Heal Yourself in 15 Days (part 6)
February 8, 2010
Natural News
By Mike Adams
Continuing our 15-part article series called Heal Yourself in 15 Days, today we focus on not doing something. In particular, I’m talking about not eating for 24 hours.
It sounds simple in theory, of course: Refrain from eating anything (or drinking any beverages other than water) for 24 hours. Your body has plenty of calories stored to carry you through those 24 hours, and the pause from digestion will give your body a chance to focus its healing energies on other parts of your body.
Note: Be sure to check with your naturopathic physician about the safety of fasting. While fasting is safe for most people, it’s not for everyone. People in a weak state of health or those suffering from diabetes should take special precautions to make sure fasting is safe for them.
Why fasting?
Fasting has been used from Biblical times through the modern world to help purify and heal the body. It can help detox your liver, kidneys and digestive tract. It also encourages you to rethink your eating habits. When you fast for just 24 hours, and you’re really committed to it, you’ll be shocked to discover how many times you habitually reach for food.
People habitually reach for food in all sorts of circumstances that have nothing to do with actual hunger:
• When they’re bored…
• When they feel emotionally stressed…
• When they watch television or movies…
• When they’re traveling in their car…
• When other people are eating around them…
• At social events, parties or gatherings…
Try fasting for 24 hours and you’ll see for yourself just how many times you habitually reach for food.
This will teach you many important things about your own eating habits, and that’s the point of this exercise. Just pick a day — preferably a weekend when nothing big is going on — and fast for 24 hours, drinking nothing but water.
In accomplishing this, you will realize three very important things:
1) You didn’t die from starvation in 24 hours. In fact, most people have enough spare calories to go 30 days or more without eating.
2) You found the self-discipline to achieve 24 hours without eating. This is a milestone accomplishment in self control.
3) You learned to observe yourself and recognize the numerous situations in which you habitually reach for food. This can be extremely educational in helping you reform your eating habits in the future.
On top of all that, of course, you gave your digestive system a break and encouraged more rapid healing throughout your body. You may notice some detox effects (like bad breath) or a difference in your energy levels. This is all a normal part of the fasting process, and it indicates your fasting is working!
My own fasting experience
I recently fasted for 90 hours, then I had food for 24 hours followed by another 48-hour fast. The experience was quite enlightening. I had virtually no negative side effects, most likely due to the fact that I consume a very cleansing, healthy diet on a day-to-day basis. Typically, the worse your diet, the more detox side effects you may experience when fasting.
If you want to make your fasting more tolerable and more cleansing, you also have the option of drinking an 8-oz. glass of fresh vegetable juice in the middle of your fast. I did this during my fast, and it not only gave me more energy to make it through the fast; it also greatly enhanced the cleansing effects of my fast. I further enhance my own fasts with products from Ed Group’s company, Global Healing Center (www.GHChealth.com). I especially like the Oxy Powder and Paratrex products. I take them with every fast.
Naturally, the choice is yours on how to approach this. You also have complete freedom to decide WHEN you want to do this. It doesn’t have to happen on Superbowl Weekend. Pick a nice, easy Saturday or Sunday when you don’t have anything big going on, and make that day your 24-hour fast. You’ll feel better for it, and you will have achieved an important new milestone in your journey toward improved health.
Once you fast for just 24 hours, you’ll then know that you can choose to avoid food at any particular time you want. You will discover new flexibility in your food consumption. You’ll realize that you can say no to food any time you choose, and you won’t die from lack of calories. You’ll eliminate that fear and gain a new level of maturity in your relationship to food.
To continue reading this report, click here.
Heal Yourself in 15 Days (Part 5)
February 5, 2010
Natural News
By Mike Adams
Continuing our 15-part article series called Heal Yourself in 15 Days, today we focus on cleansing your digestive tract and energizing your cellular energy with the help of some living foods. This is in preparation for part six in the series, which we’ll get to tomorrow.
