fast and there are no intestinal effects as it does not require digestion. For this reason, it should be safe to use whilst bleeding – but go slowly and test it to be sure. The iron particles are angstrom-sized = .10 nm, very tiny nanoparticles, which are absorbed instantly into the blood and cells. It tastes fairly mild – like metallic water with a bit of a tang, so easy to get even kids to swallow. If you add it to a glass of diluted fruit juice, the taste is masked completely.

Ongoing, I take 1 tbsp/day, chased with lots of water, during menstruation and have been doing that for about a year, with no adverse effects. I know, it would be better for me to split it up into smaller, divided doses, but I just can’t be bothered! And as I have no sensitivities, it works fine for me taken in one big dose.

Dosage?

If treating anemia, ideally, you should take 1 tsp of the Angstrom Minerals Iron Plus Vitamin C in the morning and 1 tsp in the evening, washed down with lots of water.

For severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 7 or 70) , I would take 1 tsp, 3 – 4 times per day, washed down with 4-8 ounces of water.

It tastes only faintly of iron, but mostly just like metallic water.

If you are using it for maintenance, then I would think 1 tsp every other day (or even just twice a week) should be sufficient.

Test Sooner!

You can get your hemoglobin tested (to track your progress) within 30 – 45 days, rather than the usual 3 months, since this product builds hemoglobin so fast. For best results, make sure you are also getting adequate Vitamin B12 and folic acid – co-factors needed to utilize iron properly. This brand of iron comes with Vitamin C, but feel free to take extra – since it’s so beneficial. Many people don’t know that aside from boosting your immune system, Vitamin C is also essential for blood clotting and wound healing.

Remember though, do not take your vitamin C and folic acid at the same time – as they interfere with the absorption of each other.

Let me know what you think of it… and especially post any bloodwork results!

____________________________________________________

© 2010 Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

I don’t know if you’ve been getting nervous about the state of our earth, our climate, our population density, our food production, etc…. but I sure have!

For a couple years now I’ve been researching alternative energy sources, gardening techniques and even going “off the grid”.

Recently I watched this fabulous film made by a woman who is a filmmaker and then inherited her family’s farm in Devon, UK. So now she is faced with many of the same issues I’ve been reading about, but she needs a solution FAST.

She made this film about her discovery of the problems with the current agricultural farming model and its reliance on oil and gas, and then her search and discovery of innovative solutions – and it is fascinating!

Best of all, as she is a filmmaker first, this film is very well done; interesting, enjoyable and made me feel hopeful and even inspired. It made me feel that even a real non-gardener like me could possibly manage to feed my family if I had to:

A FARM FOR THE FUTURE

Nicole Paull also did a fabulous teleseminar for us at JPT Wellness Circle about urban and balcony gardening – providing lots of practical advice for those of you who’d like to just get going on growing some of your own food, even if you live in an apartment!

The slow food, eat local, eat organic movements are growing in popularity and now we have urban gardening to add to the mix – a much better use for your yard than a plain grass carpet, if you ask me. And for those of you who are wondering about the value of self-sufficiency (heat, electricity, water supply, food supply), this film will probably make you realize that you need a lot less land to do this than you previously thought.

Soar higher,
Jini

Those of you who have subscribed to my blog for the last couple of years know that I have been desperate to find a solution to the tooth decay that has been plaguing my family.

I had new tooth decay at every check-up from the time I became pregnant and throughout the next 10 years. Yes, I know that pregnancy and extended breastfeeding often result in increased tooth decay, but I had hoped my diet and supplementation would have remedied that. My two older children also had cavities; my 7 year old had 2 cavities and my eldest had 6 cavities by age nine! The only child who did not have any cavities was my youngest who had been fed raw cow’s milk from the time of weaning at 18 months.

This rampant tooth decay plague was particularly galling when we were the only family I knew who ate unprocessed, organic food, fermented and raw foods and used stevia whenever possible. My kids ate the least candy and processed food of ALL their peers, yet their dental health was worse than many of their friends. What was going on?

I won’t bore you with the extensive research and experiments I tried to resolve this issue, but a big lightbulb went off when I read a clinical trial out of the University of Maryland Dental School where they had mixed some of the minerals used by the body to make bone, in nanoparticle-size, together with the filling material, and used it to fill cavities in decayed teeth. And the result was a reduction in subsequent tooth decay in the teeth filled with this mixture.

That got me thinking… I wondered: if the kids and I held a bone-building nanoparticle mineral supplement in our mouths and swished it round our teeth every night, would it have the same effect? Would it heal our tooth decay, or at least stop any new decay from forming?

So I found the best nanoparticle mineral bone and tooth supplement I could: Bone Support and we began holding it in our mouths after brushing our teeth every night, for as long as we could. This usually meant about 2 minutes for the kids and 3-4 minutes for me. Then we swallowed it. The kids took 1 capful and I took 2 capfuls. After three months of this, we all went for a dental check-up and GUESS WHAT?

NO MORE TOOTH DECAY FOR ANY OF US!!!

I truly cannot express the absolute glory and elation we felt at finally being free of this scourge. Our next dental check-up was also clear. These nanoparticle minerals even healed over existing decay on my daughter’s front milk teeth.

Her two front teeth had half rotted from drinking rice milk from a bottle after weaning (we didn’t have access to raw cow or goat milk at that time) and were a medium brown color. Well, these two teeth became white again and the dentist pointed out that they had also hardened up – the same as normal teeth.

HOWEVER, at our third check-up, we switched to a new dentist who did thorough x-rays and what did we find? Tooth decay between certain teeth. My daughter also had new decay in a molar that just naturally had a deep crevice in it (easy for microbes to nestle in).

Also – and here’s the important part – previously, as part of our healthy diet, my children had recognized the importance of limiting and avoiding sugar. After two clear check-ups though, my 7 year old daughter felt the minerals were a magic wand, so she could eat as much sugar as she wished! Of course, I continued to keep their sugar intake low at home, but as your kids get older and participate in sports, playdates, sleepovers, etc., you lose control of a large chunk of their diet.

Previously, my children would control themselves when they were away from home – knowing the importance of minimizing sugar. My 10 year old continued to be careful with his sugar intake, but my 7 year old went a little wild and took on a no-holds-barred approach to eating sugar at friend’s houses, birthday parties, sporting events, etc. And guess what? Yep, at our third check-up she had 2 small patches of decay, whilst my 10 year old continued to have none. In that span, my 4 year old had also begun having playdates and joined a swim club and I noticed his sugar intake had gone up significantly and likewise, he too had one patch of pre-decay (softening) on one tooth.

So whilst these nanoparticles minerals may be a missing piece of the puzzle in your battle against tooth decay, they certainly aren’t a magic wand and they don’t seem to affect tooth surfaces they can’t reach – like between teeth – and they can’t make up for a diet poor in nutrients and/or with continual sugar consumption. But if you’ve got the diet part handled, and you’re flossing well, then these minerals may result in a big improvement in your dental health.

And one last caution: If you’re drinking whey protein shakes or elemental diet shakes, then be extra careful to brush and floss well around the gum line. Whey protein and maltodextrin are very sticky and if you don’t clean them off properly, you can get decay at, or just under the gum.

Obviously, there is still a missing link in the tooth decay puzzle though – aside from diet, genetics, minerals, saliva pH, etc – that no one has identified yet. And I sure wish someone would! Well, I will keep going with our experiments and maybe the dental community will figure it out someday…. In the meantime, let’s press on and keep sharing information.

Osteoporosis

Then I found studies showing that nanoparticle minerals are also effective at maintaining and increasing bone density in mouse models:

“The results of our in vivo studies indicate that administering nano calcium carbonate and nano calcium citrate can enhance the serum calcium concentration and maintain the whole-body bone mineral density in ovariectomized mice. These data suggest that nano calcium carbonate and nano calcium citrate are more bioavailable than micro calcium carbonate and micro calcium citrate, respectively.”

My mother and numerous JPT Wellness Circle members are now using Bone Support to treat bone loss.

How Much Should You Take?

I use the cap on the bottle for easy measurement and one capful of Bone Support equals 2-2.5 teaspoons (depending on how full you fill the cap – i.e. level or bulging). The taste is very much like water – it has the least detectable taste of all the nanoparticle minerals that I recommend.

For osteoporosis: Jim Haszinger – the creator of Bone Support – recommends 1 tbsp, 2-3x/day for 3 months if you are suffering from osteoporosis, then get re-tested. Also, you may want to take 1 tbsp. of the Miracle of Life Trace Minerals each day. And don’t forget your daily Vitamin D3 – also crucial for bone formation.

For regular users: 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon per day is recommended. I take 1-2 capfuls per day and my 2 older kids (aged 7 & 10) take 1/2 – 1 capful (which is 2 tsp) – because they don’t eat/drink a lot of raw milk. My youngest child (aged 4), who consumes a lot of raw milk and raw cheese, only has 1 tsp (1/2 capful) every 3-4 days.

You can take it straight, or mix it in any liquid, but obviously, I’m going to recommend you take it after you’ve brushed your teeth and swish it around for as long as you can and then swallow – you might as well protect your teeth at the same time!

Click here to download my Nanoparticle Minerals Teleseminar with Jim Haszinger

The great thing is, you don’t need to worry about taking too much calcium when it’s in this naturally-occurring nanoparticle sized form. The calcium in Bone Support is the same size and form as the calcium you would get from green leafy vegetables. Nano-sized calcium does not behave like powdered calcium supplements, which can build up in your arteries and cause heart disease:

A report in the International Journal of Cardiology states that excess calcium building up in the aorta is the “main cause of hypertension in old age.”

However, in our teleseminar, Jim Haszinger (the manufacturer of Bone Support) said that if you somehow took too much of this naturally-occurring (not nanotech-manipulated) nano-sized calcium, your body would just excrete it – the same way it would if you ate too much kale – because it is in the same form.

So this is really good news for people with osteoporosis or taking steroid drugs or other medication that puts you at risk for osteoporosis – because you can supplement at higher levels without fear of heart disease.

We are now carrying a variety of nanoparticle-sized minerals in our Holistic Health Shoppe – including all the ones mentioned here.

I wish you healthy teeth and strong bones!

Oh and my next challenge?… I want to figure out how to regrow teeth! I’ll keep you posted….

Those of you who have my Revised Listen To Your Gut book/program know about the controversy of MAP (Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis) present in roughly 2% of the American milk supply (conventional, pasteurized milk).

You also know that I favor raw (untreated, non-pasteurized, non-homogenized) milk products from pasture-fed cows/goats over regular, pasteurized dairy products (even if organic) and that many people who are intolerant of dairy products actually can digest cheddar cheese and yoghurt made from raw milk (from pasture-fed cows – not cows kept in barns and grain-fed).

Well, the following excerpt – that appeared in a British newspaper – highlights yet another angle of the milk controversy. And it’s very interesting as it’s the woman’s personal story vs. a dry, scientific article.

Please see my additional comments and my assessment/thoughts on this article at the end of it…
_______________________________________________________
Daily Mail
Monday, May 27, 2000
Prof. Jane Plant, PhD, CBE

Why I believe that giving up milk is the key to beating breast cancer

Professor Jane Plant is a wife, a mother, and widely respected scientist, who was made a CBE for her work in geochemistry. When she was struck by breast cancer in 1987 at the age of 42, her happy and productive existence seemed destined to fall apart. But despite the disease recurring a further four times, Jane refused to give in. As she describes in an inspiring new book, [Your Life In Your Hands] serialised by the Mail this week, she devised a revolutionary diet and lifestyle programme that she believes saved her life and can cut the chances of other women falling prey to the disease.

Her theory remains a controversial one – but every woman should read it and make up her own mind. Today, she explains her personal breakthrough…

I had no alternative but to die or to try to find a cure for myself. I am a scientist – surely there was a rational explanation for this cruel illness that affects one in 12 women in the UK?

I had suffered the loss of one breast, and undergone radiotherapy. I was now receiving painful chemotherapy, and had been seen by some of the country’s most eminent specialists. But, deep down, I felt certain I was facing death.

I had a loving husband, a beautiful home and two young children to care for. I desperately wanted to live. Fortunately, this desire drove me to unearth the facts, some of which were known only to a handful of scientists at the time.

Anyone who has come into contact with breast cancer will know that certain risk factors – such as increasing age, early onset of womanhood, late onset of menopause and a family history of breast cancer – are completely out of our control. But there are many risk factors, which we can control easily. These ‘controllable’ risk factors readily translate into simple changes that we can all make in our day-to-day lives to help prevent or treat breast cancer. My message is that even advanced breast cancer can be overcome because I have done it.

The first clue to understanding what was promoting my breast cancer came when my husband Peter, who was also a scientist, arrived back from working in China while I was being plugged in for a chemotherapy session.

He had brought with him cards and letters, as well as some amazing herbal suppositories, sent by my friends and science colleagues in China.

The suppositories were sent to me as a cure for breast cancer. Despite the awfulness of the situation, we both had a good belly laugh, and I remember saying that this was the treatment for breast cancer in China, then it was little wonder that Chinese women avoided getting the disease. Those words echoed in my mind. Why didn’t Chinese women get breast cancer? I had collaborated once with Chinese colleagues on a study of links between soil chemistry and disease, and I remembered some of the statistics.

The disease was virtually non-existent throughout the whole country. Only one in 10,000 women in China will die from it, compared to that terrible figure of one in 12 in Britain and the even grimmer average of one in 10 across most Western countries.

It is not just a matter of China being a more rural country, with less urban pollution. In highly urbanised Hong Kong, the rate rises to 34 women in every 10,000 but still puts the West to shame.

The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have similar rates. And remember, both cities were attacked with nuclear weapons, so in addition to the usual pollution-related cancers, one would also expect to find some radiation-related cases, too. The conclusion we can draw from these statistics strikes you with some force. If a Western woman were to move to industrialized, irradiated Hiroshima, she would stash her risk of contracting breast cancer by half.

Obviously this is absurd. It seemed obvious to me that some lifestyle factor not related to pollution, urbanization or the environment is seriously increasing the Western woman’s chance of contracting breast cancer.

I then discovered that whatever causes the huge differences in breast cancer rates between oriental and Western countries, it isn’t genetic. Scientific research showed that when Chinese or Japanese people move to the West, within one or two generations their rates of breast cancer approach those of their host community.

The same thing happens when oriental people adopt a completely Western lifestyle in Hong Kong. In fact, the slang name for breast cancer in China translates as ‘Rich Woman’s Disease’. This is because, in China, only the better off can afford to eat what is termed ‘Hong Kong food’.

The Chinese describe all Western food, including everything from ice cream and chocolate bars to spaghetti and feta cheese, as ‘Hong Kong food’, because of its availability in the former British colony and its scarcity, in the past, in mainland China.

So it made perfect sense to me that whatever was causing my breast cancer and the shockingly high incidence in this country generally, it was almost certainly something to do with our better-off, middle-class, Western lifestyle.

There is an important point for men here, too. I have observed in my research that much of the the data about prostate cancer leads to similar conclusions.

According to figures from the World Health Organization, the number of men contracting prostate cancer in rural China is negligible, only 0.5 men in every 100,000. In England, Scotland and Wales, however, this figure is 70 times higher.

Like breast cancer, it is a middle-class disease that primarily attacks the wealthier and higher socio-economic groups – those that can afford to eat rich foods.

I remember saying to my husband– ‘Come on Peter, you have just come back from China. What is it about the Chinese way of life that is so different. Why don’t they get breast cancer?’

We decided to utilize our joint scientific backgrounds and approach it logically. We examined scientific data that pointed us in the general direction of fats in diets.

Researchers had discovered in the 1980s that only l4 % of calories in the average Chinese diet were from fat, compared to almost 36% in the West. But the diet I had been living on for years before I contracted breast cancer was very low in fat and high in fibre.

Besides, I knew as a scientist that fat intake in adults has not been shown to increase risk for breast cancer in most investigations that have followed large groups of women for up to a dozen years.

Then one day something rather special happened. Peter and I have worked together so closely over the years that I am not sure which one of us first said: ‘The Chinese don’t eat dairy produce!’

It is hard to explain to a non-scientist the sudden mental and emotional ‘buzz’ you get when you know you have had an important insight.

It’s as if you have had a lot of pieces of a jigsaw in your mind, and suddenly, in a few seconds, they all fall into place and the whole picture is clear.

Suddenly I recalled how many Chinese people were physically unable to tolerate milk, how the Chinese people I had worked with had always said that milk was only for babies, and how one of my close friends, who is of Chinese origin, always politely turned down the cheese course at dinner parties.

I knew of no Chinese people who lived a traditional Chinese life who ever used cow or other dairy food to feed their babies. The tradition was to use a wet nurse but never, ever, dairy products.

Culturally, the Chinese find our Western preoccupation with milk and milk products very strange. I remember entertaining a large delegation of Chinese scientists shortly after the ending of the Cultural Revolution in the 1980s.

On advice from the Foreign Office, we had asked the caterer to provide a pudding that contained a lot of ice cream. After inquiring what the pudding consisted of, all of the Chinese, including their interpreter, politely but firmly refused to eat it, and they could not be persuaded to change their minds. At the time we were all delighted and ate extra portions!

Milk, I discovered, is one of the most common causes of food allergies.

Over 70% of the world’s population are unable to digest the milk sugar, lactose, which has led nutritionists to believe that this is the normal condition for adults, not some sort of deficiency. Perhaps nature is trying to tell us that we are eating the wrong food.

Before I had breast cancer for the first time, I had eaten a lot of dairy produce, such as skimmed milk, low-fat cheese and yoghurt. I had used it as my main source of protein. I also ate cheap but lean minced beef, which I now realized was probably often ground-up dairy cow.

In order to cope with the chemotherapy I received for my fifth case of cancer, I had been eating organic yoghurts as a way of helping my digestive tract to recover and repopulate my gut with ‘good’ bacteria.

Recently, I discovered that way back in 1989 yoghurt had been implicated in ovarian cancer. Dr Daniel Cramer of Harvard University studied hundreds of women with ovarian cancer, and had them record in detail what they normally ate. I wish I’d been made aware of his findings when he had first discovered them.

Following Peter’s and my insight into the Chinese diet, I decided to give up not just yoghurt but all dairy produce immediately. Cheese, butter, milk and yoghurt and anything else that contained dairy produce – it went down the sink or in the rubbish.

It is surprising how many products, including commercial soups, biscuits and cakes, contain some form of dairy produce. Even many proprietary brands of margarine marketed as soya, sunflower or olive oil spreads can contain dairy produce. I therefore became an avid reader of the small print on food labels.

Up to this point, I had been steadfastly measuring the progress of my fifth cancerous lump with callipers and plotting the results. Despite all the encouraging comments and positive feedback from my doctors and nurses, my own precise observations told me the bitter truth.

My first chemotherapy sessions had produced no effect – the lump was still the same size.

Then I eliminated dairy products. Within days, the lump started to shrink. About two weeks after my second chemotherapy session and one week after giving up dairy produce, the lump in my neck started to itch. Then it began to soften and to reduce in size. The line on the graph, which had shown no change, was now pointing downwards as the tumour got smaller and smaller.

And, very significantly, I noted that instead of declining exponentially (a graceful curve) as cancer is meant to do, the tumour’s decrease in size was plotted on a straight line heading off the bottom of the graph, indicating a cure, not suppression (or remission) of the tumour.

One Saturday afternoon after about six weeks of excluding all dairy produce from my diet, I practised an hour of meditation then felt for what was left of the lump. I couldn’t find it.

Yet I was very experienced at detecting cancerous lumps – I had discovered all five cancers on my own. I went downstairs and asked my husband to feel my neck. He could not find any trace of the lump either.

On the following Thursday I was due to be seen by my cancer specialist at Charing Cross Hospital in London.

He examined me thoroughly, especially my neck where the tumour had been. He was initially bemused and then delighted as he said, “I cannot find it.’ None of my doctors, it appeared, had expected someone with my type and stage of cancer (which had clearly spread to the lymph system) to survive, let alone be so hale and hearty.

My specialist was as overjoyed as I was. When I first discussed my ideas with him he was understandably skeptical. But I understand that he now uses maps showing cancer mortality in China in his lectures, and recommends a non-dairy diet to his cancer patients.

I now believe that the link between dairy produce and breast cancer is similar to the link between smoking and lung cancer. I believe that identifying the link between breast cancer and dairy produce, and then developing a diet specifically targeted at maintaining the health of my breast and hormone system, cured me.

It was difficult for me, as it may be for you, to accept that a substance as ‘natural’ as milk might have such ominous health implications. But I am a living proof that it works and, starting from tomorrow, I shall reveal the secrets of my revolutionary action plan.

Extracted from “Your Life in Your Hands” by Professor Jane Plant
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I think this scientist’s opinion is very important and certainly caused me to think. But it’s an important distinction to keep in mind that many (including me) feel it is not RAW milk that causes these kinds of problems, but rather PASTEURIZED milk.

