How We Rot & Rust
Blood - The River of Life
Fortunately there have been and are today scientists who have continued along the other road - the road ignored by Pasteur. They have continued the pleomorphic line of research and think much more about the terrain, which is largely ignored in the United States.
For example, the American medical establishment rarely looks at live blood. Their practice of staining blood with chemicals kills it. It also kills the ability to really "see" what is going on. But in looking at live blood, you can clearly "see" that there are forms that look like bacteria, microorganisms and parasites that not only are in the blood, but that over time can grow and can change their shapes.
Some researchers suggest they these forms are markers for pathogenic (disease producing) states. (This ability of microorganisms to change is the concept of pleomorphism we've been discussing.) Understanding this concept is essential to the understanding of cancer and its cure, and the cure of many other diseases.
Looking at live blood under a microscope is an incredible learning tool and begins an incredible journey whereby we come to understand that there are dynamic life processes going on every second in our bodies. It is an environment that is an ever changing canvas of life that holds forms that develop and grow and illustrates what some call "the fungus among us."
DARKFIELD MICROSCOPY
Today, researchers who want to observe living blood use standard laboratory microscopes with high magnification that are specially set up to view the blood under "darkfield" or "phase contrast" conditions. With darkfield this means that the blood sample being viewed is actually in front of a dark background and light is being angled onto the blood sample from the sides.
Under phase contrast conditions, the light coming through the specimen is shifted slightly out of phase with itself. These techniques allow nearly invisible microorganisms within the blood to be "lit up" and seen. It also clearly delineates the blood cells. This method is in contrast to the standard microscope "brightfield" conditions where light shines directly through the viewed sample.
Using this kind of microscope technology, German bacteriologist Guenther Enderlein (a student of Bechamp) observed tiny microorganism like elements which he called protits. He stated that these tiny elements flourished in the blood cells, in the plasma body fluids, and in the tissues, living in harmony with the body in a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship. He considered the protit as one of the body's smallest, organized, biological units.
The most interesting thing about this microorganism is its ability to change and adapt to its environment. It was observed that when there was severe change or deterioration in the body's internal environment (mostly noted by changes in pH), these elements would pass through several different stages of cyclic development, advancing from harmless agents to disease producing (pathological) bacteria or fungi. His book 'The Life Cycle of Bacteria' (Bakterian Cyclogenie) presented his theory. From his research he was able to produce natural biological answers to many of the degenerative disease processes plaguing western civilization today.
Other researchers have continued along a similar path of Enderlein and have promoted their own ideas of these "things in the blood". Gaston Naessens observed the elemental particle which Enderlein called the protit and he described that it had a life cycle. He called Enderlein's protit a "somatid". Naessens believes this protit/somatid predates DNA and carries on genetic activity. It is the first thing that condenses from light energy, and is the link between light and matter.
Virginia Livingston-Wheeler also researched these elements and called one supposedly developmental form of it "progenitor cryptocides." Progenitor meaning it existed through millennia, and cryptocides being a cellular killer - essentially the ancestral hidden killer - cancer. Like Naessens, Livingston also did cancer research. Some of her research was done along with two other women, Eleanor Alexander-Jackson and Irene Diller. They referred to this "microbe" as the cancer microbe.
Here we have similar ideas from different sources, all doing private research and not publishing in known journals. It is unfortunate that many scientists work in isolation and for one reason or another a lot of information known by one is unknown by the others. Because information is not shared, or given hierarchical credit, many who follow are left in the dark and without the full picture.
Remember that blood is under pH control. Ideally it has a pH in a narrow range around 7.3, which is slightly alkaline. In Enderlein's theory, a pH around 7.3 is the perfect environment in which the element he called the protit lives in harmony with the body. But when blood pH is disturbed and is shifted out of that narrow range, these tiny elements (which he though of as living microorganisms) can no longer survive.
In order to survive, he suggested that they would change to a form which can survive. It is these new forms that he stated can become aggressive, parasitic and pathogenic agents within the blood. Dr. Enderlein contended there are thousands of forms and many of these are able to overcome the body's defense mechanisms, causing multiple disease situations.
Some Call it the Kleptic MicrobeDarkfield microscopic studies conducted by Dr. Rudolph Alsleben and Dr. Kurt Donsbach of the Hospital Santa Monica clearly illustrated the proliferation of many diverse elemental forms in the blood of their sick patients. What they observed was the dance of these microbial looking forms in an expansive state and increasing with the pathology of their patients. They called it the 'kleptic microbe'.
Examining their patients live blood revealed many of these microbial looking forms darting to and fro in the blood plasma. The more ill the patient, the more forms observed. The sickest patients had swarming hordes of these forms within the blood, said to be causing great stress to their immune systems. The doctors learned that cleaning the blood of these forms allowed the rejuvenation of the immune system to progress in an orderly and rapid fashion.
Curious scientists who spend a lot of time in the laboratory looking at live blood under the microscope often start to wonder about the pleomorphic concept. When they see the changes in the blood taking place and correlate it with the progression of the disease process, many begin to see a pattern unfolding. This has prompted some to state that...
The over-acidification of the body, caused by an inverted way of eating and living, causes a proliferation of the "fungus among us" which debilitates the body and, if not corrected, will ultimately cause our demise. Looked at in this light it could be said that all illness is but this one constitutional disease, the result is mycotoxicoses - toxicity caused by mycotic infection, or in other words, by a yeast and fungus infection.
These are the great decomposers of living and dead bodies. From ashes to ashes and dust to dust, this is nature's decomposing mechanism at work. Fascinating isn't it? If you begin to understand this concept, you will begin to understand a prime reason why we get sick and how we get sick, and you will realize that much of modern medicine is looking under the wrong stones for answers to many disease questions. They need to be looking at the environmental factors in and around the body itself.For years now, medicine has considered blood to be a sterile environment. But they're wrong. Unfortunately, dead wrong for some of their patients.
Blood is not a sterile environment, nor is it a static environment. That environment can change (most notably through diet) and microbial appearing forms in the blood can change too. The fact is, we can see this type of change going on throughout all of nature. If you leave a bowl of milk out on the kitchen table for a few days without refrigeration, it will turn sour fairly quickly. Did it turn sour because there was an outside germ that got into the milk? Probably not. It turned sour because tiny microbes already in the milk changed their form to adapt to a changed environment.
The Disease Paradigm Shift
One school of thought (modern medicine) says most disease is caused by germs or some form of static, disease-causing microbe (the germ theory). In order to get well, you should KILL the germs. KILL the microbes. KILL whatever is making you sick. Drugs, antibiotics, chemotherapy, radiation, surgery.
The other school of thought (which encompasses most other forms of the healing arts unrelated to mainstream medicine and quite often is battling government) says most disease is caused by some unbalance in the body. The unbalance occurs in some nutritional, electrical, structural, toxicological or biological equation. In order to get well, you need to re-establish balance in your body by working with your body, not against it.
For the pleomorphic scientists like Enderlein, Naessens, Livingston, and others, disease is in large measure a function of biology. It is a biologically driven event that takes place in the body when metabolic processes are thrown off. These metabolic processes are thrown off largely by dietary, nutritional and environmental factors.
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How We Rot & Rust
THE pH REGULATORY SYSTEM OF THE BODY
The pH balance of the human bloodstream is recognized by all medical physiology texts as one of the most important biochemical balances in all of human body chemistry.pH is the acronym for "Potential Hydrogen". In definition, it is the degree of concentration of hydrogen ions in a substance or solution.
It is measured on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 14. Higher numbers means a substance is more alkaline in nature and there is a greater potential for absorbing more hydrogen ions. Lower numbers indicate more acidity with less potential for absorbing hydrogen ions.