Here’s the cool part about this: You don’t need a juicer to do this step. All you really need is a blender and a nut milk bag (a fine mesh bag used to squeeze out the juice). Of course, a proper juicer really helps, but it’s not required. Below, I’m going to give you an absolutely delicious live foods juicing recipe that I think you’ll really enjoy. I’m using special ingredients in this juice that help mask the more bland tastes of the green ingredients, so even if you’ve tried fresh living juices in the past and didn’t like them, check out what you’ll read below…
Raw living foods offer one of the greatest secrets to disease reversal and lasting health, and nothing beats fresh living foods right out of the garden. So if you can grow any of your own ingredients for this when Spring comes around, definitely make an effort to do so. Otherwise, buy them at a store or farmer’s market.
Here’s what you’ll need (always choose organic):
• 1 container of Blackberries (use all the blackberries)
• 1 bunch of Parsley (use all the parsley)
• 1 bunch of Kale (only use 2-3 large leaves in this recipe)
• 1 bag of Carrots (only use 3 large carrots for this recipe)
• 1 bunch of Celery (use 2-3 stalks for this recipe)
• 2 Pears (use both pears)
If you can’t find these ingredients, substitute something close. It’s crucial to have some berries in the mix, however. They are part of the recipe for making it all taste good.
After proper preparation (washing, etc.), push all these ingredients through a juicer to generate the fresh juice. If you only have a blender, then blend all these ingredients with water, then pour the juice into a nut milk bag and squeeze out the juice from that. With either method, you’ll end up with a container of fresh juice.
This juice will be extremely potent, so mix this with water (add an equal amount of water to the juice). You may also wish to add some stevia if you’d like to sweeten up the taste a bit.
Health benefits of the fresh living juice
• The blackberries will mask the bitter tastes of the other ingredients with their acidity. This acidity greatly improves the overall taste of the recipe. It also improves digestion of the minerals in the vegetables (you need an acidic digestive environment to absorb minerals).
• Blackberries also have a powerful anti-cancer effect through your entire digestive tract, from your mouth and gums down through your colon.
• Parsley is a super digestive cleanser. It will help eliminate toxins while providing your body with a burst of chlorophyll that will help cleanse your blood and liver.
• Kale is a potent anti-cancer vegetable. It also contains healthy plant-based proteins and healing phytonutrients.
• The carrots are used primarily as a sweetener here (they really do sweeten up the juice), and they also contain a wide assortment of beneficial nutrients, most notably beta carotene (from which carrots get their name).
• The pears are the sweeteners here. I find that pear juice tastes much better than apple juice in these raw living juices, but of course it’s your choice of what’s best for you. If you’re diabetic or want to reduce the sugars in this recipe, reduce the numbers of pears to just one or eliminate them altogether (when I juice here in Ecuador, I don’t use pears at all. I just use carrots.) Some people prefer to use oranges instead of pears. The tart taste of the oranges in some ways provides a better overall taste. Try the recipe both ways and see what you like best.
Click here for the full report
Experts Say 40% of Cancers Can Be Avoided
February 5, 2010
Reuters
A report by the Geneva-based International Union Against Cancer (UICC) highlighted nine infections that can lead to cancer and urged health officials to drive home the importance of vaccines and lifestyle changes in fighting the disease.
“If there was an announcement that somebody had discovered a cure for 40 percent of the world’s cancers, there would quite justifiably be huge jubilation,” UICC president David Hill told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“But the fact is that we have, now, the knowledge to prevent 40 percent of cancers. The tragedy is, we’re not using it.”
Cervical and liver cancer, both caused by infections which can be prevented with vaccines, should be top priorities, the report said, not only in rich nations, but also in developing countries where 80 percent of global cervical cancer occur.
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and the total number of cases globally is increasing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The number of global cancer deaths is projected to rise by 45 percent from 2007 to 2030 from 7.9 million to 11.5 million deaths, driven partly by a growing and aging global population.
The UICC said it wanted to focus policymakers’ attention on cancer-preventing vaccines — like ones made by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co against the human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer, and others against hepatitis B, which causes liver disease and cancer.
