Monday, August 29, 2011

Fluoridation - Logic, or Lack Thereof?

I, like everyone else, need to take someone else's word on some issues. For example, I depend on those who test cars and tires.

On the issue of water fluoridation, I have to depend on scientists on issues of safety and whether it produces fewer cavities. Since it is very complex, the question of whether to fluoridate drinking water has had its proponents for a long time.

Part of the complexity is the fact that the bad effects of diluted fluoride (1ppm) take, in most cases, a long time to show up. It is a little like termites. Time has passed and now research finding about fluoride's negative effect on health have reached the point of being irrefutable.

It has taken time to get past the roadblocks to what would seem a no-brainer; this is especially true where moneyed interests are involved, as in the long battle with the tobacco companies.

Does it make sense to drink a poison—even a highly diluted poison—for several decades and expect it not to damage the various cells of our bodies? I hope you are open to reading the various scientific reports at this web site and elsewhere.

Maybe someone will compose a comic opera on how fluoride is treated as a very toxic substance, one which cannot be dumped on the ground, etc., but which is put into the public drinking water.

Some fluoridated cities have changed their minds. One of these is Wasilla, Alaska; they stopped fluoridation and tried to give their last 100 pound bag of fluoride to a neighboring city, but the Federal Government said that would make the fluoride a toxic waste (and must be dealt with as such); however, if they were to charge for the bag then it would be classified as a product and then be OK. Wasilla sold the bag for 25 cents.

Part of this comic opera should include what happens to fluoridated water. Where does it go? It's a stretch, but let's say that about 5 percent of fluoridated water is drunk by people. The question of the other 95 percent of fluoridated water is…Where does it go? It doesn't evaporate the way chlorine does. Where does it go?

The lead tenor in the opera would keep repeating the aria about where does the rest of the fluoride go while the chorus would chant, “In the ground, in the rivers, in the ocean.”

Of course, it will take a long time to build up—at least we can assume this. I don't really know how long, and neither does anyone else. I get confused, though, when such a toxic substance (more toxic than lead, which we banned from gasoline many years ago, and only slightly less toxic than arsenic) cannot be dumped on the ground or in the rivers, yet we put it in our drinking water— which mostly ends up in the grounds and rivers . There is something wrong with our logic here—if I could just put my finger on it—DUH! Pollution control scientists call fluoride the “protected pollutant.”

If you read up on the history and skewed science of fluoridation you will see a money trail . To be fair, you will also see some sincere hopes and some fragments of evidence on its behalf. Good intentions, career protection, a theory of disillusion or the breakdowns of fluoride compounds into stuff that the body eliminates, and corrupted science all played huge roles in the beginning of water fluoridation.

Promoters of fluoridation have long claimed that fluoride does not accumulate in the body, but that it does like chlorine does and evaporates. However, we now know that the exact opposite is true. In fact, the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgeries Guide to Family Dental Care 1997 states, “The effect of ingesting fluoride is cumulative.”

A very visible sign of this is mottled teeth. The incidence of dental fluorosis (mottling and tooth defects) in children is increasing in the United States . Both the Federal Register 60(194):5247911995 and Pediatric Nursing 23(2); 155-159, 1997, report that studies indicate an increase in recent years of dental fluorosis. In fluoridated communities fluorosis increased 35 to 60 percent. In non-fluoridated communities, fluorosis increased 15 to 45 percent. The increase in the non-fluoridated areas is due to the fact that some of our food is processed in fluoridated areas.

Not only does fluoride cause problems like teeth mottling and brittle bones, but it also interferes with the functioning of your body's enzymes. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization and others have published lists of enzymes that are inhibited by fluoride at levels of 1 ppm or less.

The U.S. Public Health Service, among others, were once opposed to fluoridation; however, they later changed their policy—not because of conclusive studies showing it was safe but rather as a belief that the unknown risk was less than the perceived value of reducing dental caries. They also changed their belief because of a faith in the studies that were modified and/or selectively presented to them—and because of pressures from the service's administrators.

