Detoxing and Prevention, for Optimum Health

[onawah]

(A long article, but well worth the read.)

Modern Agriculture Drives Hunger, Obesity and Disease While Simultaneously Threatening Food Chain and Worsening Water Crisis

By Dr. Mercola April 25, 2017
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...rid=1981965869

"Regenerative food, farming and land use can provide a solution to the health crisis, the water crisis, environmental degradation, climate change, rural poverty, hunger and war."
~ Ronnie Cummins, Founding Meeting of Regeneration International, June 9, 2015, Finca Luna Nueva, Costa Rica

If you'd walked up to a farmer 100 years ago and told him farming would one day threaten life on Earth, he probably would have laughed in your face, saying such a thing simply isn't possible.

Agriculture is necessary for food production, and therefore for life, the farmer would have said with firm conviction — and farming the land or raising cattle is not going to unduly harm anything or anyone.

Today, however, such an impossible scenario is precisely what we're facing. Virtually every growing environmental and health problem can be traced back to modern food production. This includes but is not limited to:

• Food insecurity and malnutrition amid mounting food waste
• Rising obesity and chronic disease rates despite growing health care outlays
• Diminishing fresh water supplies
• Toxic agricultural chemicals polluting air, soil and waterways, thereby threatening the entire food chain from top to bottom
• Disruption of normal climate and rainfall patterns

The good news is there are viable answers to all of these problems that do not merely scratch at the surface, and the answers hinge on the widespread implementation of regenerative agriculture and decentralized food distribution.

It's easy to forget that at one point, not so long ago, all food was organically grown in a way that supported the ecosystem and environment as a whole. This all changed in the 1940s when the Green Revolution took hold and industrial, chemical-dependent farming techniques quickly spread to become the norm.

Industrial Farming Has Proven Itself a Failed Experiment
Farming has sustained mankind for millennia. Industrial farming, on the other hand, has managed to create a series of unsustainable situations in less than 70 years, and evidence suggests we will not make it until the end of the century if we continue along the path of degenerative food and farming.

Topsoil destruction, erosion and desertification are exacerbated by tilling, monocropping and not using cover crops. Maria-Helena Semedo of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has warned that at the current rate of topsoil degradation, all the world's topsoil will be gone in less than 60 years.1

At that point, it'll be "game over" because without topsoil you cannot grow food no matter how many chemicals you add to it. Closely related problems are the loss of soil fertility and biodiversity, which is directly related to the loss of natural carbon in the soil.

An estimated 80 percent of soil carbon in heavily farmed areas has already been lost,2 due to destructive plowing, overgrazing and the use of soil-destructive, carbon-depleting chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Industrial monocropping has also led to the loss of diversity. Seventy-five percent of the world's crop varieties have gone the way of the dinosaurs in the last 100 years, and another 20 percent of all plants worldwide are threatened with extinction.3

Toxic contamination adds to the problem. According to studies by the Chinese government, 20 percent of arable land in China is now unusable due to pesticide contamination,4 and important crop pollinators such as butterfly and bee populations have collapsed, thanks to widespread pesticide application.5

Modern agriculture also promotes water waste through use of flood irrigation, destruction of soil quality and poor crop choices.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 80 percent of U.S. consumptive water (and more than 90 percent in many Western states) is used for agricultural purposes6 and, worldwide, groundwater is being used up at a faster rate than it can be replenished.

According to James Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the majority of our global groundwaters "are past sustainability tipping points,"7 which means it's only a matter of time until we run out of fresh water.

Without food or drinkable water, the end of civilization as we know it is pretty well-assured. The question is will enough people have the foresight to change course?

Industrial Food System Promotes Both Obesity and Malnourishment
The industrialization and centralization of food production was done to increase farmers' capacity to grow more food at a lower cost. Unfortunately, a core principle was lost in this efficiency equation — that of food quality and nutrient density.

Today, we have ample amounts of "good-looking" foods, thanks to genetic engineering and agricultural chemicals. What you don't see is the loss of nutrients. Tests reveal that the nutrient content of foods has dramatically declined since the introduction of mechanized farming in 1925.8

As just one example, to receive the same amount of iron you used to get from one apple in 1950, by 1998 you had to eat 26 apples; today you have to eat 36, and this is a direct consequence of industrial farming techniques and use of chemicals that destroy soil quality by killing essential microbes.

We now know that, just as the human gut microbiome plays integral roles in human health, so the soil microbiome influences nutrient uptake and plant health. Soil microbes even help regulate the invasion of pests.

It's not surprising then that as nutrient density declined and toxic exposures via food increased, obesity and chronic disease rates have dramatically risen — so much so that obesity now threatens to overtake hunger as the No. 1 global health concern.

Obesity Is Becoming Greater Health Concern Than Hunger
In 1950, an estimated 700 million people were starving; obesity affected approximately 100 million, primarily in wealthy nations. These statistics have changed dramatically over the past six decades as the industrialization of agriculture has become the norm.

By 2010, the world's hungry had grown to 800 million while the number of obese citizens ballooned to 500 million. Four years later, 641 million people were obese,9,10,11,12 and estimates suggest that by 2030, more than 1 billion people worldwide will fall into this category.

This would not be happening were it not for the adoption and spread of processed foods as dietary staples.

Along with excess body weight come a wide range of other health problems and associated health care costs. In the U.S., just eight obesity-related diseases account for 75 percent of health care costs.

These diseases include type 2 diabetes — which now affects nearly 1 in 11 adults worldwide13 — non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's.14 In fact, 1 in 5 American deaths is now associated with obesity.15

The ramifications of poor diet and toxic exposures from food are perhaps most notable in the U.S., where for the first time in two decades, life expectancy has actually declined.16,17,18

Remarkably, half of all Americans now struggle with some kind of chronic illness,19 and the cost of health care in the U.S. accounts for 17 percent of the gross domestic product.20 The direct and indirect annual cost of diseases attributed to obesity alone tops $1.4 trillion.21

All of these statistics tie back to our food supply, starting with how food is grown. On the whole, there's really no way to reverse these disease rates without addressing agriculture and food production. Our very lives depend on it.

Hunger Is the Result of Inadequate Food Distribution and Waste, Not Lack of Production
While the chemical technology industry claims we cannot feed a growing population without industrialization, chemicals and genetically engineered seeds, few facts support this ideology.

On the contrary, studies have repeatedly shown organic farming is more likely to succeed in feeding a population of 9 billion strong, especially during drought conditions.

A recent report by two U.N. experts — Hilal Elver, the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food and Baskut Tuncak, the special rapporteur on toxics — also firmly refutes the notion that pesticides are essential to ensure sufficient amounts of food for a growing world population.22

In fact, the report calls for a global treaty to phase out toxic chemicals and transition toward sustainable farming practices worldwide, to preserve and promote human and environmental health. According to Elver and Tuncak:23

"The assertion promoted by the agrochemical industry that pesticides are necessary to achieve food security is not only inaccurate, but dangerously misleading. In principle, there is adequate food to feed the world; inequitable production and distribution systems present major blockages that prevent those in need from accessing it …"

Food waste is another facet of this inequitable system. It's been estimated that one-third24 to one-half25 of all the edible food in the world — as much as 2 billion tons' worth26 — is simply thrown away each year. In 2010, 133 billion pounds of food were wasted at the retail and consumer levels in the U.S. alone, with two-thirds of it attributed to household food waste.

So, while 13 percent of American households struggle to obtain enough food,27 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes uneaten. This is a problem that simply cannot be solved through increased use of pesticides, GMOs, animal drugs and intensive confinement factory farms.

The fact that industrial farming and cheap food is not the answer becomes even more obvious when you consider that the poorest Americans actually have the highest rates of obesity and chronic disease.28 They're not suffering the effects of lack of food or starvation. They're suffering from obesity-related disorders resulting from cheap processed foods, devoid of much-needed nutrition — the only foods many of these people have access to and can afford.