“Policymakers around the world have the opportunity and obligation to use these vaccines to save people’s lives and educate their communities toward lifestyle choices and control measures that reduce their risk of cancer,” Cary Adams, UICC’s chief executive, said in a commentary on the report.
Other cancer-causing infections include hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Epstein Barr, a herpes-type virus transmitted by saliva.
The experts said the risk of developing cancer could potentially be reduced by up to 40 percent if full immunization and prevention measures were deployed and combined with simple lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, eating healthily, limiting alcohol intake and reducing sun exposure.
Hill said national health authorities should also work to dispel widespread myths about cancer, in particular a sense of fatalism felt by many people in the face of the disease.
As part of this, the UICC is launching a campaign called “Cancer can be prevented too” on World Cancer Day on February 4 to encourage people to face up to the fact that smoking, poor diet and some infections carry high cancer risks.
European cancer experts issued a report last year warning that a wave of cancer now threatens developing countries, estimating that around half of the 12.4 million new cases in 2008 occurred in low and middle income countries.
Despite the availability of so much scientific knowledge about the disease’s causes, Hill said there was great concern among health experts that “the opportunity to prevent this huge escalation of cancer may be missed.”
Click here for the full report
Genetically Modified Crops Cause Kidney and Liver Damage
February 2, 2010
MailOnline
By David Derbyshire
Fresh fears were raised over GM crops yesterday after a study showed they can cause liver and kidney damage.
According to the research, animals fed on three strains of genetically modified maize created by the U.S. biotech firm Monsanto suffered signs of organ damage after just three months.
The findings only came to light after Monsanto was forced to publish its raw data on safety tests by anti-GM campaigners.
They add to the evidence that GM crops may damage health as well as be harmful to the environment.
The figures released by Monsanto were examined by French researcher Dr Gilles-Eric Seralini, from the University of Caen.
Yesterday he called for more studies to check for long-term organ damage.
‘What we’ve shown is clearly not proof of toxicity, but signs of toxicity,’ he told New Scientist magazine. ‘I’m sure there’s no acute toxicity but who’s to say there are no chronic effects?’
The experiments were carried out by Monsanto researchers on three strains of GM maize. Two of the varieties contained genes for the Bt protein which protects the plant against the corn borer pest, while a third was genetically modified to be resistant to the weedkiller glyphosate. All three strains are widely grown in America, while one is the only GM crop grown in Europe, mostly in Spain.
Monsanto only released the raw data after a legal challenge from Greenpeace, the Swedish Board of Agriculture and French anti- GM campaigners.
Dr Seralini concluded that rats which ate the GM maize had ‘ statistically significant’ signs of liver and kidney damage. Each strain was linked to unusual concentrations of hormones in the blood and urine of rats fed the maize for three months, compared to rats given a non-GM diet.
The higher hormone levels suggest that animals’ livers and kidneys are not working properly.
Female rats fed one of the strains also had higher blood sugar levels and raised levels of fatty substances caused triglycerides, Dr Seralini reported in the International Journal of Microbiology.
The analysis concluded: ‘These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown.’
Monsanto claimed the analysis of its data was ‘based on faulty analytical methods and reasoning, and does not call into question the safety findings for these products’.
Click here for the full report.
That New-Car Smell May Be Toxic
January 25, 2010
AOL
By Kirk Seaman
For many, the new-car smell is a bonus that comes with buying a new vehicle — an olfactory reward to enjoy each time the owner slides behind the wheel.
That smell, however, also could make them — and their passengers — sick.
That’s because the plastics and textiles used in vehicle interiors contain a number of harmful chemicals, including antimony, bromine, chlorine, and lead. Repeated and concentrated exposure to any of these chemicals may contribute to a variety of acute and long-term health issues such as birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, and cancer.
Not only are vehicle occupants exposed to these chemicals by breathing, but frequent exposure to the sun’s heat and ultraviolet light can increase interior levels of these chemicals and possibly exacerbate their toxicity.
When these conditions combine with the fact that the average American spends almost two hours in a car every day, the potential exists for vehicle interiors to become a major source of indoor air pollution. Children, with their systems still developing, are most vulnerable to such exposure.