For more information on water fluoridation, go to http://www.fluorideaction.net/ or check out our website at http://www.abundantlivinginfo.com/ and http://www.alinfo.org/

Friday, August 26, 2011

What Can I Do? Everything Causes Cancer!


The Green Guide Institute and other organizations focus on delivering information that we need to make the right decisions to protect the health of our family members and the environment.

Consider these facts:

Breast cancer and prostate cancer rates in this country have risen dramatically over the past two decades. The rates of childhood cancer have been climbing as well.

Sperm counts for men in some developed countries are down 50% over the past 50 years.

During that same time period, testicular cancer rates have more than doubled. It's now the most common form of cancer among young men in the USA.

Question: While we're waiting for the scientists to sort through the evidence, what can we do now to protect ourselves and our children?

An international hunt for the chemical culprits is now zeroing in on a family of artificial chemicals, used in a vast array of products, that all share one trait —they interfere with the behavior of the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone, as well as with other hormones. They are found in some pesticides, plastics, detergents, paints, toiletries, and spermicides and in factory emissions that wind up in our food.

Every one of these hormone-altering chemicals may affect development of children's reproductive systems—all the way through puberty.


Solutions for These Problems: For example, to protect against those hormone-altering chemicals, The Green Guide Newsletter recommends three steps--

Avoid plastics that smell. (A used car is better than a new one!) Avoid plastics made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC—used in Barbie dolls and many other toys), whose manufacture releases dioxin, one of the most potent hormone-altering chemicals of all. And soft, flexible PVC can contain hormone-altering, liver-damaging plasticizers that migrate into children's mouths and the air of your home.

Avoid commercial pesticides altogether. Many house and garden sprays contain chemicals that can harm the brain, cause cancer, or disrupt our children's hormonal systems.
Whenever possible, buy food that's organic, as exposures to pesticides commonly found at trace levels on popular fruits and vegetables can exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's daily safety tolerances and increase children's cancer risk. The Green Guide identifies the most heavily-pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables to avoid, and which are the best to buy organic.

Avoid animal fat, a site where hormone-altering dioxins, PCBs and other contaminants accumulate. (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that for those who eat large amounts of meats, fish and dairy products, the risk of developing cancer from dioxin exposures could be as high as one in 100.) The Green Guide can keep you informed and updated on the safest and most ecologically-sound fish to eat—to avoid PCBs and mercury that can cause brain and nervous system damage to young children and fetuses in utero.


Who among us has not said at some time or another: “What can I do? Everything causes cancer!" The marvels and benefits of modern science are, to some degree, offset by the creation of new problems. Certainly our bodies have more toxic elements to cope with than any people that have ever lived. Nevertheless, we have more knowledge of how the body functions than ever before, and how we can sustain its capacity for renewal.

For more information about your family's health and the health of the environment check out The Green Guide.

Visit us at abundantlivinginfo.com or alinfo.org for more information about health and healing.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Water Fluoridation Increases Blood Lead Levels

Of those water systems that are fluoridated, most (over 90 percent) use a chemical that has been linked to elevated levels of  lead in the blood of children.

In research published in the International Journal of Environment Studies (September, 1999), Masters and Coplan studied lead screening data from 280,000 Massachusetts children. They found that average blood lead levels are significantly higher in children living in communities whose water is treated with silicofluorides. A survey of over 120,000 children in New York towns (population 15,000 to 75,000) corroborates this effect.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) warns that excessive blood lead levels can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems and seizures.

Masters and Coplan report that lead is a highly significant risk factor in predicting higher rates of crime, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity and substance abuse. In a study now in press, Masters' research team found higher rates of violent crime and substance abuse in silicofluoridated communities.

Is this a risk we want to take with our children?