Solving Obesity and Hunger by Sharing Fresh Surplus
While there are many solutions for reducing individual household waste, we really need to think bigger. We need to radically improve the supply channels between producers and consumers to ensure food gets equitably distributed, rather than thrown away somewhere along the way. We're not wanting for ideas here. It's just a matter of implementing them more widely.

For example, Ample Harvest has created a novel and effective food bank distribution system for fresh produce. Billions of pounds of fresh foods are in fact available, but the conventional food bank distribution system does not allow those foods to enter the system. Instead, all that fresh nutritious food is tossed into urban landfills.

Meanwhile, the poor end up eating mostly processed fare that promotes obesity and chronic disease. Ample Harvest connects farmers and home growers who have too much food with those who really need it by donating the produce directly to a local food pantry or soup kitchen. AmpleHarvest.org now has a database of nearly 8,000 participating food pantries across the U.S.

The system is very efficient, and associated costs are a mere fraction of other national food programs. It's also universal in that it can work in any community, large or small. And it works with both home growers and larger farms. This is just one example showing that food insecurity can be inexpensively and relatively easily solved. But to do so, we need to step outside of the conventional distribution channels and create new ones.

Regenerative Agriculture Is a Must for Food and Water Sustainability
In addition to destroying soil and denaturing our food, industrial agriculture is also draining aquifers and polluting waterways across the globe, thereby threatening human survival in more ways than one. The frightening reality is we're running out of drinkable water and poisoning what little is left.

One-third of the largest groundwater aquifers are already nearing depletion,29 with three of the most stressed aquifers being located in areas where political tensions run high as it is.30 To give you an idea of how quickly groundwater is being depleted, consider what's happening in the High Plains Aquifer (also known as the Ogallala) in the American Midwest.

Here, the water level has been dropping by an average of 6 feet per year, while the natural recharge rate is 1 inch or less.31 Once this aquifer is depleted — and many wells have already run dry in the area — 20 percent of the U.S. corn, wheat and cattle output will be lost due to lack of irrigation and water for the animals.

The average American will feel the effects of aquifer depletion directly as well, because with scarcity comes price hikes. According to a report32 from Michigan State University, published earlier this year, if water prices continue to rise at the current rate, five years from now nearly 36 percent of Americans may be unable to afford their monthly water bill.

Corporate Agribusiness Has Become the No. 1 Water Polluter
Precious water sources are also threatened by pollution from large-scale monocrop farms and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).33 According to a report34 by Environment America, corporate agribusiness is "one of the biggest threats to America's waterways." Tyson Foods Inc. was deemed among the worst, releasing 104.4 million pounds of toxic pollutants into waterways between 2010 and 2014.

Researchers have warned that many lakes around the world are now at grave risk from fertilizer runoff that feeds harmful blue-green algae (cyanobacteria),35,36 and once established, it's far more difficult to get rid of than previously thought. The answer, according to the authors of this study, is better land-use management that addresses fertilizer runoff. Dramatic reductions in fertilizer use are also recommended.

Indeed, the long-term solution to many of our water quality and water scarcity issues is to phase out the use of toxic pesticides, chemical fertilizers and soil additives, and to grow crops and raise food animals in such a way that the farm contributes to the overall health and balance of the environment rather than polluting it and creating a dysfunctional ecosystem.

Addressing Three Key Food Production Areas Can Help Solve Multiple Environmental Crises
Three key areas of food production that can help solve many of the environmental crises currently facing us are:

• Regenerative agriculture (food crops)
• Regenerative grazing (livestock)
• Restorative fishing (seafood)

As noted in my interviews with a number of sustainable farming pioneers and ecological experts over the past few years, the separation of livestock from crop farming is a significant part of the problem. This was supposedly done to increase efficiency and reduce costs, but the hidden costs of this segregation are quite enormous.

Our modern agricultural system, which focuses on monocropping and CAFOs as two separate food streams, puts more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the actual burning of fossil fuels, contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than all vehicles in the U.S. combined, turns farmland into desert and reduces organic matter in soil, thereby reducing rainfall and worsening droughts. We'll take a closer look at all of these issues in subsequent sections.

Industrial Agriculture Prevents Critical Carbon Sequestration
Carbon management — pulling carbon out of the air and sequestering it into the soil — is a critical aspect of environmental health and the growing of food. Scientists have also noted the importance of carbon sequestration for the reversal of climate change.37 Through their leaves, plants use sunlight (photosynthesis) to remove carbon dioxide from the air, converting it into a carbon fuel used to stimulate and promote their own growth.

Up to 40 percent of that carbon fuel also goes to the roots of the plant, where it's leaked out into the soil. There, it becomes food for soil microorganisms. So, the plant nourishes the soil as much as the soil nourishes the plant. As mentioned earlier, we've already lost up to 80 percent of the soil carbon in heavily farmed areas — a fact that really highlights the urgent need to improve carbon sequestration.38

A key strategy to sequester carbon in soil is to use cover crops. In other words, soil should never be left exposed, as without root systems holding the soil in place, soil erosion speeds up. Mixed grasses also nourish the soil microbiome, which need the plant interaction. Nature abhors monoculture. In 1 square foot of pristine prairie land, you'll find about 140 different plants, and this is the type of natural biodiversity regenerative farmers aim to mimic. As noted by Regeneration International:39

"Storing carbon in the soil and maintaining perennial living soil cover (trees, pasture, grazing animals …) brings a host of benefits, including: increased soil fertility and biological activity, improved wildlife and pollinator habitat, less vulnerability to disease, increased crop yield, increased drought and flood resilience and increased water-holding and filtration capacity."

Fertilizers Contribute to Greenhouse Gas Emissions in More Ways Than One
Scientists have also declared farming and fertilizers as the No. 1 cause of particulate matter air pollution in much of the U.S., China, Russia and Europe today, specifically the nitrogen component of fertilizers.40,41 Industrial food and farming also release dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

Interestingly, while fertilizer mining operations produce their share of greenhouse gases42 — yet another environmental hazard I've not touched on here, but have written about in previous articles — most of these emissions actually occur upon application. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, 1 out of every 100 kilos (220 pounds) of nitrogen fertilizer applied to farm land ends up in the atmosphere as nitrous oxide (N2O), an ozone-depleting greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2.43

In 2014, the amount of N2O created by nitrogen fertilizer spread on American farmland was equal to one-third of the N2O released by all cars and trucks in the U.S. More recent research suggests the real number may be three to five times higher than that.

Grazing Animals Are an Important Part of Regenerative Agriculture
By preventing carbon sequestration, industrial farming contributes to desertification — turning land into desert — which cannot support plant life and photosynthesis, thereby worsening atmospheric CO2 levels. According to Allan Savory, an African ecologist, dramatically increasing the number of grazing livestock is really the only thing that can successfully reverse both desertification and rising CO2.44,45

An article46 by Pure Advantage notes how "there is no current or envisioned technology that can simultaneously sequester carbon, restore biodiversity and feed people. But livestock can …" Indeed, Gabe Brown, a regenerative land management pioneer, discussed this in depth in our 2014 interview, covered in "How to Regenerate Soil Using Cover Crops and Regenerative Land Management."

As explained in Peter Byck's short film, "One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts," farm animals form symbiotic relationships where one species helps keep parasites from overwhelming another. It is the separation of crops and animals into two distinctly different farming processes that has led to animal waste becoming a massive source of toxic pollution rather than a valuable part of the ecological cycle.

The success of Will Harris' grass fed ranching operation in Georgia (detailed in my July, 2016 interview with him),47 and thousands of other ranches across the U.S. and the world, also testify to the regenerative power of grazing animals. The percentage of organic matter in soil is a good indicator of quality, and Harris has been able to increase organic matter in his soil from less than 0.5 percent to as much as 5 percent in a 20-year period.