The visible evidence of chemicals being released into interiors is the film that sometimes appears on the inside of windshields. Known as “fogging,” this phenomenon occurs when chemicals in the materials of the interior evaporate and then condense on the windshield or windows. This process happens over time, but accelerates in high temperatures.To educate consumers, the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group located in Ann Arbor, Mich., has been publishing a guide to toxic chemicals in cars since 2007.
“Our first guide reported results from more than 200 models from the 2006 and 2007 model years, representing 12 different manufacturers,” said Jeff Gearhart, research director for the Ecology Center. “We found concentrations of some toxic chemicals were, on average, five to ten times higher than those found in homes and offices.”
Experts at the Ecology Center test vehicles with a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device which can identify the elemental composition of any material. “We test a number of components, including the seats, the dashboard, and headliner,” said Mr. Gearhart. “These large components represent major sources of the chemicals we are concerned about.”
Since its first report, the Ecology Center has worked with auto manufacturers to use less-toxic materials in vehicle interiors. Based on the findings in its most recent guide, available online at HealthyStuff.org, the efforts seem to be working. “The scores have improved each year, and for 2009, the Chevrolet Cobalt was our best overall vehicle,” said Gearhart. “This marks the first time a car built in the United States by a U.S.-owned company has earned this distinction.”The Cobalt tested with the least amount of toxic chemicals in its interior plastics and textiles, earning it a rating of 0.7 on the center’s scale. The scale awards a rating of 0.0 to a vehicle with no detectable levels of objectionable chemicals; the worst offender gets a rating of 5.0. (The Cobalt’s corporate cousin, the 2009 Pontiac G5, earned a rating of 0.6, but it is no longer available.) The vehicle with the worst rating on the 2009 list was the South Korean–built Chevrolet Aveo, which earned a rating of 4.9.
“We’re pleased with the Cobalt’s performance in this guide,” said Doug Pickett, engineering group manager for materials engineering at General Motors. “The fact that six of the best vehicles by type are from G.M. shows that this issue has been important to us for a while.”
While the Cobalt received top honors, Mr. Pickett explained that the Aveo’s poor showing was the result of that car’s reliance on older materials technology. “As a vehicle moves through its product cycle, we are able to incorporate less toxic materials into its updated design,” he said. “This shows we are listening to our customers and that what is important to them, like less toxic interiors, is important to us.”
Working with automotive suppliers and the plastics industry has proved essential to G.M. and other manufacturers in developing and manufacturing plastics that contain less-harmful chemicals. “Rather than dictate how to formulate plastics, we provide a list of more than a hundred chemicals banned in our vehicles, including formaldehyde and Class 1 carcinogens such as benzene,” said Mr. Pickett. “This approach helps ensure the plastic is safe and remains safe throughout its life cycle.”
Click here for the full report
Non-Stick Pans Linked to Thyroid Disease
January 22, 2010
Reuters
By Tim Pearce
A study by British researchers found that people with high levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in their blood have higher rates of thyroid diseases — conditions which affect the body’s metabolism.
PFOA is a common chemical, used in industrial and consumer products including non-stick cooking pans, stain-proof carpet coatings and waterproofing for fabrics.
The study, published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, did not establish whether PFOA was causing higher levels of thyroid disease.
The researchers said the link might be complex and indirect, and added that their work highlighted a need for further studies of the human health effects of low-level exposures to chemicals like PFOA.
“We need to know what they (these chemicals) are doing,” said Tamara Galloway, a professor of ecotoxicology at Exeter University, who led the research.
Previous studies of people living near sites where PFOA is manufactured have not found an association between exposure to these chemicals and thyroid function, and some other scientists advised caution about drawing conclusions from the study.
INDIRECT LINK?
“Studies like this cannot tell us that the two things are definitely linked,” said Ashley Grossman, professor of neuroendocrinology at Queen Mary, University of London.
“We also don’t know whether this chemical is directly affecting the thyroid. Thyroid disease is often caused by the body’s own immune system attacking the thyroid gland so perhaps this chemical is having some effect on the immune system, rather than directly on the thyroid.”