EPA Scientists Say “No” to Fluoridation

The Masters and Coplan research plus the many other studies led the EPA water safety scientists to vote unanimously (all 1500) against water fluoridation. The Union of EPA Scientists unanimously stated:

“As the professionals who are charged with assessing the safety of drinking water, we conclude that the health and welfare of the public is not served by the addition of this substance to the public water supply. Our members' review of the body of evidence over the past eleven years, including animal and human epidemiology studies, indicates a causal link between fluoride/fluoridation and cancer, genetic damage, neurological impairment , and bone pathology. Of particular concern are recent epidemiology studies linking fluoride exposure to lowered IQ in children .”

Kaplan and Morris report that there has been a dramatic increase in learning disabilities. One of every six children in America suffers from problems such as autism, aggression, dyslexia, or attention deficit disorder. Reported cases of autism in California , between 1987 and 1998, rose from 3,864 to 11,995; in New York , the number of children with learning disabilities rose from 132,000 in 1983 to 204,000 in 1996. This information comes from US News and World Report, June 19, 2000, “Kids at Risk.”

For more information on water fluoridation go to www.fluorideaction.net

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Protect Our Water, Our Health, Our Rights!


FLUORIDATION FACTS


1. The type of fluoride added to drinking water never occurs in nature. It is a toxic industrial waste product, contaminated with many hazardous substances.
Lucier Chemical Industries, Inc. internal spec sheet.
Chemical and Engineering News , vol. 66, p. 39, 1988
Thomas Reeves, Chief Fluoridation Engineer, CDC, 2001


2. Fluoride is more toxic than lead and slightly less toxic than arsenic. However, several hundred times more fluoride is allowed in the water than either lead or arsenic.
Clinical Toxicology , 1984
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency


3. Fluoride gradually accumulates in the body and the environment, like lead and arsenic, inflicting damage over a long period of time.
Clinical Toxicology , 1984
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, ATSDR Doc. TP 91/17 (1993)


4. Four glasses (one liter) of fluoridated water equals a one-milligram prescription dose of fluoride, or four times the maximum dose for children 6 months to 3 years of age.
EPA Drinking Water Glossary , p. 19, June, 1994
Pediatrics , vol. 95, 1995


5. Infants should be given no fluoride at all . Formula made with fluoridated water is harmful to babies.
Journal of Public Health Dentistry , vol. 59, 1999
Journal of the American Dental Association , vol. 131, 2000


6. There is NO DIFFERENCE in tooth decay rates in fluoridated and unfluoridated cities. Recent studies of defluoridated cities have shown no increase in cavities, and sometimes a decrease.
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine , vol. 41, 1997
www.fluoridealert.org/ WHO-dmft.htm
Journal of the Canadian Dental Association , vol.53, 1987
Caries Research , vol. 34, pp. 462-8, 2000


7. Fluoridation chemicals have never been approved for safety or effectiveness by either the EPA or the FDA. The product used in most water supplies is hydrofluorosilicic acid.
Letters from the EPA, CDC, FDA, and NSF responding to a congressional investigation, 1998-2000


8. Fluoride is linked to many health problems, including thyroid disease, bone cancer, behavior problems, arthritis, and genetic damage.
J. Clinical Endocrinology , 18:1102-1110, 1958
Problemy Endokrinologii , 42:6-9, 1996
Chemical and Engineering News , vol. 66, 1988
Lancet , vol. 36, p. 737, 1990
Review of Fluoride: Benefits and Risks , U.S. Public Health Service, pages F1-F7, 1991
Carcinogenesis , vol. 9, pp. 2279-2284, 1988
A Brief Report on the Association of Drinking Water Fluoridation and the Incidence of Osteosarcoma among Young Males , New Jersey Department of Health, Nov. 1992
Neurotoxicology & Teratology , vol. 17, no. 2, 1995


9. Fluoridation has been rejected, discontinued, or banned throughout most of the world. Almost all of Europe is unfluoridated, and their teeth are often healthier than fluoridated Americans.
Chemical and Engineering News , vol. 66, p.30, 1988
World Health Organization data


10. It is the right of every citizen to make personal health decisions. It is a basic right to have our water supply free of medication. No one should be forced to drink fluoride.