Our body pH is very important because pH controls the speed of our body's biochemical reactions. It does this by controlling the speed of enzyme activity as well as the speed that electricity moves through our body. The higher (more alkaline) the pH of a substance or solution, the more electrical resistance that substance or solution holds.
Therefore, electricity travels slower with higher pH. All biochemical reactions and electrical (life) energy are under pH control. If we say something has an acid pH, we are saying it is hot and fast. As an example, look at the battery of your car. It's an acid battery. On cold days you want it to be hot and ready, and you want your car to start fast.
Alkaline pH on the other hand, biochemically speaking, is slow and cool. Compare it to an alkaline battery in a flashlight. You want that battery to be cool, and to burn out slowly. Here is an example of how pH can control. Look around you at society in general. Do you see people getting exhausted, burned out, and quick to anger? Do you see a rise in violence?
In part it could be due to the fact that people today lean to an acid pH. As a society we are running hot and fast. How did we get there? We guzzle coffee for breakfast (acid), burgers for lunch (acid), wash it down with king size colas (acid), and have a pizza (acid) for dinner. In fact, with this scenario, you could easily correlate the rise of violence in our society with the increasing number of fast food restaurants on every corner. But I digress.
However, this does lead me to the second part of the pH and digestive metabolic equation. pH is under the direct control of what we put into our mouths. Kind of makes sense doesn't it?
What we eat and drink will impact where our body's pH level falls, and our body's pH will control the activity of every metabolic function happening in our body. pH is behind the body's electrical system and intracellular activity as well as the way our bodies utilize enzymes, minerals, and vitamins.
That is why pH is one of the first things to be looked at if you are experiencing unbalance in your body in any way, shape, or form. And since our body's pH level is a direct result of what we eat and drink, anytime we are experiencing imbalance, we need to look at what we have historically been eating and drinking because this impacts our pH. It's a circle. You can't look at one without looking at the other.
What we eat and drink is directly tied to the functioning of our digestive system. From our mouth through our small intestines and through our colon, that system plays the most important part in our physical well being. This system, what we feed it, and how it impacts our pH, is the essential core that determines whether we have perfect health or not. It is really so simple.
Now you may be thinking that all of this makes perfect sense. It is so simple that you would think that modern medicine could look at it, put two and two together and simply attempt to bring people back into balance through the food that they eat. Hippocrates said, "Let food be your medicine. Let medicine be your food."
If it were only so simple. Modern medicine has gotten to where it is today in part through a scientific and philosophical debate that culminated in the 19th century. On one side of the debate was French microbiologist Antoine Bechamp. On the other side was French microbiologist Louis Pasteur. Bechamp and Pasteur strongly disagreed in their bacteriological theories. They argued heatedly about who was correct. It was...The Argument that Changed the Course of Medicine.
Pasteur promoted a theory of disease that described non-changeable microbes as the primary cause of disease. This is the theory of monomorphism. This theory says that a microorganism is static and unchangeable. It is what it is. Disease is solely caused by microbes or bacteria that invade the body from the outside. ( This is the germ theory. )
Bechamp held the view that microorganisms can go through different stages of development and they can change into various growth forms within their life cycle. This is the theory of pleomorphism. He observed microbe like particles in the blood which he called microzymas. These microbes would change shape as individuals became diseased, and for Bechamp, this was the cause of disease; hence disease comes from inside the body.
Another scientist of the day, Claude Bernard, entered into the argument and said that it was actually the "milieu" or the environment that is all important to the disease process. Microbes do change, but how they do so is a result of the environment ( or terrain ) to which they are exposed. Hence, for Bechamp, microbes, being pleomorphic, will change according to the environment to which they are exposed. Therefore, disease in the body, as a biological process, will develop and manifest dependent upon the state of the internal biological terrain.
At the core of that terrain, is pH. Both men acknowledged certain aspects of each other's research, but it Pasteur was the stronger, more flamboyant, and more vocal opponent when compared to the quiet Bechamp. Pasteur also came from wealth and had the right family connections. He went to great lengths to disprove Bechamp's view. Pasteur eventually managed to convince the scientific community that his view alone was correct. Bechamp felt that this diverted science down a deplorable road - a road that held only half the truth.
On his deathbed, Pasteur finally acknowledged Bechamp's work and said, "Bernard was correct: the microbe is nothing: the terrain is everything." It was a 180 degree turnaround. With his death imminently at hand, he as much as admitted that his germ theory had flaws. But his admission fell on deaf ears. It was far too late. It could not reverse the inertia of ideas that had already been accepted by mainstream science at that time. Allopathic ( drug based ) medicine was firmly entrenched on the road that was paved by Pasteur.
The result of that road is what you see today practiced as medicine. When a body is out of balance, doctors attempt to put it back into balance, first through drugs, then through surgery. The general effect is to remove the symptoms, not to deal with the ultimate cause of the ailment.
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HOW WE ROT AND RUST
THE pH EQUATION & HEALTH
According to the research of Dr. Enderlein, total healing of chronic illness takes place only when and if the blood is restored to a normal, slightly alkaline pH. In case you missed it, let me say it again .....
Total healing of chronic illness takes place only when and if the blood is restored to a normal, slightly alkaline pH. The magnitude of meaning behind this research is of incredible importance to someone who is fighting a disease, overcoming an illness, or just desiring to feel better. What it means is this .....
Your Body pH Affects EVERYTHING
Human blood stays in a very narrow pH range right around 7.3. Below or above this range means symptoms and disease. When pH goes off, microorganisms in the blood can change shape, mutate, become pathogenic, and thrive.
When pH goes off, ENZYMES that are constructive can become destructive.
When pH goes off, OXYGEN delivery to cells suffers.
WORD ABOUT OXYGEN
More and more research is showing that low oxygen delivery to cells is a major factor in most if not all degenerative conditions.
Two time Nobel laureate, Dr. Otto Warburg of Germany, won his first Nobel Prize for his discovery of oxygen deficiency in the CANCER growth process. As stated above, when pH is off and our bodies are running more acidic, our cells are getting less oxygen. Cancer thrives under an acid tissue pH/oxygen deficient environment. Is it any wonder today that cancer rates are up?
To recall how important oxygen is to your life, just stop breathing for a minute. Get the idea? Each cell in your body can breathe fully or not. Which it is depends upon having an optimum pH balance. Do you think keeping an eye on your body pH might be important in your life?
pH Controls the Things You Can't Live Without .....
Like your BRAIN. Your brain needs fuel to run, and the fuel it uses is glucose. But unlike other cells, your brain can't store glucose. It depends on the second to second supply from the bloodstream - a bloodstream that is affected by pH, which controls the efficiency of INSULIN, which allows sugar to enter into cells which in turn controls blood sugar levels.
Your HEART. William Philpott M.D. in his 'Biomagnetic Handbook' made an important body pH/electrical connection.
As the pH of the blood goes more acid, fatty acids which are normally electro-magnetically charged on the negative side switch to positive and automatically are attracted to and begin to stick to the walls of arteries which are electro-magnetically charged on the negative side. (And as science states, opposites attract.) It should start to make sense that a society which over-emphasizes food that could push blood to be more acid will have a high rate of heart disease. And so it goes.
pH control impacts every biochemical process in the body including .....
ENZYMES which are part of that biochemical process. There are hundreds if not thousands of enzyme processes which take place in the body. Many are so specific that they are like complex square pegs that need to "fit" into specific square holes in order to carry out their duty. If blood pH is off balance even a little, some important pegs are not "fitting" their respective slots. Enzyme function and thus life itself begins to suffer.
MINERAL ASSIMILATION is affected by pH. Minerals have different pH levels at which they can be assimilated into the body. Minerals on the lower end of the atomic scale can be assimilated in a wider pH range, and minerals higher up on the scale require a narrower and narrower pH range in order to be assimilated by the body. For example .....