Breastmilk, whether from a cow or human, is a living food, packed full of immune system substances, enzymes to aid digestion, and good bacteria (if the cow is a healthy, pasture-fed – not grain-fed animal). And once you heat breastmilk (whether from a cow, goat, or human), it is a denatured product that is very difficult to digest and many of the nutrients are unable to be absorbed.

Homeogenization is another nasty process that alters fats and produces substances that many scientists feel harm the arteries and are the primary cause of heart disease.

In the middle of all these debates on the nutritional value of cow’s milk, it’s important to remember the Masai tribe of Kenya – very strong, tall, healthy people and their diet is mainly raw cow’s milk and fresh cow’s blood.

Dr. Weston A. Price (a renowned dentist in the 1950′s) also studied a village in the Swiss Alps whose primary food sources were rye bread, raw cheese, and raw fermented milk products. And they were extremely healthy, with no degenerative disease and a tooth decay rate of less than 1% – but again, all of their dairy products were from raw and often raw, fermented milk (traditionally fermented foods add additional necessary enzymes and good bacteria to further aid digestion).

Store-bought yoghurt – even if it’s organic – is not properly fermented, and the strains of bacteria are not potent enough to derive much (if any) benefit from.

Remember too that humans have been consuming fermented milk products (made from raw milk) for thousands of years. There are even tales of how warring armies – like Genghis Khan – took their probiotic starter cultures with them as they travelled to wage war, since they recognized how important fermented milk was to the health and strength of their armies.

For more on this whole angle, read some of the articles at: www.realmilk.com or www.westonaprice.org

You can see which brand of probiotics and yoghurt starter that I recommend at my Holistic Health Shoppe. And a number of my JPT Wellness Circle Infoletters & Teleseminars go into raw milk in depth, so you may want to check those out too.

I’ve written a lot about raw milk diet therapy at JPT Wellness Circle and did a really fascinating Teleseminar with with clinical nutritionist Jim Ehmke – an expert in using raw milk therapy to heal IBS, diabetes, liver disease, etc. To get you started, check out my podcast with Jim Ehmke about going on a Raw Milk Diet.

There are also other big contributors to breast cancer in women, like wearing bras! So again, whenever you’re looking at a serious or chronic illness (or its prevention), you have to look at ALL the contributing factors and make a holistic healing plan.

And one final comment from my brother Millan Patel MSc, MD (a medical geneticist):

“The Amsterdam siege in WWII and resulting famine did not alter long term breast cancer risk suggesting malnutrition is not protective (obesity is an important risk factor so this would have made sense). Despite this, women with anorexia are highly protected against breast cancer suggesting it is not their caloric intake, but either their disease, or their diet, or their exercise that is protective. The Nurse’s Health Study showed exercise is strongly protective for breast cancer suggesting the latter might be the correct explanation. Since exercise makes so many things better, perhaps a better question to ask is: what diet best facilitates lifelong exercise?”
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© 2010 Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

The Minerals of Life Trace Minerals contain most of the minerals (64 in total) that used to be present in our soil, before industrial agriculture, mono-crops and widespread pesticide use degraded our soil. And they are all in a naturally-occurring, nanoparticle or angstrom sized form, for instant absorption into the cells, no digestion required. As Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND wrote in my Infoletter, Good Health Is Real Wealth:

“Physicists tell us that the size of the mineral channels in our cells, are between 4-5 angstroms in diameter. An angstrom is one ten billionth of a meter, a range between a nanometer and a picometer. If minerals are larger than this size, they are not readily absorbed through the cell membrane. What I call “dirt minerals” may be millions of times larger than the channel they are trying to enter. Colloidal minerals and ionic minerals, while they may claim to be smaller than dirt minerals can still be thousands of times bigger than angstrom minerals. Therefore, you not only need to take the proper type of mineral, but it also has to be in an easily absorbed form.”

These minerals also used to be present in our water – when our water ran through natural rock and soil and wasn’t filtered and processed, like it currently is, to remove pollutants.

So, whilst you can just swallow these Trace Minerals straight (1 tbsp/day), I feel the best way to take them is to mix them in with your water, or pitcher of herbal tea and drink throughout the day. This is because minerals help to alkalize the body, so I figure if you’re ingesting them throughout the day, it’s a good balancing mechanism.

Of course, that’s not always possible, so what I also end up doing is just dumping them into a glass of water, or Emergen-C, cooled herbal tea, or an Absorb Plus shake.

In my teleseminar with the manufacturer of Minerals Of Life, Jim Haszinger, Jim revealed that he often takes a lot more than the recommended dose. So it sounds like there’s some leeway in usage – but the recommended dosage on the bottle that should be fine for most people is 1 tablespoon per day, either taken straight, or mixed in water or juice. You can also blend them up in any kind of shake or smoothie – the taste is indetectable. On their own, taken straight, they have a taste, but it is so mild that all my kids just swallow it straight from the cap.

I use the cap on the bottle to measure and 1 capful equals 2 teaspoons, so I give my 4 year old 1/2 a capful and my 7 and 10 year old kids a full capful. I take 2 capfuls per day.

Click here to download my Nanoparticle Minerals Teleseminar with Jim Haszinger

If you have a hair analysis done, you will most likely be deficient in certain trace minerals because we no longer get what we need automatically from our food (soil) or water – by taking a comprehensive blend like this one, you can address or prevent deficiency and also provide your body with one of the foundational building blocks for good health.

Up until very recently, major and trace minerals were not available in this super-bioavailable form, so I recommended your standard powdered minerals (chelated whenever possible). But these naturally-occurring nanoparticle-sized minerals are so superior they just take supplementation to a whole new level. As Jim and I discussed in our teleseminar:

“Jini: I want to jump in here real quick because when I did my research on nanoparticle-sized minerals and the whole nanotechnology thing – which as you already pointed out, is manipulating objects to that nanometer size – one thing I discovered is that the minerals in plants are automatically in the size of nanometers. As you said, you’re not manipulating, you’re about which form does this mineral already naturally exist in. I just want to kick in with that there.

Jim: That’s correct. You’ll find in plants that some of the minerals will be colloidal-size and some of the minerals are already in nano size. That’s because the plant will pick up colloidal-size minerals and they’ll be there for a time until the plant can digest them and work them over and make them into a nano size and become part of the plant. You’ll have companies that will use minerals that they call ‘colloidals’ and the colloidal is much larger. Our minerals – if you line our minerals up in a vertical line or a horizontal line – it will take about a million of them, like one strand of them, it’d take about a million to make up a colloidal mineral. That’s how different they are in size.

Well, the plant produces a digestive juice that works the colloidal minerals and digests them into the nano size – we’ll call it plant saliva. Digestive juice is folic acid. Going back now, let’s go back to our little lab – we set up a lab and that lab is where we put into practice what we have discovered about creating an environment and we create an environment in which the minerals will grow from scratch. They actually go back in time and become fetus minerals and they will develop into these little crystals and they are, as nature would have them be, in that nano size. All we do is harvest them. We just harvest it as a mineral. We just create the environment and just harvest minerals all the time and they are in nano size.

So whenever you see the word ‘nano’ involved with our minerals, that’s what it is and we used that name down through time, I mean going way back. But now, the word ‘nano’ has got a much different connotation to it, I’ve had people be afraid of our stuff because of the name nano, but it’s not the same as the manmade nanos.”

We are now carrying the Minerals of Life Trace Minerals in our Holistic Health Shoppe, or, you can purchase them from Jim at World Health Mall.

For best results, also use the Bone Support nanoparticle minerals to prevent or heal tooth decay and prevent or heal osteoporosis.

bottoms up!

Occasionally I get emails from people on welfare or in dire financial straits, who would really love to pursue holistic healing, but they just can’t afford the supplements.

Or, sometimes people are using natural healing methods, but they find the cost of the healing supplements and practitioner visits eats up all their savings or extra money, so there’s nothing left for holidays, or entertainment.

Having been there myself, I can certainly empathize!

However, it’s a vicious feedback loop – because unless you can get healthy enough to work, you can’t afford the supplements, but without the supplements and healing therapies, you can’t get healthy enough to work.

So yes, one way is to put your healing supplements and therapies on your credit card and then pay off the debt when you’re strong enough to work and generate some money (been there, done that repeatedly!).

But, thanks to the wonder of the Internet, there’s also another great way to make money that doesn’t require a dedicated time commitment, or stress you out by having to work when you don’t feel well – it’s called outsourcing or freelancing.

I use these services all the time for my own businesses – website design and programming, logo design, converting audio and video to different formats, teleseminar transcription, CD artwork and design, etc.

Go to each of these websites and scroll through the service provider categories to get an idea of the thousands of freelance skills needed by companies around the world:

www.elance.com

or

www.ifreelance.com

Then, if there’s something you can do, register and start bidding on jobs.

Elance.com or ifreelance.com are great places (and there are many more) you can go to make extra money on the side, or when you’re too sick/weak to hold a regular job. Scroll through the job description categories and there’s sure to be some skill you can offer too.

The great thing about working piecemeal like this is you can really schedule around your existing life and restrictions.

You might want to underbid everyone to get your foot in the door (although, if you plan to do this long-term, then you may be better off bidding closer to your “real” price). Or, if you want to find out what people are bidding for certain projects, post an ad for the project, wait till all the bids come in, then cancel the job (there’s no penalty for doing this as businesses cancel projects all the time). Then, you will know what to bid for similar jobs/projects.

Hope that helps you.

p.s. If you’d like to find out how your business or job can actually be PART of your Healing Journey, then check out my interview with business consultant and Sufi Master, Mark Silver.

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

• An unpublished study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on a “measles susceptible” (malnourished) group of children showed that the group who hadn’t been vaccinated contracted measles at the normal contract rate of 2.4%. Of the group who had received the measles vaccine (MMR), 33.5% contracted measles. (i)
• In 1975 Japan raised the minimum age for infant vaccinations to 2 years. As a result, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or, crib death) and infant convulsions virtually disappeared. In the 80′s, Japan lowered the minimum age back down to 3 months and the rate of SIDS returned to previous levels. (ii)
• In an Australian study, a group of recruits were immunized for Rubella, and all produced the expected antibodies. When later exposed to the disease, 80% of the recruits contracted it. (iii)
• According to the U.S. National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (est.1986): To qualify for compensation, the adverse effects of vaccination must occur within four hours of receiving the vaccine. Despite this extremely severe limitation, as of February 28, 1998 compensatory payments have totalled $871,800,000.00. This figure is even more alarming when it is revealed that only one in four claimants were awarded compensation. (iv)
• Some researchers postulate that the use of live viral vaccines introduce foreign genetic material into the human system, which has contributed to the unprecedented escalation of auto-immune disorders (like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, cancer, Crohn’s disease, asthma, etc.) in recent decades. (v)

The above facts each highlight a different facet of the vaccination / immunization question; effectiveness, adverse effects, and long-term consequences. The unspoken thread running through each of these is a pressing question: Why haven’t more people been informed of this evidence, and indeed, why is vaccination presented carte blanche as a positive, imperative requisite for our children’s health?

As the mother of a newborn, it became important to find out what is really going on with infant and childhood vaccination and whether it is conclusively a beneficial or necessary procedure. Thus I embarked on four months of research into immunization – squeezed in between the demands of caring for and breastfeeding our firstborn son Oscar.

DO VACCINES ACTUALLY WORK?
As I researched the issue, I was amazed to discover that there is a large and growing body of clinical studies, fieldwork (in developing nations) and historical data refuting the safety and efficacy of vaccination. Unfortunately, the propaganda campaign for vaccination has been so successful that most of us automatically believe that vaccines are so effective they are responsible for the virtual eradication of serious childhood illnesses. In reality, this is not so, and if you examine the actual rates of incidence for each disease (from mainstream sources such as the Lancet, WHO and UNICEF), the graphs show a clearly different picture.

From the 1800′s to the present, in every case, each disease had been virtually eliminated decades before the introduction of the relevant vaccine; through improved hygiene, better nutrition, clean drinking water and improved sanitation. Basically, as people’s overall health and immune systems improved, they didn’t get sick. As the physician W.J. McCormick summarized in 1950 (before vaccines for measles, mumps, scarlet fever and rheumatic fever were introduced):

“…the decline in diptheria, whooping cough and typhoid fever began fully fifty years prior to the inception of artificial immunization and followed an almost even grade before and after the adoption of these control measures. In the case of scarlet fever, mumps, measles and rheumatic fever there has been no specific innovation in control measures, yet these also have followed the same general pattern in incidence decline.” (vi)

Furthermore, research reveals dozens of cases around the world where there was an outbreak of infectious disease (e.g. measles, polio, tetanus, smallpox, etc.) and contract rates were either similar among vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, or higher and more severe among the vaccinated. This clearly demonstrates the vaccination does not lead to immunity – it is not “immunization”. For example:

• Massachusetts in 1961 experienced a ‘type II’ polio outbreak and “there were more paralytic cases in the triple vaccinates than in the unvaccinated”(vii)
• In 1976, Dr. G.T. Stewart reported in the British Medical Journal that, “of 8,092 cases of whooping cough, 2,940 (36%) were fully immunized, while only 2,424 (30%) were definitely not immunized. (viii)
• Professor George Dick, speaking at an environmental conference in Brussels in 1973, admitted that in recent decades, 75% of British people who contracted smallpox had been vaccinated. This, combined with the fact that only 40% of children (and a maximum of 10% of adults) had been vaccinated, clearly shows that vaccinated people have a much higher tendency to contract the disease. (ix)

If vaccination is not responsible for the eradication of childhood illnesses, and vaccinated children are actually at a greater risk of contracting a disease than unvaccinated children, why is vaccination routinely presented as an effective safeguard for our children’s health?

When the historical data is referred to by pro-vaccine parties, it is often skewed and presented out of context. For example, in reference to a mass immunization campaign carried out in Thailand:

“…the immunization coverage for measles has increased from 6% in 1984 to 63% in 1988, leading to a reduction in measles prevalence from 93.7/100,000 in 1984 to 37.1/100,000 in 1986″ (x)

However, what the report doesn’t indicate is that in 1987, the infection rate of measles was 87.1/100,000. And in 1988 it was 59.1/100,000 which is actually higher than the rate of infection in 1982 (57.1/100,000) when no one had been vaccinated. These statistics however, are conveniently not included as they don’t support the pro-vaccination stance of the report.

Aside from establishing that vaccines are not the reason infectious childhood illnesses have virtually disappeared, and that vaccinated children are actually at a greater risk of contracting disease, there are also the adverse effects and long-term consequences of vaccination to be considered.

EFFECTS OF VACCINATION

Immediate Side Effects

Immediate or short-term effects of vaccination can include the following: encephalopathy (irreversible brain damage), ataxia (incoordination of voluntary muscle movements), mental retardation, aseptic meningitis (inflammation of the membranes of spinal cord or brain), seizure disorders, hemiparesis (half-body paralysis), retinopathy and blindness, hyperactivity, anaphylaxis, high pitched (encephalitic) screaming/prolonged crying, learning disorders, hay fever, asthma, sudden infant death (SIDS), brachial plexus neuropathy (disease affecting nerves which serve the arm, forearm and hand), and abdominal pain. Secondary complications can include juvenile-onset diabetes, Reye’s syndrome and multiple sclerosis.

Unfortunately, it’s virtually impossible to determine the real incidence of damaging adverse reactions. For example, a British government report claims the rate of permanent neurologic damage from the DPT vaccine to be 1 in 300,000.(xi) However, other researchers indicate the permanent damage level to be anywhere from 1 in 62,000 to 1 in 300. Research by Coulter and Fisher on the 3.3 million children vaccinated yearly in the U.S. found there to be a total of 33,006 cases of acute neurological reactions (encephalitic screaming, convulsions, collapse) within 48 hours of receiving the DPT shot.

When the problems with vaccination are addressed in a serious manner by the pro-vaccination side, it usually involves a member of the bio-medical field qualifying that the dangers of vaccination, although real, are very rare, for example:

“Parents must be informed of the rare possibility of serious adverse effects, including seizure and allergic reaction. Every physician who administers vaccines therefore needs to become familiar with the reactions that may occur with each immunologic agent used. The best safeguard against litigation, when and if a serious reaction follows vaccination, is the indication that these considerations were discussed and that an informed choice was made.” (xii)

Doctors Who Report Vaccine Damage Become Liable

However, there is no scientific evidence as to the actual frequency or incidence of vaccine-induced injury, so in fact we have no idea whether reactions are indeed rare, or, statistically significant. In articles such as the one above, no verifiable statistical evidence, reflecting reliable reporting or monitored studies for this ‘rarity’ is ever presented. As shown in the official minutes of the 15th session of the US Panel of Review of Bacterial Vaccines and Toxoids with Standards and Potency:

“Many physicians are not cognizant of the importance of reporting untoward reactions, or may be unaware of their clinical features. Further, both physicians and manufacturers have been held liable for damage suits by patients who may suffer adverse effects from established vaccines. All of these factors undoubtedly discourage reporting; without some other form of surveillance, definition of the rates and significance of untoward reactions to current and future vaccines cannot be ascertained.” (xiii)

For this reason, it is suspected that the number of adverse reactions and vaccine-damaged children is actually much, much higher than is currently presented by the medical/pharmaceutical community. Instead, there is a growing number of mothers and lay people, whose children have been irrevocably damaged, forming vaccine risk awareness groups. There continue to be incidents like the one in West Germany in 1967, where smallpox vaccination damaged the hearing of 3,296 children, and of these 71 were rendered completely deaf. (xiv) At the extreme end of the spectrum, we have occurrences like the one in Australia’s Northern Territory where malnourished aboriginal children were vaccinated and in some areas 50% of them died. (xv) According to Dr. B. Bloom at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, there’s even an emerging reluctance to further develop vaccines because financial losses due to the liability of established vaccines actually exceed the profits derived from them.

Whether these adverse reactions are caused by the vaccines themselves or the number of highly toxic additives contained in vaccines (e.g. formaldehyde, mercury, acetone, etc.), or a combination of the two, remains to be determined. As yet, no research has been carried out to resolve this question.

Long-Term Consequences

While these short-term consequences are alarming (especially if it happens to your child) the possible long-term consequences of vaccination are, in my opinion, even more of a worry. When you contract a disease naturally, the virus or bacteria normally enters via the body’s natural filtration system; by being inhaled or swallowed, passing through the liver. With measles, for example, the airborne virus is carried first to the tonsils, then the lymph nodes and then into the spleen, blood and other organs. This succession produces a variety of reactions; sneezing, coughing or the secretion of a local antibody within the respiratory tract, all designed to expel or weaken the virus at its port of entry. With vaccines, foreign antigens are usually injected directly into the body’s tissues and carried throughout the circulatory system, giving them direct access to all of the body’s vital organs and systems. To bypass the body’s natural defense system, and at such a young age, is simply asking for trouble. In addition, because the vaccine contains an attenuated (or weakened) form of the virus, the body doesn’t activate its major inflammatory response, nor its non-specific immune defenses.

Overloading The Immune System

Another long-term complication of vaccination involves the ‘one cell-one antibody’ rule. This means that once a B cell is committed to an antigen (disease-causing virus or bacteria), it becomes inert and incapable of responding to other antigens or attacks on the immune system. If a child contracts childhood diseases naturally, it is estimated that up to a total of 7% of their immune system is taken up with responding to these diseases. However, a child who undergoes the routine course of vaccinations, risks having up to 70% of his/her immune system committed to these antigens and no longer available for other immune challenges. Current research suggests this reduced immune-response capacity is responsible for increased susceptibility to other infections, allergies, and auto-immune diseases. Other researchers argue that these attenuated forms of the viruses remain in the body causing continual antigenic stimulation of the immune system – meaning the immune system is always in ‘attack’ mode – which also weakens it and leads to auto-immune diseases.

