Gender Benders, Sperm Discount and Chemical Toxicity

I have heard a number of women mention that the younger men of today seem more feminine.  Is this perception, culture or environment?  The variables are too numerous to quantify. There is documentation that chemical toxicity mimics estrogen causing hormone havoc with gender bending effects. 

 The book, "Hormone Deception" by Lindsey Berskson, outlines an array of hormone disruptors that include wildlife/environmental gender problems.  Birds that bring pesticide contaminated food to their chicks created masculinized females that sing male mating songs.  Weird. 

In 1980 the Tower Chemical Company had a spill of DDT in Lake Apopka, Florida.  DDT is an insecticide in the biphenyl compound group that mimics estrogen.  Bisphenyls also include BPA and PCBs.  The result in alligator egg hatch was a change from 90 percent survival to 18 percent.  Male alligators were demasculinized with problems in reproduction including the absence of a phallus.  Remember most cities fogged the streets with DDT in the fifties and sixties. 

Another infamous biphenyl is Dethylstilbesterol (DES) that was given to pregnant women in the 1950's and 1960's.   The drug "designed" to increase the health of a baby caused miscarriages.  The result was devastating for some daughters that developed cancer.  There was also a study that found that forty two percent of DES exposed women had bisexual orientation verses 18 percent of their untreated DES sisters.

DES also caused men to experience low sperm count and problems with reproduction.  Other problems may include problems with the urinary tract, prostate, testicles, and enlargement of the breast.  There have also been some psychological effects including depression.   

It is interesting that during development, men require testosterone to develop their masculinity.  This testosterone converts to estrogen in the brain as an important part of their development.  So while men need testosterone, they also have a small amount of estrogen.

Biphenyl compounds are stored in fat cells and mimic estrogen creating a gender bending effect.  This is especially true if exposure takes place in the first trimester of pregnancy.  There is the possibility of hormone changes that happen during development.  Since these types of toxins are stored in fat, there is speculation that this problem has been passed down to subsequent generations.  This means that the baby boomers exposure to DDT and DES could produce gender problems for future generations.

To Heaven and Back

Last weekend marked the birth of my first Grandchild.  I made an airline reservation to fly out the next day to see this new addition to the family.  While browsing the books in the airport, I noticed "To Heaven and Back" (video introduction)...."A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again".

The life account of Dr. Mary Neal is certainly extraordinary.  Her life's journey as a teenager to becoming a well educated orthopedic back surgeon is unusual enough.  On a white water kayaking accident in Chile she was involved in a vertical pin and drowned.  Her faith gave her peace in her death.  She experienced heaven while her friends unsuccessfully tried to free her.  Eventually the force of the water broke both of her legs below the knees and she washed out.  It had been 15 minutes before the start of a  frantic effort to revive the blue corpse. 

Her description of heaven is something you will have to read.  She learned many things of our purpose and the interconnection we experience.  Of angels and God's all encompassing love.  Her purpose here had not yet been fulfilled and she was sent back.  Life came back into her body and she had a long and difficult recovery.  The difficulty was physical, emotional, and spiritual.  How could one experience heaven only to come back to this world?

As I gazed upon my Granddaughter, I was overcome with the joy of seeing a new life.  I watched as my daughter nursed her first child on the first day of her life.  I watched her father carry her around the room whispering things that only he and she could hear.  I held her as she slept.  A miracle of a new life, a spiritual creature here to have a human experience. 

The book offers a different perspective.  It is so easy for us to get caught up in the day and the minor obstacles.  It is easy to respond in anger or frustration.  The book reminds me to respond in love and compassion. 

Stay Well!

I'm Pretty Healthy

While there is a place for medication, by design it exists to suppress symptoms.  Drugs do not heal.  We are trained via culture and media to take one pill for this and one for that.  We live in a drug culture that trains us as children the way of the pill.

I have observed that most people think they are “pretty healthy”.  They can be on six or more prescription medications, have a current cold and they will say, “Overall, I am pretty healthy.”  It often takes a lot for them to make the shift to something is wrong.  How would you define “pretty healthy?  I can still get up in the morning and go to work?  I can make it to the mail box and back?  I go to the doctor and take my prescriptions?