11. Dental fluorosis, the permanent discoloration, scarring, and weakening of children's teeth, is a visible sign of fluoride poisoning. Fluorosis is rapidly increasing in this country, even in unfluoridated areas.
Journal of Public Health Dentistry , vol. 57, pp. 136-143, 1997
Journal of Public Health Dentistry , vol. 46, pp. 184-187, 1986
Journal of the American Dental Association , vol. 108, pp. 56-59, 1984
Health Effects of Ingested Fluoride , National Research Council, p. 37, 1993


12. We are already being over-fluoridated without drinking artificially fluoridated water. Fluoride is found in most toothpastes, in foods and drinks processed in fluoridated areas, and in pesticide residue on fruits, vegetables, and grains.


13. Recent studies show that hip fracture rates in the elderly are significantly higher in fluoridated areas.
Journal of the American Medical Assn. , vol. 264, 1990
Annals of Epidemiology , vol. 2, pp. 617-26, 1992
Amer. J. of Epidemiology , vol. 150, pp. 817-24, 1999


14. Malnourished people, particularly children, as well as the elderly, people with diabetes, kidney, and heart disease, are at greater risk for fluoride's harmful effects.
U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, ATSDR Doc, TP 91/17 (1993)



15. A family-sized tube of fluoride toothpaste contains enough fluoride to kill a small child.
Proctor & Gamble, the maker of Crest toothpaste.


To learn more about the dangers of fluoridation, please visit http://www.abundantlivinginfo.com/ or http://www.alinfo.org/

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Need to Gain Weight? Try Dieting!


Sometimes called the “yo-yo effect,” the results from most fad diets can also be compared to the ups and downs of a roller coaster. Your weight will often drop rather quickly, at first…You dieters know the rest!

For some time now, studies have shown that the results from weight-loss diets are not sustainable. In the long run the large majority of those who try them gain back the lost weight, and then some. In fact, research indicates the earlier in life individuals begin dieting the worse their weight problem generally becomes. This is obviously not being conveyed adequately to the general public.

One recent study was made up of 8,203 girls and 6,769 boys between the ages of nine and fourteen. “Their dietary habits and weight were monitored from 1996 until 1999. At the beginning of the study 25 percent of the girls and 13.8 percent of the boys were already classified as “infrequent” dieters, and 4.5 percent of the girls and 2.2 percent of the boys were “frequent" dieters.  As the study progressed, the percentage of dieters increased.

“Researchers discovered that, during this short time, dieters actually gained more weight per year than non-dieters. This occurred even though the surveys indicated the dieters were more active and ingested fewer calories than the non-dieters. This same phenomenon occurs in adult dieters. Not only does dieting slow metabolism, it usually results in binge eating, both of which contribute to long-term weight gain.” (Pediatrics, 03;112[4]:900-906)

As time passes, it not only becomes more difficult to stay on a calorie restrictive diet, but your body's metabolism adjusts and goes into its protective survival mode, where it burns fewer calories. You often actually regain more weight than before.

Fad diets, like the peaks and valleys of a roller coaster, come and go rather quickly, and there always seems to be a bigger and better one just around the corner.

Even when a diet is initially successful, the long-term results can be very disappointing. “At least 95 percent of those who lose weight on these diets cannot keep it off permanently. If you think these statistics seem too high, then take a look around you. Try to find someone who has lost a significant amount of weight and has been able to keep it off through dieting alone.”  (Alternatives for Health-Conscious Individuals, January 2004, p.49)

It obviously takes a lot of will power, determination, effort, and often money to go on any weight-loss diet. The primary lure of these diets seems to be the promise of losing weight quickly. Marketers know it is far easier to sell someone on easy, quick weight-loss than on slower, permanent weight-loss.