Not only does increasing organic matter in soil and pastures produce higher-quality produce, meat and dairy, it also saves water in two ways: First, by retaining more rain water and reducing irrigation needs; and second, by encouraging rainfall and preventing extended droughts. In fact, satellite data reveals plant-soil evapotranspiration may exert a far greater influence on weather and rainfall patterns than previously thought.48

The more organic matter there is in the soil, the more moisture is captured and released back into the atmosphere through plant transpiration. Remarkably, for each 1 percent increase in organic matter, each acre of soil can retain another 20,000 gallons of water.

Raising organic soil matter by 1 percent in Oklahoma alone would allow the soil there to retain an additional 894 billion gallons more water after each rainfall of 1 inch or more! As noted by Beef Producer, which reported the satellite findings:49

"This is exciting because it strongly suggests grazing and farming that builds soil is not only directly beneficial to those practicing it for higher yields, lower inputs, more profit and more drought resiliency, it also appears it helps make more rain for everybody."

Land Rehabilitation Projects Confirm Even Large-Scale Environmental Devastation Can Be Reversed

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=8QUSIJ80n50

Based on the current state of affairs, it's easy to see the situation as hopeless. However, there is good news. Land rehabilitation projects — both by private farmers and larger government-sponsored endeavors such as the Chinese Loess Plateau regeneration project — unequivocally confirms that we can reverse even severe and large-scale environmental destruction.

The Loess Plateau was until recently one of the poorest regions of China, where centuries of agriculture had eroded once-fertile soils into a desert-like landscape, unable to support plant growth. Similar situations exist all over the world. The documentary above features soil scientist John D. Liu of the Environmental Education Media Project, who has followed the Loess Plateau regeneration project for over 15 years.

Today, the once barren landscape is again filled with thriving forests, and farmers are again producing abundant amounts of food. This just goes to show that, given a fair chance, the entire ecosystem can regenerate itself, and with the appropriate interventions, it can do so faster than would occur naturally. This, truly, is the beauty of regenerative agriculture. As so eloquently summarized by Tim LaSalle, CEO of the Rodale Institute:50

"Regenerative agriculture is an approach to food and farming systems that works with nature's rhythms in ways to feed our growing population, to regenerate topsoil, to enhance biodiversity and to ensure life now and long into the future. Specifically,regenerative agriculture regenerates or builds fertile topsoil, primarily through the practices that increase soil organic matter and soil carbon.

This essential soil nutrient not only aids in increasing soil biota diversity and health, but increases biodiversity both above and below the soil surface, while increasing water holding capacity, sequestering carbon thus drawing down climate damaging levels of CO, and improves soil structure to reverse civilization threatening human caused soil loss."

Restoring grasslands is of particular significance, as evidenced by researchers comparing the effect of naturally restored forest versus grassland on carbon sequestration in the Loess Plateau.51 According to the authors, "[N]aturally restored grassland would be a more effective vegetation type for [soil organic carbon] sequestration due to higher carbon input from roots …"

Regenerative Agriculture Builds Sustainable Economies Too
The good news doesn't end there. While profitability is commonly cited as a determining factor for why farmers "cannot" farm organically anymore, research refutes such scaremongering. One such study52,53 found organic farmers earn anywhere from 22 to 35 percent more than their industrial counterparts.

What's more, regenerative agriculture can also help create regenerative economies based on values and principles that go far beyond merely making money,54 thereby benefiting society in practical ways beside a cleaner, healthier environment and more nutritious, less toxic food.

In a 2015 article, John Fullerton, founder and president of Capital Institute, presented the organization's views on regenerative capitalism, which is built on universal principles of health and wholeness.

"We have identified eight key, interconnected principles that underlie systemic health," he writes. These eight principles, which he proposes be part of a regenerative economic system, include:

Right relationship: Economy based on the understanding that damage to any single part ripples outward to damage every other part of the system

Holistic wealth: The understanding that true wealth is more than just money. It can also be measured in wellbeing of the whole and broadly shared prosperity

Innovation, adaptation, responsiveness

Empowered participation

Seeking balance: "A regenerative economy seeks to balance: efficiency and resilience; collaboration and competition; diversity and coherence; and small, mediu and large organizations and needs.

It runs directly against the (short term) "optimize" ideology that is at the root of modern financial logic"

"Edge effect" abundance: "Creativity and abundance flourish synergistically at the "edges" of systems … For example, there is an abundance of interdependent life in salt marshes where a river meets the ocean …

At those edges the opportunities for innovation and cross-fertilization are the greatest"

Robust circulatory flow of money, information, resources, goods and services

Honoring community and place: "A regenerative economy nurtures healthy and resilient communities and regions, each one uniquely informed by the essence of its individual history and place"

How to Affect Change, Seven Days a Week
A growing number of home owners are now responding to the call for cleaner, healthier foods by converting their front and backyards into edible landscaping using organic and regenerative methods.

But even if you're not growing your own foods, you can still help steer the agricultural industry toward safer, more regenerative systems by supporting your local farmers and choosing fresh, local produce over "cheap" conventional varieties commonly sold in larger grocery chains. Remember to choose organic, grass fed beef, poultry and dairy, in addition to organic produce. If you live in the U.S., the following organizations can help you locate farm-fresh foods:

American Grassfed Association
The goal of the American Grassfed Association is to promote the grass fed industry through government relations, research, concept marketing and public education.

Their website also allows you to search for AGA approved producers certified according to strict standards that include being raised on a diet of 100 percent forage; raised on pasture and never confined to a feedlot; never treated with antibiotics or hormones; and born and raised on American family farms.
EatWild.com

EatWild.com provides lists of farmers known to produce raw dairy products as well as grass fed beef and other farm-fresh produce (although not all are certified organic). Here you can also find information about local farmers markets, as well as local stores and restaurants that sell grass fed products.
Weston A. Price Foundation

Weston A. Price has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase organic foods, including grass fed raw dairy products like milk and butter.
Grassfed Exchange

The Grassfed Exchange has a listing of producers selling organic and grass fed meats across the U.S.
Local Harvest

This website will help you find farmers markets, family farms and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass fed meats and many other goodies.
Farmers Markets

A national listing of farmers markets.
Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food From Healthy Animals

The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, hotels and online outlets in the United States and Canada.
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)

CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.
FoodRoutes

The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs and markets near you.
The Cornucopia Institute

The Cornucopia Institute maintains web-based tools rating all certified organic brands of eggs, dairy products and other commodities, based on their ethical sourcing and authentic farming practices separating CAFO "organic" production from authentic organic practices.
RealMilk.com

If you're still unsure of where to find raw milk, check out Raw-Milk-Facts.com and RealMilk.com. They can tell you what the status is for legality in your state, and provide a listing of raw dairy farms in your area.

The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund55 also provides a state-by-state review of raw milk laws.56 California residents can also find raw milk retailers using the store locator available at www.OrganicPastures.com.

For more information on Regenerative food, farming and land use, visit the website of Regeneration International.http://regenerationinternational.org/[/QUOTE]

[onawah]

The Cancer Revolution: A Helpful Program to Reverse and Prevent Cancer
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...rid=1997151874

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xzwf6VmTV0o

Story at-a-glance -

Optimizing your body’s ability to burn fat as its primary fuel by eating a ketogenic diet and/or fasting is a foundational aspect of cancer prevention and treatment. Detoxification is another crucial component
Effective detoxification strategies include using a far-infrared sauna coupled with a near-infrared light, organic coffee enemas and taking regular baths with Epsom salt, baking soda and clay
Several lab tests can now offer important information about your cancer risk, including blood tests that check for inflammation and insulin resistance, which are precursors and hallmarks of all disease

By Dr. Mercola

Half of all men and one-third of all women will experience cancer at some point in their lives. Fortunately, there are ways to significantly reduce your risk, as detailed in Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy’s book, “The Cancer Revolution: A Groundbreaking Program to Reverse and Prevent Cancer.” Connealy’s interest in cancer prevention and treatment grew out of her own, long personal health journey.