The thyroid, located in the neck, is a kind of master gland, secreting hormones affecting metabolism. People with low thyroid function may lose hair, gain weight and feel sluggish, while those with overactive thyroids may lose weight and feel their hearts race. Both conditions can be treated.
The British researchers looked at 3966 American adults aged 20 and above whose blood serum was sampled between 1999 and 2006 for PFOA. They found that those with the highest PFOA concentrations (above 5.7 nanograms per milliliter) were more than twice as likely to report current thyroid disease than individuals with the lowest levels (below 4.0ng/ml).
Thyroid diseases are much more common in women than men, but in terms of the link between PFOA and thyroid disease, the researchers found no difference between the sexes.
Galloway and colleagues stressed the need for more work but said their study suggested it is “plausible that the compounds could disrupt binding of thyroid hormones in the blood or alter their metabolism in the liver.”
“This new evidence does not rule out the possibility that having thyroid disease changes the way the body handles PFOA,” they added, and its presence “might also prove to be simply a marker for some other factor associated with thyroid disease.”
Click here for the full report
New Medicine? Bee Stings
January 18, 2010
Orlando Sentinel
By Fernando Quintero
Reyah Carlson has been stung by bees more than 25,000 times. On purpose.
Carlson is a practitioner of apitherapy, a controversial form of alternative medicine that uses bee venom to treat everything from arthritis to multiple sclerosis. She will be a featured speaker at the 2010 North American Beekeepers Conference being held in Orlando today.
Carlson, who lives in Vermont, has traveled the world to spread the word about bee venom therapy. She has also appeared in National Geographic and on the Discovery Channel.
“Apitherapy is not a new form of alternative therapy. It has been used in other countries for centuries,” said Carlson, a.k.a “The Bee Lady.”
Carlson, who had been fascinated by bees since early childhood, said she first began using bee stings for her Lyme Disease after being introduced to the treatment by a man she met when she was working as a nursing assistant in Vermont.
“When you break down the chemical components of bee venom, you’ll find 40-something identifiable components,” said Carlson, 51.
They include mellitin, which some studies suggest blocks inflammation and has been shown to have anti-arthritic effects in mice, according to a 2009 report published by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
Carlson said bee venom can also bolster immunity and speed up the healing process.
“I don’t claim cures,” said Carlson. “In some cases, it’s ongoing treatment for life. For many diseases including (multiple sclerosis) and lupus, it’s a great way to keep things in check and under control. Drugs for these conditions have bad side effects for the liver and other parts of the body, that’s why I and many other people have turned to apitherapy as an alternative.”
While the benefits of bee venom remain uncertain, and little scientific research has been conducted – especially in the U.S. – the dangers are evident. About 2 percent of people have allergic reactions to bees and other stinging insects, and the dangers increase with the number of stings.
“A bee sting is always potentially serious,” said Malcolm T. Sanford, emeritus professor of entomology and nematology at the University of Florida, in a 2003 report for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “The severity and duration of a reaction can vary from one person to another….However, depending on the location and the number of bee stings received, as well as the ever-present possibility of a severe allergic reaction to bee venom, a serious reaction can be precipitated that can be life-threatening.”
A number of Central Florida researchers and medical professionals contacted declined to comment on the potential benefits or hazards of apitherapy. Carlson is well aware of the controversy over her treatments.
“Reaction from the medical establishment has been two-sided,” said Carlson. “Physicians who are proactive with their patients are more accepting of apitherapy. At the same time, I have had doctors saying I’m going to kill somebody.”
Approximately 65,000 people in the United States use bee sting therapy, according to the American Apitherapy Society. Carlson advises anyone undergoing bee-venom therapy should always have a bee sting kit available. She keeps antihistamine on hand, as well as epinephrine, a drug that can be used if someone goes into anaphylactic shock.
Carlson said she gets lots of questions when she’s on the road promoting the benefits of bees. One of the most frequently asked questions: Is it always painful?
“A bee sting hurts. I do suggest and offer ice to numb the area prior to a sting,” she said. “It’s well worth the temporary pain.”