While you are still shouldering the guilt from the last holiday binge, do not succumb to the temptation to step back on the dieting roller coaster. Instead of calorie restrictive diets or one with a magic pill, make the kinds of changes in your diet and lifestyle that you can stick with forever. Eliminate or greatly restrict the intake of refined sugars, sweets, and simple carbohydrates.

Increase your vegetable and fruit intake. Cut back as much as possible on prepared foods, and increase the amount of raw foods you eat. If you have a juicer, use it.

The natural health pioneer Adelle Davis used to advise, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” Dr. David G. Williams encourages us to get away from the television and start walking, weight lifting, bicycling, swimming, jogging, and moving more. Find an outdoor hobby. It does not matter if it is hiking, bird watching, gardening, or playing marbles. Make a point to spend more time outside.

Adjust your mind-set to one of gratitude for the options we have and our ability to direct our lives.  You can take charge of your own life by committing to make one small change today.  What will it be?  Please leave your comments below!

For more information about Abundant Living, please visit http://www.abundantlivinginfo.com/ or http://www.alinfo.org/

Monday, August 22, 2011

Enzymes & Digestion

Enzymes are specialized protein molecules that are necessary in all biochemical activities going on in the body—they stimulate the brain, are essential for digesting food, they spark the repair of all tissues, organs and cells. Essential for their creation are minerals as well as vitamins and other nutrients. Life's processes are the result of hundreds of thousands of biochemical actions and reactions, which enzymes start and keep going in the body.

Every enzyme has a particular function in the body that no other enzyme can do. Enzymes make possible the removal of toxins and wastes from the body via the kidneys, liver, colon, lungs, and skin. They help build and repair muscle, tissue, bone, skin, glands, and nerve cells. Enzymes cause iron to be concentrated in the blood; they generate energy in all the cells. Nutrients in raw foods help supplement the body's supply of enzymes.

Digestive Enzymes: Digestion starts, of course, in the mouth. Then the stomach secretes hydrochloric acid and pepsin, which work primarily on proteins. Then the pancreatic enzymes go to work. The pancreas produces and secretes four types of enzymes needed in the breakdown and conversion of food into body fuel and energy:

1. Amylase breaks down carbohydrates.
2. Protease helps to digest protein and thus helps prevent allergies.
3. Lactase breaks down milk sugars and dairy products.
4. Lipase aids in the digestion of fats.

Examples of cell protection enzymes are superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, which protect cells by attacking free radicals that damage or kill healthy cells. The pancreatic digestive enzymes mentioned above obviously work to convert food into fuel the body can use. A lack of any type of digestive enzyme will interfere with this. Many people take digestive enzymes at each meal because they feel the need. Under certain conditions the pancreas can get to the point of exhaustion, so some help may be needed.

In addition to taking a pancreatic enzyme supplement, it is good to try to activate the enzyme producing capacity of the pancreas, and this requires sufficient minerals. Blackstrap Molasses is a good source of minerals (1 Tbsp at breakfast and dinner); a multi-mineral supplement or goat whey are also good sources.

The hydrochloric acid (HCL) production in the stomach usually diminishes with age. This in turn will impede the absorption of minerals. Good digestion is fundamental to good health. It is not only what you eat, but what you assimilate. Hydrochloric acid and pancreatic enzyme tablets are an inexpensive form of anti-cancer insurance. They can help dissolve and destroy tumors. Many allergies have their roots in inadequate digestion.

Researchers feel that underdigested protein is a significant cause of disease. Some tell us that if there is excessive weight in the abdominal area, incomplete digestion of protein is the problem. Taking pancreatic enzymes and hydrochloric acid with pepsin at meals could be helpful (along with mineral tablets and daily vitamins); particularly as we get older or are under undue stress, these are very helpful. These enzymes help tremendously in losing weight and keeping the body healthy. Remember, “It is not just what you eat, but WHAT YOU ASSIMILATE.”