“[When] my mother was pregnant with me … she started bleeding. The doctor gave her a drug called DES (diethylstilbestrol). That was given to women in the ‘50s to prevent miscarriage. Approximately 16 years later, my parents received a letter … [saying] ‘This drug causes cancer, hormone problems and anatomical problems. You need to go to University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and get a full workup.’

At 16 years of age, I started getting pap smears, colposcopies and biopsies … [T]hey told me … I would need to be followed continuously for this problem. I went to University of Texas School of Public Health and did my Masters on DES … [learning] all about the complications …

I had many of them. Today, I still have many of them. My whole mission is [to avoid] cancer, because I was so high risk. Luckily, in my journey … I met practitioners who’d had cancer themselves and fought it and won. I always tell people, ‘You learn from those who have already been down that path and have become masters of healing themselves.’”

Key Anticancer Strategies: Diet and Detoxification
Optimizing your body’s ability to burn fat as its primary fuel by eating a ketogenic diet and/or fasting is a foundational aspect of cancer prevention and treatment. Detoxification is another crucial component. Connealy’s book contains a chapter focused on detoxification, as most of us are inundated with thousands of toxins each day, many of which have carcinogenic potential.

“Water, air and soil [are contaminated],” she says. “If you’re going to live in today’s world … the No. 1 thing you need to do is detox on a regular basis, somehow, some way. A lot of it you can do at home all by yourself …

We do heavy metal testing and toxic load testing for all patients … [Phthalates are] the next big thing. Phthalates are everywhere … [and] we know they cause cancer, heart disease and diabetes … Then [there are] the heavy metals — mercury, cadmium, lead, oxides, aluminum and arsenic.

Then [there’s] the benzene compounds … indoor air pollution, outdoor air pollution … toxic teeth. People don’t realize their teeth are connected to the rest of their body. There are toxins being produced by different infections and/or root canals …

Then you have [water pollution] … Even if you’re not taking a prescription by your doctor, you’re getting it in the water. Whether it’s blood pressure pills, chemo, birth control pills … it’s in the water supply. You’re getting it regardless of getting water purification.”

Simple Detox Strategies
When it comes to water filtration, remember that filtering your shower water may be more important than filtering your drinking water, as you actually absorb three times more chemicals through your skin than when taken orally. There are many ways to eliminate toxins. One of the simplest and perhaps safest ways is to use a low EMF, far-infrared sauna coupled with a near-infrared light, as your skin is a major organ of elimination.

Connealy has had a sauna in her office for nearly 18 years. “I tell people the single greatest investment they can make … is investing in an infrared sauna,” she says. Not only is it useful for detoxification, but cancer cells also do not fare well in extreme heat.

Adding ozone to your sauna is another potent anti-cancer strategy. Hooking the ozone generator up to an oxygen generator is ideal. Place the ozone generator in the sauna with a small fan to blow away the excess. Connealy also recommends using organic coffee enemas and taking regular baths with Epsom salt, baking soda and clay.

“The medicinal effects of Epsom salt are phenomenal,” she says. “It relaxes the nervous system. Magnesium’s involved in 400 chemical reactions in your body. It relaxes the entire muscular system. Then baking soda … It helps oxygenate. It’s antimicrobial. It alkalinizes the body. These are simple little things that we can do in the comfort of our home.”

She also uses zeolite as a daily detox, along with 10 ounces of fresh green juice each morning and vitamin C, the latter of which has potent antimicrobial, anti-chemical, anticancer, alkalinizing effects. “People sometimes say they can’t afford some of these things,” Connealy says. “Yes, you can afford it. You’ve got to put your priorities in place. Health is your most important asset.”

On Cancer Screening
Another section of her book addresses cancer screenings. While detecting cancer early is important, many screening tests have been shown to actually do more harm than good, necessitating taking both pros and cons into consideration.

For women, the most commonly used cancer tests are the Pap smear, mammograms and colonoscopies. While Connealy believes the Pap smear is a good tool, she’s less enthusiastic about mammograms, calling them “an inadequate, incomplete tool of investigation for cancer, especially if you have dense breasts.” In her practice, she recommends ultrasound and thermography instead. She explains her choice, saying:

“The standard of care is for a patient to get mammography. That’s what I’m supposed to tell patients. But I tell people, ‘Look. You’re not going to get all the answers.’ I’ve been doing thermography for a long time. I find most of the breast cancer on thermography, as opposed to mammography.”

For men, common cancer screens include the PSA test, which has been shown to be highly inaccurate and has the potential to cause physical harm.

Blood Tests That Help Reveal Your Cancer Risk
Rather than rely on these conventional cancer tests, Connealy uses standard blood tests to check for things like inflammation and insulin resistance, both of which are precursors and hallmarks of all disease, including cancer. One such test is the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) test, which is a non-specific marker for inflammation. “It doesn’t tell me where the cancer is, but it tells me something is brewing,” she says. “We want to see C-reactive protein less than 1.”

The other blood test she uses on all patients is the hemoglobin A1C test, which reflects your blood sugar over the past 90 days. The reason for this test is because high blood sugar is a cancer-friendly environment. “Just those two tests … will tell us that you have an environment for cancer,” Connealy says. Other valuable blood tests Connealy routinely uses include:

• A cancer profile test (fasting blood and urine) from American Metabolic Laboratories, which checks for:

◦ Quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)

◦ Phosphohexose isomerase (PHI), the enzyme of hypoxia or low oxygen, which allows cancer to thrive

◦ Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA), a stress hormone

◦ Thyroid hormones, as low thyroid levels may predispose you to cancer

◦ Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), a liver marker and a sensitive screening tool for inflammation

◦ Arachidonyl-2-chloroethylamide (ACEA), a non-specific marker for many cancers

• ONCOblot, which can identify up to 33 tissue types of cancer and has a 95 percent accuracy rate. It measures the ENOX2 protein

• Circulating tumor cell test by the Research Genetic Cancer Center (RGCC). The vast majority of people die not from the tumor itself but from circulating cancer stem cells, which allow the cancer to metastasize and spread throughout the body. This test is used after cancer treatment, to determine whether or not you might need to continue an anti-cancer program. Connealy explains:

“Even if you have surgery, chemo or radiation, it will not eradicate or eliminate circulating tumor cells … The biggest cause of reoccurrence is the circulating tumor cells and stem cells … Anybody who’s had cancer must have their circulating tumor cells [or] stem cells checked quantitatively.

RGCC is not the only lab that does it, but … they’re in 13 countries [and] have the highest laboratory international certification you can have. It is, to me, probably the most accurate …”

Cancer Prevention Is for Everyone
Connealy explains her core strategy when working with patients in her family practice:

“I try to … figure out where all their imbalances are, whether there are nutritional deficiencies, toxic substances, heavy metals, do they have the right antioxidants, are their mitochondria working or not working? Then I do all the hormone testing. I also look for cancer, because we all have to embrace this prevention …

Today we have this incredible laboratory testing … I do the nutritional testing, and it’s not just nutritional checking. It checks their gut. It checks their antioxidants. It checks everything. You know what you’re dealing with more specifically. Believe it or not, the insurance companies pay for all these tests. It’s not like it’s financially unaffordable because all the insurance companies pretty much pay for all of these, whether it’s blood testing and/or nutritional testing.”

She also employs nutritional supplements known to improve mitochondrial function and/or aid in the elimination of cancer stem cells. There are approximately 50 different agents with a known effect on circulating tumor cells and stem cells, including vitamin C, vitamin D, curcumin and agaricus, a type of mushroom.

In regard to vitamin C — which recently made headlines when researchers found intravenous (IV) vitamin C doubles the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation treatment — the vitamin works by producing hydrogen peroxide. This oxidative stress is what kills the cancer cells, while healthy cells have several pathways by which they can eliminate the hydrogen peroxide.