A placebo-controlled trial of acellular pertussis vaccines in Sweden, compared vaccinated children with un-vaccinated children of the same birth grouping. During the trial, an invasive bacterial infection occurred among the vaccinated group resulting in numerous deaths. A review of the trial data led researchers to conclude that “The hypothesis of an immunosuppressive effect of the vaccines, which would explain the deaths…could not be refuted by the data.” (xvi)

As further evidence, one of the few double-blind trials that have ever been conducted on a vaccine shows the same immunosuppressive effect. In the trial, of the group who were vaccinated with the Salk polio vaccine, over 200 people went on to contract polio. Among the control group (unvaccinated), not one of them developed polio. (xvii)

Citing references from numerous valid sources, including four recognized textbooks on paediatrics and immunology, Harold Buttram, MD and John Hoffman, PhD, conclude that childhood vaccination “cannot help but have adverse effects on the immunologic system of the child, possibly leaving this system crippled in its ability to protect the child throughout life…opening the way for other diseases as a result of immunologic dysfunction.” (xviii)

Latent Proviruses & Other Diseases

The other worrying aspect of live viral vaccines is they introduce foreign genetic material into the human body. Dr. R. Moskowitz, MD and Harvard graduate, explains how this can lead to auto-immune disease susceptibility:

“Vaccinal attenuated viruses attach their own genetic ‘episome’ to the genome (half set of chromosomes and their genes) of the host cell, and are thus capable of surviving or remaining latent within the host cells for years. The presence of foreign antigenic material within the host cell sets the stage for their unpredictable provocation of various auto-immune phenomena such as herpes, shingles, warts, tumors – both benign and malignant – and diseases of the central nervous system, such as varied forms of paralysis and inflammation of the brain.” (xix)

Dr. Markowitz states that in addition, vaccines do not just produce mild versions of the original disease, but all of them commonly produce a variety of their own symptoms. In some cases, “these illnesses may be considerably more serious than the original disease, involving deeper structures, more vital organs, and less of a tendency to resolve spontaneously. Even more worrisome is the fact that they are almost always more difficult to recognize.” (xx)

In addressing scientists at a conference sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Rutgers University professor R. Simpson warned:

“Immunization Programs against flu, measles, mumps, polio and so forth may actually be seeding humans with RNA to form latent proviruses in cells throughout the body. These latent proviruses could be molecules in search of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Parkinson’s disease and perhaps cancer.” (xxi)

The bulk of the evidence gathered from numerous countries points out that not only is vaccination ineffective at preventing the spread of infectious disease, but vaccinated children are actually at a higher risk of contracting these illnesses. In addition, the adverse reactions to vaccination are much higher than presently documented in the medico-pharmaceutical literature and the long-term damaging effect of suppressing the immune system is rarely addressed.

In light of all the evidence to the contrary, why have vaccines been pressed upon the public as a necessary, beneficial way of preventing our children from getting sick? In the words of Dr. Raymond Obomsawin (who’s held senior positions in UNICEF and CUSO), referring to mass vaccination, “It is reprehensible that such actions continue to be enforced by authorities, while parents and local health workers are not accorded any practical knowledge of the known dangers involved, and the extent to which there prevails a general ignorance of the longer term consequences.” (xxii)

Follow The Money Honey

Combine this ignorance with the millions of dollars in profit generated by vaccination that goes straight into the pockets of manufacturing companies, governments and medical doctors, and it becomes clear that vaccination is more of a political and economic issue, than a health issue. Barbara Fisher, who served for ten years on the U.S. National Vaccine Advisory Committee states:

“We have bad science and bad medicine translated into law to ensure that vaccine manufacturers make big profits, that career bureaucrats at the Public Health Service meet the mass vaccination goals promised to politicians funding their budgets, and pediatricians have a steady flow of patients…As the drug companies have often stated in meetings I have attended, if a vaccine they produce is not mandated to be used on a mass basis, they do not recoup their R&D costs and do not make the profit they want. In the medical literature official studies of vaccine risk are published purportedly proving there is no cause and effect. What the reader does not know is that often the studies have been designed and conducted by physicians who sit on vaccine policy-making committees at the Centers for Disease Control…some of whom receive money from vaccine manufacturers for their universities and for testifying as expert witnesses in vaccine-injury cases. And others are federal employees with an eye on career advancement within HHS and a future job with a vaccine manufacturer after retirement from public service. Many of these same physicians sit on the peer review boards of the major medical journals such as Pediatrics and JAMA, where they refuse space for studies or letters from the few brave physicians who dare to challenge their assertions that there is no cause and effect” (xxiii)

When you take into account the billions of dollars at stake in vaccination campaigns, it is not surprising that vaccination propaganda is foisted upon the public with almost religious fervour. The intense psychological pressure and fear that parents feel about vaccinating their children is no accident, but the result of well-planned, well-funded marketing campaigns.

Needless to say, having completed my research, Oscar and my subsequent two children remain completely un-vaccinated.

We have traveled with our un-vaccinated children to Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Caribbean Islands, England, USA, Hawaii and the only disease they ever contracted was when Oscar got croup (whooping cough) when he was 8 months old. I treated him with entirely natural herbs and eucalyptus steams and he was 100% recovered in 8 days – not even a sniffle remaining.

Of course, we are doing a LOT from all angles: supplements, organic, unprocessed diet, low sugar, very physically active, good emotional environment, low WiFi, cellphone exposure, etc. to keep our children’s immune system strong.

As to whether you should vaccinate your child or not, only you can and should make that decision. It is very difficult to stand strong and resolute against the ubiquitous pressure to vaccinate. It’s like having to keep insisting the earth is round when authorities, your community, intellectuals, and the majority of scientists etc. all insist it’s flat. As with all matters of health, each of us has to go with what our gut tells us is right, or the best possible option for us at that time.

VACCINE ALTERNATIVES

There are very effective alternatives to vaccination, but it’s beyond the scope of this article to address that here (see www.alternativemedicine.com and do a keyword search on vaccination for more info). Also, any good naturopathic physician will be able to advise you of the alternatives and prescribe immune support measures for your child. For those of you who are wary of the dangers of vaccination but not quite strong enough – or convinced enough – to decline immunization, there are a few options you might wish to explore:

• Only give your child the vaccines you feel are most necessary and omit the most dangerous ones, or the ones that have been banned in other countries. For example, opt for diphtheria and tetanus but omit the pertussis component of the DPT shot, skip the hepatitis B vaccine – especially in infants (200 doctors in France have banded together to try to get their government to ban it). The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shot has also been banned in several countries.
• If you do vaccinate, assist your child/baby’s immune system before, during and after vaccination to reduce the risk of adverse effects. Dr. Lendon Smith (an Oregon pediatrician) administered the following to his patients during his practicing years: 1000 mg. Vitamin C, 500 mg. Calcium, 50 mg. Vitamin B6 the day before, the day of, and the day after vaccination. Consult with your doctor (medical or naturopathic) as to the best amounts and delivery method of these immune support substances for your child. Continue to supplement with a full range of vitamins and minerals daily thereafter (use 100% natural preparations specially formulated for infants or children).
• Continue to educate yourself by reading other sources and conduct your own research on vaccination. See some of the publications and websites listed at the end of this article for further reading.

Click here if you’d like to download a copy of this vaccination article.

Childhood Vaccination Schedule in Recent Years:

1980 – 20 vaccines
2003 – 40 vaccines
2004 – 53 vaccines
2005 – 58 vaccines
2006 – 63 vaccines
2008 – 68 vaccines

“New vaccines are being invented every year, all with the same hope – to be included in the mandated Immunization Schedule. It’s very big money. Today we’re up to 68 vaccines mandated for use before a child is eighteen years old. Our infant mortality rate and the health of our children are appalling. The incidence of both infectious diseases and degenerative diseases among adult Americans is skyrocketing.”
- Dr. Tim O’Shea DC, The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination Is Not Immunization

Vaccine Risk Awareness Websites:

National Vaccine Information Center
http://www.909shot.com

Concerned Parents for Vaccine Safety
http://www.home.sprynet.com/sprynet/Gyrene/Home.htm

Vaccination Information Paradigm
http://www.cco.net/~trufax/vaccine/vacindex.html

Immunisation Awareness Society
http://www.netlink.co.nz/~ias/ias/htm

PUBLICATIONS:

Vaccination: 200 years of Orthodox Research Shows That Vaccines Represent A Medical Assault on the Immune System by Viera Scheibner PhD

Universal Immunization – Medical Miracle or Masterful Mirage? by Raymond Obomsawin PhD (available from Health Action Network tel: 604-435-0512)

What Every Parent Should Know About Childhood Immunization by Jamie Murphy

How To Raise a Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor by Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, MD

The Immunization Decision: A Guide For Parents by Dr. Randall Neustaedter

Vaccinations and Immunization: Dangers, Delusions and Alternatives by Dr. Leon Chaitow, ND, DO

Immunization: The Reality Behind The Myth by Walene James

Click here if you’d like to download a copy of this vaccination article.
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© 2000-2010 Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

Those of you who have Listen To Your Gut, know that I have been warning people not to use cell phones since 2005. However, as microwave radiation technology expands, we have to be alert for other devices that use these harmful frequencies, such as:

• Cell phone use (and second-hand radiation from other cell phones)
• The family’s cordless phones in the home
• Wireless LAN (or Land-area Network) systems at schools or home
• Cell towers in the neighborhood, or near schools
• Wireless computers at home, work, or at school
• Two-way radios (think family ski-trips)
• WIFI systems (at McDonalds and Starbucks for wireless computers)

WiFi or wireless internet is a source of high exposure that needs to be avoided by anyone trying to heal from a chronic illness, or anyone susceptible – especially if you have a susceptible immune system.

If you take an actual EMF measuring device and measure the radiation coming off a wifi computer in a school – it is 3x stronger/higher than the highest emission point from a cell phone tower – not an individual cell phone, but a cell phone tower. This is key because we have plenty of documented information regarding cancer clusters around cell towers and most countries have banned them from school grounds on this basis.

But….officials are telling you that it’s safe to have to wireless in your school, home or office – hello??

As prominent doctor, researcher, author & lecturer, Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, said recently:

“Apart from the symptoms of EHS, already caused by the Wi-Fi routers, longer term effects of the radiation from WiFi laptops are likely to be various abdominal cancers, digestive disorders such as IBS, and a loss of fertility.”

Learn about what you can do to reduce or shield yourself from exposure to these electromagnetic frequencies (non-thermal, pulsed radiation) which are appearing everywhere.

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© 2010 Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

If you absolutely cannot breastfeed your baby, or if you have to supplement with formula feeding then there are things you can add to commercial formulas to increase their low nutrient value.

But first, please go to a La Leche League meeting and/or search their website, as there is so much help available for breastfeeding difficulties of all kinds.

If your baby suffers from colic, projectile vomiting after feeding, or any other digestive problem, this can make breastfeeding difficult. And if you’re not getting enough sleep and continually stressed from a colicky baby, this can decrease your milk production – be sure and watch my video Baby Fart Aerobics to get colic and other digestive difficulties handled/healed quickly. Anemia is also a common cause of not being able to produce enough milk.

You can definitely solve whatever problem is causing you to not produce enough milk – did you know that adoptive mothers can breastfeed their new babies – even if they’ve never been pregnant or given birth? Also, even if your milk dries up completely due to illness or trauma, you can re-start it and get back to an exclusively breastfed baby. I know because this is what happened to me after the birth of my third child – it’s called relactation.

Exclusive Formula Feeding

If you do have to formula feed a newborn, you’ll need to add a number of crucial nutrients to facilitate proper brain development and help safeguard his/her gut. The best and most comprehensive instructions for infant formula supplementation can be found at Dr. Joseph Mercola’s website: “Healthy Alternative to Conventional Infant Formula”. There’s no point in me giving you additional instructions here, as this article really covers it all (and gives a few different options). If you’re exclusively formula feeding, you should also add Natren brand probiotic (Life Start – B. infantis) to baby’s formula bottles.

Partial Formula Feeding

If you’re using formula to supplement your breastfeeding, you should still read the article at mercola.com as the information is vital. Depending on the amount you’re still breastfeeding, you’ll either need to fortify your formula feedings as per the Mercola article instructions, or you can use Jini’s Formula Supplement Protocol below.

My protocol assumes that you are taking the supplements recommended below (see: Essential Supplements) – if you are not, then you need to follow the protocol on Dr. Mercola’s site instead. My protocol is nowhere near as good as the protocol on Dr. Mercola’s site. But, if you simply can’t manage to implement Mercola’s comprehensive protocol, then this protocol is still far better than just plain formula.

Jini’s Formula Supplement Protocol

• Raw, organic goat’s milk or raw, organic cow’s milk*
• 1 scoop of organic formula
• 1/8 tsp. Natren Life Start (B. infantis) probiotic until baby starts eating solids, then alternate/rotate with the other Natren probiotics: 1/8 tsp. Life Start, 1/8 tsp. Megadophilus, 1/8 tsp. Digesta-Lac
• 1/2 tsp. Udo’s oil
• 1 cod liver oil capsule (puncture and squeeze in baby’s mouth if possible)
• 1/2 Moducare capsule (plant sterols/fats) – boosts immunity after weaning. Note: If breastfeeding 3 times per day or more, then you don’t need to add Moducare.

Place formula, probiotics, Udo’s oil, and Moducare in baby’s bottle. Add 1 ounce of milk and mix with a spoon, crushing all lumps, until a smooth paste is formed. Then add the rest of the milk whilst stirring well. Put the lid on the bottle, block the nipple hole with your finger, and shake vigorously. It’s okay to heat the milk to normal infant feeding temperature – but closer to room temperature is better. Remember to never heat infant milk or formula in the microwave.

*If you can’t get raw (unpasteurized, non-homogenized) goat’s or cow’s milk (see www.realmilk.com for suppliers) then just use your regular formula with water or almond milk. However, if your baby is less than 4 months old and you can’t get raw milk, then you really should use the protocol on Mercola’s site instead. Do not ever use pasteurized cow’s milk or soy milk.

Rice milk has a very high glycemic index and will accelerate tooth decay. Soy milk contains massive amounts of estrogen, blocks mineral absorption and also depresses thyroid function – no one should ingest soy milk! Homemade almond milk (remember to strain it through a fine cheesecloth) is best – but organic store bought is okay.

Essential Supplements For Pregnant or Breastfeeding Moms

Note: I am going to give links to each product in my LTYG Shoppe, so you can see which brand I recommend and why – if you don’t like to buy online, just get your local store to order them in for you.

Here are the supplements I believe every mother should take during pregnancy (and ideally for three months prior to conception), for the duration of breastfeeding, and then for at least three months following weaning (to replenish your own body stores and health):

•    Nature’s Way Prenatal Multivitamin
•    Udo’s Oil (or flax oil) – at least 1 tbsp. per day
•    Cod Liver Oil – 6 capsules or 2 tsp per day
•    Bone Support – 1 tbsp per day
•    Minerals Of Life Trace Minerals – 1 tbsp per day
•    Absorb Plus or protein shake – as needed -  if underweight, or no time to eat properly
•    Natren probiotics in powder form (Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Life Start, Digesta-Lac) or capsules (if you prefer and have no diarrhea or heartburn).
•    Follow the Healing Diet in Listen To Your Gut that suits your symptoms, or at least follow the Maintenance Diet (see below) strictly

Other supplements that are also be beneficial:

•    Coenzyme Q10
•    Pycnogenol or Grape Seed Extract
•    Vitamin C in mineral ascorbate form
•    Angstrom/Nanoparticle-sized Iron if you need additional iron supplementation – when taken with lots of water, this form will not constipate you, nor will it aggravate or trigger intestinal bleeding.

There have been many long-term studies done showing that the health of your baby in-utero will pre-determine your child’s health until the late teenage years. So please don’t make the mistake of assuming that you can eat whatever you want whilst pregnant! Pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding) should be the most disciplined, healthy diet and lifestyle time of your life. It is absolutely crucial that you strictly follow the guidelines in this Maintenance Diet and take the supplements recommended above to give your baby the best chance at good health, optimal brain functioning, and avoiding allergies and obesity.

Maintenance Diet for Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

• No processed, pre-packaged foods.

• No foods containing preservatives, nitrates & nitrites (these have actually been banned by the FDA, they are so carcinogenic to the gut, but the meat industry refused to comply and so they are still in all your commercial hot dogs and deli meats), monosodium glutamate (MSG – it interferes with neural functioning), carrageenan (large quantities have been used to induce Ulcerative Colitis in guinea pigs and primates), or anything else that sounds like a manufactured chemical compound.

• No margarine or butter substitutes – often treated with chemical solvents and bleaches, resulting in deformed, highly toxic, trans-fatty acids. Even the cold-pressed margarines are not good as your body doesn’t need so much of those oils, and they prevent you from using butter – which your body needs a lot of. Use real butter (preferably made from raw, organic milk), cold-pressed virgin olive oil, or unrefined coconut oil instead. Do not use regular mayonnaise either – only mayonnaise made from cold-pressed oils.

• No artificial sweeteners of any kind (like aspartame, nutrasweet, saccharine, splenda, sucralose, acesulfame-K, etc.) – toxic and proven to cause memory loss, can also be highly addictive and contribute to hyperactivity and seizures in some people.

• No artificial colors or flavors – especially since the introduction of neural flavor blockers and enhancers.

• No pasteurized milk products; milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc. Raw milk products are okay and actually promote health. But pasteurized or ultrapasteurized (UHT) dairy products must be strictly avoided. For more info on the health benefits of raw milk, see www.realmilk.com

My friend came to me with one of the most bizarre problems I’d heard of: Ever since she was pregnant with her first child, she would instantly develop a rash wherever her skin was exposed to the sun. Previously, she had no problems with the sun and would tan nicely like everyone else.

Well a little Google surfing revealed that there is actually an official name for this condition: Solar Dermatitis. And the typical recommended treatment is cool compress, oatmeal, aloe and staying out of the sun.

But none of those address any kind of a root cause – which is where I always look when treating the body. And if we don’t get to the root cause or imbalance in the body, we will never have healing – symptom soothing, masking or repression, yes, but not healing.

Well, sometimes I surprise even myself and I’m pleased to say that the first treatment I suggested to my friend worked a charm and her sun rash problem disappeared after only 2 weeks on this protocol – never to return again! Can you imagine? Nine years of not being able to go out in the sun (with any skin exposed) – and when you have 3 young children like she does, that’s a big deal.

In her case, since pregnancy triggered onset of the solar dermatitis, I wondered if there was a hormonal imbalance at work. However, I suggested we first look at balancing the gut (because whenever there’s a skin problem, you need to look to the digestive system) and taking nutrients specifically for the skin first. And if that didn’t work, then we could move on to investigating the endocrine system.

Fortunately, the gut/skin regimen worked brilliantly and we didn’t have to go any further. So here’s my natural treatment protocol for solar dermatitis:

1. Balance Your Gut Flora – this means you need to get an abundance of good bacteria into your gut, rather than bad bacteria and yeast/fungi. Take 1 Natren Healthy Trinity Capsule (the 3-in-1 capsule) per day until you no longer get a rash when you go out in the sun. Then stay on a maintenance dose of 1 per day for the next 6-12 months, just to be sure. If you don’t consume any food-based probiotics (fermented veggies, homemade yoghurt, etc.) then you should just stay on 1 Healthy Trinity capsule every 1-3 days indefinitely. This will also provide protection against a host of other diseases and ailments. You can usually get your local health store to order Natren Healthy Trinity in for you if they don’t already carry it – but don’t substitute another brand, or you will not get the same results.

2. Take Targetted Nutrients For Your Skin – take a high quality cod liver oil that contains ONLY naturally-occurring Vitamin A and D. I like either Carlson or Nordic Naturals brands (available at most high quality health stores). Take either 1 tsp (or 5 capsules) per day. Also take Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and again, I prefer Carlson brand, since it is naturally-derived. You need to take the right amount of Vitamin D – both according to your racial heritage and the climate you live in. Since my friend is light-skinned, blonde hair and we live in the Pacific Northwest (not much sun – not that she could go out in the sun anyway!) she took 2,000 IU per day. With my darker skin, I take 4,000 IU  Vitamin D3 per day.

3. Stop Putting Toxins Into Your Body – it makes sense that if you’re trying to help your body detox and balance it’s gut terrain, then you’re going to see the best results if what you’re ingesting every day helps that process – rather than hinders it. So this means: No processed, packaged food, no nitrates, no preservative, no artificial flavors and sweeteners, no hydrogenated/vegetable oils – basically, no standard crap that everyone else eats. You also need to reduce your sugar as much as you possibly can, because sugar (and simple carbs like white flour and white rice) are the preferred food source for candida yeast/fungus and bad bacteria. Do eat: fresh, organic vegetables, meat, eggs and eat them raw or use cold-pressed oils (coconut, olive oil) and organic butter to cook them in. When you need a treat, use these healthy recipes for muffins and puffed squares.

Since she is the only one I know of with this problem and this treatment worked brilliantly for her, if you try it, please post your results in the COMMENTS section below, so we can pool our knowledge…

soar higher,
Jini

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©2010 Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

I just got a phone call from my neighbour – whose friend wanted to know about natural remedies for acne. So I figured I might as well blog my answer so that many more can benefit!

Whenever someone has a skin problem – acne, excema, psoriasis, unexplained rash, etc – the first place we look is to the gut ecology. This is because the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and the skin are made from the same type of cells.

The second reason we look to the gut is that the skin is one of the organs of detoxification. And if your body is detoxing through your skin – using your skin to push out undesirables – then it’s yet another sign that something’s wrong with your gut, and possibly your liver.

So, treating acne requires a three-pronged approach:

1. Balance Your Gut Flora – this means you need to get an abundance of good bacteria into your gut, rather than bad bacteria and yeast/fungi. If your acne is mild, or you haven’t had it for very long this can usually be accomplished by using a therapeutic probiotic alone: Take 1 Natren Healthy Trinity Capsule (the 3-in-1 capsule) per day for one week, and then 2 capsules per day until your acne clears up. Then stay on a maintenance dose of 1 per day. You can usually get your local health store to order Natren Healthy Trinity in for you if they don’t already carry it – but don’t substitute another brand, or you will not get the same results.