Sodium and magnesium have wide pH assimilation ranges. It narrows somewhat for calcium and potassium. Narrows more for manganese and iron. More for zinc and copper. More for iodine.
Iodine, which is high up on the atomic scale, requires near perfect pH for its assimilation into the body. Iodine you may know, is one of the most important minerals for proper functioning of the THYROID. But, the thyroid doesn't get access to iodine unless the body pH is near perfect.
With a society in a largely pH unbalanced state, one would suspect a lot of thyroid problems. Malfunctioning thyroids have been connected to arthritis, heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, depression, overweight, fatigue and more. Are you starting to see the basic metabolic picture evolving here?
Due primarily to agricultural soil depletion and over-acidic food consumption, mineral deficiency is a large problem facing most people today. And mineral deficiency relates to the quantity of life energy or, more specifically, electricity, in our bodies.
Body mineral content and balances control the quantity of electricity in our bodies. The speed at which the electricity flows is controlled by the body's pH balance.
pH Balance and the Mineral Connection
There are complex biochemical processes taking place in the body constantly in an attempt to keep blood pH as near perfect as possible. These are known as the pH buffering systems. These buffering systems need a good balance of minerals to work effectively. If we are getting inadequate mineral intake from the food we eat, we are going to start having problems with our pH balancing systems.
And if our pH is unbalanced, what is the result? Well, by now you should start having a good idea. Pick your disease, choose your unbalance. Cancer, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, chronic fatigue, allergies, obesity, just name it. If you don't feel good, one of the basic things that stands between you and perfect health is your body's pH. Your basic metabolic body balance.
While We're on the Subject of Minerals, Did you know that.....
Minerals are as important as, if not more important than, vitamins. Minerals are co-enzymes which help vitamins function. In the absence of minerals, vitamins can't do their job. Many minerals are referred to as trace minerals, which might make it seem as though they are of little importance, but nothing could be further from the truth. Minerals and their deficiencies have been implicated in a wide range of off-balance health conditions. Here are some examples:
· Supplementing a diet with sufficient chromium and vanadium can help prevent diabetes and has been seen to reverse diabetes in those already diabetic, as vanadium is reportedly able to replace insulin in some cases.
· Copper deficiency is implicated in aneurysms (brain, aortic, etc.)
· Magnesium is quite possibly the most important mineral for the reduction of coronary heart disease. (The latest "cutting edge" research shows that heart disease is really a function of heart muscle acidosis.)
· Boron helps keep calcium in the bones, helps women preserve and make estrogen, and helps men keep testosterone. Boron affects alertness. Boron can help eliminate arthritis.
· Potassium and magnesium (along with organic sodium) are some of the most important minerals for rebalancing the electrical properties of the cell, for eliminating excess acidity, and for helping to balance calcium.
· Magnesium helps conduct electrical messages between all the neurons of the body.
· People get irrational when potassium levels are low.
· Zinc is involved in over 200 brain enzyme interactions.
Drinking zinc mixed with distilled water can stop anorexia nervosa in a day. Zinc deficiency symptoms include loss of taste and smell. Zinc deficiency in children results in moodiness, depression, irritability, photo phobia (light sensitivity), antagonism, temper tantrums & learning problems.
· Children who do poorly on achievement tests tend to have low iron levels. These children also display disruptive, impulsive and irritable behavior in the classroom. Children who have high lead levels do more poorly overall. Most of these children's mineral imbalances go undiagnosed and instead are medicated with drugs.
Likewise, ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder can often be eliminated by balancing nutritional trace minerals. There is no need to drug our children.
Cigarette smoke is rich in cadmium (the blue color in the smoke). Cadmium is the most neurotoxic substance known to human beings. A low zinc/high cadmium ratio is implicated in learning disabilities. Zinc is needed to balance cadmium.
Too much copper is an irritant to the brain.
A story is told by Dr. Alex Schauss, a noted author, researcher, and nutritional mineral expert. It is about his experience with a 9 year old boy brought into his clinic some years ago. The boy had been charged with attempted murder. His criminal record began at age 6. He burned animals, shot at people's houses and beat up mothers pushing baby strollers. The police all said he would be a lifetime criminal, a Charles Manson type of psychotic. He was on six psychiatric drugs, and was kicked out of school after he tried to kill a 10 year old girl.
Dr. Schauss did a hair mineral analysis and discovered his copper levels were off the charts. He added supplemental zinc to the boy's diet to chelate out the excess copper, and within two weeks the boys urinalysis showed all the excess copper had been eliminated. He went off all medication, returned to school and became a model student.
Years later the boy returned to see Dr. Schauss. He was a junior in college, an A student, on the varsity basketball team, and had a heart of gold. High manganese levels show statistically high correlation with violent behavior., while lithium balances and helps control manganese. The cities of the world with the highest lithium concentration in their water show the lowest homicide rates. The trace element rubidium cures manic depression.
The right ratio of copper to zinc in the cell acts as an antioxidant.
This information shows just a teeny fraction of how minerals and mineral imbalances can affect your health. Much of this information is buried in professional journals, there for the taking. It appears that due to politics and the influence and strength that the medical/drug industrial complex has over the suppression of information, these things stay buried.
If this type of information, along with the other things we know, could be assimilated into our society, whether through the efforts of individuals or that of our government, and if people like doctors, psychiatrists, and dietitians were to act on it, we could lessen violence in our society, close jails, raise academic achievement, and greatly reduce outlays of public money for Medicare and Medicaid.
We could see our health insurance premiums drop to about $50 dollars a month for a family of four because we could eliminate our need for expensive hospital visits and treatments excepting emergency care for accidents. Without a doubt, the single most important thing you can do for your health is to supplement your diet with broad spectrum trace minerals. They are that important.
Your Disease is in Perfect Harmony With Your Body
From what you've learned so far, you should begin to understand the truth of this statement. When your body's mineral balances are off, your health is off. When your body's pH and basic metabolic processes are off, it sets up the internal environment that becomes a new playground for the opportunistic "bugs" - bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.
Earlier we talked of the colloids of life in your blood (i.e. protits). How they form and what they evolve into is a function of pH - the terrain of the blood. What else is a constituent of the blood? How about the mineral balances we've been speaking about. Research has shown that the microbes of the blood can evolve into different forms when exposed to and combined with elements like heavy metals. For example, patients with high levels of mercury in their mouths often exhibit specific pleomorphic microbes in their blood.
Is it possible that something like high levels of copper, as referenced in the story above, are more than just an irritant to the brain? Might they set up the internal environment in the body whereby the colloids of life form into specific "bugs" that with some level of microbial consciousness are actually behind aggressive, violent or psychotic behavior? Some researchers would say that is exactly correct. And in so saying, your blood becomes much more than what you think it is.
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FACTS ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS AND BRAIN TEMPERATURE
~~~~~ News From the Research Notes ~~~~~~
Recently I explained to BroJon readers about my research into the affect of brain temperature and the human cognitive state called consciousness. Put simply when we are awake, our normal brain temperature is about 98 to 99 degrees F (37 degrees C). When we are asleep the brain temperature drops to about 95 to 97 degrees F (35 degree C). This sleep/wake temperature change is controlled by the circadian rhythms of the body. The brain temperature and thus mental consciousness can also be controlled externally, by changing the temperature.
By using drugs which raise the brain temperature such as, caffeine, Dexedrine, Ritalin, Prozac, Ecstasy and drugs generally called "uppers", the state of alertness, wakefullness or consciousness is raised. While using drugs which lower the brain temperature such as the opiates, Heroin and Morphine, anti-histamines, and strong doses of alcohol, and drugs called "downers", the state of alertness is dulled and often sleep is induced. The primary function of these psychoactive drugs is not to make changes in certain parts of the brain, but simply to control the overall temperature feedback mechanism between the hypothalamus and thyroid gland to thus, raise and lower the temperature of the brain itself. They all pretty much work the same way.