Combining IV vitamin C with nutritional ketosis and fasting for 14 to 48 hours before and during chemo has been shown to produce even more remarkable results, as detailed in a recent interview with Dr. Abdul Slocum.

In certain cases, Connealy will add vitamin K3 to her vitamin C protocol. K3 is a synthetic form of vitamin K2, designed for tumors that have high catalase. In addition to these natural agents, most of which are rotated, not given all at once, she uses supportive oligonucleotide technique (SOT) therapy.

SOT therapy involves taking circulating tumor cells and reverse engineering a messenger RNA (mRNA) to disrupt the DNA of the circulating tumor cells. That mRNA is then given back intravenously, and has a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week targeted killing effect that lasts for about four and a half months. While it cannot be used for masses (tumors), it attacks the circulating tumor cells, which are responsible for 95 percent of metastasis and death.

Treatment Alternatives: Cryotherapy, IPT Chemo and Hyperthermic Therapy
While surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are a standard part of conventional cancer care, Connealy does things a bit differently. For example, she recently started working with an interventional radiologist who does cryotherapy, which is where you freeze the cells.

“I had a patient with a very large grapefruit-sized tumor on her right chest wall, a neuroendocrine tumor. She had breast cancer on her left breast and a neuroendocrine tumor [on her right]. She’d already been treated by other doctors [who] said they could not do anything. She came to see me. The neuroendocrine tumor is now gone from the cryo procedure. The left [tumor] is partially gone …

If it’s something small that we can approach, I will recommend cryo because surgery is a very intrusive procedure … In some patients, you do everything [to] get rid of the tumor burden because the tumor burden is immunosuppressant. Patients may need chemo. If I have patients who have cancer in multiple locations in the body, I will recommend IPT chemo. That’s insulin potentiation therapy with chemo.

IPT chemo is using a low-dose chemo after I do the sensitivity testing with RGCC. It will tell me the ideal agents for these particular patients. We will make a cocktail. We give insulin. It lowers the blood sugar to a therapeutic moment. We give the chemo drugs … and then we drop a bag of sugar.

I also got a machine from France called iTherm. I’ve been using the iTherm machine on some cancers. When you get your RGCC testing, it tells me whether your cells respond to heat shock protein. It will tell me the three different proteins and the sensitivity.

Specific cancers, like breast cancer, [are] very easy to treat with the hyperthermia machine. We trained with the doctor in France who only allows integrative treatments if you have stage 3 or 4 cancer. He spent a lot of time with us in conference calls, elaborating us on this particular treatment protocol.

I will combine that with mistletoe, an immune-modulating natural substance. We combine all those things together. Because the first thing we have to do if we have lots of tumor burden is to … shrink it down to a manageable problem. Then if it’s easily accessible with a cryo or a surgical procedure, we will do that. I’ve had cases where a breast tumor of 9 centimeters with low-dose chemo and hypodermic mistletoe goes down to nothing in one month.”

More Information
Connealy has done a great job of compiling a variety of valuable resources into her book, “The Cancer Revolution.” If you or someone you love is faced with cancer, it’s definitely worth reading. To learn more about Connealy’s clinic and to purchase her book, please visit www.connealymd.com/.

As for finding an open-minded oncologist or doctor willing to implement these kinds of integrative methods, an organization called The Best Answer for Cancer is a helpful resource that lists qualified physicians. You can find more information at www.bestanswerforcancer.org. It's a hybrid non-profit that services both integrative physicians and patients with cancer and other chronic disease.

I also recently interviewed Dr. William LaValley, who has created state-of-the-art databases of studies covering the molecular biology of cancer, and the anti-cancer benefits of nutritional supplements and repurposed drugs (drugs used off-label). Keep your eye out for that important interview, which should be published shortly. LaValley also trains and collaborates with oncologists and physicians to treat cancer patients using evidence-based molecularly targeted treatments.

You can find more information on his website, lavalleymdprotocols.com. This is yet another resource both you and your doctor can peruse. Last but not least, while integrative cancer treatments are showing great promise, please remember that your day-to-day choices play a paramount role in your treatment success. As noted by Connealy:

“Optimize your eating, your detox, your hormones, inflammatory nutrient levels. Don’t go spend $10,000 or $20,000 on a procedure in a dirty body. Get your body prepared. I prepare my patients two weeks before they even have a surgical procedure. Don’t go have surgery when you don’t have good nutrient levels, when you don’t have a good immune system, when you have inflammation. Get the body ready. The outcome would be outrageously improved.”

One of the things virtually all of us can do is to make food choices that allow your body to burn fat as its primary fuel. I describe a modified ketogenic cyclical diet that accomplishes this in my book “Fat for Fuel.” Even if you’re choosing conventional therapy, nutritional ketosis can be tremendously helpful.

[onawah]

How HRT Got a Bad Name
http://forbiddenknowledgetv.net/how-hrt-got-a-bad-name/

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=eneFOqMU_9c

"

The correct balance of hormones is invaluable to a healthy body, while an improper balance of estrogens, in particular can be harmful to health in both men and women. This interview starts with a discussion of the decline in levels of two beneficial estrogens in women over 50, with the concomitant rise of one malicious estrogen and the resulting adverse health effects which can be reversed with new, noninvasive plant-based treatments.

To greatly simplify the complex biochemistry involved, the liver is a site for estrogen metabolism. The estrogens are taken up by the liver, where they are converted into different metabolites. The major oxidative routes of estrone and estradiol are 2- and 4-hydroxylation but 16-hydroxylation is not uncommon, especially as a byproduct of toxic xenoestrogens.

There are around 100 estrogens, if one counts all of the metabolites and malevolent xenoestrogens found in the modern environment but the main three estrogens are:

Estrone (E1)
Estradiol (E2)
Estriol (E3)
Generally, Estrone (E1) and especially its 18-hydroxy metabolite have been found to be an underlying cause of heart attacks, strokes and cancers, in both men and women. Conversely, Estradiol (E2) and Estriol (E3) are known to decrease the incidence of heart attacks, strokes and cancers.

Beneficial estrogens represent 80% of those found in the bodies of young healthy women but as they get into their 50s, the levels of these beneficial estrogens plummet to 10% and the harmful E1 Estrone increases to 80%, increasing women’s risk of disease.

Similarly, men in their 50s have by that time accumulated higher levels of unhealthy estrogens in their bodies than have ovulating females in their early 20s!

The main cause of this increase in the E1 estrogen and its malevolent metabolites in both middle aged men and women has to do with diet and lifestyle. Even oil-free vegans are exposed to the ubiquitous pesticide glyphosate, a compound used in the Vietnam War Era chemical weapon, Agent Orange. The best answer is to strive to eat organic.

Surviving and thriving in this quite frankly genocidal environment is a challenge, requiring that we become educated and take matters into our own hands. At the same time, breakthroughs in anti-aging medicine are coming online, which are giving hope to many, not just for increasing longevity but for improving the quality of life during this extended period of life.

There are new methods of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for men and women which use bioidentical hormones isolated from wild yams, which are exact molecular replicas of the hormones naturally produced by the human body. Still, because even bioidentical testosterone can be aromatized into estrogen, with its unwanted effects, intervention with bioidentical hormones should be a last consideration, in favor of using organic, plant-based compounds, which aid in the liver’s metabolism of the accumulated malicious estrogens and to promote hormonal balance. Such phytonutrient compounds, like Estro Block can be found at DetoxEstrogen.com. Take the detailed Hormone Quiz, to discover where you may have imbalances and their suggested plant-based treatments.

Hormone Replacement Therapy was given a very bad name, due to the appalling ravages of the drug Premarin, widely prescribed to treat the discomforts associated with menopause. The trial which got this drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on a study of 16,000 women.