If you have severe or long-standing acne (2 years or more) you may first need to take wild oregano oil to clear out the pathogens, and then repopulate with the good bacteria – we have a protocol for this and it’s called Jini’s Wild Oregano OIl Protocol. You can also go to my Free Stuff page and get my complimentary Wild Oregano Oil Report.

2. Stop Putting Toxins Into Your Body – it makes sense that if you’re trying to help your body detox and balance it’s gut terrain, then you’re going to see the best results if what you’re ingesting every day helps that process – rather than hinders it. So this means: No processed, packaged food, no nitrates, no preservative, no artificial flavors and sweeteners, no hydrogenated/vegetable oils – basically, no standard crap that everyone else eats. You also need to reduce your sugar as much as you possibly can, because sugar (and simple carbs like white flour and white rice) are the preferred food source for candida yeast/fungus and bad bacteria. Do eat: fresh, organic vegetables, meat, eggs and eat them raw or use cold-pressed oils (coconut, olive oil) and organic butter to cook them in. When you need a treat, use these healthy recipes for muffins and puffed squares.

Again, if you’ve had long-standing acne, you will also need to use a liver support herb – to help detox and restore liver functioning. Milk thistle or burdock root are good herbs for this – in either liquid tincture or capsule form.

3. Treat Topical Sores - you can also topically address infection and speed healing by dabbing wild oregano directly onto each acne sore. Apply 3-5x/day if you can – but even 2x/day will produce good results. If you can’t tolerate the normal wild oregano oil, you can further dilute it with olive oil. Make up a 6:1 dilution using 6 drops of olive oil to 1 drop of wild oregano oil. Another substance that can work well, if you have it to hand is potassium iodide (SSKI).

And that’s it! If you’re feeling overwhelmed by now, then just start with 2 simple things: Natren Healthy Trinity capsules, 1-2x/day and apply wild oregano oil topically. After you see positive change, it will encourage you to address the dietary aspect.

soar higher,
Jini

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©2010 Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

I recently had a 3-day stool and saliva test done through Jim Ehmke’s clinic – you may recall Jim as he is the clinical nutritionist I interviewed for a teleseminar on raw milk diets and a podcast on natural cancer treatments. The results of my stool sample came back perfectly clear (no ova or parasites), with an abundance of good bacteria. However, the saliva sample indicated a “positive” or “detected” result for Entamoeba histolytica, roundworm and tapeworm. Yikes!

Upon closer examination, the test specified that IgA antibodies to these parasites had been found. I had a lengthy phone conversation with Jim Ehmke about these results and he feels they are indeed indicative of infection with these parasites. He told me that when he worked with a parasitologist, they would see results like this, where the parasites were detected only in the saliva antibodies. But then they would do an extremely aggressive purge on the patient and after that treatment the parasites would exit via the stool.

I then consulted with three different integrative medical physicians to get their opinion. They all felt that the test was not a reliable indicator of the presence of these parasites. They stated that IgA antibodies merely indicate exposure to the parasites. For the parasites to actually be present in the body, the saliva would reveal IgM antibodies – which indicate infection.

Parasitic Infection Or Symbiosis?

So am I infected with parasites… or not? Personally, I don’t feel there’s enough evidence either way to make an unequivocal declaration. And here’s another thing I feel that may be a bit unusual: I don’t actually mind sharing my body and resources with other microorganisms. If mosquito bites didn’t itch, I wouldn’t mind sharing my blood either. Western mentality has a fixation on sanitation and “cleanliness”. But look at how humans have lived for millennia – side by side with all kinds of animals and organisms.

Yes, you may say, but look at the diseases they get! Sure, okay, but what about the diseases we get? I’m not saying I would be happy with a widespread infestation of parasites, because obviously that would compromise my health and lead to suffering. But what’s wrong with a few, unobtrusive, otherwise undetectable parasites that do not interfere with my energy, vitality, strength and functioning?

According to the Amebiasis Fact Sheet from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) only 10 –20% of those infected with Entamoeba histolytica ever become sick from it. And in many cases, E. histolytica is indistinguishable from E. dispar – which never makes people sick and thus does not need to be treated. It seems to me we are back to the susceptibility component of Germ Theory: it is not the germs themselves, which cause disease, it is the susceptibility of the host bioterrain that determines whether microbes remain harmless or become an “infection”.

For example, an infection of Staph A strikes dread into the hearts of many. But did you know that Staphylococcus aureus is a normal resident on the skin (and mucous membranes) of about 40% of the population? What causes it to turn infectious in some but mostly benign in others?

Also, don’t forget, the latest therapy for causing Crohn’s symptoms to subside is to have the patient swallow regular infestations of Helminth worms (from pigs). These worms do not stay indefinitely in the gut however, and eventually pass out through the stool, hence the patient has to periodically swallow a new batch of eggs.

An effective therapy for asthma and allergies in children consists of them playing with and inhaling African dirt. Why? Because dirt from Africa is not “clean” and contains all kinds of microscopic organisms and particles that effectively engage and thus balance the child’s immune system.

The theory that doctors are following now is that humans are designed to co-exist with various microorganisms. Our immune system has evolved to function in the presence of all kinds of “nasties”. And in our newly sterile western world, the immune system is now malfunctioning in this unnatural environment. Personally, this has always resonated with me and I have let all three of my children be less sanitary than “normal”, right from birth. For example, I don’t make them wash their hands before dinner, if food drops on the floor I let them brush it off and eat it (if they want). Simultaneously, I have provided the elements necessary for building a strong immune system – through diet, environment, emotional health, supplements and avoiding vaccines.

But getting back to my saliva test results: am I now worried? To be honest, I haven’t decided yet. If the actual parasites or their eggs were detected in my stool, then yes, I would definitely pursue treatment because this would indicate to me an unhealthy level of infection. Likewise, if my saliva showed IgM antibodies to parasites, that would be a more solid indicator for me. But IgA antibodies in my saliva only, that merely indicate exposure?

Let me tell you, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to be exposed to these parasites. I was born in Kenya and lived there for five years. When I was ten I watched our cat vomit up a mouse with a tapeworm wrapped around it (and yes, I stroked and napped with this cat). I have rescued any number of mangy stray dogs, cats and abused horses. I have traveled to many third world countries and eaten from roadside stalls. Exposure? No doubt. And possibly past infection that has since been cleared. But current, ongoing, pathogenic infection? I don’t know, I just don’t see the evidence of it.

Anti-Parasitic Protocols

Nevertheless, my test results caused me to delve deeply into the world of anti-parasitic protocols. Chlorine dioxide – which is sodium chlorite that has been ‘activated’ with citric acid (also known as MMS – Miracle Mineral Supplement) is showing great promise in this field. But it is also difficult to tolerate with many discontinuing treatment due to the unpleasant side effects – nausea being particularly bothersome.

There is also plenty of information available on MMS protocols and many people experimenting with it, so I decided to leave it alone for now. One thing I will say is that I believe Dr. Tom Hesselink is on the right track when he maintains the side effects from the MMS protocols are not the herxheimer reaction, but rather poisoning, from using too high a dosage. Personally, I would follow Dr. Hesselink’s protocols and use a 5% solution of sodium chlorite, rather than a 28% solution (as recommended by the MMS inventor, Jim Humble). Dr. Hesselink’s protocol can be found at:
http://bioredox.mysite.com/CLOXhtml/CLOXprot.htm

For my anti-parasitic protocols, I decided to experiment with potent substances I’m already familiar with and have a degree of fluency in their usage. I looked at combining certain natural substances to create a synergy of potentiated (exponentially increased) effect, in an attempt to create a protocol that was suitably powerful, yet with the highest chance of tolerance: wild oregano oil, potassium iodide, DMSO and nanoparticle silver.

This protocol is particularly powerful due to the combined anti-pathogen effect of each of its components. In addition to that, the DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide; derived from tree bark) carries the substances quickly and deeply into the tissues, bloodstream and cells. Nanoparticle silver (much smaller and very different from colloidal or ionic silver) is also instantly absorbed into the cells and bloodstream – no digestion required. When taken on an empty stomach, these four anti-pathogen substances are indeed powerful and hopefully effective.

I have tested this protocol myself and personally, I find it to be fairly easily tolerated – dizziness and periods of tiredness were my principle reactions. Depending on what’s happening, you may feel initially tired and experience some herxheimer (headaches, fatigue, mild nausea, diarrhea) reaction symptoms (just give your body extra rest), but as time goes on you will feel increasing amounts of energy. If you tend to constipation, then it is really important to give your body plenty of magnesium citrate or flushing enemas to keep your bowel moving and regularly eliminate the dead microorganisms and their toxins.

As you will see, I have provided two “strengths” of this protocol; the first is the one I have tested on myself and is for regular pathogens (yeast, fungus, bacteria, viruses, mycobacteria), or suspected parasites. The second one is for confirmed parasites. Please keep in mind that both of these are experimental – so far only a few of us have done the first protocol and no one has yet done the second (I’ve had a few doses of the second, but I haven’t done it for two weeks). So proceed with caution and post any comments, etc. in the COMMENTS section below and I’ll try to provide feedback where I can. Please keep in mind that I cannot give personal health advice (due to liability issues) but I can discuss this protocol, ingredients, my experience, etc.

Induce Alkalinity To Increase Potency

I also heard of a trick to further increase the potency of each protocol by inducing alkalinity just prior to ingestion, to make the microbes more susceptible (many bacteria and viruses cannot live or thrive in an alkaline environment). I learned this trick from Maraline Krey – who I have done both a teleseminar and podcast on pH body balance. This is done by drinking some nanoparticle minerals, which have a pH of 12 – remember nanoparticle minerals do not require digestion and are immediately absorbed into the bloodstream.

This will also benefit those of you concerned with calcium levels or osteoporosis since the mineral blend is called Bone Support and contains calcium, magnesium, boron, cobalt and potassium. After ingesting 1 tablespoon of Bone Support, you then wait five minutes and then ingest the anti-pathogen substances in the protocol. I use Bone Support as my multi-mineral supplement, so I followed Maraline’s advice and ingested a tablespoon five minutes prior to administering the protocol.

Once more thing you can do to support this protocol is to also take adequate amounts of vitamin D3 (3,000 IU per day) and cod liver oil (1 tsp or 4-6 capsules per day) – with food. Vitamin D3 is one of those substances that increases overall body resistance to pathogens and cod liver oil aids the action of DMSO.

Products needed for this protocol:

* 1 bottle Joy Of The Mountains or NAHS wild oregano oil
* 1 bottle 99% DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide)
* 1 bottle of SSKI (super saturated potassium iodide) from Tri-Quench
* 1 – 32-ounce bottle of Molecula Silver (nanoparticle liquid silver – NOT colloidal nor ionic silver). Available at: www.WorldHealthMall.com
* Natren probiotics: If you are having 3 bowel movements or less per day, then you can take the Healthy Trinity capsules. If you are having more than 3 bowel movements per day, then you must use the powders: Megadophilus, Bifido Factor and Digesta-Lac
* Optional: 1 – 32 ounce bottle of Bone Support nanoparticle minerals

Now that you have all your ingredients ready. Here is how to administer the protocol:

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Jini’s Quad Synergy Pathogen/Parasite Protocol

This protocol is administered orally for bacterial, viral or suspected parasitic infections and then both orally and transdermally for severe or confirmed parasitic infections.

For bacteria, viruses, yeast and mild or suspected parasites:
* 5 – 10 drops of wild oregano oil (shake bottle well)
* 6 – 8 ounces of water containing 1 tablespoon of nanoparticle silver, 3 drops potassium iodide and 1/8 teaspoon 99% DMSO

For confirmed or strong parasitic infection:
* 10 – 15 drops of wild oregano oil (shake bottle well)
* 6 – 8 ounces of water containing 1 tablespoon of nanoparticle silver, 3 drops potassium iodide and 1/3 teaspoon (1.60 ml) 99% DMSO (Note: If the taste of the DMSO is too strong for your tolerance, then replace 1-2 ounces of water with clear organic apple juice to help mask the taste.)

Take a sip of the water mixture, tip your head back, so it goes to the back of your throat, hold it there and drop the wild oregano oil into your throat. Immediately swallow and then wash all remaining traces of the oil down your throat using rest of the water/supplement mixture – drink until the glass is empty. For a demonstration of how to do this, see my video on How To Take Wild Oregano Oil.

Take this 3 – 5 times per day on an empty stomach. It’s a good idea to start with lower amounts or lowered frequency and then build up over time. For example, start with half the dosage of wild oregano oil DMSO, then gradually build up, or take once or twice per day to start, establish tolerance and then increase to full frequency and dosage.

Last thing before bed, and 2 hours after your last dosage (on an empty stomach), take a high dose of the Natren probiotics: either 1 tsp each of Megadophilus, Bifido-Factor and Digesta-Lac dissolved in 8 ounces filtered room-temperature water OR 1 Health Trinity capsule.

Take for a maximum of 2 weeks and then take a break for 2 – 4 weeks – unless you are having your thyroid monitored by your doctor – because the iodine in the potassium iodide affects thyroid function. Or, if you need to take it for longer than two weeks, then delete the potassium iodide (SSKI) from the protocol after the two week period.

*All products are available at my Holistic Health Shoppe if you can’t find them locally.

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When you are finished the protocol, you should take high dose Natren probiotics three times a day for three to six months: either 1 tsp each of Megadophilus, Bifido-Factor and Digesta-Lac dissolved in 8 ounces filtered room-temperature water, taken 3x/day on an empty stomach OR 1 Health Trinity capsule, 2x/day. Thereafter, either take probiotics daily and/or eat foods rich in probiotics (homemade yoghurt, kefir, fermented vegetables, etc.).

You may need to cycle on and off this program for up to two years depending upon what you are infected with. Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) and various parasites have dormant and active lifecycles, so you need to do the protocol again each time they become active, until you have completely cleared the pathogen and it’s eggs, spores, etc.

Find out the dormant/active lifecycle for whichever parasites you’re infected with and schedule treatment for the active times – for maximum efficacy. For example, when treating roundworm and tapeworm, you may want to roughly mimic the drug treatment cycle: Implement oral and transdermal protocols on Day 1-14, then take a break, administer again on Day 30-35, then break, administer Day 90-95 then break, administer Day 180 – 185. Finished.

To find out more on each of the substances involved in this treatment, go to my article section at JPT Wellness Circle and look up my articles on DMSO and potassium iodide. Then go to the Reports section and download the Wild Oregano Oil Report. For those of you who are not JPT Members, this blog also contains lots of info on my experiments – and it is free, just use the Search box to search by topic. Lastly, do an internet search on each ingredient, like “nanoparticle silver” and it will pull up some fascinating research for you like this:

“In the first-ever study of metal nanoparticles’ interaction with HIV-1, silver nanoparticles of sizes 1-10nm attached to HIV-1 and prevented the virus from bonding to host cells. The study, published in the Journal of Nanotechnology, was a joint project between the University of Texas, Austin and Mexico Univeristy, Nuevo Leon.”

A word of caution: do NOT substitute products or brands other than the ones I have listed here (you can purchase them anywhere you want, just don’t change the brand). For example, you cannot substitute regular iodine or Lugol’s for the potassium iodide (SSKI), since Lugol’s has molecular iodine in addition to potassium iodide and will cause irritation when used with DMSO. Here’s another example: you cannot combine chlorine dioxide (MMS) with wild oregano oil, because the phenols in wild oregano neutralize or deactivate the MMS, rendering it worthless.

I have studied and compiled hundreds of pages of research to put together this protocol and since we are dealing with powerful substances, they have volatilities and interactions with other specific substances that can either cause unpleasant effects, or neutralize their action. This is why you have to use exactly the products specified here to obtain the desired effect and full potency of the protocol. As with any substance, if you react badly, develop a rash or other allergic reaction, then discontinue use. This is yet another reason to start slowly and gradually build up to test for tolerance.

Again, please keep in mind that these protocols are experimental, so be sure to listen to your own body at all times and post your results here so we can compile our knowledge together. Don’t forget, this is how Jini’s Wild Oregano Oil Protocol came into existence – I tested it on myself first, then about 30 of my consultation clients tested it and we compiled our feedback, altered the protocol a bit, and now we have an excellent protocol that has helped thousands.

soar higher,
Jini
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©2010 Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

As I get deeper and deeper into this whole WiFi/cell phone debacle, the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how people stubbornly insist on “proven data” quoting Industry-funded sources like Health Canada stating that “a person would have to be in a room within 20 cm of 1,000 WiFi routers for an extended period of time for there to be any health concern.” And these are the sources and opinions that get quoted in news articles.

It drives me crazy! When we now have literally hundreds of studies showing that people living in close proximity to just ONE cell tower or WiFi tower suffer cancer clusters, headaches, sleep problems, GI problems, etc. But does the media report on any of these peer-reviewed, scientific studies showing the clear dangers of WiFi and cell phones?

No, they continue to quote industry stooges or just plain misinformed people who haven’t taken the time to look at the actual data for themselves.

But let’s take it away from scientific data and just put it into the realm of pure common sense: If we have studies that show microwave radiation (from cell phones, cordless phones, wireless computers and other wireless devices) cause marked, measurable damage in plants and animals – then WHY do we think, “Uh, gee, it’s damaging everything else on the planet, but not us humans, we’re fine!”

Plants Damaged By Microwave (RF) Radiation

Again, we have hundreds of studies now amassed showing that WiFi radiation from cell towers and WiFi towers and yes, YOU using these devices are damaging plants and animals. Here’s just one:

This experiment with Aspen seedlings in Colorado pinpoints why the trees in the region have been showing steady death and decline since 2004.

They put these seedlings inside a Faraday Cage – to shield them from RF radiation and here’s what they looked like, healthy, well-formed leaves, with plenty of leaves per branch:

These seedlings were not shielded from the radiation and you can visibly see how they are damaged and stunted:

The author of this study, K. Haggerty, goes on to say:

“Currently a strong human-generated RF background exists at every point on the earth’s surface, although radio field strength is relatively greater in the most populous and urbanized areas. Globally, the highest field strengths occur in central Europe, the eastern United States, and in China (Figure 9). Forest decline was first recognized and defined based on observed events in central Europe and the eastern US, and China, at this time, is experiencing rapid desertification. [...]

More recently, it has been shown that mortality rates of all dominant tree species in the western United States have been doubling every 17–29 years in old growth forests, and that recruitment of new trees is now occurring at a lower rate than mortality [35]. Since aspen decline and other tree decline incidents worldwide have similar symptoms, and since no definitive explanation has been found for those events, it seems plausible that their decline may be related to RF exposure.”

Even Opponents of Wireless Carry Cell Phones!

And another thing that’s been bothering me: When I go to meetings where people gather who are concerned about the negative health effects of WiFi and cell phones….. nearly everyone there is carrying or using a cell phone! First everyone turns off their cell phone, and then we talk about how cell phone radiation is contributing to bees dying. How about putting your money where your mouth is?

If those of us who KNOW how wireless is damaging life forms will not stop using cell phones, how are we ever going to get Joe-public to stop using wireless devices?

Personally, I haven’t had a cell phone for about 2 years. But realistically, I don’t see how we’re ever going to get any kind of a ban on this technology, until as Dr. Allan Frey stated in the GQ magazine article, Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous To Your Health, “there are bodies in the streets.” This technology is simply too widespread and the revenues at stake make vaccination (another industry-driven fiasco) look like a poor cousin.

EMR Shielding Solution?

I wonder if the solution lies in someone inventing a personal RF/EMR protection device. Something that throws up a “force field” or wave-interrupter, dissonance-generator, etc. that then extends a foot or so around the body – so you can go to the shops, or your kids can go to school without being irradiated. And then there would also need to be a home version of that device, so you can protect your entire house. And then a version that can protect your yard and your land – so kids can play outside.

And I’m not talking about some woo-woo device (there are a lot of those already out there). I’m talking about a device that when activated, you take your RF meter and turn it on inside the protected area and it does not register/show any microwave radiation present.

I’m currently contacting scientists in Russia (where a lot of microwave research originated) trying to find someone who could invent this kind of device – so if you know of someone, or you have some ideas, please post below and I’ll contact you.

No, this won’t save our bees, birds, trees, cows (reduced milk production, shortened gestation) and crops – but at least we won’t have to stand by and watch our children get cancer, chronic fatigue, digestive disorders, etc. until the rest of the world figures out that we have to change this technology to something safer.

And no, I am NOT a Luddite. I use the latest iMac, my entire business is automated on the Internet, before this I owned a telecommunications company. But I am also savvy enough to recognize a serious health issue when I see one – and seriously, this is one of the greatest health challenges of this century.