This information was even known intuitively by the ancients. In ancient Greece and Rome, hyperactive, rash, type-A people were called "hot heads." And calm, serene slower thinkers were said to have a "cool head." We still use those terms today. This effect even controlled human behaviors such as wearing hats to warm the brain. And even affected human physiology by causing male-pattern-baldness to cool and counteract the brain temperature-raising effect of excess testosterone.
Fifteen years ago I began a series of experiments to externally change the brain temperature. I discovered what I call the "Thyroid Paradox." The function of the thyroid gland is not to set the temperature of the body, but to control the temperature of the brain. The actual temperature of the body or torso, is secondary and only based on the temperature state or circadian rhythm state of the brain.
The thyroid gland acts as a multiple-stage thermostat computer which controls the temperature of the brain. But what sets the thermostat temperature is the feedback from the sleep/wake circadian rhythm center in the hypothalamus in the brain. This is similar to setting your house temperature thermostat up during the day, and then setting it back to a lower temperature at night while you sleep. Some people today even have computerized thermostats to automatically set the temperature up and down at the right time of day. But no computerized thermostat is as accurate and multi-staged as is your natural computerized thermostat - your thyroid gland.
Most of the glands in your body work by releasing chemicals called hormones which remotely control numerous function in other parts of your body. Most of your glands are either in your brain, in the hypothalamus, or in your abdomen such as your liver, pancreas or adrenal glands. The location of the thyroid gland is unique. It is in the front of your throat just below the "Adam's apple." Why is it there?
It is there to constantly measure and compare the temperature of the outside air around you which goes through the bronchial tube which is attached to the back of the thyroid gland. It is there also to measure and compare the temperature of the blood in the two carotid arteries going directly from the heart to the brain. The two left and right carotid arteries pass right through the center of the the left and right lobes of your thyroid gland. Is the function, location and purpose of the thyroid gland, as a brain thermostat starting to make sense?
How does the thyroid gland work? Assume that the thyroid senses that the brain temperature is correct but the air temperature around you starts to rise several degrees. To counteract the small rise in temperature the thyroid gland, specifically the small rice grain-sized mini-glands called the "parathyroids" in each lobe of the thyroid gland release a hormone which makes the lining of the lungs more permeable to the water in your blood serum. This extra water in your lungs quickly evaporates and cools the lungs with each breath you take. Since all of your blood also travels through the lungs every several seconds, this effectively cools your blood, brain and body.
If the outside air temperature goes a few degrees higher and even the blood temperature starts to rise, the thyroid gland kicks in with the second stage of its function. It releases a hormone which acts on your largest organ - your skin. At first, it opens the blood vessels in the skin to dump heat directly to the air, this is called a reddening or flushing of the skin, and the skin feels warm to the touch. A few more degrees rise in temperature and the thyroid sends other hormones which tell the millions of small glands in the skin called sweat glands to take water from the blood and dump the water onto the skin surface where it evaporates and cools the body - but really it is not just to cool the body, but is cooling the blood going to your brain. The brain temperature is the critical temperature.
You want proof? Stick your arm in a bucket of warm water with a temperature of 110 degrees F (43C) and it feels uncomfortable, but no big deal. But raise your brain temperature to 110F and you'll pass out and die. What else can I say? The purpose of the thyroid is to control brain temperature, and not body temperature. A third stage of thyroid function, beyond sweating, is to increase the breathing rate, called panting, to increase the amount of heat being evaporated from the lungs to the air. Many animals which don't sweat, such as birds, furry animals and dogs, go directly from increased lung evaporation to panting. Very active dogs even dump a large amount of heat by expelling lots of hot water, called drooling. The hot drool water may be dumped directly on the ground or even on to the pet owners face in a show of "hot blooded" affection for the pup's owner. Isn't the thyroid a wondrous gland?
When the outside air becomes colder, the thyroid again goes through several stages of hormone production depending on the amount of temperature difference between the air and the brain. First, the amount of water from the blood serum going into the lungs is reduced. You surely have noticed that on very cold days, you can "see" your breath as the warm moist air from your lungs condenses into visible "steamy breath." You probably never noticed that after several minutes you can't see your breath anymore. Why? That's because your thyroid has shut off the supply of water in your lungs. You don't want to lose any body heat which can escape by evaporation in the lungs. This tends to dry out your lungs and sometimes this makes breathing in very cold air rather painful, since the lining of the lung becomes dry and stiff.
In a second stage, another set of thyroid hormones constrict all the blood vessels in the skin so the skin appears ashy white and pale and feels cold to the touch. No body heat is lost through the skin. In a third stage, the body generates heat by physically moving the muscles through involuntary shivering, and later in a fourth stage even increases the metabolic rate to generate more internal body heat.
The thyroid gland is an incredibly complex biological thermostat with about ten or more temperature set points and chemical hormone functions. The normal set points go up and down each day with the daily sleep/wake cycles of the circadian rhythms. And the thyroid also is a major component of the body's immune system by raising the temperature of the body and lungs to create fevers which stop and prevent the replication of invading viruses at a temperature above about 101F. Without a thyroid gland and fevers we would all die of bird flu. Birds are more primitive animals and only have simple prototype thyroid glands which don't work the same way our mammal thyroids work. The birds don't sweat and usually don't produce fevers. That's why birds can die of viral bird flu by the millions. This almost never happens with humans.
It was while doing experiments with the normal operation of the thyroid gland that I discovered the "Thyroid Paradox." I was trying to discover how the operation of the thyroid gland could be manipulated to modify, change or shift the normal circadian rhythms. In 1988 I worked with a doctor/psychiatrist in San Jose, Californina, who was interested in my charts and data of my own daily, monthly and annual circadian rhythms based on my observations of my oral temperature which I took hourly and wrote down on several pages of my daily temperature journal. I am sure most of my friends, family and co-workers must have thought I was a real hypochondriac since I took my temperature every hour on the hour for several years from 1986 to 1989, and I even wrote it down. But it was a treasure trove of scientific data.
The protocol for the experiment I proposed with the doctor was that I would use the synthetic thyroid drug, Synthroid, to shift my circadian rhythms to an earlier awakening time by taking Synthroid in the morning at the new earlier time. I took the usual thyroid panel of medical tests to show that I had normal thyroid function and the doc wrote me a prescription for a big bottle of Synthroid. As a control experiment, I also did this test alternately each week with other protocols: using only very bright lights in the morning at the new time, then the next week using only L-Tryptophan capsules, then a week of Synthroid, and then a week of Tryptophan with added B6.
Each morning I took a dose of bright light or pills, and took my oral temperature every 15 minutes for the next hour. I graphed the first-hour rise time of my body-brain temperature for each protocol. The bright lights and the L-Tryptophan worked perfectly and caused an hour earlier shift to occur on Tuesday, after starting each protocol on Monday. On the weekends I used nothing and allowed my circadian waking time to slip back to the later normal time. With the Synthroid, it seemed to work just like the Light and the L-tryptophan for two days and then it seemed to fade away to nothing by the fourth day. At no time did the tryptophan with the B6 ever work, even when I drastically increased the dosage. This absolutely proved that the B6 had destroyed the beneficial effect of the tryptophan by turning it into Niacin before it ever even got to the brain.
I explained my observations to my co-experimenter doctor and asked if I could increase the dose of Synthroid. He approved. Again I observed the same thing. I had doubled the dose from 50mg to 100mg. It seemed to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but by Thursday it took almost an hour for the brain temperature to show a rise, and by Friday it had no effect. On the next monthly cycle of the Synthroid experiment, I again increased the dosage to 200mg and a month later to 400mg. All with the same effect. It worked for two days and by the fourth day it did absolutely nothing, regardless of dosage.