Premarin is derived from mare’s urine and the compound is not bio-identical to any human estrogens. It is foreign but it is “recognized” by the body as the malicious E1 Estrone. (Premarin’s website is basically an advertisement to stay away from that drug). Even worse, Premarin has most often been prescribed to be taken with a form of progesterone called progestin, a hormone which, like E1 has ALSO been found to be associated with an increase of heart attacks, strokes and cancers – by 5X-8X!

The choice of the wrong hormones for HRT in the Premarin protocol has resulted in thousands of cancer cases. Premarin may have been a factor in my mother’s cancer death.

In 2010, these new yam-derived bioidentical hormones were studied in France with 88,000 women, using E2 and E3 transdermally. A cream applied to the skin is absorbed, bypassing the liver and thus avoiding the creation of toxic metabolites. These were used in conjunction with bio-identical progesterone – as opposed to the malicious progestin. This French study showed a decrease in the incidence of breast cancer within the group.

In other words, Dr. Pati says that when healthy levels of bio-identical or molecularly-identical hormones are restored to the bodies of post-menopausal women, this has been found to be protective against disease.

Dr. Pati says that it is not necessary to replace E2 and E3 to reproductive levels. Levels that have been shown to be protective to bone mass and to the heart are sufficient and she says that dosages can be easily calculated by urinalysis of telopeptides being excreted, as these correspond directly to bone loss.

However, the least invasive way to manage your hormonal imbalances resulting from bad food, water, air, etc. is not through HRT but though balancing your hormones, with the consumption of specifically-formulated organic phytonutrient compounds, which metabolize the bad forms of estrogen into the more beneficial forms and which do not suppress testosterone.

[onawah]

“Three Drops Under Your Tongue and You’re Ready To Go…
”Why I Supported Scott Gottlieb For FDA Head…
The Anti-Vax Community Had Reservations About Scott – But I Knew Something Others Did Not…"
Opinion by “Deplorable” Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
5/17/17

( I don't want to be a pessimist, but I think Bolen may be overly optimistic about this. Let's hope not....)

\And now that he has been APPROVED by Congress I am going to tell you what that is…

US Health Care cannot be changed by just shifting HOW it’s paid for. We need to change WHAT we are paying for. A Big Pharma/vaccine dominated system is NOT in our best interests.

Americans, under ObamaCare, are/were paying for a system that offered junk health care at a high price. But, we are fixing THAT right now.

We are heading for a much better “Patient Centered“ system – and here at the BolenReport, we will tell you where it is going to end up.

To get there we have to remove Big Pharma’s influence over our “Administrative Structure” – period. And that effort is turning out to be far easier than we thought.

You can hear the shrill screech/screaming from Big Pharma’s mainstream media toadies.

I, for one, want to turn up the heat. Scott Gottlieb’s approval for FDA head did just that. We are going to make Big Pharma into Little Pharma.

So, listen to this…

Scott Gottlieb is NOT Big Pharma’s friend. The story below will explain why Scott is/was THE LAST PERSON Pharma should want as FDA head – and why the cutting-edge, and anti-vax community DEFINITELY WANTED him. And now we have him in place.

For years, in my Crisis Management role, I attended cutting-edge health care conventions all over the United States. I spoke at many. During one of those experiences I ended up, at about 10:00PM, in a Seattle-area Hotel Bar with several Bio-Physicists, sharing our second pitcher of the local brewery’s Draft Beer. The conversations were getting much better, freer, so to speak, when another guy (also a Bio-Physicist) drifted in trailing his suitcase. He was a friend of the guy sitting across from me.

The new guy was offered a glass, but declined, saying he’d see us in the morning. But before he left he asked his sitting friend “Hey, the other day in the lab. How’d that come out?”

The sitting guy chuckled and said: “Three drops under your tongue and you’re ready to go…”

Do I have your attention yet?

Most people have never heard a story like this about health care – but it is all very true – and a complete nightmare for Big Pharma. And the FDA has been trying desperately, and not completely successfully, to keep the lid on this.

I told this story back on September 28th, 2005 on George Noory’s Coast-to-Coast radio show. So many people got on my website the next few days, my server was overloaded and shut down. I had close to nineteen thousand new subscribers sign up for my newsletter. The story included here was probably the primary reason for all of the attention.

“Three drops under your tongue and you’re ready to go…?”

What does that mean? You are about to be introduced to the world of electronic (energy) medicine – right out of Star Trek – and very, very real, and very, very, scary to Big Pharma.



Remember all of those scenes in Star Trek where the doctor “Bones” waved what looked like a TV remote control over someone laying on an examining table and said “Yup, he’s got cancer, tuberculosis, AIDs, lung disease, athletes’ foot, hoof-and-mouth-disease, and malaria. Don’t worry though Captain, we’ll have him fine by morning.”

None of that was so far-fetched. It is VERY REAL.

Here is the rest of the story…

The two late-sixties in age, Bio-Physicists in the story, and their wives, had been long-time friends and lived near each other. The guys played golf together. When one of them dropped by the other’s lab, the week before, he had been returning from an annual physical where his doctor had given him a sample six-pack of Viagra on a foil card that fit in his shirt pocket. He pulled it out and showed it to his friend, who said “Should I call your wife and warn her?” To which the other replied “Nope, let it be a surprise…”

The lab guy then said to his friend “before you, go pop one of those out of there and drop it into this little paper cup (like for ketchup), and let me put it on my machine.” Having put the cup, with pill, on one capacitor plate of his machine, he put a dropper bottle of clear water on the other capacitor plate – and turned the machine on.

What he was doing was making an electronic copy of the Viagra pill and copying its frequency into the water in the bottle.

Remember the original question?

“Hey, the other day in the lab. How’d that come out?”

And the answer was:

“Three drops under your tongue and you’re ready to go…”

Now, I bet, I REALLY have your attention…

And now you see why I got close to nineteen thousand new subscribers after my interview on George Noory’s show.

What actually happened on that Bio-Physicist’s machine?

Did he really make a copy of a Viagra pill? Nope – there were three hundred droplets in that bottle, so, if “three drops under your tongue” makes you “ready to go,” then he made one hundred Viagra pills…

A Viagra pill sells, commercially, for about ten bucks…

Are you sitting on the edge of your chair?

You should be…

Can you see the possibilities?

So, what does this have to do with Scott Gottlieb?

Before I take you behind the scenes with Scott Gottlieb I need to show you something that will lay the groundwork for what I am about to show you about Scott Gottlieb. Watch the three (3) minute video about “Electro-Dermal Screening” just below.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=zGVTbvRtxKc

Get the idea? Never heard of this before? Of course not – it is suppressed. Does it work? Very much so.

This whole idea of using electricity for health issues has been around for a very long time and includes the work of some very well known scientists…

Nikola Tesla for instance, way back in the early 1900s, had invented a “violet ray.” Today we see hundred of uses for later devices using light for treatment.

Royal Raymond Rife, in the 1930s did significant work, and was disgraced by the allopaths who attacked him.

Reinhold Voll, in the early 1900s, invented what became “electrodermal screening.”

Bob Beck – The Beck Protocol was developed gradually from 1991 to 1997. It is a bioelectric, natural health protocol designed to help the body heal itself. The first step is known as micropulsing, blood electrification or microcurrent therapy. The second step is magnetic pulsing, the third is drinking ionic colloidal silver and the fourth part is drinking ozonated water. The Beck Protocol appears to have a positive effect on the immune system, at a very basic level, to help our bodies with a wide variety of health challenges.

Hulda Regher Clark PhD – invented a simple “zapper” which generated a positive square wave. I wrote a whole series of articles about her.

The United States Air Force – did significant work in this area.

It is all VERY REAL. So, why don’t you hear more about it? Why isn’t your doctor using it?

Because the FDA attacks its devotees more than anyone else in health care.

Why?

Think about it. The ability to diagnose quickly, without lab tests, plus the ability to treat the problem immediately.