I love positive thinking but it could be an obstacle to making change.  Sometimes we slip toward poor health so gradually that we don't even notice.  For some there may be a feeling of, "this is as good as it will get, or I am getting old".  I am sure that at some point in time, I will be old and it really will be as good as it gets.  However, there is a time before that where something really can be done.

Do we deceive ourselves into thinking we are healthy when we also know we have health problems?  Is it our survival mechanism to keep going, or do we truly believe we are healthy in spite of evidence to the contrary.  Perhaps it is a strong spiritual perspective carries you forward.  Are we intentional or unintentional in our self-deception?  A newsman once said, "we view things thru the prism of our experience".  Interesting. 

Advertising has pounded the message that drugs are good, the flu shot is good, and anything we tell you to do is for your benefit.  Many are sincere in this belief.  We know what we are doing because we are smarter than you are.  We have done all the research so you don't have to.  If you do not do as we say you are just ignorant.  Oh contraire.  Just some thoughts.

Stay Well

Constipation, Drugs That Make You Crazy and Antifreeze

Constipation can cause many unpleasant symptoms that can make you, let's say, irritable.  I recently became aware from the FDA that a prescription and over-the-counter drug used to treat constipation can make you crazy.  The FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) shows that Polyethylene Glycol (PEG 3350) has caused "neuropsychiatric events".  This refers to neurological symptoms of the brain and nervous system.  Such disorders may include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Multiple sclerosis, ADD, schizophrenia, depression, autism, and dementia.  I would speculate that PEG interferes with the absorption of nutrients.  Another consideration is that the gut acts as a second brain.  There is a huge gut/brain connection.  We should have seen this one coming.

 

As a side note the same AERS reported problems with commonly prescribed gabapentin and antiacids known as proton pump inhibitors (omeprazole, lansoprazole, Dexilant, Nexium, Protonix).

Miralax (PEG 3350) is made by attaching molecules of ethylene glycol as a chain.  Ethylene glycol is better known as antifreeze for the automotive industry.  It disrupts hydrogen bonds to change the freezing point of water.  As a laxative it increases water in the bowel. PEG, also known as Carbowax is used in an impressive array of commercial products for just about anything imaginable.

Last year(June 2012) the Empire State Consumer Commission filed a Citizens Petition with the FDA calling for:

 "An immediate recall of PEG 3350 laxatives for addition of a black box warning against use in children and warning of potential adverse events associated with PEG 3350 laxative products. Adverse events reported in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System include, but are not limited to:  gastrointestinal, renal, urological, hematological, neurological, neuropsychiatric, dermatological, and at least 3 child fatalities. Adverse events are also outlined by the FDA Drug Safety Oversight"

 The ability to have daily, yes daily, bowel movements is imperative to good health.  Good hydration will aid in this endeavor.  Consider a good probiotic such as Enterobiotic SBO to soften the stool and create a healthy bacterial environment.  Fiber is important to add bulk and absorb bowel toxins and bile.  Consider psyllium (Metamucil), psyllium and ground flax seed (Fiber PF), or bamboo cellulose (EZ Fiber).  Homeopathics include Constipation CP for children and Constipation Drops for adults. Severe cases may require enemas.  For a better position in the relief consider the Squatty Potty.

Stay Well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chagas Disease, Kissing Bug, Parasites, Vegetables

I often hear “disease starts with inflammation”!   No it doesn’t.  Ask the question, “Why do I have inflammation?”  “Where does it come from?”  It is because there is a toxin of some type that the body cannot deal with or is in the process of dealing with.  In this world we have a lot of possible toxic voluntary and involuntary “choices”.

As an example, an individual may come in contact with a parasite that uses a living person or animal as a host.  A parasite consumes your resources and creates waste (a toxin) that your body must deal with.  The Triatome (kissing) bug recently came to my attention. Known as the insect “vector” for Chagas disease is a major killer in Latin America.  The Triatomine Beetle is the American version of trypanosomiasis, the carrier for the parasite trypanosomes.  This is similar to the disease carried by the tsetse fly in Africa causing sleeping sickness. 

The normal venue for these beetles is a secretive nocturnal life in the cracks and holes of substandard housing or in any outdoor/indoor environment including doghouses, chicken houses, woodpiles, etcetera.  They like to bite faces, suck blood, and defecate leaving the parasite.  The area itches, is scratched, and unknowingly rubbed into mucous membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth.   Other possible transmissions is thru blood transfusions, organ transplantation, and the ingestion of food contaminated with the parasite.  How much of our food comes from Central or South America?