I discussed the results, my charts and data logbooks at length with the doctor. I said I presumed that the thyroid gland is not the master gland which controls body temperature, as is assumed by most of the medical profession. There must be some higher gland, probably in the hypothalamus of the brain which sets the instantaneous changing daily temperature-setpoint for the thyroid.
This made sense, because it has been known for decades that the circadian rhythms are somehow driven by the daytime serotonin and nighttime melatonin which come from the Pineal Gland just above the Hypothalamus. This is why taking tryptophan in the morning as you wake up sets the new circadian rhythm, since both serotonin and melatonin are made in the Pineal from tryptophan depending on the time of day you take the tryptophan - without the B6, of course.
What I had demonstrated was that I had developed a new psychological and physiological tool for measuring normal and aberrant behavior of chemicals in the brain simply by monitoring the rise time of the brain temperature in the first hour of the morning. This was scientific and repeatable. I repeated the same experiment for almost two years. My scientific method was light-years ahead of the commonly used Hamilton Psychological Scale method of using a survey to ask, "On a scale of 1 to 5, after taking Sythroid do you feel better or worse than you did yesterday?" Well, I don't know, that's like asking on a scale of 1 to 5 how do you rate Wolfgang Mozart over Peter Gabriel? Well, I don't know - depends on my mood, and if I just aced my midterm exam or if the IRS just called me in for a tax audit. So much for the Hamilton Scale. No way does that compare with the scientific slope of the line on the morning rise time temperature chart
I told the doc I wanted to use my new numerically scientific psychological tool to continue the experiment using other drugs which would directly affect the temperature set point in the brain and not just in the thyroid. At that point the doctor balked. He seemed to lose interest in the experiment. I assumed, even though he was the doctor and I wasn't, I had already gone beyond his level of expertise and he had no idea what to do next. He had said he had studied the Pineal/Thyroid axis in his last year of med school at Stanford, but I don't think he really understood what it meant or how it worked. After that, he even refused to answer my phone calls. I also realized I had just done a medical no-no. I had just used the scientific method to demonstrate that most doctors have no clue about what they are doing to their patients. And my co-experimenter doctor certainly did not want to co-publish a scientific paper showing that most docs are dopes.
Millions of times a year, patients go into the doctor's office complaining of mild depression. After a Hamilton Scale test the doc says, "Yep, a mild case of depression. Here try this prescription for Synthroid. It usually works, and if not we can try something stronger." Several days later the patient calls the doc -- "It's wonderful. It works, It works. I woke up this morning feeling all bright and bushytailed and rarin' to go." What neither the patient nor the doctor knows is that after several days, the Synthroid is as useless as a placebo sugar pill. But the patient, "believing" that it works, will continue taking it for years. Normally taking placebos is safe. But in this case the patient is "hooked" on a placebo which can cost several thousand dollars a year. I consider that a serious side affect which only helps Big Pharma and not the patient.
An even worse, though a less common situation is when a patient comes to see the doctor complaining of always feeling warm, always sweaty, feeling jumpy and nervous a lot, and a few other similar related symptoms. The doc says, "Oh you have hyper-thyroidism. Your thyroid gland is putting out too much thyroid hormone. We can fix that." So the doc gets out his set of X-acto knives and starts whittling on your thyroid gland as if he were carving a balsa wood kit model of a Piper Centurion - and if he carves on it just right he thinks he might just be able to get this puppy to fly. Yeah right.
Most docs are taught that the thyroid gland is like most other glands, like the liver, pancreas or adrenals, and if you carve away a part of it, that will reduce the output of that gland's hormone. Wrong! The thyroid is more like 10 different glands, all in one, each with its own temperature set point and specific hormone to change the amount of water in the lungs, or to cause sweating of the skin or cause the muscles to shiver, and many other physical functions.
The thyroid is not just like a fine Swiss watch, it is more like a fine Swiss chronometer with hundreds of gears and dials for navigating a ship around the world, many more than most docs know and understand. Carving on a thyroid with X-acto knives is more like trying to adjust your computerized automatic setback wall thermostat for your furnace with a sledge hammer. Your original complaint was the temperature was too high. So the doc hits the thermostat with a sledge hammer and, sure enough, the furnace goes off, and temperature goes down. So far so good. But then what?
In the case of the smashed furnace wall thermostat, you replace it with a simple light switch to turn the furnace on and off. When its too cold you turn the switch on to turn the furnace on, and then later you turn it off to cool the house. But you are constantly jumping up and down trying to adjust the temperature. You probably would wish you had your old thermostat back. In the case of your carved-on thyroid gland you are constantly adjusting your medication dosage of Synthroid, trying to get a normal body temperature depending on your circadian rhythms, or whether you usually have a sedentary day job and then have vigorous outside activity while mountain climbing on your vacation. Or even if you move from one climate to another which is much colder or hotter. You are hooked on Synthroid for the rest of your life, and probably wish you had your old thyroid back again.
Alright, so what would I do instead? I have already mentioned two protocols, using bright lights in the morning just as you wake up for about ½ hour, or take a 500mg capsule of L-tryptophan just as you wake up and about ½ hour before you ingest anything else such as coffee or breakfast. I have tested both of these methods for 20 years and they are both effective, and you can even use both together. There is no overdosing of good health.
You can buy very expensive "morning bright lights" from "medical con-artists" who make outrageous claims for their product. They cost about $300 dollars or more. I made my first home-built bright lite in 1986, using 8 fluorescent tubes and a box for about $100 dollars. I got the design and specification from Dr. Albert Lewey, a renowned specialist in SAD therapy. I found it worked as specified when I used it in an experiment to shift my circadian rhythms forward or back several hours, but I wanted something rather less expensive that I could recommend to my friends. You can buy a bright light that works just as well for about $10.00 from any Home Depot, warehouse hardware store or even on the Internet.
The name of the bright light product by many makers is "500 W Portable Halogen Work Light." If it's made by Bayco or similar brand name you know you have found the right one if it sells for about $9.00 plus shipping and handling. One caution though, they get real hot, so be careful where you set it, since it can melt plastic if it gets to close. I use it about 4 to 5 feet away from me. And at that distance my luminosity meter shows it has the same 20,000 to 30,000 Lux as the rising sun, and even Dr. Lewey's original medical morning light specification. It works and its cheap. I set mine on an automatic timer for the first half hour each morning next to my computer while I edit the morning BroJon Gazette. I have used mine every morning since 1987.
It used to be that you could not buy L-tryptophan at any price, even if you tried through "underground" sources since the CDC, FDA ban dating from November 1989. For many years it was only marketed for use by farm animals, but since it was USP certified for purity and dosage is was actually safer than the old L-tryptophan sold in drug and health stores prior to 1989. It seems the USDA and the farm industry was more concerned about the health and safety of farm animals, than was the FDA and CDC for the health of human beings. It seems the FDA and CDC wanted to market the potentially harmful and very expensive Prozac and SSRI's so that Big Pharma can make about $30 billion a year, instead of using the cheap and safer natural L-tryptophan.
A computer search on the Internet will now show hundreds of sources for L-tryptophan. Make sure the product says "USP." "Pure," and "500mg." You do not want any added minerals, vitamins or amino acids. NO added anything. Use it only first thing in the morning when you wake up, or last thing at night before you go to bed. In the morning it makes serotonin, and at night it makes melatonin - during the transition into and from sleep. That is your circadian rhythm clock. You can kick it up in the morning or down at night. It really works the same way. Its the same as pushing a child on a swing. It makes no difference whether you push from the front or back, but you have to push in the right direction and at the right time.