The death of the pharmaceutical industry.

So, where does Scott Gottlieb fit in?


Nope – not this one.
Thought you’d never ask.

It had to happen sooner than later.

The people and the technology were right there.

It was inevitable.

You could say “it is time…” and you’d be right.

Apple….

This one…
No, not the one that grows on the tree. The one that invented the modern computer – Apple, as in : Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Way
Apple Watch…
More specifically – the Apple Watch…

Not the one for sale right now – the one they have in development – that they DO NOT want to have to run through the FDA…

Ah, We’re finally there…

Let me show you a photo of an Apple Watch in Japan – one that does not, nor have to go through, US FDA inspection.


A woman uses Apple Watch that is on display at an electronics store in Omotasando in Tokyo April 24, 2015. (REUTERS/Thomas Peter)


And there is much more coming…

Let me quote from a December 9th, 2015 article in Fox News (Tech),and you’ll began to get the idea.

Ready?

“A former Food and Drug Administraton official contends the agency’s oversight is getting in the way of Apple’s ability to develop medical products on its iPhone and Apple Watch.

In a post this month on American Enterprise Institute website, Dr. Scott Gottlieb argues that the company has worked to avoid FDA oversight, limiting the potential of its health-related offerings.

“As Apple advances the medical promise of its watch and smartphones, it has also made clear that its foremost aim is to steer clear of Food and Drug Administration regulation,” Gottlieb wrote. “Many assert that this imperative has rendered the health features in its sensor-laden watch underwhelming.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook alluded to the FDA regulations recently in an interview with The Telegraph, where he acknowledged that the company doesn’t “want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration process.”

“I wouldn’t mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long,” he said.

The FDA put out guidance earlier this year aimed at detailing what types of digital tech would be subject to review. As a result, Gottlieb claims that many app developers will have to come to the FDA first before getting too far.

“More than likely, FDA will give its usual advice that most of the complex questions will be ‘review issues’ that the agency will consider later,” Gottlieb wrote. “This ‘we’ll know when we see it’ approach to regulation leaves innovators in perpetual limbo. It’s a formula for scaring away digital entrepreneurs, who can easily plumb their programming skills in other areas of commerce.”

However, Gottlieb said the Guidance also covers apps that store or analyze patient-specific medical data.

“FDA has said it doesn’t intend to regulate ‘general wellness’ apps and mobile tech, like fitness and calorie trackers. But if these platforms make disease-specific claims, FDA wants to review them. When does an app cross that line?” Gottlieb wrote. “Any time it does something smart. Envision a nutrition app that counts your calories and tracks how your diet might raise or lower your risk for diabetes, or cause blood sugar surges. Or an app that helps correlate your symptoms with a list of probable causes.”

The article that Scott Gottlieb wrote for AEI was called:

“Why Apple dumbs down your SmartPhone…”

The description of the article says:

“Dr. Gottlieb writes a compelling case in support of a largely hands-off regulatory approach to innovative apps that allow individuals to consume information that ultimately will help to improve public health. The regs should be brought into the 21st century to provide some oversight if needed.”

The Apple SmartPhone uses the exact same electronic technology as the Bio-Physicists‘ copying machine and an Electro-dermal screening device.

So, I want to repeat the review of Scott Gottlieb’s take on electronics in medicine. Read it again…

“Dr. Gottlieb writes a compelling case in support of a largely hands-off regulatory approach to innovative apps that allow individuals to consume information that ultimately will help to improve public health. The regs should be brought into the 21st century to provide some oversight if needed.”

Medical electronics are a direct competitor to Big Pharma – and now they will be mostly subject to a hands-off approach.

We cannot change US health care (ObamaCare) by just changing how we pay for it. We need to change what we are paying for.

F**k vaccines. F**k prescription drugs. We are about to go full-on-Star-Trek…

And wait until you see who Trump is going to have head the CDC.

We are almost there….

No wonder Big Pharma is making their media slaves shreik at Trump even louder…

Sell your pharmaceutical company stock….

Stay tuned…

Opinion by “Deplorable” Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen

[onawah]

Also see: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...=1#post1152753
...about gut health, which is most important.

[onawah]

I'm bumping the article here:
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...=1#post1153572
(2 up, just above)
which looks like it could be significant news.

[onawah]

Curcumin — A Novel Treatment Alternative for Depression
May 18, 2017
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...rid=2010919245

Story at-a-glance -

Curcumin may be helpful against depression, especially atypical depression. No significant difference in efficacy between high and low dosages were found
Two active components in saffron, crocin and safranal, also have antidepressant effects, and at least three studies have found saffron is as effective as generic Prozac
One of the mechanisms behind curcumin’s beneficial impact on depression appears to be its ability to tame the flames of inflammation, which is now thought to be a foundational cause of depression
5 Ways Grains Destroy Your Skin
Are You Sleep Deprived? A Simple Test
By Dr. Mercola

Curcumin, the active ingredient in the Indian spice turmeric, is a polyphenol with over 160 potentially therapeutic activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects.1

Importantly, it has the ability to cross your blood-brain barrier and exhibits potent neuroprotective properties, suggesting it may be useful for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Recent research also suggests it may be helpful against depression.

Remember, though, that curcumin is very poorly absorbed, so if you want to use it therapeutically, make sure you use a supplement that is optimized for maximum absorption; otherwise you won't get the results described below. Many believe that using black pepper helps. And while it does, it is only a marginal increase.

Curcumin Helps Relieve Depressive Symptoms
According to a meta-analysis2 of six short-term, placebo-controlled clinical trials, curcumin "appears to be safe, well-tolerated and efficacious among depressed patients," and could serve as a "novel antidepressant." Three of the trials also reported significant anti-anxiety effects.

Another recent study3,4 evaluating curcumin's effect on depression was done in Australia. A total of 123 people diagnosed with major depressive disorder were included in the double-blind, randomized study, receiving one of four treatments for 12 weeks:

Placebo
Low-dose (250 mg) curcumin extract
High-dose (500 mg) curcumin extract
Low-dose curcumin extract with 15 mg of saffron
Compared to placebo, all three treatment groups experienced improvement in their symptoms. Curcumin was particularly effective for those with atypical depression. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in efficacy between high and low dosages. According to the authors:

"These findings suggest that there was insufficient power in the study to detect group differences, or that there was a ceiling antidepressant effect of these natural spices. This ceiling may have been achieved with the administration of the low-dose curcumin alone. The inclusion of a stand-alone saffron condition would be desirable in future studies."

Saffron Also Has Antidepressant Effects
Indeed, saffron may actually have antidepressant effects in its own right. Other studies have shown two of its active components, crocin and safranal, have antidepressant effects.5

In one study,6 depressed patients taking 30 mg of Crocus sativus (saffron) each day for eight weeks experienced the same amount of relief as those taking 20 mg of fluoxetine (generic Prozac). Two additional studies7,8 have confirmed saffron has an effectiveness equal to that of fluoxetine.

Curcumin May Benefit Many Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Another scientific review9 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, which assessed curcumin's beneficial effect on depression and other psychiatric disorders, noted that:

"[C]urcumin can influence an array of biological activities. Many of these, such as its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective and monoaminergic effects are dysregulated in several neuropsychiatric disorders …

[I]n vitro, animal and human studies investigating … curcumin as a treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder … and autism are reviewed … It is concluded that curcumin is a promising, natural agent for many of these conditions …"

One of the mechanisms behind curcumin's beneficial impact on neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression appears to be its ability to tame the flames of inflammation, which can wreak havoc on your psychiatric health.

Gastrointestinal Inflammation Raises Depression Risk
Previous research10 suggests gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation in particular may play a critical role in the development of depression, as depression is often found alongside GI inflammation and/or autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a hallmark of and significant contributing factor to all of these conditions, leading researchers to suggest "depression may be a neuropsychiatric manifestation of a chronic inflammatory syndrome." The study of these connections is known as psychoneuroimmunology, i.e., the impact of inflammation on behavior. As noted in a 2012 study:11

"Elevated biomarkers of inflammation … have been found in depressed patients, and administration of inflammatory stimuli has been associated with the development of depressive symptoms.