With the world’s mobile population, you can disregard the old textbook world parasite prevalence maps.  There are currently hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Latin America living in the U.S. 

The worst possible impact is a massive enlargement of the heart causing sudden death (cardiomyopathy).  Have you ever heard of a dog suddenly dying in the kennel?  The scary part is that most are symptom free.  Mild symptoms include fatigue, fever, headache, diarrhea and vomiting.  There may also be a swollen eyelid on the side of the bite.

If you are at risk for parasites (blog), consider Verma Comp, Vermasode, and Verma HP.  A preventative for pets is diatomaceous earth(blog) dusted in the kennel.

Stay Well!

Arsenic, Victorian Lace, Draft Teams and Chicken

The old Belgium team survived on oats and arsenic.  Yes, arsenic was commonly fed to older horses to help them maintain their weight.  The old horse trader’s story was that one-month after buying a beautiful team the purchaser, who did not know about arsenic, witnessed his team turning to skin and bones. 

Arsenic is commercially used in insecticides, fungicides, and in treated lumber.  Victorian women consumed it to make their skin paler to show that they did not work outside. It is theorized that Napoleon Bonaparte’s death was due to arsenic poisoning.   I recently learned that it is or has been used as feed additive for poultry and swine production.  It improves weight gain and meat color.  What kind of twisted mind decided arsenic would be good to feed to chickens?  I guess chickens are made to sell and not to eat.

Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with lung, bladder and skin cancers.  It is also associated with heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive problems.  Less associated symptoms include burning pains, diarrhea, anxiety, and restlessness.  The mental impact may include obsessive-compulsive disorder.  These individuals also have a fear of poverty, death, disease, and “germs”.  This is another example of a toxicity having a mental impact.

Ironically, homeopathic arsenic, known as Arsenicum album is a premier remedy that is especially useful for food poisoning.  Remember that a homeopathic is highly diluted and does not contain the element arsenic.  Homeopathy is in the realm of physics.  Arsenicum album 30C is a remedy you should always have available.  I remember being in Phoenix the day before a 6AM flight back to Charlotte.  Unfortunately, about midnight, I discovered that I had made a poor choice of restaurants.  Without the Arsenicum, I would not have been able to leave the motel at 4AM.

Tramp Stamps, Millennials, and the Road to Cancer

In my youth, a tattoo was only seen on military men or bikers.  Otherwise it was something that was covered up.  One lady described it as her permanent reminder of temporary insanity. The poor choices made with the aid of an altered state of mind.  The label is or was a “tramp stamp”.  Today, it amazes me the number of individuals with tattoos.  Thirty eight percent of the Millennials (those born after 1980) (full report)have tattoos, compared with 32% of Generation X (1965-1980) and 15% of Baby Boomers(1946-1964).  Ironically, Millennials are more conscious of social issues, organic food, conservation via recycling, and healthful exercise.  For some a tattoo may be a way of feeling special, or an expression of individuality, devotion, or commemoration. 

Most of the health focus is on the self-imposed cleanliness of the operator, equipment and facility.  The famous last words from someone you don’t know…“trust me”.  Death by 1000 puncture wounds via the magical manifestation of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, Epstein Barr Virus, tetanus, tuberculosis or any other imaginable blood born infectious disease?  While the initial and post tattoo pain is real, the other death by 1000 cuts is the slow un-noticed embracing of change with unwanted consequences that impact our heath.  The tattoo is nothing short of a future health risk.

The first rule of health is to avoid toxic material.  Few know the composition of tattoo ink that is no doubt toxic material foreign to the body.  So we inject toxic material into the skin.  The ink goes into the cell.  The impregnation of the cell is the fourth stage of disease.  The fifth stage is degeneration of the cell and the sixth is cancer.

The body has mechanisms to remove toxins from the body, which means the material may travel thru lymph fluid or blood to end up anywhere.  It is possible that the liver may not be able to process such chemicals, especially if viruses, nutrients, drugs or alcohol compromises it.  This means the toxin must be deposited in fat or connective tissue for storage.  This is the creation of a disease state that will never be connected to acts of youth.  Do we really need a more toxic personal environment?

Live Well!