Animals Damaged By Wireless Radiation

I’m going to leave you with two more animal studies that are clear as day on the dangers this technology presents, in its current form:

“… when you also take into account studies such as one in rats that has shown that exposing pregnant rats to a mobile phone for one hour a day during pregnancy led to abnormal dead cells in the brain of their offspring and fewer healthy cells in regions involved in learning and memory after birth, then it becomes more worrying.”

“Scientists have found that when rats were exposed to a mobile phone in standby mode, switched on to speech mode for 15 minutes twice a day during pregnancy, the female babies had an average of 30% fewer follicles (containing the eggs) in their ovaries after birth.  If this were to happen in humans then it could seriously reduce the fertility of the next generation of females.  We don’t know whether it was the 11 hours and 45 minutes in standby or the 15 minutes in speech mode that led to the decreased fertility.  If it was the former then it is likely that living in a wi-fi environment could also reduce the fertility of subsequent generations.”

(Source: Dr Sarah Starkey, PhD, Neuroscientist)

When I came across this novel therapy for non-surgical healing of intestinal strictures, bowel adhesions and bowel obstructions I could hardly believe what I was reading. After doing this podcast with one of the technique’s inventors, Larry Wurn, I am even more excited!

As you’ll discover when you listen, this technique may also work for anal stenosis and possibly for malrotation and volvulus. I didn’t ask about it in the podcast, but I suspect it may also work for dysphagia (difficulty swallowing, tight, spasming or obstructed esophagus).

In addition to listening to the podcast, you can also download an informative and inspirational chapter from Larry & Belinda Wurn, founders of Clear Passage Physical Therapy about their revolutionary, hands-on technique for loosening the tough collagen cross-fibers that make up strictures, scar tissue, adhesions, etc. – providing a fantastic alternative to surgery:

“Adhesions form in all people as they heal from infection, surgery or injury. Modern medicine offers little relief, because surgery creates more adhesions. When physical therapist Belinda Wurn experienced terrible adhesion pain a year after cancer surgery, her doctors said that corrective surgery would only create more adhesions. Unable to cope with the pain and unwilling to undergo surgery, she and her husband (co-author Larry Wurn) worked with respected physicians and scientists to develop a non-surgical treatment that has cured many complex medical conditions, including cases of female infertility.”

Be SURE and download this chapter from their book (it is amazing and so worth reading!) and listen to my podcast with Larry Wurn (press the play button).

Bowel Obstruction Natural Treatment Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (638)

If you can’t afford this type of therapy, or you want something you can try yourself at home first, then check out our tried and tested home remedy for dissolving scar tissue in Intestinal Strictures and Obstruction

For a visual demonstration of exactly how strictures, adhesions and scar tissue in the abdomen form and how to loosen them manually, see my video with Mary Cox, Physical Therapist from Clear Passage:

Here we have yet another example of our craze for cheap ‘n easy resulting in health issues that weren’t present when quality and nutrition were the higher priority.

Modern people seem to have lost the knowledge that wheat is a grain, and like all grains, needs to be soaked and fermented prior to cooking/ingestion. As the cookbook, Nourishing Traditions points out, when you prepare grains properly, many tolerance issues disappear.

There are artisan bakers who use these natural fermentation techniques in their bread if you don’t want to start baking bread yourself. I’m lucky to have a local bakery, Fieldstone Artisan Breads, just down the road, who uses this natural fermentation method and I can tell you, the bread is delicious! As they say on their website:

Naturally leavened breads are easier to digest due to their slow, extended, 24 hour fermentation with leaven. During the long fermentation required to produce a natural leaven or sourdough, the natural cultures “predigest” the grain, converting carbohydrates into simple sugars and breaking down proteins, making naturally leavened bread easier to assimilate in our digestive systems. This is similar to how beneficial bacteria will culture milk into yoghurt and cheese.

And now, here’s an excerpt of an article from the Shipton Mill in England, which illustrates that when wheat is fermented properly, even gluten-intolerant and coeliacs can eat bread!!:

The timing of the emergence of coeliac disease, which was first diagnosed in the 1950s, coincides with the post-war drive to industrialise food production including baking.

Widespread wheat intolerance, however, emerged less than 20 years ago. At almost the same time, people started talking about an invasive strain of yeast called Candida albicans, which caused joint pain and digestive discomfort.

Andrew Whitley recalls in his book that at this time people started ringing up asking for breads made without wheat or baker’s yeast. As luck would have it, he had developed a sourdough rye bread that contained no wheat and was raised using a spontaneous fermentation (lasting about 24 hours) of ‘wild’ yeasts present in the flour. Customers tried it and found that their digestive problems were eased.

This experience was echoed elsewhere, as more people sought bread that didn’t contain wheat, or industrial yeast, or both. The bread on offer in the shops seemed to be making them ill.

Scientific evidence

The most interesting recent research, with considerable implications for making our daily bread wholesome again, has shown that lactic acid bacteria are capable of de-activating the very substances that cause wheat allergy and coeliac disease.

In 2002 Italian scientists demonstrated, for the first time that, with selected sourdough, lactic acid bacteria could neutralise some of the wheat gliadin that attacks the intestinal mucosa of coeliacs.

In 2004 a Japanese study showed how the lactic fermentation of soy sauce completely removes any allergens from wheat, which is one of its two main ingredients. This is no mean feat, since other studies have proved that the particular parts of the wheat gliadin that harm humans are hardly affected at all by stomach enzymes, and very acidic gastric and duodenal fluids.

It seems to be the unique property of certain lactic acid bacteria that, given time, they can knock out some otherwise impervious elements that make wheat unpalatable for so many people. Modern processes do not allow this to happen, leaving the allergens in place.

A ray of hope

But what do these are test-tube studies mean for the bread we eat – or can’t eat?

Most remarkably, the Italians made a bread with 30 per cent wheat flour (plus oats, millet and buckwheat) and fermented the dough with selected sourdough lactobacilli. It took 24 hours to hydrolyse almost completely the wheat gliadins and the ‘33-mer peptide, the most potent inducer of gut-derived human T-cell lines’ (the things that do the damage) in coeliac patients. They made a similar bread raised with baker’s yeast and fed samples of both to coeliacs in a double-blind acute challenge.

The results were emphatic, 13 out of 17 patients showed a marked alteration of intestinal permeability (popularly known as ‘leaky gut’) after eating the yeast-raised bread. But the same 13 patients, when fed the sourdough bread, showed no significant reaction: remarkably, coeliacs had eaten bread with wheat in it with no ill effects.

Currently, the only treatment for coeliac disease is a lifetime abstention from gluten. This experiment is a ray of hope for coeliacs and the wheat intolerant.

A traditional way to lessen suffering

There was a time when almost all breadmaking involved lactic acid bacteria and a long fermentation time. Before modern yeasts were isolated, most bread was fermented with what we would now call a sourdough and it would have taken many hours to rise. It is an intriguing possibility that, even if the wheats our forefathers cultivated contained the same potentially harmful gliadins as modern varieties, they were largely neutralised by the lactic acid bacteria that bakers couldn’t help developing in their doughs.

This suggests that a return to traditional breadmaking methods offers a significant reduction in the wheat intolerance people experience.

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© Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

You may have already done your research on cell phone safety, realized it’s not safe for adults or children and either drastically reduced your usage, gotten an air tube headset, or like me, just stopped using one (along with your cordless phone in your house, which uses the same microwave frequency).

But have you thought about WiFi safety, or wireless computer/internet safety? Perhaps you have a wireless computer network in your house, or at work? Or perhaps your kids’ school has installed a WiFi router to service their wireless computers? Or perhaps your kids play for hours on a Wii or Nintendo DS – both of which use wireless pulsed microwave radiation technology?

Here’s the big RUB: It doesn’t matter if your kids are using the computers or not, if the school has WiFi, they are being irradiated continuously, whether they are using a computer or not. That’s why this issue is making me crazy – I used to think, “Well, my kids aren’t on the computers so they’re okay.” NOT.

We have many scientists and researchers stepping forward to share the results of their research, and one of them is Barrie Trower – who worked as a specialist in microwave and stealth weaponry for the British military for 11 years.

Here’s what Barrie Trower has to say about WiFi or wireless radiation in schools:

For anyone who tells you there isn’t enough solid data on cell phone or WiFi risks, just point them to this page of quotes from experts on electromagnetic frequencies and radiation.

Here’s one of my favorites:

“We are constantly being bathed in an increasing sea of radiation from exposure to the above, as well as electrical appliances, computers, Bluetooth devices, Wi-Fi installations and over 2,000 communications satellites in outer space that shower us with signals to GPS receivers. New WiMax transmitters on cell phone towers that have a range of up to two square miles compared to Wi-Fi’s 300 feet will soon turn the core of North America into one huge electromagnetic hot spot. Children are more severely affected because their brains are developing and their skulls are thinner. A two-minute call can alter brain function in a child for an hour, which is why other countries ban their sale or discourage their use under the age of 18. In contrast, this is the segment of the population now being targeted here in a $2 billion U.S. advertising campaign that views “tweens” (children between 8 and 12 years old) as the next big cell phone market. Firefly and Barbie cell phones are also being promoted for 6 to 8-year-olds.

It is not generally appreciated that there is a cumulative effect and that talking on a cell phone for just an hour a day for ten years can add up to 10,000 watts of radiation. That’s ten times more than from putting your head in a microwave oven. Pregnant women may also be at increased risk based on a study showing that children born to mothers who used a cell phone just two or three times a day during pregnancy showed a dramatic increase in hyperactivity and other behavioral and emotional problems. And for the 30% of children who had also used a cell phone by age 7, the incidence of behavioral problems was 80% higher! Whether ontogeny (embryonic development) recapitulates phylogeny is debatable, but it is clear that lower forms of life are also much more sensitive. If you put the positive electrode of a 1.5 volt battery in the Pacific Ocean at San Francisco and the negative one off San Diego, sharks in the in between these cities can detect the few billionths of a volt electrical field. EMF fields have also been implicated in the recent massive but mysterious disappearance of honeybee colonies essential for pollinating over 90 commercial crops. As Albert Einstein warned, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left.”
- Paul J. Rosch, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, New York Medical College; Honorary Vice President International Stress Management Association; Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiners; Full Member, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences; Fellow, The Royal Society of Medicine; Emeritus Member, The Bioelectromagnetics Society

If you would like to approach your kids’ school to have WiFi removed, or a strong cell phone policy put in place, you can see my petition with my local Surrey School Board for ideas.

Or, you can start by printing this open letter from Magda Havas PhD to school educators and giving it to your principal, school board, etc.

It’s a real shame, because my kids are in the Fine Arts program at a brilliant school with a professional theatre, dance studio and music studio (and with ocean views from all the upstairs classrooms!), fabulous teachers, and they couldn’t be happier. But the administration is unwilling to even examine the WiFi issue.

This is the FIRST generation of children to be exposed to wireless computers and cell phones like this – do I want my kids to risk cancer, leukemia, genetic mutation, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc. etc. or would I rather pull them out: better safe than sorry?

We know from GQ Magazine (of all places!) that Wall Street brokers take 10 years of pretty high cell phone use to develop brain tumours. But no one knows what the risks, or timeline is for children. Do I want my children to be part of the experiment? Because right now, without my knowledge or permission, their school installed a WiFi network and presto, they’re guinea pigs. And many other parents have bought their children cell phones which they use in my child’s classroom – thus irradiating my child as well as theirs.

My choice now is what to do about it? As we teach our kids: Problem –> Solution. Don’t whinge, don’t waste energy whining, lashing out, just look for the solution.

For myself, I’m thinking more and more about re-locating to 20 acres somewhere affordable – that way even if all our neighbours have wireless, it won’t come into our house. Combined with some kind of shared homeschool arrangement with like-minded parents. We saw this in Playa Del Carmen in Mexico – some expats there got 5 families together and each would be responsible for one day of homeschooling at each house. I thought it was a brilliant solution – the kids benefited from a mix of talents/education in teachers, good social environment and variety, and then parents only had to homeschool one day a week!

One thing you can control immediately, is to get rid of your cordless phone in your house. Depending on the model, these can emit even stronger radiation than a cell phone and a double-blind experiment shows how they can induce tachycardia (among other nasty symptoms). Likewise, make sure you’re not using a cordless (DECT) baby monitor with your highly-susceptible infant.

p.s. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, electricity companies in the U.S. and Canada are now installing “Smart Meters” that relay information about electricity usage every few minutes via….you guessed it…WiFi! Or even better, WiMax!! Great, now we will all be forced to have WiFi in our homes, or no electricity.

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© Jini Patel Thompson. You can copy or distribute this article as long as you include the author’s name and this bio:

Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

I found this article and thought it was remarkable enough to pass on. It’s the story of a young man’s dreams taking flight after being told he would never achieve them. If you have bad eyesight or know anyone that does, you’ll want to read this.

Everything Old Is New Again: Rebuilding Your Vision

Glasses, contacts, or surgery. These are the usual choices offered to those of us with bad vision. Orlin Sorensen, though, needed an alternative. A commercial airline pilot who found himself in jeopardy of being downsized after the 9/11 tragedies, Sorensen decided to go for broke and pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a Navy fighter pilot. The only catch was that Navy fighter candidates were required to have near-perfect, uncorrected vision — no surgery allowed.

As for so many who seek different medical options, it was word of mouth that led Sorensen down a different path: a fellow pilot suggested eye exercises to naturally correct vision. Turns out, the exercises weren’t so much the “road not taken” as the “road not taken in a while.” Sorensen’s research revealed that natural vision training, in fact, had been around for almost a century.

Natural vision correction involves performing eye exercises and relaxation techniques daily to increase optical muscle strength and coordination. With a 30-minute daily routine, after just a month Sorensen improved his vision from 20/85 to 20/20; he went on to pass the Navy’s visual acuity test. In 2001, he founded a company, Rebuild Your Vision, to share his knowledge with the general public and to challenge the widespread belief that surgery is the only method of correcting vision. As more and more people turn to alternative medicine — one in three people in the U.S., according to the New England Journal of Medicine — Sorensen’s company has proven to be visionary in more ways than one.

A wholistic orientation to health

Watching TV, computer use, reliance on optical correction from glasses and contacts, as well as the normal aging process, all contribute to weak and distorted vision. Integral components of the eye are not stimulated but instead suffer from a narrow range of use, in the same way that repetitive mousing and typing tasks on the computer can lead to tendonitis in the arm and, eventually, carpal tunnel. Just as you exercise your body at the gym or practice yoga in order to improve muscle tone, agility, range of motion, and flexibility, so too do the eyes benefit from daily exercise. Designed to reverse the stresses placed upon the optical system, the vision-rebuilding process fortifies your eyes in ways that would never be achieved through normal daily activities.

Sorensen’s Rebuild Your Vision program provides multilevel goals and strengthening tools that challenge and stimulate different parts of the visual system. Customized training programs are available for those suffering from nearsightedness, astigmatism, and aging vision presbyopia). The program’s simple drills and exercises can be done at home, in the office, or on the road, thus enabling the practitioner to integrate them as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. It’s no accident that Sorensen is from Seattle, a city surrounded by natural beauty whose residents are perennially voted as some of America’s fittest.

An idea takes flight

Not only has Rebuild Your Vision become a success — according to surveys from customers worldwide, the program boasts over a 90% success rate in improving vision problems — but the medical establishment has also done research supporting the theories that the program is based upon, as in this excerpt from the Journal of the American Optometric Association describing the results of subjects who underwent natural vision training: “Subjects often stated that they had experienced the ability to make eye contact (without correction) with people across a room or street; they could see buildings and windows clearly without glasses many miles across San Francisco Bay, or in the case of high-diopter myopes (> -4.0 diopters) they were able to read books easily at arm’s length”.

Unlike eye surgery, natural vision correction is noninvasive and risk-free. And unlike glasses or contacts, it an active process rather than a palliative measure. So it’s no wonder vision rebuilding seems to strike a chord with health-conscious people today, who are increasingly choosing organic foods over fast foods, meditation over confrontation, and lifestyle changes over potentially harmful quick fixes. Ironic, but sometimes we need to take the long view to really appreciate what we’re seeing.

The Rebuild Your Vision program is a step-by-step program that systematically leads you through all the steps you need to take to improve your vision. I would also recommend you purchase a reputable supplement designed to specifically improve vision, like Vision Support from Dr. Ben Kim.

If you’re a self-directed learner, then you can access the original instructions for healing your eyesight – free of charge – from one of the founders of this therapy, Dr. William Bates MD, known as The Bates Method.

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like aspirin and ibuprofen cause thousands of hospitalizations and deaths every year due to gastrointestinal bleeding. Fortunately, there are very powerful natural painkillers you can use that do not have harmful side effects. Learn about an effective painkilling herb used by Chinese, Indian and Native American Indians for centuries, as well as a do-it-yourself acupuncture tapping technique and become pain-free at last – with no damaging side effects.
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WHY YOU SHOULD ONLY USE NATURAL PAINKILLERS
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Nearly one-third of all gastrointestinal bleeding related hospitalizations and deaths are the result of using aspirin, ibuprofen, or other NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), according to an August 2005 report in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. But you may think, oh well I’m only on low-dose aspirin, or baby aspirin, and my doctor told me to take it for heart attack prevention. However, up to one-third of these GI bleeding deaths were due to low-dose aspirin. In real-life numbers, this means that out of every 100,000 people that use aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDS, 15 will die from it.

If these odds look okay to you, then carry on. But if they seem rather high, and out of proportion to the reason you’re using painkillers, then you may want to look at some natural alternatives.

If you find yourself in need of a painkiller, you should investigate both acupuncture and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), if you want long-term results. Taking a pill or supplement that kills the pain for a few hours is a coping mechanism, but not a solution. You have to find out why your body is experiencing pain and heal/release the root or cause of that pain from your body. I particularly like EFT (which involves tapping on acupuncture meridian points) for this, because once you know how to do it, you can perform it on yourself and do not have to see a therapist for relief. EFT is amazingly effective with all kinds of pain; back pain, migraines, gut spasming, joint pain, etc.

And here’s a special gift for you:

You can book a  free 30 minute Session with my personal EFT therapist, Annabel Fisher – just tell her you were referred by me – to try it out for yourself.
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Another natural painkiller is White Willow Bark (from which aspirin was derived). White willow bark was originally used by Native American Indians and boiled to make a tea which was drunk to alleviate pain. It was also used 2,500 years ago by Chinese physicians, who also used the bark of the willow tree to treat pain and fever.

In the 19th century, western scientists discovered the active ingredient in willow bark was salicin, a natural chemical which the body first converts into saligenin and then into salicylic acid. Using this model, German chemists synthesized acetylsalicylic acid (an non-natural molecular structure and therefore able to be patented by the Bayer drug company), from which all pharmaceutical ASA (acetylsalicylic acid) products are made. However both ASA and natural salicin work in a similar way.

White willow bark reduces pain by blocking the body’s production of inflammatory prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances involved in inflammation and muscle contraction. White willow bark is also a very effective fever reducer. You can buy it in capsule form and either swallow it, or, open the capsules and mix the powder with Cocoa Butter to make a suppository (I do this for children – but make sure to reduce the dosage appropriately).

In its centuries of use there have been no contra-indications recorded from the use of white willow bark, or salicin. Traditionally it has proved safer then Aspirin and other synthetically derived salicylate based anti-inflammatory drugs. No cases of any serious side effects have ever been reported in medical literature. It is gentler on the stomach, and has a less toxic effect on the body in general.

The only restrictions on usage is that white willow bark should not be taken with aspirin, or by those sensitive to salicylates (found in foods like berries, currants, prunes and raisins). People with gastritis or ulcers should also avoid it, or use it in suppository form only. It should not be used by children under 16, for the same reason aspirin should also not be used: there is the potential for developing Reye’s Syndrome in children, during a viral infection.

I’ve had numerous people test white willow bark for headaches and they all said it worked as well as a drug painkiller. You can take the white willow bark for immediate relief and to hold you while you’re learning EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). Then, once you’ve addressed the root and cause of your pain using EFT, you’ll be truly pain-free for the long term and won’t need any herbal or drug painkillers.
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Detailed information on acupuncture, EFT and other painkilling protocols are in LISTEN TO YOUR GUT, Chapters Six and Seven.

Also, if you’d like to try a full 90-minute EFT session for a minimal cost, then consider our EFT Teleseminar with Annabel Fisher, EFT-Adv.

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

Did you know that:

1.4 million people at any given time are suffering from a hospital-acquired infection?

98,000 people per year die from hospital-acquired infections in the U.S.?

For more information on which infections are commonly picked up in a hospital environment and also how to protect yourself if you do wind up in the hospital, this site is useful.

For myself, I wound up with pneumonia and 7 different bacterial infections immediately following the birth of my third child (long story with many mind/body components), so I did end up having to go to the hospital (since there are no natural hospitals where I live).

