Autism, Vaccines and AntioxidantsIt is becoming widely known among the public that vaccines have been preserved with thimerosal, which is more than half ethyl mercury. It is also commonly accepted that mercury is a strong neurotoxin, second only to plutonium as the most deadly element. After this point of agreement, there is a tremendous amount of obfuscation as the vaccine manufacturers try to point the finger of blame in every conceivable direction but toward themselves. The Centers for Disease Control, not a government agency as widely believed, but actually a private corporation with close ties to the pharmaceutical industry, urged last May that all research into the mercury-vaccine-autism connection be stopped immediately. Yet, thousands of parents around the world have provided testimony and videotaped evidence of their normally developing toddlers becoming mute and unresponsive closely following vaccines. Tenfold increases in rates of autism over the last two decades has raised the concerns of all but the most oblivious individuals. The untrue statement that mercury is being "phased out" of vaccines has been very widely publicized but nowhere actually put into practice. Mercury has indeed been phased out of vaccine labels and lists of ingredients in their product package inserts. But independent testing has found as much mercury in currently manufactured vaccines as ever. Against this background of corruption and "let's blame anything except the mercury," new research has confirmed what many previous studies have found: Mercury creates oxidative stress that kills brain cells directly. Humans accumulate more mercury in the brain than in blood or other organs. Organic mercury actively transported through the blood-brain barrier accumulates mostly in the cerebellum, especially the neuronal cells [1]. The cerebellum is the brain region associated with movement and cognition, and a key region targeted by toxic chemicals [2] and a region of impairment in autistic patients [3]. An eighteen-month study by the Environmental Working Group found that the mercury-vaccine-autism connection merits much more attention than it has received [4]. The recent research of Dr. Jill James, formerly a senior research scientist at the FDA, and now at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, has shown that the body's most effective detoxifier of mercury, an antioxidant known as glutathione, happens to be a substance that is seriously inactivated in autistic children [5]. The glutathione deficit in autistic children has explained many puzzling questions raised about autistic children's widespread symptoms, which often include gut problems and autoimmune conditions. All of these problems could be a consequence of low levels of active glutathione. A small group of autistic children were supplemented with nutrients that form glutathione, and observed for changes. The physician administering the supplements did note improved speech and cognition in each of the test subjects [6]. Much more study of glutathione treatment is now needed.
NIH reverses course: High dose Vitamin C demonstrated effectiveThe National Institutes of Health and Institutes of Medicine had long claimed that high dose vitamin C was worthless excess that is washed out in the urine, producing only expensive urine. It has long been controversial whether vitamin C actually prevents the common cold, but a preponderance of evidence does show good effect of vitamin C in reducing the severity and duration of colds. Now, a study recently published by the NIH has found that high oral doses of vitamin C have been shown to produce three times higher concentration of vitamin C in blood than was previously considered possible. Annals of Internal Medicine. 140(7): 533-37. Apr. 6, 2004. |
Natural Pain ReliefNow that the two giant money making painkillers Vioxx and Celebrex have been found to cause heart disease, there is a gaping chasm between demand and supply in that area of medicine. On the one hand, these two painkillers sold so well because of the huge need and demand for adequate pain relief. On the other hand, pain relief without safety is not satisfactory, and the high risks associated with these two painkillers is unacceptable. Stepping in to fill that void, two naturopathic physicians, Jason Barker, ND and Chris Meletis, ND have published a very helpful and informative article in the January 2005 issue of The Townsend Letter. The authors identify low protein intake and high carbohydrate intake as contributing to inflammation and pain. Supplemental enzymes and such botanical medicines as Jamaican dogwood and ginger are also used by the authors for their important roles in pain relief. Naturopathic physicians have many other resources for pain relief as well, drawing from areas such as hydrotherapy, physical medicine, acupuncture and homeopathy as well as the above-mentioned approaches. To find a licensed naturopathic physician near you visit www.naturopathic.org for the largest database of naturopathic physicians in the U.S. Acorns as foodContrary to popular belief, the acorn is not poisonous. Quite the opposite is true. They are highly nutritious, containing most of the essential and non-essential amino acids [1], which are important for building proteins. In areas where acorns grow they were often a staple food for our hunter-gather ancestors [1] [2]. Today the acorn is a largely forgotten food, remaining a dietary item for some Native Americans as well as a component of certain Korean dishes such as Gulbam Sirudok and Dotorimuk. Generally speaking not all acorns are created equal. Oaks fall into one of two related groups, the red oak and the white oak. Between the two, the taste can be quite different. All oaks contain tannin, a bitter compound. As a rule the acorns of red oak varieties will contain much more tannin than white oak varieties. Red oak acorns can require significant processing to make them palatable; however, on occasion it is possible to find a white oak that will produce acorns sweet enough to eat raw. Acorns can be gathered in the fall when they begin to drop. A tarp can be placed under the tree or the nuts simply gathered from the ground, discarding any which are moldy or have holes in the shells (an indication that a worm has gotten to the acorn first). When gathering always verify that the area is pesticide and pollution free, and be sure to have permission if you don't own the land where you happen to gather. Once the acorns have been gathered they should be spread out and allowed to dry in a well-ventilated area for a day or two. The acorns can then be shelled and any skin removed. At this point our ancestors would have ground the nuts into a course meal using rocks, but a food processor will do the job. The resulting meal must then be "leached" to remove the bitter tasting tannin. Leaching can be done in one of two ways - cold water leaching or hot water leaching. For our ancestors cold water leaching typically would have involved finding a slow moving stream and leaving the acorn meal to soak until the bitterness had washed out. Due to pollution problems this isn't advisable. Today the meal can be left to soak in a pot in the kitchen sink with a very slow drip. Depending on the acorns this may take a few days and end up using a great deal of water. Hot water leaching involves placing the acorn meal in a pot of water that is brought to a boil on the stove and then allowed to cool. The water will turn brown with the tannin that leaches from the acorn meal. Once cool the meal is tasted and the process repeated until all of the bitterness has been removed. After the acorn meal has been leached it can be placed on a baking sheet in a very slow oven to dry. While the meal is drying it should be periodically "stirred" to ensure uniform drying. You will then have acorn meal that can be saved for future use in many different ways including bread and muffins. Any acorn meal that develops a musty smell while being stored should be discarded as this is an indication it has become contaminated with aflatoxin - the byproduct of a mold common to peanuts. Further reading... Mother Earth News.
A Fall Field Guide to Nuts. Issue #113, September/October, 1988.
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