Do both if you want, since you can't overdose with the L-tryptophan. I have found that after several days of use, a maintenance daily dose can be as low as 50 to 100 mg. I have tried cutting the 500mg gel capsules in half, and sometimes filling my own 100 mg capsules. I have even found it works to take a large capsule every other day. But that complicates matters, since you have to remember what day it is when you first wake up. Hmm let's see, yesterday was Tuesday in France so today must be Wednesday in Germany -- or is it Thursday in Italy. I'll have to wake up and read the newspaper to figure that one out. I keep it simple. One capsule, of any size, every morning, and then get on with my life.
So now you know more about the science of the thyroid gland and circadian rhythms than you'll find in any medical textbook or scientific journal. But what about the "Thyroid Paradox?" That's coming next. It is a set of simple experiments, or even simple therapy you can do anytime yourself or in the doctors office. It takes almost no time, and costs practically no money, just using stuff you have around the house. It will show to you that your body and brain are working according to "manufacturers specification" and if not, what you can do about it -- Such a deal!
My earlier explanation about the function of brain temperature and the sleep/wake cycle prompted one astute BroJon reader, named Suzanne, to ask if raising the brain temperature would bring patients out of a long term coma. Here's what I explained:
Suzanne -- I have looked at that problem and I'm not sure if works for coma.
When we are awake, we can close our eyes and see daydream images. But we are still awake. The closing of eyes causes slow alpha waves which open up neural connections to the right side of the brain where images are processed.
When we are asleep, the functioning of the left logical side of the brain which processes muscle motion is not stopped, but the left brain signals are temporarily disconnected, mostly so we don't actually do physical activity like sleep walking. So at that time all we have is the signals from the right side of the brain which process images we call dreams.
In the case of coma, it seems that the left side of the brain is not functioning, as when asleep, And the lack of motor function can be caused by physical damage to the brain or other causes such as hypnotic suggestion which can also shut off the brain. This can also be self-caused in the case of swooning or fainting.
The other condition of coma which is different from sleep is that the patient cannot be aroused as from normal sleep. If the temporary coma-like condition is from swooning and fainting, then smelling salts or ammonia seem to arouse the patient. But in actual coma this does not seem to work.
Thus, probably what would determine if a coma patient can be aroused by raising the brain temperature is if there is brain activity in the right brain indicating that dreaming is occurring. If both sides of the brain are disconnected electrically but still functioning, with only the lower brain stem working to maintain basic body function such as breathing then it may not work to simply raise the brain temperature.
Since I am the first person to notice the relationship between consciousness and brain temperature, nobody has done any research in this area. I hope my articles might entice some enterprising medical researchers to experiment and take a look at the possibility.
For more information, do a search on the BroJon Gazette front page for related articles on this topic...
Marshall Smith
Editor, Brother Jonathan Gazette
newseditor@brojon.com
-- BROTHER JONATHAN GAZETTE
http://www.brojon.org/DigestArchives/060526.html
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Dr. Becker talks a lot about his probiotics, how special they are made, etc. I never have looked for the 'papers' on it, but it does make me curious. Science has never been my strong suit! So science papers make my brain fog over and my eyes glaze!!
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HB wrote:Yes, Natasha IS an expert in the field. But WHY is Doug ignoring her and Dr. Dave, who has a degree in mycology, and pushing that Dr. Ohira's now???
Maybe it's better??? OR just as good but costs less???
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Hiya Minn! I replied to seeing your post on the Health 411 site. Good to "see" you! You are very missed around here! Don't be such a stranger!
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CDC Makes Another Health-Harming Pitch For Flu Vaccines
CDC officials are worried that an overstock of flu vaccine could lead to millions of doses being thrown away. This could discourage manufacturers from making as much vaccine in the future. As a result, the CDC is encouraging Americans to get flu shots even after Thanksgiving, which is when public demand generally drops off.
More than 110 million doses are being made for the 2006-2007 flu season. This is a record amount; the previous high was 95 million in 2002-2003. That year, 12 million doses went unused and one manufacturer ceased to make shots. This year, CDC officials are promoting November 27 through December 3 as "National Influenza Vaccination Week."
Meanwhile, PutChildrenFirst.org, an advocacy organization of parents with autistic children, has sounded a warning about thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative found in most flu shots. They contend that thimerosal contributes to autism and other developmental disorders in children.
Thimerosal was removed from other childhood vaccinations in 2003, but flu vaccine sold in multidose vials still has the preservative.
Yahoo News November 13, 2006
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
Well, this is "Alice in Wonderland" logic. When demand drops for this useless and potentially dangerous vaccine, the reaction of the CDC is not that we need less of it made, but that more Americans should get vaccinated. This is a familiar plea from the CDC, being the same one they made last year. Of course, they justify their concerns by trotting out erroneous numbers like the estimated annual number of flu deaths (36,000) when the real number for 2002 in America was less than 800.
Is the CDC's job to protect the public health or the massive profits of the drug companies?
Fact is, Dr. Gerberding's pleas for Americans to endanger their health by receiving a vaccine sound more like wrongheaded cheerleading than ever before.This story prompted a great deal of response from Mercola.com readers. Some selected highlights are below. You may not realize that you can now comment AND vote on articles at Vital Votes. Your participation will actually help select the articles that are sent out in this newsletter. And if your comments are good enough they will be posted in the newsletter.
If you aren't registered make sure you do so resiter now at Vital Votes. You have a chance of having your comment posted like these readers did:
"Several years ago I was very sick with the Flu. At the time I was on massive doses of anti-ulcer medications to control my chronic ulcer disease. Little did I know that by taking acid reducing medication, I was actually making myself far more likely to contract the flu and develop pneumonia. Many patients in the hospital for flu or pneumonia will be found to have been taking acid reducers. I was one of the millions who believed wholeheartedly in the yearly flu shot. Since researching sites like Mercola.com and other natural health sites I have been able to get off the meds and have not even contracted a cold, with the help of cod liver oil, probiotics, and organic food. Thank you Dr. M."
"I really do not understand why people take the flu shot, just to 'prevent' the flu. The flu is pretty harmless to most people, and causes no serious effects -- I think many people do not realize the harm that can come from such vaccines.""The last flu shot I received was in 1975, when the Federal government sponsored the no-cost 'Swine Flu Vaccinations.' I immediately came down with the flu, and over the season I experienced many recurrences. Although I was in great physical shape at the time, it was the sickest winter season of my life. I swore off all future flu vaccinations, and have not experienced a bad winter since.
The key, of course, is to develop and maintain a healthy immune system through diet and exercise, and supplementing with vitamins, minerals, and herbal remedies. I urge everyone to just say no to all flu vaccines."
"Gee ... I wonder how much Drug Company lobbyists paid them for them to make that plea."
"HI! Well...a couple of years ago I had my first Flu shot. After...I did not get sick for a year. Before that I had been on antibiotics for more than half of a year for probably 5 years...I told everyone how great that was and they should get a flu shot. WELL! I have changed my tune! I am on my first (cold/flu) since over a year ago of a flu shot. I have the head cold...now bronchitus (by now I would have been on antibiotics if not for the info I have found here). I've been searching Dr. Mercolas website and found an article he did on the Hymilan salt. Which I had orderd a few weeks ago for food preperation....well...after 3 steam breathing treatments it is amazing the difference of what is coming up and out. No more (sorry this is gross!) thick almost hard dark green gray junk...it is almost clear! All in one day! How fantastic!I am so happy to have found this site and Dr. M...wish I could make a trip to IL to see him and have him check me out and help in all areas! I have already told so many people about this site and his information!