In addition to measures mentioned in the site above, I also:

• used my own 100% cotton bedding and lined the mattress with a sheepskin from Ikea – trust me, this makes a huge different to comfort and prevents bedsores.
• took Natren probiotics 3x/day
• drank Absorb Plus shakes instead of eating nasty hospital food
• kept the window open in the room at all times (choose an older hospital as these likely still have windows that open)
• paid extra for a semi-private room
• wrapped my hand in a towel or edge of the hospital gown before touching any door handle, elevator button etc. Advise your visitors to do this too.
• when I got out of the hospital I went to my naturopathic clinic and received 10 IV Vitamin C infusions and 10 hydrogen peroxide. Also did acupuncture and inhaled glutathione. Remember that up to 40% of people suffer a secondary infection once the initial pathogen has been cleared – because the antibiotics wipe out your protective bacteria and you’re wide open for opportunistic infection. So in addition to the high dose probiotics, you need to also take preventive measures.

Many of you know that I warn in Listen To Your Gut against using toothpaste that contains fluoride and I recommend you only drink filtered or spring water. Well, although I’ve taken a second look at topical fluoride vs. systemic (ingested) fluoride, here’s some recent research that further backs up my warning against systemic fluoride. And in my opinion, it is particularly vital for people on long-term steroids, or prone to osteoporosis to rigorously avoid any fluoride use or ingestion.

The following is excerpted from: Too Much Fluoride in Water Endangers Bones By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fluoride in drinking water — long controversial in the United States when it is deliberately added to strengthen teeth — can damage bones and teeth, and federal standards fail to guard against this, the National Academy of Sciences reported on Wednesday.

Children exposed to the government’s current maximum fluoride limit “risk developing severe tooth enamel fluorosis, a condition characterized by discoloration, enamel loss and pitting of the teeth, ” the academy said in a statement.

Earlier reviews of health issues associated with fluoride have considered enamel fluorosis to be ugly but not a health hazard. But the new assessment considers it a health hazard as one function of tooth enamel is to protect the teeth and underlying dental tissue from decay and infection.

Over a lifetime, people who drink water with the level near the federal limit of fluoride probably have a higher risk for bone fractures, a majority of the panel concluded.

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) allows up to 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of drinking water — .000534 ounces per gallon — but the report found this level did not protect against known risks from the chemical.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit watchdog organization, applauded the academy’s report for raising health concerns about excessive fluoride in drinking water.

“The bottom line from the nation’s top voice on science is that you can protect your children’s teeth by brushing them and you can protect their bones by getting rid of fluoride in tap water,” Tim Kropp, the group’s senior scientist, said in an e-mail.
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This next article shows the extreme damage that fluoride can do (as evidenced in an Indian village), but also points out how and why the current “safe fluoride level” used by America is still too high:

Skeletal Fluorosis
by Darlene Sherrell
The Manchester Guardian, July 9, 1998

Madhya Pradesh is famous for its rich mineral deposits. “The problem is enormous, unbelievable,” says Andezhath Susheela of the Fluorosis Research and Rural Development Foundation in Delhi. She has been unraveling the national story for a decade during which time her estimate of the number of people leading “a painful and crippled life” from fluorosis has risen from one million to 25 million and now to 60 million – six million of them children – spread across tens of thousands of communities. “In some villages three-quarters of the population are seriously affected.”

Many parents, including Krishna’s mother, suffer painful, stiff and misshapen backs and hips, and chronic gastro-enteritis. Bhaskar Raman, a local activist who brought the village’s plight to the attention of doctors, says there has been an epidemic of stillbirths and involuntary abortions – all known symptoms of fluoride poisoning.

In Britain, the Department of Health says the “optimum” fluoride dose for water supplies is 1 part per million. But in one Indian village studied in detail, Bhanakpur near Delhi, water with between 0.7 and 1.6 ppm of fluoride was enough to leave 17 per cent of the population suffering from the bent bones of skeletal fluorosis.

Crippling dosages

In 1985, when the EPA raised the maximum contaminant level to 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water, they used dosage figures miscalculated in 1953 by Harold C. Hodge, who was chairman of the NAS committee on toxicology. Hodge’s original figures (20-80 mg/day for 10-20 years) were corrected by Hodge in 1979, and by NAS in 1993. The corrected figures, based on Roholm’s classic study of workers in the cryolite industry, amount to 0.2 to 0.35 milligrams of fluoride per kilogram of body weight per day, for eleven years. When extrapolated over a lifetime of 55 to 96 years, these crippling dosage figures equal 1 milligram of fluoride daily for each 55 pounds of body weight … 0.04 mg/kg/day.

In the early years of water fluoridation, this dosage was not the norm. At that time, water was virtually the only source of fluoride in the American diet. The total intake for most adults was 0.02 mg/kg/day… about one to one and a half milligrams of fluoride daily.

Today, the figure is at least 0.095 mg/kg/day… from food and drinking water alone … more than 6 milligrams daily.

This increase in ingested fluoride, largely due to the use of artificial fertilizers containing fluoride, pesticide residues, dental products, and modern food processing, has changed a relatively safe dosage into one capable of causing crippling deformities of the spine and major joints, as well as the muscle pain associated with fibromyalgia.

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BUT WHAT ABOUT TOPICAL FLUORIDE?
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My own dental challenges (and those of my kids) have caused me to take a second, in-depth look at topical fluoride vs. systemic (ingested) fluoride. You can get my complete report on this here:

http://www.listen2yourgut.com/blog/why-our-family-is-trying-fluoride-toothpaste/

But the bottom line is: my kids and I are now testing using a fluoride toothpaste and other topical fluoride items along with the nanoparticle-sized minerals in Bone Support. NOTE: We are not swallowing nor ingesting fluoride, just using it topically for fairly short periods of time.
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In “Listen To Your Gut” I have an entire chapter that walks you through, step-by-step, how to eliminate everyday toxins from your living environment and food supply. This is essential in creating a healing, supportive environment for your body – and then you can save your strength and detox efforts for those unavoidable toxins in our environment and keep your body from being overwhelmed!
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COMPLIMENTARY HOLISTIC DENTAL HEALTH TELESEMINAR

And while we’re on this topic, you absolutely MUST listen to, or read through the transcript of my Teleseminar with Holistic Dentist – Dr. Hal Huggins.

I normally charge for Teleseminars, BUT, the information in this one is SO crucial to everyone’s health, that I have made it available for free. So be sure and listen to/read it and then share it with all of your family and friends.

Also, if you’re primarily concerned with tooth decay, then check out my post and video on how I finally healed my family’s tooth decay using nanoparticle minerals! (scroll down)

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

Some readers have asked about whether it’s safe to use L-Glutamine with children, based on an article that appeared on Dr. Joseph Mercola’s website. But again, read through it carefully and you’ll see that this is only an issue when intake exceeds need. Otherwise, there is no excess and the body utilizes it fully.

Also, in this article he completely warns against any L-Glutamine intake by pregnant women as it can cause retardation. However, I drank 1-2 Absorb Plus shakes per day (containing 1000 mg L-Glutamine in each shake) during both my pregnancies and breastfeeding. Both my children’s teachers are amazed at their quickness and intelligence and they consistently outperform many of their peers in both physical and mental function.

And one of my readers used The IBD Remission Diet for seven weeks during her pregnancy (to avoid having to use Prednisone), which meant she was drinking 4-5 Absorb Plus shakes per day (4,000 – 5,000 mg L-Glutamine per day) and her baby was perfectly healthy with normal brain development. The last time I heard from her, the baby was three years old and doing very well in all aspects.

Remember too that this article is just one professional’s opinion – and while it is worth reading, the majority of professional opinion and clinical trials in children show no adverse effect for appropriate L-Glutamine supplementation.

Here’s the result of my research and my personal opinion on the topic:

Kids with sickle cell anemia need higher amounts of L-glutamine. So this study assessed response/effects with a massive dosage of 600 mg of L-Glutamine per 1 kg of body weight. Which means, for example, that a child weighing 44 pounds would ingest 12,000 mg of L-Glutamine per day. Even at that very high dose, this study (below) on children as young as 5 years old showed no negative effects of supplementation.

STUDY #1:

Oral glutamine supplementation decreases resting energy expenditure in children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2004 Oct;26(10):619-25. To determine the effects of orally administered glutamine on the resting energy expenditure (REE) and nutritional status of children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia. Twenty-seven children and adolescents (13 boys, 14 girls), 5.2 to 17.9 years old, received orally administered glutamine (600 mg/kg per day) for 24 weeks. Measures of REE and other nutritional parameters were compared at baseline and 24 weeks.

RESULTS: After 24 weeks, the patients’ median REE (kcal/d) decreased by 6%. Patients with less than 90% ideal body weight had even greater declines in REE after 24 weeks. Improvements in nutrition parameters and in two amino acids in the plasma were observed.

CONCLUSIONS: After 24 weeks of orally administered glutamine, children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia had a decrease in REE and improvement in nutritional parameters. Those who were underweight had a greater decrease in REE than those of normal body weight. Lowering REE may be an effective way to improve the growth of these children and adolescents.

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As well, a few studies I looked at concerning L-Glutamine used on children with cancer (to prevent mucosal inflammation during chemo) showed only positive effects.

L-Glutamine is only a problem when you ingest MORE than your body needs, or can utilize. For anyone in a disease state, their requirements are going to be much higher since the body is engaged in ongoing repair of damaged tissue.

And just for another counter to the claim that L-Glutamine can cause mental retardation, I found a few studies done using L-Glutamine with Attention Deficit Disorder children, that show that supplementation INCREASES mental ability. Here’s one example:

STUDY #2:

“Intellectually impaired children and adults often show an increase in IQ after taking glutamine in combination with Ginkgo biloba and B6. Dr. Roger Williams demonstrated that children and adults diagnosed with ADHD showed a marked improvement when taking 250 mg to 1,000 mg of glutamine daily. Dr. C. Fredericks research also demonstrated a definite increase in the IQs of children given glutamine. When glutamine was given daily, children showed impressive improvements in their abilities to learn, to retain, and to recall. Glutamine is a major part of my orthomolecular program for hyperactive and ADHD children. Glutamine is one of the amino acids that create the neurotransmitters in the brain that enhance learning and memory. Hyperactive and ADD children have lowneurotransmitter levels, especially glutamine. Adding glutamine increases the level of neurotransmitters. Start with 500 mg of glutamine and gradually increase until you reach the optimal dose for your child, to a maximum of 3,000 mg per day.“
- ADD & ADHD Natural Control of ADD & ADHD
Billie J. Sahley, Ph.D., CNC

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So, the best route, as always, is to “listen to your gut” – and more importantly, listen to your child’s gut. She/he will let you know if it’s good for him/her, or not. And if you want to follow pre-established limits, as evidenced in clinical trials, then these indicate that you can safely give your child anywhere from 3,000 – 10,000 mg per day (depending on the study).

Don’t forget, many health sites are purposely looking for information that they can present in a shocking or “groundbreaking” way – this increases their subscribers and also gets higher readership of their newsletters (thus driving more people to their site). So try to be discriminating and don’t over-react to new findings until you have done your research and put it into context. It may be 100% valid, and it may not.

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

Did you know you can get Hepatitis C, HIV or even a mycobacterium infection (MAP) from a colonic?

Just like a colonoscopy, if the therapist does not use a disposable tip and tube, you risk disease transmission.

Join me in this podcast with the renowned Bianca James from the Sydney Colon Health Clinic (she’s the one who helped Dr. Thomas J. Borody develop his fecal infusion protocol) as we discuss:

-  what someone in any country needs to look for in a practitioner and how to find a qualified practitioner.

- WHAT colon hydrotherapy is – perhaps you’re a newbie and know nothing about it and maybe even feel nervous about it.

- size of tube, how many insertions, how long does it take, how do I feel afterwards, etc.

- who should have it done and Bianca’s thoughts regarding frequency, etc.

- Bianca’s opinion on raw foodists who recommend a colonic every day for a month and then once per month thereafter.

Just click the play button below…

My Personal Opinion on Colonics

Note: I have to mention, that my personal opinion on colonic hydrotherapy is that it is not required or beneficial for normal, ongoing functioning. From my research and experience, I have to conclude that a good balance of healthy microorganisms in the bowel should not be messed with.

There are certain instances where a colonic, or series of colonics can be beneficial: When you’ve been constipated for longer than 8 months, or in disease states (as Bianca discusses), colonics can be necessary for a period of time. But once the flora is balanced and healthy, I feel there are better tools to ensure digestive health and that colon hydrotherapy is too disruptive and should not be utilized on an ongoing basis.

If you need to have regular, repeated, ongoing colon hydrotherapy or enemas in order to feel “clean” or to get your bowel functioning regularly, then you are treating the symptom, not the cause. Many ‘health gurus’ recommend daily enemas as the basis for health. However, this is a very good way to destroy the healthy bacterial flora in your bowel, damage the muscle tone of your intestinal walls and interfere long-term with peristalsis. Just use your common sense: Is there any healthy tribe of humans (no degenerative disease, tooth decay rate of less than 1%) that have been giving themselves daily enemas or colonics?

You also need to examine the language used by those who recommend daily or weekly colonics or enemas – they will talk a lot about feeling clean and pure. This is not so much a physical phenomena as a spiritual/emotional one. Humans are teeming with bacteria. In most parts of the world we co-exist happily with parasites, viruses and fungus. Nature is not “clean”. The basis for the natural world and the natural life is mother earth – and healthy earth is filled with worms, insects, microorganisms, etc. So if you need to feel “clean” I would encourage you to look at your emotional/spiritual life – what lies have you accepted about being “dirty”? What traumas do you need to heal? Where do you need to forgive yourself? What guilt are you carrying?

The secret to strong, ongoing bowel health is a healthy diet (that naturally nourishes, detoxifies and builds vitality), probiotics, exercise, and lots of joy and fun in your life.

Colonic Hydrotherapy Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (509)

This remedy is not just applicable for Crohn’s, please read on for my comments on how this applies to colitis and IBS as well, at the end of the article…..

Testing Charcoal As Crohn’s Remedy

By Jamie Talan
Staff Writer

A pill containing activated charcoal is being tested to treat Crohn’s disease in a clinical trial that came about, in large part, because of Dr. Kenneth Kenigsberg, a retired pediatric surgeon at North Shore University Hospital.

Kenigsberg, 76, likes to say he spent 45 years as a plumber, navigating the complex terrain of the young human body, removing problems. Instead of retiring, he headed into the laboratory at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, part of North Shore University-Long Island Jewish Health System.

Three years ago, a lab colleague studying tubular cells in livers noticed a lot of tumor necrosis factor, a protein produced by immune cells that target tumors and inflammation.

Kenigsberg used his “plumbing” skills to help his colleague. He triggered sepsis, a life-threatening infection, in a rat, inserted a tube into its liver and removed its bile, where he found a buildup of tumor necrosis factor, TNF. He knew that the liver drains into the intestine, and that too much TNF could be toxic. It was then he got the idea of using charcoal. An age-old treatment for poisoning, charcoal soaks up toxins. He took rats and mice, made them septic, and fed charcoal to half his subjects. Those that were fed charcoal lived. The others died.

People with Crohn’s have high levels of TNF when they are sick. The condition, which affects 500,000 Americans, is marked by bowel inflammation. It flares up and goes into remission like other so-called autoimmune diseases. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue and vomiting.

Treatments for Crohn’s, which has no cure, include antibiotics and corticosteroids. The latest treatment is an expensive drug called Remicade, an antibody against TNF. It’s infused every few months, at $5,000 per treatment.

What if charcoal did the trick? Kenigsberg got permission to conduct a clinical trial, both from his hospital and from the Food and Drug Administration. He’s been enrolling patients over 18 years old experiencing the active phase of the disease. He draws blood to test immune markers associated with Crohn’s. Then, after three weeks without treatment, patients take six charcoal pills in the morning and six at night for three weeks.

January 20, 2006
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.
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This article is very interesting, but it is still a treatment aimed at alleviating a symptom – not getting to the root cause. Why are TNF levels elevated in people with Crohn’s? Why is the body producing a substance that combats inflammation? Why are the intestines inflamed?

Again, the more I read and the more of my readers I hear from, the more convinced I am that Crohn’s (and colitis) has an infectious etiology (cause). The body is not “overreacting” with the immune system inappropriately in “attack mode”. But rather, the body is doing everything it can to combat legitimate intestinal infection. And the best research we have at this time points to that new fungal/bacterial hybrid organism called mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) as being the infectious agent. For those of you who have Listen To Your Gut, you can read all about mycobacterium, why they’ve gone undetected for so long, and where to get tested: see pages 144, 148, and 159 of Listen To Your Gut.

Getting back to this article, the charcoal may also provide relief if it traps and flushes bad bacteria from your system (like Bentonite Clay does – a remedy I recommend in certain instances (see pg. 74 and 384 of Listen To Your Gut) – thereby reducing infection in the gut for a period of time. However, unless ALL of the infectious agents are eradicated, the body will still produce an inflammatory reaction.

That is why I still feel the best treatment for Crohn’s, colitis and diverticulitis (and moderate to severe IBS) includes:

1. Jini’s Wild Oregano Oil Protocol* to eradicate all infectious microorganisms. New trials have now confirmed that wild oregano oil does indeed kill MAP – but again, as I point out in Listen To Your Gut, MAP has a dormant/active lifecycle, so you have to treat every 3-4 months for 2-3 years to completely eradicate it.

2. Followed by Jini’s Probiotic Retention Enema and high dose oral probiotic supplementation* to repopulate the gut with good, protective bacteria to ensure good digestion/absorption, and prevent contracting any new infections.

3. Targeted supplements to heal and restore the mucosal lining and tissues of the GI tract (e.g. L-Glutamine, MucosaHeal, NAG, George’s Aloe Vera, etc.).

4. Endocrine (hormonal) system assessment and rebalancing/healing as needed (for anyone who’s been on any prescription drugs or had the diseases for longer than 2 years).

5. Emotional, dietary and lifestyle healing/balancing to promote long-term health and prevent recurrence of dis-ease (imbalance).

*Steps 1 and 2 may need to be repeated every 3-4 months for a period of 2-3 years to completely eradicate pathogenic miccroorganisms with dormant/active life cycles, like mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP).

Again, those of you who have Listen To Your Gut will already have in your hands detailed instructions for all of these protocols and supplements – I hope you’re doing the Workbook! (on the CD-Rom)

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

In my post about natural treatment for depression, vitamin D was mentioned as a substance that people are often deficient in. Today’s post (courtesy of the Vitamin D Council) goes into the problem of vitamin D deficiency and treatment more in depth.

Again, this is a very relevant issue for people with IBD and IBS since many have been on a steroid or immune suppressant drug that has greatly interfered with bone formation and maintenance (for which vitamin D is key). Also, if you get a lot of cavities in your teeth, adequate intake of vitamin D (or not taking minerals in an absorbable form) may be the culprit. In my family: All 3 of my kids take 2,000 IU vitamin D per day, along with cod liver oil. My husband and I take 4,000 IU per day, and of course, we take our cod liver oil and nanoparticle minerals.

Here’s the article. Enjoy……

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Another Vitamin D Quiz

This month we have a ten question quiz on the latest vitamin D research. Here’s a primer.

Question: Name a rat poison crucial to health and safer than water.

Answer: Vitamin D

Yes, cholecalciferol is a rat poison.

If it is a rat poison, why did Professor Heaney just recommend up to 4,000 units every day?
JSteroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Jul 15; [Epub ahead of print]

The answer is dosage. To demonstrate the point, I recently swallowed an entire bottle (100 capsules) of vitamin D (40,000 units) in front of a skeptical audience to convince them that vitamin D is safer than water. Here’s why. Eight glasses of water a day is fine for healthy adults. Ten times that amount, eighty glasses of water, will make you sick from water intoxication.

Humans need about 4,000 units of vitamin D a day (from all sources). Ten times that amount, 40,000 units, is very safe in a single dose, as I demonstrated to the audience. Therefore, vitamin D has a safer therapeutic index than water.

(Taking the entire bottle certainly got the audience’s attention. I think they were paying close attention to see if I would drop dead. By the way, if you were to take 40,000 units every day for months you would get vitamin D toxicity, after years of such doses you would probably die. After taking 40,000 units at one time – equivalent to two days at the beach – I simply stayed out of the sun for several days).

A rat poison safer than water – but why do we need vitamin D? Within the last several months, scientists published impressive new evidence that vitamin D is involved in a staggering array of diseases: age related cognitive decline, heart disease, breast cancer, tuberculosis, Parkinson’s disease, prostate cancer, chronic pain, fractured hips, premenstrual syndrome and diabetes.

Good time for another quiz.

1. Vitamin D reverses inflammatory changes associated with age-related memory impairment.

a) True
b) False

True. Researchers from Ireland were the first to demonstrate that vitamin D3 acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and turns old brains into young brains – at least as far as inflammatory cytokines are concerned. This research suggests vitamin D may prevent, or even treat, age-related cognitive decline!
Biochem Soc Trans. 2005 Aug;33(Pt 4):573-7.