Data also have demonstrated that inflammatory cytokines can interact with multiple pathways known to be involved in the development of depression, including monoamine metabolism, neuroendocrine function, synaptic plasticity and neurocircuits relevant to mood regulation …

Psychosocial stress, diet, obesity, a leaky gut and an imbalance between regulatory and pro-inflammatory T cells also contribute to inflammation and may serve as a focus for preventative strategies relevant to both the development of depression and its recurrence."

Controlling Inflammation Is Best Done Through Lifestyle Changes
According to Dr. Hyla Cass,12 whom I've interviewed on this topic, approximately one-third of depressed patients have high levels of inflammation, and anti-inflammatory drugs have actually been shown to favorably alter neurochemical pathways involved in depression.13

The arthritis drug sirukumab is currently being tested on depressed patients. GlaxoSmithKline and others are also working on developing anti-inflammatory drugs targeting depression. The problem with this approach is that most drugs have side effects — sometimes terminal, as the 60,000 who died from the anti-inflammatory Vioxx. Fortunately, you don't need drugs to combat inflammation.

One of the most effective ways to quell inflammation is to eat a cyclical ketogenic diet. In fact, one of the most remarkable effects of nutritional ketosis is that your C-reactive protein (CRP) level (an inflammatory marker) virtually disappears. It can really drive your inflammation levels about as low as they can go.

Other important anti-inflammatory strategies that are strongly recommended for prevention and treatment of depression are animal-based omega-3 and vitamin D. It appears curcumin may be a valuable adjunct as well, judging by recent studies. Another crucial contributor to inflammation is to reduce your exposure to EMF. This means keeping your cellphone in airplane mode unless you are using it and never holding it next to your ear. Turning off your Wi-Fi router at night is also crucial.

Aside from general GI inflammation, a number of studies have concluded the primary cause of inflammation is related specifically to dysfunction of the gut-brain axis,14 which is largely lifestyle driven. Diet, exercise and toxic exposures, for example, all have the ability to influence your gut microbiome, thereby affecting your gut-brain axis.

One of the reasons sugar is so detrimental to your mental health is because it triggers a cascade of chemical reactions — starting with elevated insulin — that promote chronic inflammation. Excess sugar and processed fructose also distort the ratio of good to bad bacteria in your gut. Sugar does this by serving as a fertilizer/fuel for pathogenic bacteria, yeast and fungi that inhibit the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

Chronic Inflammation May Be More Than a Risk Factor for Depression
What this all boils down to is that chronic inflammation not only disrupts the normal functioning of many bodily systems, it can also wreak havoc in your brain and affect your psychological health. In fact, at least one previous study15 has suggested chronic low-grade inflammation may be the very root cause of depression. Published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, the researchers stated:

"Research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) has revealed that depression is associated with inflammation manifested by increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines. The old paradigm described inflammation as simply one of many risk factors for depression. The new paradigm is based on more recent research that has indicated that physical and psychological stressors increase inflammation.

These recent studies constitute an important shift in the depression paradigm: inflammation is not simply a risk factor; it is the risk factor that underlies all the others. Moreover, inflammation explains why psychosocial, behavioral and physical risk factors increase the risk of depression. This is true for depression in general and for postpartum depression in particular …

[L]evels of proinflammatory cytokines significantly increase during the last trimester of pregnancy … Moreover, common experiences of new motherhood, such as sleep disturbance, postpartum pain and past or current psychological trauma, act as stressors that cause proinflammatory cytokine levels to rise."

Inflammation and Depression 101
In this model, depression is the result of your body's attempts to protect itself from an inflammatory response, and involves hormones and neurotransmitters. Depressive symptoms most strongly associated with chronic inflammation include:16

Flat mood
Slowed thinking
Avoidance
Alterations in perception
Metabolic changes
Cytokines in your blood, or inflammatory messengers such as CRP, interleukin-1, interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha are all predictive of17 and correlate18 to depression. In melancholic depression, bipolar disorder and postpartum depression, white blood cells called monocytes express pro-inflammatory genes that provoke secretion of cytokines.19

At the same time, cortisol sensitivity goes down, and cortisol is a stress hormone that buffers against inflammation. Together, these inflammatory agents transfer information to your nervous system, typically by stimulating your vagus nerve, which connects your gut and brain.20

During inflammatory states, brain cells called microglia are activated. When this happens, an enzyme called indoleamine 2 3-dioxygenase directs tryptophan away from the production of serotonin and melatonin, instructing it instead to produce an NMDA (an amino acid derivative) agonist called quinolinic acid, which can trigger anxiety and agitation.21

Curcumin Goes Head-to-Head With Blockbuster Antidepressant
One last study22 on curcumin and depression worth mention is a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of curcumin and fluoxetine (generic Prozac) in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Sixty patients were given one of three treatment protocols:

20 mg fluoxetine
1,000 mg curcumin (500 mg standardized curcumin extract taken twice a day)
Combination of fluoxetine and curcumin
According to the authors:

"The proportion of responders as measured by the HAM-D scale was higher in the combination group (77.8 percent) than in the fluoxetine (64.7 percent) and the curcumin (62.5 percent) groups; however, these data were not statistically significant. Interestingly, the mean change in HAM-D score at the end of six weeks was comparable in all three groups.

This study provides first clinical evidence that curcumin may be used as an effective and safe modality for treatment in patients with [major depressive disorder] without concurrent suicidal ideation or other psychotic disorders."

Certain Supplements Boost Effectiveness of Antidepressants

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=m1kiJp0YaVg

Other research has shown nutritional supplements can boost the effectiveness of antidepressants. Unfortunately, they did not look at supplementation only, which might have offered valuable insights. The analysis in question looked at 40 clinical trials in which supplements were added to the drug regimen.23,24,25

Four supplements were found to improve the impact of the medication — which included serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants — compared to medication only:

Animal-based omega-3 (in the form of fish oil)
Vitamin D
Methylfolate (an effective form of folic acid)
S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe)
In my view, there's reason to suspect the supplements provided the true benefit. Other studies have shown both omega-3 and vitamin D can improve mental health all on their own — in part by regulating inflammatory processes and responses — and studies have repeatedly demonstrated that antidepressants are right on par with placebo in terms of effectiveness.

In one vitamin D study,26 seniors with the lowest vitamin D levels were 11 times more prone to be depressed than those who had normal levels. It makes little sense to take the extra risks with a drug if they don't add anything of real value.

Addressing GI Inflammation May Ease Your Depressive Symptoms
If you suffer from depression, it may be well worth your effort to take steps to reduce the level of inflammation in your body. Remember, no drugs are necessary for this. In fact, the most effective strategies for this are to:

• Address your diet. Limiting net carbs in all its forms (think added sugar, processed fructose, refined grains and most processed foods in general) is a key step. A ketogenic diet, high in healthy fats, low in net carbs with a moderate amount of protein can really drive inflammation levels way down.

• Make sure to get enough animal-based omega-3.

• Optimize your vitamin D level, ideally through sensible sun exposure, as sunlight has been shown to improve depression in ways that are unrelated to vitamin D as well.

• Address your gut health, as impaired gut flora is frequently involved in depression. Regularly "reseed" your gut with beneficial bacteria (probiotics and prebiotics), as this is the foundation of a healthy GI tract. Eating plenty of fermented foods is your best bet. It's also the most economical.

If you do not eat fermented foods, taking a high-quality probiotic supplement makes of sense considering how important probiotics are for your mental health. In fact, probiotics are thought to have a direct effect on brain chemistry, transmitting mood- and behavior-regulating signals to your brain via the vagus nerve.