Thank you Dr. Mercola! I hope to make a healthier lifestyle for me and my family! I love your information emails and I check your website for any and all questions or concerns I have! You are a blessing!
May God Bless You!"
Related Articles:
Flu Crimes at the CDCUnbelievable!!
CDC Still Allows Mercury in Infant Flu Shots
Does the Flu Vaccine Really Protect the Elderly?
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A BOMBSHELL DROPS ON CHOLESTEROL MEDICATION'S GLASS HOUSE
By Byron J. Richards, CCN
November 19, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
It had to happen sooner or later. On October 3, 2006, after extensive review of all studies relating to cholesterol-lowering benefits by statin drugs, scientists reporting in the Annals of Internal Medicine pulled the rug out from under the current government-sanctioned cholesterol levels for reducing cardiovascular disease. Their conclusion, “current clinical evidence does not demonstrate that titrating lipid therapy to achieve proposed low LDL cholesterol levels is beneficial or safe.”
This is not a trivial issue. Many billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on the cholesterol drug scam. The health and well being of millions of Americans may have been compromised by reckless lowering of cholesterol, a substance that is vital to health and energy production.
It has long been recognized that adults who have naturally lower cholesterol levels during their 40s and 50s have less heart disease as they grow older. A large body of science supports the notion that LDL cholesterol levels lower than 130 mg/dL is an excellent goal for one and all. How a person should arrive at this goal is a matter of considerable debate. A good diet and exercise is the foundation for any person’s health program and for many this approach is adequate.
The use of nutritional supplements to help lower cholesterol, products that have virtually no side effects and may be highly effective, is considered by the FDA to be an illegal health claim. Instead, the FDA expects Americans to use statin drugs to accomplish this goal, even though the medications have a general anti-energy effect and long list of potentially serious side effects that are not clearly explained to those taking the medications or even to the doctors giving them out.
To make matters worse, several years ago the government-funded National Cholesterol Education Program promoted new guidelines for the use of these drugs. It was recommended that individuals at high cardiovascular disease risk attain LDL levels < 100 mg/dL and individuals at very high cardiovascular risk attain LDL levels < 70 mg/dL. These are abnormally low levels of cholesterol, meaning drugs must be used to create an artificially low level of LDL cholesterol, an unnatural physiological condition. This is very difficult to do and requires high doses of statins, doubling or tripling the dose, oftentimes combined in dangerous combinations with other drugs (like fibrates). [AKA BIG BUSINESS $$$$!]
These therapies are extremely expensive and often do not work. These guidelines immediately boosted the sales of statins from fifteen billion per year when the report was released in 2004 to over twenty-two billion in 2005. And now we come to find out there is not a shred of scientific evidence to support that lowering cholesterol in this manner will reduce cardiovascular disease, compared to simply having an LDL lower than 130.
Statins are also being pushed for prevention of a first heart attack in people with only moderate cardiovascular risk. A careful analysis of the statistical data shows that such statin use may very slightly reduce cardiovascular death in this preventive population over a ten year period. However, the drugs kill 1% as a side effect, due to accidents, suicide, and infection, completely canceling out any benefit. This means there is no value at all, from a societal point of view, in wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money on this pointless preventive strategy.
The amount of money spent on this fraudulent scheme is at least seven billion dollars a year, money that is in essence stolen from hard working Americans. Class-action lawsuits have already been filed against Pfizer for illegal Lipitor promotion, many are sure to follow.
Big Pharma Concocts an Authentic Appearance
The National Cholesterol Education Program is part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), meaning that it is part of our federal government and has an operating budget of about one million dollars per year. In 2004 it selected a panel of nine “experts” to review statin drug use and make recommendations as to guidelines doctors should follow to reduce cardiovascular disease.
On July 13, 2004, these nine experts published their findings in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. Their paper lists the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; American College of Cardiology Foundation; American Heart Association as coauthors – meaning these various groups supported the findings. It doesn’t appear to be very difficult to get published in your own marketing magazine.
Circulation failed to disclose that six of the nine authors had direct financial ties to the makers of statin drugs. Those drugs include Pfizer's Lipitor; Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pravachol, Merck's Lovastatin, and AstraZeneca's Crestor. For example, Newsday.com reported on July 14, 2004, “Dr. H. Bryan Brewer, a physician-scientist at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, was one of the guidelines' authors. He was the subject of a letter to the director of the National Institutes of Health last week from a consumer watchdog, Public Citizen's Health Research Group. The advocacy organization charged that Brewer had failed to disclose his ties to AstraZeneca. Brewer, according to the letter, had written a glowing report in a medical journal about Crestor without disclosing that he is a paid consultant and had presided over a company-sponsored symposium.”
Even though these connections were slightly exposed in the media at the time, no action was taken to review the credibility of the statin science by other less biased researchers. Instead, the public relations buzz was that the statin “science” was solid.
The October 3 review in the Annals of Internal Medicine tears this “solid science” to shreds, something that should have been done two years ago. The review explains the deceitful manipulation of statistics and how not one study proves that lowering LDL cholesterol to the super low levels recommended has any benefit in reducing cardiovascular disease. Simply put, this report is shocking.
The bottom line: there is no credible science, and there never was, that offered proof that lowering cholesterol levels to physiologically abnormal levels reduced cardiovascular risk. Thus, basing a broad governmental public health recommendation on no solid science is flat out wrong. Why aren’t these faulty recommendations being reversed?
The Extreme Dangers of Statin Drugs are Downplayed
In my book, Fight for Your Health: Exposing the FDA’s Betrayal of America, I spend several chapters documenting all the clearly known risks of statin drugs, citing over 140 references. Even though it is the most widely used drug in America, most doctors prescribing it are not aware of its many side effects or numerous interactions with other drugs. Statins are known to disrupt energy production, weaken the adrenal glands, interrupt vitamin D synthesis, block co-enzyme Q10 production, induce cardiomyopathy, damage kidneys, weaken or damage muscles, and in a variety of situations increase cancer risk.
There are numerous reports of suicide, depression, and cognitive impairment from statin use. Since many elderly patients are using statins, brain damage with ongoing use is likely. This is not difficult for anyone to understand. Brain cells contain higher levels of cholesterol in their cell membranes, enabling nerve cells to survive longer. Nerve cells do not split and divide like other cells in the body, thus they must have a higher level of cholesterol – this is normal. One clear adverse effect of statins is lowering the nerve cell-membrane level of cholesterol, resulting in premature cellular death. Maintaining proper levels of cholesterol in the brain is vital to normal nerve function. This toxic effect of statins will be worse on a higher dose and nerve damage will progressively accumulate over time. Doctors, mostly unaware they could be inducing cognitive decline or neuropathy in their patients, may prescribe other brain medications to treat the decline in nervous system function, thinking the symptoms are just part of the aging process. This is a tragedy.
Another seldom mentioned adverse side effect of statins is that they directly interfere with immune system function. Statin pushers like to claim this is a benefit, reducing inflammation. There is an element of truth in this; however, there are much better ways to reduce inflammation than by use of statins that actually block immune signals. The same system being blocked by statins is required for a robust response to combat infection. The immune suppressing effects are so powerful that statins are being considered as adjunctive therapy for organ transplant patients. What happens to a person’s immune defense when they are on a super high dose of statins to lower cholesterol to abnormally low levels? How is anybody on high-dose statin therapy supposed to fight the flu? What happens if a pandemic flu strain hits? Guess which citizens won’t make it.
Mainstream Media Attempts to Brainwash Americans
A major part of the drug safety problem in the United States is that sleazy Big Pharma-sponsored studies are published as if they are science. Mainstream media forwards the Big Pharma sales pitch. This is done to blatantly promote the use of many dangerous drugs (like Vioxx), as well as to improperly discredit competition to drugs, i.e., the very safe nutritional supplements.