For more information about Abundant Living, check out our website at http://www.abundantlivinginfo.com/ or http://www.alinfo.org/

Enzymes - The Energy Sparkplugs of Life

Enzymes are called the “sparks of life” because of their role in virtually all of the metabolic activities in the body. They are essential for digesting food, providing cellular energy, repairing all tissues and organs, and stimulating the brain.

The primary role of enzymes is catalytic. They cause the raw materials of nutrition to evolve or change into something the various areas of the body need. Just as a sparkplug energizes the gasoline and air mixture in a car engine, an enzyme does the same in the body.

Each enzyme has a specific function in the body. The particular chemical shape of each enzyme can only combine with the configuration of certain substances and not others.

A few enzyme functions:

Digestive enzymes convert food into material that can be assimilated into the blood and used for immediate energy or stored in the liver and muscles.

Respiratory enzymes facilitate the elimination of carbon dioxide from the lungs.

Kidney, liver, lungs, colon and skin are organs of elimination of toxic waste by-products from the body.

Enzymes facilitate all of these actions.

Bones are possible because dietary phosphorus is converted by an enzyme into bone material.  Likewise with nerves, skin, glands, etc.

Enzymes can be classified into two general types— digestive and metabolic . There are three main categories of digestive enzymes: amylase, protease, and lipase, which breakdown carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, respectively. Metabolic enzymes produce the chemical reactions within the cells that, among other things, produce energy and carry off waste by-products.

The body produces a supply of enzymes, and it also obtains enzymes from the food we eat. Even low to moderate heat (118ยบ F or above) destroys most enzymes in food.  For this reason, many nutritionists recommend eating 70-80 percent of your food raw and natural .   An abundance of food enzymes helps prevent the depletion of the body's own enzymes and, therefore, helps maintain the supply of enzymes needed.

Enzymes are available at your natural health store in tablet, capsule, powder, and liquid forms.
In most cases, a dietary enzyme supplement should contain all three of the major digestive enzyme groups—amylase, protease, and lipase.

To learn more about Abundant Living, please visit our website at http://www.abundantlivinginfo.com/ or http://www.alinfo.org/

Friday, August 19, 2011

The Importance of Raw Foods


Have you wondered what all the hype is about raw foods?  Let's take a look at whole vs. refined foods.

The food on America's dinner table has, for the most part, undergone extensive processing, thus removing from the original food much of its nutritional content.  In a few cases, an attempt is made to replace the vitamins and minerals lost through processing.  The so-called "fortified" or "enriched" product is still very inferior to the whole product that nature provided.  Beyond this, even more of the food's inherent nutritional health-promoting qualities, particularly enzymes, are lost in cooking.

As an example of the "wholeness" that is lost in processing, take a look at the steps involved in preparing common white rice:  Removal of the hull, removal of the bran layer and embryo, and then bleaching--cleaning-milling--"pearling" (polishing with talc), plus oiling and coating.

Rice Ready to be Harvested
The only step that is actually necessary for rice, or any other grain for that matter, to be made edible for humans is the first step, removal of the hull.

To repeat, even though food manufacturers sometimes try to make up for the losses by "enriching" or "fortifying," their efforts fall far short of the balance and goodness found in the natural whole grains.

The case with wheat is that forty plus nutrients are added back.  Those that are added have gone through their own isolating and synthesizing process.

All that processing is not natural or healthy for the human body.  so, the bottom line--eat grains as close to their original form as possible.  The more steps the grain goes through from the field to your table, the worse it is for you.

In a future post, I'll share with you some easy and delicious ways to make whole grains a part of your diet.

I'd love to hear how you are implementing this into your own life!  Share your ideas in the comments below.

For more information on health and healing, visit our website at http://www.abundantlivinginfo.com/ or http://www.alinfo.org/