Click here for the full report
Milk Thistle Herb May Help Chemo Patients
December 16, 2009
ABC News
By Amy Norton
An herb used since ancient times to treat liver ailments may help reduce the liver damage caused by some cancer drugs, a study published Monday suggests.
In a study of 50 children undergoing chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), researchers found that an herb called milk thistle appeared to reduce treatment-related liver inflammation.
The study, published online in the journal Cancer, is the first clinical trial to test the herb in children undergoing chemotherapy, and the investigators caution that more research is still needed.
However, the findings are “promising” — particularly since there is currently no way to help protect the liver from chemotherapy-induced damage, said senior researcher Dr. Kara M. Kelly, a pediatric oncologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.
Liver inflammation is common among children undergoing chemotherapy for ALL, Kelly told Reuters Health — with about two-thirds developing liver toxicity at some point during treatment.
Traditionally, doctors have dealt with the side effect by lowering patients’ chemotherapy doses — which, in turn, can lower the chances of seeing a complete remission. Kelly said that more recently, there has been a movement toward “accepting” the liver toxicity and sticking with the chemo regimen. But it’s not clear what the long-range consequences of that might be.
“So we still need an alternative option,” Kelly said.
That is where milk thistle comes in. The plant’s flowers and seeds have been used for more than 2,000 years to treat disorders of the liver and gallbladder. In recent years, lab research has found that the active substance in milk thistle — an antioxidant called silybin
– might help prevent body tissue damage by blocking toxins from breaching cell walls.
Several clinical trials have investigated milk thistle as a way to prevent or treat liver damage in people with hepatitis, an inflammation that can be caused by an infection, and in those with cirrhosis, a buildup of scar tissue in the liver often linked to alcoholism. The results of those studies have been mixed.
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 12-15-09
Today, Kevin explains why the government is taking away the spirit of Christmas and how your freedoms are taken away. Also, find out why our standard of living is declining at rapid speeds and the top 3 things you can do to survive it.
Get the headlines you aren’t hearing from the mainstream media:
The Lazy Man’s Way to A Fortune
Text Messaging Causing Blindness
BPA Linked To Serious Health Problems
Big Brother Isn’t a Protect Our Borders
D.C. Hands Out $15M in Bonuses
Fructose Fueling Childhood Obesity
Tamiflu Proven Useless
Swine Flu Less Lethal Than Feared
CT Scans Leads To Cancer in Thousands
Antidepressants Raise Stroke Risk
Herb To Treat Chemotherapy Liver Damage
Plus, the Administrative Director of HempUSA.org, Thomas James, gives you the REAL story behind the power of hemp and why the government wants to keep it from you!
Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC through iTunes!
Click below to hear The Kevin Trudeau Show RIGHT NOW!!!
Rare Disease Turning Young Girl into Stone
November 16, 2009
Mirror.co.uk
By Rod Chaytor
Little Lillie Sutcliffe faces a lifetime of hospital treatment to stop her body “turning to stone”.
Lillie, five, was born with a rare, incurable condition which affects less than one in three million people.
Cysitinosis leads to a build-up of amino acid in the form of crystals, causing problems in the kidney, thyroid gland, eyes and liver.
Mum Laura Milner, 29, said yesterday: “It means Lillie’s body is turning to crystal. They just load up inside her.
If it wasn’t treated she’d eventually turn to stone.”
The condition means the brave youngster has stunted growth and cannot walk far.
But to Laura and tiler dad Simon Sutcliffe, also 29, she is a gem who has battled against all odds.
Lillie, from Castleford, Yorks, was diagnosed with Cysitinosis in August 2006 at the age of 23 months. Laura said: “I had never heard of the condition so I was a bit shocked to find out what it did.”
The youngster goes to full-time school and academically she is unaffected. But she has the body of a two-year-old and every day she needs a cocktail of medication.
Laura added: “I am so proud of how she is fighting it, it is just a part of life now for her.
“But science is getting better and who knows what treatment might become available in the future?”
Click here for the full report.