We hardly heard a peep from the mainstream media regarding these rather dramatic findings. The New York Times did manage to report on this issue; however, the reporting is more a defense of the status quo than a consumer wake-up call to a major health scam costing us billions of dollars.
Circulation is operated by the American Heart Association (AHA). All the big statin companies, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and AstraZeneca, pay big money to the AHA every year (so does Bayer for aspirin promotion). The AHA has a long history of taking in millions from statin-producing companies and other heart-drug producers, supporting questionable products in return. Once Big Pharma gets the slanted study published, the mainstream media is fed press releases and they promote the information to the unsuspecting public as if it is a major scientific discovery. Big Pharma pays several billion dollars a year for media advertising – you better believe the top media executives know where their bread is buttered.
During the time in 2004 that Big Pharma was plotting its statin bonanza it needed to fire cannonballs at its most widely recognized competition, Vitamin E and other antioxidants. No problem. First, in August 2004, they use their marketing magazine to print a bogus article, contradicting hundreds of nutritional studies, stating that antioxidants A, C, and E are not effective for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Then, in November of 2004, with trumpets blaring at their yearly AHA meeting, they make the brazenly fraudulent claim that vitamin E increases the risk of death by 6%!!!
Outside the marketing meeting masquerading as a scientific conference, the chairman, Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is holding a dog and pony show press conference. “I spend all my time trying to tell patients why they should not take vitamin E. Too often in terms of the supplements there's very scant science. In this area, we have the science. Vitamin E doesn't work.” He implored his captive audience of reporters to help him convince patients to stop taking Vitamin E and take the “proven” drugs. The next day, all major media ran the story telling consumers vitamin E was dangerous. Program effective. Damage done.
Within weeks the American Heart Association had brainwashed doctors and the American public to actually think vitamin E was dangerous, clearing out the primary competition to statins for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Doctors were telling all their patients to stop taking vitamin E. The anti-vitamin rhetoric spread like wild fire through doctor’s offices around the nation.
Within a week the bogus vitamin E information coming from the American Heart Association meeting was debunked. Physician and nutritional expert, Alan Gaby, pointed out all the flaws as well as the safe and effective track record of vitamin E. By April of 2006, the leading antioxidant scientists in the world had published a comprehensive review showing the safety of vitamin E up to doses of 1600 IU per day, again debunking the false vitamin E story and explain the high degree of safety of antioxidant nutrients. The media was nowhere to be found; the public never heard vitamin E was truly safe and vital for immune function, prevention of cognitive decline, and a wonderful nutrient for cardiovascular support.
In July of 2005, the Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of an amazing vitamin E and heart disease study. After tracking 40,000 women for eight years it was proven that vitamin E lowered the risk of cardiovascular death by 24%! However, JAMA authors, going along with the vitamin E smear campaign, concluded that vitamin E was not worth recommending! Any drug with that kind of statistical evidence would be a billion dollar blockbuster. The idiotic media failed to look at the study and reported everywhere that vitamin E was not needed, denying women the true information about a wonderful cardiovascular support nutrient.
It should not be surprising that the American Heart Association’s bogus attack on vitamin E was rooted in their bogus science about the benefits of using statin drugs to lower LDL cholesterol to abnormally low physiological levels. The degree of collusion between the American Heart Association, Big Pharma, government agencies, scientific journals, and the media is simply appalling. The American Heart Association is now seen as the Big Pharma front group they truly are.
Where is the FDA when they are needed? Why isn’t the FDA requiring more testing before allowing doctors to use statins in an unapproved manner? Why is the FDA attacking super-safe nutritional strategies to help Americans naturally and safely normalize cholesterol levels?
Consumers Really Do Have Choices
There is no short cut to healthy cholesterol function in the human body. A good diet and exercise are the foundation. Many nutritional ingredients may be able to assist a person in their quest to improve their cholesterol levels. Despite this fact, the FDA is trying to trample the first amendment and prevent you from learning about these options; however, Americans do have choices.
There is a very good reason the AHA was attacking vitamin E. One of the newer nutritional supplement forms of vitamin E, known as tocotrienols, is a powerful tool for managing cholesterol and boosting immunity. 100 mgs a day of rice bran tocotrienols have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol 25%. Tocotrienols are the only form of vitamin E that show some ability to reverse hardening in the arteries. They are known to effectively reduce plaque formation by preventing plaque from sticking to the lining of arteries. Instead of causing nerve damage like statins, they offer powerful antioxidant protection for nerves. Statins work by taking a sledge hammer to the cholesterol production line. Tocotrienols work by telling the workers on the production line to go home for the day, enough work has been done.
Nature provides us with hundreds of natural compounds that help cholesterol regulation. Any supplement that improves energy function, such as a good multiple vitamin, will have a synergistic benefit. Fiber, whether dietary or in the form of supplements, can help manage cholesterol. In some cases, a simple deficiency in magnesium can cause cholesterol to elevate. Magnesium is the most lacking mineral in the American diet. Omega 3 oils are also lacking in diets, and fish oil has been shown to lower cholesterol (study 1, study 2, study 3).
Whether it is a B vitamin like pantethine or niacin, a fruit extract from citrus or blueberries, or a simple condiment like garlic, the list of nutrients that may assist individuals to manage their cholesterol is almost endless. Nature has provided answers. You have many options.
There is good reason many Americans are turning to safe and effective natural options as part of a health strategy to maintain cholesterol levels in a better range. This latest fiasco with cholesterol medication is proof that government and Big Pharma work together to push drug sales, oftentimes disregarding the true effects on human health, including safety. I wonder if the American Heart Association will learn that those living in glass houses should not throw stones? How much longer can Americans tolerate a government, media, and health industry on the take from Big Pharma?
© 2006 Truth in Wellness, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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NewsTarget.com printable article
Originally published September 11 2006
NIH researcher caught secretly taking big money from Big Pharma
(NewsTarget) -- A National Institute of Health researcher accepted more than $100,000 in unauthorized deals from pharmaceutical companies and failed to report the income, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.
Last year during an internal NIH review, Dr. Thomas J. Walsh -- a senior researcher who has led major cancer drug trials -- was found to have committed "serious misconduct" that could lead to his dismissal by accepting the drug firms' money. An internal review document found that "Dr. Walsh has engaged in serious misconduct, in violation of the Department's Standards of Conduct Regulations and federal law and regulation."
The NIH has taken no disciplinary action against Walsh, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative subcommittee is expected to conduct a hearing into the NIH's handling of Walsh's case sometime this week. The subcommittee will also examine the case of another researcher -- Dr. P. Trey Sunderland III -- who accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug company fees without permission, while working on Alzheimer's disease research.
NIH officials found that Walsh took $100,970 from pharmaceutical and biotech companies between 1999 and 2004, while simultaneously leading government-sponsored research of some of the contributing companies' drugs. Walsh was found to have taken fees from both Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc. The NIH review found Walsh had taken $3,000 to attend Merck-sponsored events in 2000 and 2001, while he was leading a "research and development agreement" between Merck and the NIH.
"The review panel finds that the scientific subject matter of the activities overlap directly with Dr. Walsh's research at NIH," wrote Holly Beckerman Jaffe, chief ethics lawyer for the NIH.
"And yet the NIH has taken absolutely no disciplinary action against Dr. Walsh," countered Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate and critic of drug company influence in the scientific community. "In any other industry, this would be considered a clear case of criminal corruption demanding immediate action," Adams said. "But in conventional medicine, it's business as usual. Can you imagine the outcry if a cop were caught taking $100,000 from a drug dealer?"
Walsh's lawyers contend that the NIH's rules regarding accepting drug company money are complicated, and say Walsh never served as a representative or advocate for any drug company.
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