2. Your blood sugar is closely associated with your vitamin D level.

a) True
b) False

True. Researchers in Australia added to the growing evidence that sun avoidance may have caused the epidemic of type 2 diabetes. The Australians’ findings were straightforward and powerful. The higher your vitamin D level, the lower your blood glucose.
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2005 Jun;62(6):738-41.

3. In July, a group from Minnesota found that 100% of elderly patients admitted for fragility fractures were vitamin D deficient despite the fact that half of them were taking vitamin D supplements.

a) True
b) False

True. The authors found that women taking supplemental vitamin D had average levels of 16.4 ng/ml while women not taking supplements had levels of 11.9.ng/ml, both dangerously low. None of the 82 women got enough sun or took enough vitamin D to obtain a level of 40 ng/ml. These were fragility fractures, not fractures caused by unusual trauma. That is, their bones just sort of fell apart.
Curr Med Res Opin. 2005 Jul;21(7):1069-74.

4. Women with the lowest vitamin D levels had five times higher risk for breast cancer.

a) True
b) False

True. Women with 25(OH)-vitamin D blood levels less than 20 ng/ml were more than five times more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than were women with levels above 60 ng/ml. That is five, repeat five, times less likely!
Eur J Cancer. 2005 May;41(8):1164-9. Epub 2005 Apr 14.

5. Avoiding the sun doubles the risk of prostate cancer.

a) True
b) False

True. Again, the risk of avoiding the sun is clear, this time in another study with prostate cancer. However, the authors pointed out that sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer and believed that proper vitamin D supplementation ‘may be the safest solution to achieve an adequate vitamin D status.’
Cancer Res. 2005 Jun 15;65(12):5470-9.

I also believe supplementation is the only way to go for many people. African Americans are simply unable spend adequate time in the sun. In addition, the sun ages the skin and that fact alone will keep many Americans out of the sun. That said, I go into the sun whenever I can. The reason is simple: it is the most conservative thing to do. Until we know everything the sun does – and it does more than just make vitamin D – the conservative approach is to mimic our ancestors and the environment in which human evolved, whenever we can. Therefore, it makes sense to sunbathe sensibly in the late spring, summer, and early fall and take supplements or use UVB lamps the rest of the time.

6. South Korean researchers associated vitamin D deficiency with Parkinson’s Disease.

a) True
b) False

True. Actually, they showed that certain genetic malformations (VDR polymorphisms) are more likely in-patients with Parkinson’s Disease, implying an association with vitamin D and Parkinson’s.
JKorean Med Sci. 2005 Jun;20(3):495-8.

7. Researchers in England discovered that patients with chronic pain have phenomenally low vitamin D levels.

a) True
b) False

True. The authors added to the evidence that severe vitamin D deficiency is associated with chronic pain. They found that 88% of their patients with chronic pain had levels less than 10 ng/ml. If they treated their patients, they did not report it. However, Swiss researchers recently treated chronic pain patients with vitamin D and reported the pain ‘disappeared’ within one to three months in most of their patients. This is the second open study that showed adequate doses of vitamin D dramatically improve chronic pain.
Ann Rheum Dis. 2005 Aug;64(8):1217-9.
BMJ. 2004 Jul 17;329(7458):156-7.
Spine. 2003 Jan 15;28(2):177-9.

8. Severe vitamin D deficiency is common in TB patients.

Some English doctors don’t know the difference between ideal and “normal” levels.

Most American doctors don’t know the difference either.

a) All are true
b) All are false
c) Some are true and some are false

All are true. First, the authors reviewed the impressive animal evidence that vitamin D can help treat TB. Then they reported that most of their immigrant TB patients had undetectable vitamin D levels. Then they reported the normal range for their lab was between 5 to 47 ng/ml but “normal” was any level greater than 9 ng/ml. Finally, the researchers reported they treated their patients with “normal daily doses” of vitamin D, without reporting how much they gave. Apparently, they gave just enough to get patients above 9 ng/ml.
JInfect. 2005 Jun;50(5):432-7.

Keep in mind that different laboratory technique result in different ranges for 25(OH)-vitamin D levels. Now matter what technique is used, ideal levels can roughly be defined as any level above the median. In this case, as you will see below in Dr. Heaney”s article, the doctors should have treated their patients with 4,000 units a day. They should also watch for evidence of vitamin D hypersensitivity, which can occur when treating tuberculosis patients for vitamin D deficiency.

We can only mourn for the poor immigrants who have to suffer from both TB and vitamin D deficiency. Of course, few physicians in the USA know the difference between the Gaussian definition of “normal” (average ranges for the population tested) and the ideal definition of “normal” (levels above 32 ng/ml). Getting commercial reference labs to report ideal 25(OH)-vitamin D levels should be a priority of everyone involved in trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency.

9. Virtually all nephrologists give renal failure patients a vitamin D-like drug.

Virtually all renal failure patients are severely vitamin D deficient.

Some nephrologists know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol.

a) All are true
b) All are false
c) Some are true and some are false.

All are true. Finally, the truth about renal failure patients: most of them are vitamin D deficient despite taking vitamin D analogs! Most nephrologists prescribe activated vitamin D (calcitriol) or vitamin D analogs but not vitamin D. Calcitriol and vitamin D analogs do nothing to prevent vitamin D deficiency. Renal failure patients need both vitamin D and a calcitriol-like drug. Moreover, 400 units a day of vitamin D will not correct their deficiencies. As you will see below, they need up to 4,000.
Am J Kidney Dis. 2005 Jun;45(6):1026-33.

P.S. If you think nephrologists know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol, read this months paper from some nephrologists at the University of Texas. They discuss the importance of vitamin D in preventing and treating heart disease. (I think adequate vitamin D nutrition may prevent more cardiovascular deaths than cancer deaths.) However, I read the Texas paper three times and still don’t know if the authors know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol. I hope they know the difference between cholesterol and testosterone. (Some cholesterol is metabolized into steroid hormones, vitamin D is a prehormone; testosterone is a steroid hormone, calcitriol is the most potent steroid hormone in the human body).
Kidney Int Suppl. 2005 Jun;(95):S37-42.

10. Professor Robert Heaney proved, again, that he is a gentleman and a scholar.
a) True
b) False

True. In the most important clinical paper published this month, Heaney gave the three best reasons why we should all maintain minimum levels of at least 32 ng/ml, the level that:

(a) effectively suppresses PTH,
(b) maximizes calcium absorption,
(c) maximally improves glucose tolerance.

Then he goes on to show that some of us, especially African Americans, will need to take 3,000 to 4,000 units every day to maintain healthy 25(OH)-vitamin D blood levels.
JSteroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Jul 15.

He then defends the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommendation that we only take one-tenth that amount as the best science that was available in 1997. I admire Dr. Heaney for trying to cover for the IOM. The truth is that both Dr. Heaney and Dr. Holick told the IOM that 2,000 units a day was not toxic and would prevent both adequate treatment and meaningful research. The IOM then proceeded to ignore the only two vitamin D experts on the panel.

Writing two years later, Professor Reinhold Vieth came up with dozens of studies the IOM overlooked. These studies conclusively showed 2,000 units a day could not be toxic. Furthermore, Vieth found the literature published before 1997 clearly showed 10,000 units a day was unlikely to be toxic. Vitamin D toxicity probably starts around 20,000 units a day, and then only if taken for months or even years.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 May;69(5):842-56.

Imagine. A rat poison safer than water and crucial to health.

John Cannell, MD
9100 San Gregorio Road
Atascadero, CA 93422
The Vitamin D Council
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Check out the bone-building supplements that I recommend (and that are free of aggravating ingredients):

- MINERALS to see my recommendations for high-absorption, bone building supplements
- VITAMINS to see the vit. D that I take
- HEALTHY OILS to see the cod liver oil that my whole family takes
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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

Usually PMS-related pain (premenstrual syndrome) is due to the uterus cramping. Sometimes other pelvic muscles can be involved and sometimes the intestines can get triggered too.

There are a number of effective remedies you can use, so have a read and see which of these “twigs” your intuition. For severe cramping and spasming, you may even need to combine 2 or 3 of these.

Effective herbal muscle relaxants for smooth muscle tissue include Crampbark or Black Haw (stronger than crampbark). I find these easiest to use in tincture form. Just add 1-2 ml to some herbal tea (or a a few ounces of water), sweeten with honey or stevia if desired, and drink on an empty stomach, up to 4x/day (as needed).

A handy tip to remember is that nearly all herbal extracts or tinctures are more powerful when taken on an empty stomach – 20 minutes before food, or, 2 hours after food. I find taking herbal muscle relaxants to be more effective than just taking a painkiller. You can often find these herbs in a PMS blend, along with other beneficial herbs.

And since we’re talking about muscle relaxants, check and make sure you’re getting enough magnesium and potassium every day – as these important minerals are powerful muscle relaxants too. You can take these in either traditional powdered form, or, my favorite: nanoparticle-sized form.

But if you also want or need a natural painkiller, you can take White Willow Bark.

If the pain and cramping is very severe, a hot castor oil pack on your abdomen is also very effective. Cold-pressed castor oil sinks transdermally (through the skin) to relax smooth muscle. This simple mechanical action has a beneficial influence on all hollow organs, specifically the blood and lymph vessels, the uterus, fallopian tubes, bowels, gall bladder, and even the liver (which is not hollow but is filled with venous lakes).

A castor oil pack is placed on the skin to increase circulation and to promote elimination and healing of the tissues and organs underneath the skin. It is often used to stimulate the liver, relieve pain, increase lymphatic circulation, reduce inflammation, and improve digestion. Just remember to use a cold-pressed castor oil and 100% cotton flannel (or wool) – no synthetics. You can use either a hot water bottle or a heating pad as the heat source. Here are detailed instructions.

The other thing that is often responsible for period pain, cramping and headaches is a hormonal imbalance. An easy remedy for this is to put a dime-sized amount of Emerita Natural Progesterone cream on the soles of your feet and rub it in (once per day in the morning). If your PMS is hormonally-based, that can often greatly relieve, or eliminate the problem entirely. Then, after a few months of this, the estrogen-dominance is often balanced and you don’t need to continue.

If your thyroid is low, or you have symptoms of thyroid imbalance, then another good remedy to balance your endocrine system wholistically is Thyroplex – developed by Jonathan V. Wright, MD.

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

You may have noticed this already: Whenever a natural supplement or herbal medicine becomes well-known and widely used, with lots of evidence piling up for its efficacy – there will then be a slew of media releases in newspapers, magazines, and TV news reports, discrediting that natural medicine. Or, the FDA will ban the substance based on trumped-up charges of user damage.

This is exactly what happened with one of the best wound healers I’ve ever found called Comfrey. The FDA found one person who they claimed died of Comfrey use (the person had long-term, extensive medical problems, was very sick already and then began drinking ridiculous amounts of Comfrey tea) and based on that one incidence, they banned Comfrey use. Of course, no mention or comparison to the 7000 people who die EVERY YEAR in the US from Aspirin use! Then they set upon other bestsellers like Ma Huang (ephedra), St. John’s Wort, and Vitamin E, the list goes on and on.

Well recently I received this article from the Alliance for Natural Health (a European organization) that does an excellent job of detailing exactly HOW pharmaceutical-backed interests use “scientific experts” to compile evidence against natural remedies.

You need to know this information to help you understand how the medical and pharmaceutical industries are very clearly focused on keeping you on your drugs. It’s all about money. They don’t want anyone getting better, because then they lose massive amounts of money. They also don’t want you using natural remedies to heal yourself, because again, you won’t buy their drugs. Read on so you can educate yourself and become savvy about this insidious battle for your healthcare dollars…

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META-ANALYSIS: a new tool to discredit natural health supplements?
By Dr Robert Verkerk, Executive & Scientific Director, Alliance for Natural Health

On 24 March 2006, The British Medical Journal’ published a meta-analysis (a study of other studies) on omega-3 fatty acids [1] that prompted headlines around the world to the effect that “fish oils don’t work”. This is not the first time a meta-analysis has triggered headlines that discredit natural health supplements.

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THE VITAMIN E META-ANALYSIS OF 2004
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In November 2004, Dr Edgar Miller and colleagues published electronically in the Annals of Internal Medicine a meta-analysis [2] that provided headlines as bizarre as “High dose vitamin E death warning” (this headline was run by none other than the BBC on 11 November 2004). The meta-analysis appeared to be pitched to tarnish the reputation of vitamin E, a nutrient in which many are known to be deficient. Among many of its problems, the study failed to show how healthy people would respond to supplemental intakes of vitamin E and it only included studies on synthetic vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol). It therefore omitted any consideration of the effects of the seven other related compounds that make-up full spectrum, natural vitamin E, as found in vegetable oils. Interestingly, the body’s absorption of the most important dietary form (gamma-tocopherol) is hindered by high doses of synthetic vitamin E, and this could have explained the negative results found by Miller et al.

The overall conclusion that high-dose vitamin E causes increased mortality could also have been a statistical artefact, with no biological relevance. Since the study assessed all-cause mortality, and not just cardiovascular mortality, other factors could easily have contributed to the greater death rate in the higher dose vitamin E group found when trials were pooled. It should be noted that the increased death rate was marginal; just 63 additional deaths per 10,000 persons, compared with the control group. Given that the confidence interval ranged from 6 to 119, this increased death rate cannot be said to be statistically significant.

Prior to this meta-analysis on vitamin E, market research data from Frost & Sullivan showed that vitamin E was the second most consumed single vitamin supplement, after vitamin C, in Europe. High-dose Vitamin E could have easily been perceived by Big Pharma as a threat to its huge cardiovascular drug market, comprised of statins, beta-blockers and ACE-inhibitors. In fact, Big Pharma had demonstrated such a strong interest in vitamins that it established an illegal cartel to control the markets and prices of a range of key vitamins, including vitamin E. Fortunately for the consumer, the conspiracy was eventually exposed and pharma companies like BASF and Hoffman-La Roche, as well as some of their top executives, got busted. Fines imposed by the US Justice Department in the US (May 1999) and, separately, by the European Commission (November 2001), which amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in the US and similar amounts in Europe, are still among the largest ever imposed following an anti-trust investigation. Undeterred by this prosecution, Big Pharma continued its campaign against supplements, with the meta-analysis on vitamin E appearing in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Internal Medicine just three years later.

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THE ANTIOXIDANT VITAMIN META-ANALYSIS OF 2003
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A year earlier, in June 2003, another meta-analysis appeared. This one was published in the prestigious medical journal, the Lancet, by Dr Marc Penn and colleagues from the Cleveland Clinic [3]. These authors asserted that beta-carotene, vitamin A and other antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin E, were harmful. These authors re-iterated yet again negative results from a very small clutch of studies on synthetic vitamins like synthetic beta-carotene and vitamin E, which were once more administered to diseased or high risk subjects, and often for inadequate periods of time.

Following the publication of the meta-analysis, the lead author was quoted in the media saying that people should stop taking supplements containing vitamins A, beta-carotene and E. These conclusions, some of which were carried over into the vitamin E meta-analysis the following year, are profound misinterpretations of the existing evidence base, and most certainly cannot be applied to the role of these vitamins in reducing risks of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease in healthy people. Nor can these conclusions be applied to supplements containing natural forms of these vitamins.

Back to the omega-3 meta-analysis of 2006

Last month’s attack on fish oils prompted by the meta-analysis by Dr Lee Hooper and his colleagues, as published in the BMJ, must surely be seen in the same light as the two meta-analyses discussed above. Put bluntly, the meta-analysis appears to be, once more, a vehicle to generate negative headlines. In fairness, even the authors have now conceded that they were “misquoted in much of the press.” [4]

The scientific evidence for long chain omega-3 benefits on lowering triglycerides and other risk factors in heart disease, as well as clear, beneficial immune system modulation and behavioural effects, have been regarded by scientists, doctors and health authorities around the world as conclusive. This evidence has formed the basis of recommendations to consume oily fish or fish oil supplements by many governments. Where governments have stipulated a limit on the maximum amount to be consumed, such as no more than three portions of oily fish weekly, this has served mainly as a means to limit intake of heavy metals like mercury, or other contaminants such as dioxins or PCBs common in most wild fish [5]. Peculiarly, governments have appeared shy of recommending high-quality fish oil supplements which are often guaranteed as being free of any significant levels of these contaminants. This is particularly relevant given that specific batches of several low cost, mass market fish oil product lines have recently had to be withdrawn from the UK market owing to dioxin contamination (e.g. several Seven Seas [owned by pharma giant Merck] fish oil product batches were withdrawn on 14th March 2006, and on 11th March 2006 high street pharmacy chain Boots withdrew two batches of its own brand fish oil product).

In closely scrutinising Hooper et al”s paper, one thing becomes apparent: the findings are not nearly as damning as those suggested by the negative headlines on omega-3 fats that rebounded around the world for over a week. In fact, to the contrary; when it comes to the studies with fish oils only, the news appears just as rosy as we had all thought.

Ten out of 12 randomised control trials considered in the meta-analysis that assessed these oils in relation to total mortality point to positive findings. The same can be said for all three cohort studies considered by the meta-analysis authors. That’s thirteen out of fifteen studies showing favourable results for higher intakes of omega-3 fats. The remaining two studies have been presented as showing very slightly negative findings, but in both cases the studies deal with existing disease states, either angina or coronary artery bypass grafts. The negative effects, in both cases, are so small that they could be regarded as having little or no biological relevance (in one study there was half a percent greater mortality in the treatment compared with control, while in the other there was a little over a 2% difference). The meta-analysis authors themselves considered both studies as being of medium to high risk of bias, which might in itself explain or at least contribute to such variations.

So, while the world was assaulted with headlines such as “The benefits of fish and linseed oils as elixir of life are another health myth” (this example being courtesy of The Times newspaper), we could have just as easily, and much more correctly, read headlines along the lines of: “New meta-analysis reinforces the health benefits of fish oils.” But perhaps fewer newspapers would have sold on 24 and 25 March 2006.

Smearing the data with margarine

Even when Hooper and co-workers included studies with plant-derived, short chain omega-3 fats, such as those found in certain vegetable oils (e.g. flax) including margarines, the overall trend still pointed to reduced mortality for those consuming higher intake levels of all forms of omega-3.

The study that was presented as having the most pronounced apparent negative effect was one published in 2002 by Groningen University’s Dr Wanda Bemelmans and colleagues [6]. The study, known as the MARGARIN trial, investigated the effect on heart disease risk of a Unilever margarine enriched with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an important short-chain omega-3 found to be rich in Mediterranean diets, well known for their health promoting properties. The study also aimed to assess the effect of group education on the benefits associated with consuming a typical Mediterranean diet. Importantly, the subjects in the study all had multiple cardiovascular risk factors; nearly half were smokers and took anti-hypertensive drugs, while over 40% had family histories of cardiovascular risk.

Bemelmans and colleagues’ own findings, in contrast to their interpretation of these findings in the Hooper et al meta-analysis, are overwhelmingly positive. They demonstrate clearly the beneficial effects of ALA-enriched margarine on reducing heart disease risk. The study also shows that group education led to healthier diets, with increased consumption of fish, and consequently lower heart disease risk factors. These findings are actually fully in line with another major study, the Lyons Diet Heart Study, published in 1994 in the Lancet, which actually provided the inspiration for Bemelmans and colleagues’ MARGARIN trial.

So, how was this study distorted to give the impression that omega-3 fats might be bad for you? This is down to the very small number of deaths recorded, which could just as easily be a function of chance rather than any treatment effect. The study included only four deaths out of 266 subjects in total. The omega-3 meta-analysis authors managed to blacken this study because 3 out of 4 of these deaths (again from all-causes, not just cardiovascular disease) occurred in the high ALA, treatment group, while only one was in the low ALA, control group. This small number of deaths could easily have been a function of random, ‘statistical clustering’, particularly given that risk factors appeared lower in the high ALA treatment group.

Dr Bemelmans has actually gone on public record since the release of Hooper et al”s meta-analysis questioning the way in which her study has been used, and how her and her co-authors’ positive findings have been used to demonstrate negative findings in the meta-analysis.

Just as importantly, since the omega-3 sources are vegetable oils in margarine, it is not surprising that the benefits are perhaps less pronounced given the inefficient and limited conversion by the human body of plant-derived omega-3s to key long chain fatty acids like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that are abundant in fish oils. Additionally, harmful trans fats in margarine could have been an additional confounding factor.

Cutting to the chase

Looking at all of the data in the omega-3 meta-analysis, the only area where it is possible to interpret a tendency towards very slightly negative effects, is in the case of randomised control trials (but not cohort studies) looking at the effects of omega-3 fats on cancer and stroke. However, these results could just as easily be the result of bias or confounding factors, inadequate periods of supplementation, or even the effects of contaminants in fish or fish oil capsules.

For the BMJ”s own view on the subject, it is worth referring to the Editorial published on 24 March which focuses on Hooper et al’s meta-analysis. Contrary to the thrust of the meta-analysis itself, and the related media, the Editorial takes a rather positive line on omega-3s, and demonstrates concern over dwindling supplies of marine-derived omega-3s.

Citing directly from the Editorial:
“For the general public some omega 3 fat is good for health….. Adequate intake of omega 3 fats is particularly important for women of childbearing age…… We are faced with a paradox. Health recommendations advise increased consumption of oily fish and fish oils, within limits, on the grounds that intake is generally low. However, industrial fishing has depleted the world’s fish stocks by some 90% since 1950, and rising fish prices reduce affordability particularly for people with low incomes. Global production trends suggest that, although fish farming is expanding rapidly, we probably do not have a sustainable supply of long chain omega 3 fats.”

Additionally, there are now many Rapid Responses published in the BMJ which reinforce problems with the authors’ conclusions. These can be found at: 
 http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/332/7544/752.

Let you be the judge. I don’t believe many people who read the full Hooper et al meta-analysis, as well as the BMJ editorial and Rapid Responses, would stop taking fish oil supplements. The problem is that only a tiny proportion of the population will do this. Many more will succumb to the negative headlines triggered by the meta-analysis and, contrary to the vast weight of evidence, they now run the risk of going against government advice to increase consumption of oily fish or fish oil supplements at recommended doses.

Those very few who interrogate the evidence considered by Hooper and colleagues might actually decide to alter their sources of omega-3 fats, shifting in the direction of high quality fish oil supplements and away from vegetarian sources of omega-3 and even oily fish, which runs the risk of contamination. This way, they can be guaranteed specific amounts of long-chain EPA and DHA, as well as being confident they are consuming products that are certified as free from contaminants.

So, despite the headlines, there is no new evidence clouding the efficacy of fish oils or long chain essential fatty acids. In fact, if the meta-analysis had included other health benefits such as immune system function, cognitive and behavioural function and joint health, the case for marine-derived omega-3s would have looked even stronger. So strong, in fact, one wonders if the media couldn’t be sued by fish oil supplement manufacturers for damages. But things are rarely this simple.

We are left wondering about those negative headlines. Could there have been a motive for the negative spin?

Pharma fish oils

Just as we’ve seen Big Pharma control vitamin and mineral markets globally, both legally and illegally, is it not possible that this most recent skewed meta-analysis is part of a plan to discredit fish oils consumed increasingly by the masses?

When you peruse the competing interests declared in the BMJ paper, the only possible link given is that speaker fees have been paid to one of the authors by a company, Solvay, that markets a product called Omacor. Solvay is not a small marketing outfit. It is part of an international chemical and pharmaceutical group, headquartered in Brussels, which employs some 33,000 people across 50 countries. Omacor also happens to be the first prescription-only fish oil. As a licensed medicine, unlike the much more common fish oil food or dietary supplements, it can brandish extensive health and medicinal claims. Omacor, manufactured by Pronova Biocare in Norway (a private, limited company owned by Ferd Private Equity Fund), is prescribed primarily for reducing triglycerides (a major heart disease risk factor) and is positioned firmly as a stable mate with cholesterol-reducing statin drugs. In other words, the evidence for taking high quality fish oils is so convincing, drugs companies perhaps now want a slice of the action.

And the timing for the release of the meta-analysis does appear most fortuitous. In November 2004, Omacor was approved as a drug by the US Food & Drug Administration. In September 2005, Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Pronova Biocare signed a licensing agreement for exclusive distribution rights for distribution into India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Furthermore, on 1 December 2005, EPAX Sales and Production de-merged from Pronova Biocare to enable Pronova to focus exclusively on the production of prescription-only Omacor. EPAX, also based in Norway, will continue to produce concentrated omega-3 oils for the ‘poor-cousin’, dietary supplement industry.

Is the way actually being paved to encourage patients to elect for the prescription-only fish oil version, resplendent with all the health claims allowed under a drugs regime and banned in the food or dietary supplement sector? Even if these processes are only coincidental, and we currently have no direct evidence to suggest otherwise, the effect is the same.

The crying shame from a public health and disease prevention perspective, is that some of the most robust evidence for taking fish oils relates to their early, protective effects against heart disease. And that’s why the free availability of high quality fish oil supplements is so important; people only take drugs when they become sick.

So now, those people – and there may be many – who have been unfairly frightened away from fish oil supplements might believe that they need to wait until they’re sick in later life before their trusted doctors can prescribe the fish oil supplements they should have been consuming all along.

It is indeed a topsy-turvy world of lies, damn lies – and statistics.

REFERENCES
1.    Hooper L, Thompson RL, Harrison RA, Summerbell CD, Ness AR, Moore HJ, Worthington HV, Durrington PN, Higgins JP, Capps NE, Riemersma RA, Ebrahim SB, Davey Smith G. Risks and benefits of omega 3 fats for mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review. British Medical Journal, 2006; 332 (7544): 752-60.
2.    Miller ER 3rd, Pastor-Barriuso R, Dalal D, Riemersma RA, Appel LJ, Guallar E. Meta-analysis: high-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2005; 142(1): 37-46.
3.    Vivekananthan DP, Penn MS, Sapp SK, Hsu A, Topol EJ. Use of antioxidant vitamins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of randomised trials. Lancet, 2003; 361(9374): 2017-23.
4.    Hooper L, Thompson RL, Harrison RA, Summerbell CD, Ness AR, Moore HJ, Worthington HV, Durrington PN, Higgins JP, Capps NE, Riemersma RA, Ebrahim SB, Davey Smith G. Rapid Response in British Medical Journal: Authors reply – omega 3s and health. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/332/7544/752#131349 [last accessed 19 April 2006].
5.    Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition / Committee on Toxicity (UK). Advice on fish consumption: benefits and risks. Food Standards Agency / Department of Health. 2004. 204 pp.
6.    Bemelmans WJ, Broer J, Feskens EJ, Smit AJ, Muskiet FA, Lefrandt JD, Bom VJ, May JF, Meyboom-de Jong B. Effect of an increased intake of alpha-linolenic acid and group nutritional education on cardiovascular risk factors: the Mediterranean Alpha-linolenic Enriched Groningen Dietary Intervention (MARGARIN) study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2002; 75(2): 221-7.

Vanadium Nanostars

It’s taken me a long time (over 2 years) to go public with my positive account of using nanoparticle (or angstrom-sized) minerals. This is because nanotechnology is experimental and the full ramifications of any application of the technology are yet unknown. Hence, I didn’t want to unduly influence anyone one way or the other, but I do feel it’s important to share the results of my personal experimentation and also encourage you to do your own research to make informed decisions.

What is Nanotechnology & Nanoparticles?

Nanotechnology is the experimental process of manipulating matter on an incredibly minute scale (one thousandth of a millimeter and smaller), in order to create new products and materials, or delivery systems. It is the creation and manipulation of tiny objects at the level of molecules and atoms. At the nano-scale, the laws of chemistry and physics work differently and materials develop unique properties not seen at normal particle size. Opaque materials, such as copper and zinc, become transparent; stable materials, such as aluminum become explosive; and solids such as gold turn into liquids.

There are two types of nanoparticles:

Fine particle – 100 – 2500 nanometers (nm)

Ultrafine – 1 – 100 nm

Angstrom (so named for physicist Anders Jonas Ångström) size is: .10 nm

So 1 Angstrom = 100 picometers = .10 nanometers

To put 100 nm in context: a strand of DNA is 2.5 nm wide, a protein molecule is 5 nm, a red blood cell 7,000 nm and a human hair is 80,000 nm wide.

New consumer products with hidden nanotech ingredients hit the US market in a nearly unregulated fashion each week, including baby toys, personal care products, clothes and countless other products. The nanoparticles in these products are so small, they are rapidly absorbed through the skin and spread to the environment in unpredictable ways.

Scientists are applying nanotechnology to a wide range of industries, including food, food packaging, kitchenware, personal care, medicine, electronics, clothing, sports equipment, fertilizers and pesticides. There are more than 800 consumer products on the market now using nanotechnology.

Examples of Nanotech Products

For example, a tableware set contains a nano silver coating that kills bacteria, aiming to prevent food-borne diseases. A toothpaste contains nanoparticles that help remove plaque and provide minerals to protect against tooth decay. A golf club shaft is made from “nano composite technology” to be stronger and lighter weight. This technology could also be used to make chemical and biological weapons.

In food, proponents say nanotechnology can boost and target nutrition, extend shelf life, improve taste and texture and detect bacterial contamination. There are now up to 300 nano food and 400-500 nano food packaging applications on store shelves.

Toddler Health is a nutritional supplement containing nano ion particles that claim to offer toddlers increased bioavailability.

Canola Active cooking oil contains NutraLease, a nutraceutical technology that uses nanocapsules to enhance the delivery of nutrients.

A preservative known as AquaNova contains nano-capsules of water-insoluble substances to increase  absorption in the body.

McDonalds burger packages contain nano-spheres that require less water and less time and energy to dry.

Miller Beer bottles are made from imperm,  a plastic imbued with clay nanoparticles that are as hard as glass but stronger and provide longer shelf life.

Major food companies such as General Mills, Kraft, Nestle, PepsiCo, Cadbury-Schweppes and Uniliver are researching and developing nano food and food packaging applications, building what is expected to be a $6 billion market this year.

There are nano agricultural applications. Syngenta developed a plant growth treatment – PrimoMaxx nano emulsion.

Cornell scientists developed a cloth with saturated nano fibers that slowly releases pesticides and herbicides when it is planted with seed. (Yikes!)

Health Risks

Like genetically modified foods, products of nanotechnology pose unknown risks to human health and the environment. Nanoparticles are more chemically reactive than larger particles. Because they are so small, they have greater access to the human body than larger particles.

They can be inhaled, penetrate skin, gain access to tissues and cells, and cross the blood-brain barrier. Assessing the risks of nanotechnology is lagging far behind development of applications.  “There is virtually no data on chronic, long-term effects on people, other organisms or the wider environment,” wrote  British scientist John Lawton, author of a report from the Royal Commission on Environment Pollution.

Sunscreens are the most widely used consumer product containing nanoparticles.  Tests on mice in the US have shown that sunscreen nanoparticles over-stimulated brain cells, which could lead to brain damage over time. Studies at the University of Toledo, Utah State University  and the University of Utah found that nano particles, including nanotitanium dioxide, found in sunscreens killed beneficial bacteria and soil microbes. So these are yet more reasons why sunscreens are bad for your health. Why do they make nanoparticle-sized sunscreens? Because the tiny size also means that the product/color is not visible on the skin – and people don’t want white stripes of zinc on their nose or body.

Articles of clothing (commonly socks and underwear) contain nanosilver particles marketed as “bacterial guards”. Unfortunately, these nanoparticles wash out in your laundry and are carried into our groundwater where they are changing the ecology of lakes and rivers by killing bacteria and algae. As you can well imagine, mucking with an ecosystem in this way is not likely to be a good idea.

Some initial studies raise red flags. A recent study published in Nature showed that carbon nanotubes may exhibit the same cancer-causing potential as asbestos. Keep in mind though, that nanoparticles don’t just exist through scientific manipulation, they have also been around a long time as the pollutants given off by cars and trucks. The president of the National Institute of Ecology (INE) in Mexico City, Adrian Fernandez says:

“Ultrafine nanoparticles are the most hazardous because they penetrate and lodge themselves in the deepest part of the respiratory system also accessing the cardiovascular system. They are generated by vehicular combustion processes, particularly of buses with diesel engines”.

In tests on rats, nanosilver has also been shown to be toxic to liver, brain and stem cells and may harm beneficial bacteria.

The Positive Side of Nanotechnology

However, there are also dozens more tests that show nanosilver kills pathogens like HIV, herpes, and other viruses which are very difficult to eradicate – so there is also a positive side to the application of the same technology.

And although nanoparticles have been present in vehicle exhaust fumes for decades, they have also been present in plants which we have been consuming for thousands of years. Plants absorb minerals from their soil and convert them to nanoparticle-sized minerals within their roots and stems – which we automatically absorb when we eat the plants. Scientists have even realized that this natural conversion ability of plants may be a better way to produce nanoparticle-sized metals for industrial use, then chemical processes which produce pollutants.

Nanoparticles were also used by artisans as far back as the 9th century in Mesopotamia for generating a glittering effect on the surface of pots.

My Conclusion

So, when I looked at the fact that plants naturally produce nanoparticle-sized minerals, thus indicating that our bodies have been safely absorbing minerals in this form for millenia, that gave me a base of confidence to try nanoparticle and angstrom-sized minerals.

As well, I looked at people/groups who have been consuming nanoparticle minerals for years already – athletes and children with autism. Jim Haszinger, the president of the company we get our nano minerals from, gave me a list of autism clinics in the U.S. who have been using his minerals for 2 – 6 years already. Jim and his family have been consuming his nanoparticle minerals for over 20 years. A good friend of Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND – veterinarian Terry Wood – has been using nanoparticle minerals and electrolyte blends with animals and athletes for over 5 years. There were no accounts of adverse effects from using nanoparticle minerals from any of these groups.

I also found a number of studies showing clear benefits to nanoparticle or angstrom-sized mineral supplementation for osteoporosis and tooth decay. I go into my research in a lot more detail at JPT Wellness Circle and we’re also going to be doing a teleseminar on nanoparticle minerals soon.

Lastly, I sat with all my research and “head knowledge” for few months and then plugged in to see what my gut said. Based on my intuition, I started taking Bone Support nanoparticle minerals (a blend of minerals that support bone and tooth formation and strengthening), Miracle of Life Trace Minerals (these are all the trace minerals, many of which have disappeared from our soil since the advent of pesticides and monoculture crops in the 1930′s) and Angstrom Iron. After taking them myself for numerous months, I started my kids on them too – and ALL our tooth decay disappeared:

In my family, we take one capful of the Minerals of Life – Trace Minerals in the morning (kids take 1/2 capful) – we just tip it into our mouths and swallow it straight. At night, we take our Bone Support minerals last thing before bed so they will stop decay by re-mineralizing our teeth and also shifting the pH of our mouths to an alkaline state (it is often the acidic pH in the mouth that causes tooth decay). We take 1 capful for adults, 1/2 capful for the kids. After brushing and flossing, we hold and swish the Bone Support around our teeth for about 2 minutes, then swallow. Both the kids and I have noticed that using these minerals to induce alkalinity right before bed also helps ensure a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

If you are suffering from, or concerned about osteoporosis, then you will likely need to take more of the Bone Support for a period of time. You might want to take 1 tbsp, 2-3x/day for 3 months, then get re-tested. Also, you may want to take 1 tbsp. of the Minerals of Life Trace Minerals each day. And don’t forget your daily Vitamin D – also crucial for bone formation.

The nanoparticle iron is especially exciting for people with gut disorders, since normal iron is quite irritating to the gut and can trigger intestinal bleeding and result in constipation. This lead to quite a multi-step process in Listen To Your Gut for taking iron in order to boost absorption and guard against adverse effects. All of that becomes unnecessary with angstrom or nanoparticle-sized iron since it does not require digestion and therefore does not irritate the GI tract. I even tested it by taking 8x and then 16x the dose on one day – as I was concerned by research on nanoparticle ferric oxide in mouse models – but there were no adverse effects.

I used this iron myself to raise both my hemoglobin and my ferritin (iron stores), taking 1 tablespoon once or twice per day. It works really fast and there are no intestinal effects as it does not require digestion. For this reason, it should be safe to use whilst bleeding – but go slowly and test it to be sure. The iron particles are angstrom-sized = .10 nm, very tiny nanoparticles, which are absorbed instantly into the blood and cells.

If treating anemia, ideally, you should take 1 tsp in the morning and 1 tsp in the evening. For severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 7 or 70) , I would take 1 tsp, 3 – 4 times per day. I always washed it down with lots of water or other liquid (just my intuition). It tastes only faintly of iron, but mostly just like metallic water. If you are using it for maintenance, then I would think 1 tsp every other day (or just twice a week) should be sufficient. You can get your hemoglobin tested (to track your progress) within 30 – 45 days since this product builds hemoglobin so fast. For best results, make sure you are also getting adequate B12 and folic acid – co-factors needed to utilize iron properly.

I also began experimenting with new anti-pathogen formulas using nanosilver, tea tree, wild oregano oil and DMSO and have had amazing results treating fungal, viral and bacterial skin infections among my family, friends and neighbours (also published at JPT Wellness Circle).

Whilst I feel good about taking nanosized targeted minerals from a trusted supplier, I do NOT feel good about being unwittingly exposed to all kinds of nanoparticles in food, clothing, packaging materials, etc. – as outlined above. We definitely need (as is the case with EMR – electromagnetic radiation) a non industry-influenced regulatory body to test and research these new technologies before they are unleashed en masse on all of us, without our knowledge or consent.

I’m not going to advise you on what you should do with your body, since this is a new technology. But I wanted to share my experience and research (as I said, lots more in-depth research results at JPT Wellness Circle). As it stands now, these nanoparticle minerals are the best thing for myself and my kids – since we had previously tried everything to cure our tooth decay, with no success.

soar higher,
Jini

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com

My organic grocery delivery company often gets this question: “Why doesn’t this organic apple or banana look ‘as good as’ a conventional one?” Here’s why, when it comes to conventional produce, looks can be deceiving…

Extreme Produce Makeover

Today’s consumers are raised on TV, airbrushed photos and carefully manipulated images designed to sell illusions of perfection. But when it comes to produce, looks aren’t everything. Chances are that shiny apple, or yellow banana are gassed, bathed in pesticides and fungicides or injected with food dyes that make them a toxic treat for the senses.

Let’s slip into bananas. We’ve recently seen quality issues with this family favorite. This is because February and March are traditionally tough months for banana growers. Soaring humidity makes their crop very vulnerable to rot. Organic growers typically treat this disease naturally, with aids such as grapefruit seed oil extract. It’s not a perfect system. But the blemished bananas contain far fewer chemical contaminants than their photogenic golden “conventional” counterparts.

“Conventional” bananas are picked before they ripen naturally. Calcium Carbide, ammonia or sulphur dioxide then ripens them at super-speed. In high concentration, these toxins may damage the nervous system, kidneys and liver. The bananas might also be soaked in the carcinogen benonomyl, and repeatedly sprayed with pesticides.

Tomatoes are also picked before maturity and shipped long distances. They’re gassed with the plant hormone ethylene to ripen them and may be injected with red dye for eye appeal. Because the “conventional” tomato was never truly ripe it’s now vitamin deficient…unless you count the nutrient value of its chemical fertilizers, pesticides, ripeners and dye.

I’ll never forget when my cousin came to visit and stayed in our studio apartment that we were using as an office. Two months after his departure, I opened the fridge and saw a bag of tomatoes he’d left behind. I was aghast to see that they still looked perfect – no mold, no softening, nothing! I’ve eaten nothing but organic produce for the last 15 years, so I was used to our normal tomatoes that last about a week before being taken over by hungry microbes. Here’s the thing: Bacteria and fungi are extremely smart organisms – they have adapted and thrived where thousands of species have gone extinct. So if they won’t touch the food – that should tell you something!

Also, the taste of a conventional tomato pales next to a vine-ripened, fresh organic tomato full of flavor. Tip: For the best flavor, store tomatoes at room temperature, rather than in the fridge. I’ve tested both ways, and mine don’t last any longer when stored in the fridge, but they do lose a lot of flavor.

What about “juicy” ‘conventional’ grocery store apples? They’re full of enough preservatives to change the slogan to “an apple a day keeps decomposition away.” Picked while still green, apples are sprayed with thiabendazole at the warehouse, a chemical known to cause birth defects. After sorting they’re treated with preservatives to keep them juicy and crisp, and then covered with shellac or carnuba wax (just to really seal in all those chemicals and make sure they don’t wash off!).

Generally, exported cherries are fumigated with Methyl bromide for 2 hours at a temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit. The fumigation treatment is done with the aim to kill any potential codling moth (a type of post-harvest pest). 17% is absorbed by the bulk wooden bin that is used to store the cherries. The absorption into the wooden box will then lead to metabolic changes and decomposition. Cherries that have been treated in this manner do not rot away even after 7 weeks at room temperature. The cherries may have been treated multiple times during storage and shipment. When humans get exposed to high concentrations of methyl bromide (which also depletes ozone), it can lead to deleterious effects on skin, lungs and eyes, and both respiratory and nervous system failure. Does it sound like these cherries are safe to eat?

So, next time you say: “I’d love to eat organic, but I can’t afford to.” Think of how much it’s going to cost you in health care dollars after ingesting all these chemical agents, day after day, AND not getting the nutrients and enzymes from normal (i.e. “organic”) food. But if you truly cannot afford to eat organic, here are my tips and tricks of cheaper alternatives for healthy eating.

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Jini Patel Thompson’s books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold in over 40 different countries. Her health articles have been published in journals and magazines in the U.S., Australia and U.K. www.ListenToYourGut.com