Medical Alerts & Health Concerns: Stay Informed with Earth Clinic

This is the most vindicating expose I've seen in YEARS.

It's long, but damned well worth it!!!

REQUIRED VIEWING FOR WHOEVER CAN STILL THINK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1nbZCNDgbY&feature=bf_next&list=PL30DB2E53346F6416&lf=player_embedded

btw, please keep up the good work Ted!

Hi Rob, I too get the cloudy film left on the glass when dissolving a capsule that has mag stearate in it and I might add it does not just rinse out it has to be well soaped to remove it. One supplement I have not been able to get without mag stearate that I wanted to use for a few nights so I open the capsule and put the contents into some water, about a 1/3 cup, and stirred then removed the scum & poured the water into another glass. So drank it but I realise that I do not know what mg were in it as I assume that some of the dose was in the scum and some may have been on the film on the glass. The supplement still worked but this method would not be good if you required an accurate dosage. I am fortunate that I do not react to the red colouring as your mum does as it is in a few tablets.

In Australia they don't list the ingredients other than the ones they want us to know, although they will state things like dairy, corn, gluten or lactose free. Our labeling rules are pathetic.

I mentioned before that my husband did not get the benefits from a couple of herbs that have it in well we found the same for B-12 tablets. I got myself a 5000mcg one with 800mcg of folic acid and as my husband did not need that large of a dose I got him one that was 1000mcg with 400mcg of folic acid and mine is 1/5 th of the size of his. Whilst they were both sub-lingual, his has mag stearate but the size difference is huge. What is really interesting is I got some results and he did not. He has started having the ones without the ms, he just has part of the tablet to get the lower dose.

There is a reason they use it and that is as it makes a cheaper product they get more sales, and I'm guilty of this. I knew that with mag stearate in the herb capsules we did not get the benefits but I still bought the B-12 with it when I could have bought one without it (won't make that mistake again).

Maria it is a good point you are making... Thanks. I like Sahelian and try to cross referrence his opinions with other Dr. S like Weil and Mercola, Oz.. Etc.. He may be correct for the "average" person that other ingredients may prove to be more harmful... However he does have a strong vested interest in a whole line of vitamins that use Mag. Stearate. But why have it if it is of no benefit to us, or a possible harm but only benefits the manufacturing process and sales.... I know my mother once had a strong allergic reaction to a multiple vitamin (her face swelled up) which she traced to the red dye used in it. Also when I empty a capsule with Mag. St. into a glass of water and try to mix and drink it.. There is always a cloudy film left on the glass... (I haven't done tests but assume this is the mag stearate.. Could be wrong)..

Anyway we know the history of commerce in that what usually helps sales has a tendency not to help the consumer.. In this case the additive to ease the flow in machinery. The good news is I am seeing more and more brands without it.... and though Sahelian may be correct in my case, to be on the safe side, I prefer to select non capsule powder forms of vitamins (additive free) or brands that don't use it..

Hi Connie, I would ask the question does Dr. Ray Sahelian have a vested interest in his answer? The cost of producing tablets and capsules goes up as does the time when there are no additives to help lubricate the machines. I have read his blurb as well and I notice that not once does he mention that some people can be allergic to it. There are people with a corn allergy who have reacted to one brand over another. As it is listed as mag stearate from vegatable sources people cannot tell which oil it is made from eg: GMO oils, cottonseed, canola, corn, coconut oil. Plus some oils have way more chemicals (cottonseed). Oh and the oil is hydrogenated. There are also people who speak against it like Dr Mercola, although he now has products with Vegetable Stearate in them and has not answered some peoples questions about this (maybe he has and I have not seen them). I can't see much difference between the two except that one has a form of magnesium attached to it, but it's only a guess.

Have you read the MSDS, section 3 "The substance may be toxic to liver, skin. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage. " It is also interesting to note that on the different msds for mag stearate that there are a lot of answers "Not available". http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927217 http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Supplements_Facts.shtml

My main issue is I have reacted to it. I was on therapeutic doses of some herbs and supplements and had the most awful pain to the point that I was physically holding part of my stomache to stop it from what I can only describe as twisting. Had been improving in health (which had taken a few years to get to that point) then changed brands (which contained ms) and a few weeks later it happened. At the time I did not realize it was the mag s. My health was seriously set back. I went back to the mag stearate free ones and no problems until they ran out. The next lot I got had mag stearate in them and l had the same horrible reaction but this time it only took a few days. Worked out it was the mag s that I reacted to so now only take ones without it. I can have it in about 1-2 capsules in a day, but only for 1-3 days (then must not have any for a while) but any more and I get stomache pains and even at this dose it may cause a little constipation. My husband has none of these problems (he takes less caps per day) but what we have noticed is that he dose not get the benefit from two of the herbs with mag stearate in them as we know how well they work for him in capsules without the ms. Maybe because ms coats them and makes them less absorbable after all the melting point of it is 88. C. Now my reaction wont be reported as I cannot prove it so how many others reactions are not on record. There are a few others who have written their reactions to mag s. On the net but theirs too probably wont be on any official report

Do a search for "magnesium stearate reaction" and you do find some adverse reactions. Here are a couple of interesting ones. http://www.livestrong.com/article/40180-health-risks-magnesium-stearate/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/475543-vegetable-magnesium-stearate-allergic-reaction/

Hi Debbie; I agree that additives to supplements can potentially interfere with bioavailability, but some are much less so than others. Magnesium Stearate is one. Dr. Ray Sahelian, one of the most conservative of the experts in nutritional science, wrote a rather passionate review of the potential side effects of magnesium stearate, citing some case studies. He finds that the fear that has been provoked about it is overwrought, and that people should be more concerned about over indulgence in the vitamin itself, as that could be more problematic. Magnesium Stearate components are found in nature; stearic acid is found in many of our foods, as is magnesium.

Hi Connie your sublingual lozenges contain magnesium stearate which I understand is not good to take. It is not good for the immune system.

Perhaps Bill from the Philippines (or someone else) can clarify the dangers of magnesium stearate.

I am tired of trying to dodge all these bullets!

I was about to get B12 injections for my son! Many children with autism are having B12 injections!

Does sublingual B-12 contain aluminium as well?

Michael, thanx for your couragous post. I would dare to ammend (update) Bob Dylan's "the times they are a changen" to "the times they are a challengen". As inteligence becomes more centralized and morality is the man-made version, we the people are certainly the troubled sheep. I always pray Reform, Reform, Reform.

My dear mother was prescribed injection B-12 in her last phase of cancer. I was certainly not for it, as B-12 can be taken sublingually in as high as 5mg doses. I don't know if it affected her or not, but looking back it seems very likely as she worsened rapidly. But not a bad journey as she is now with her Lord Jesus.

Dear Readers, Read your labels, not that it will do any good as the corrupt FDA works with a 'hands off' policy where aluminum is concerned and deems aluminum 'safe and nontoxic'. Despite all the evidence and research to the contrary, our mandated to protect... FDA is about as inept and corrupt and useless as our EPA. The US consumer is being poisoned by nearly every longer shelf life at any cost, especially the health prospects of our customers.

Targeted are children and hispanics most recently as Walgreens, Little Debbie, Hostess, Safeway, Entemens, Franz, Kroeger, Albertsons, QFC, Fred Meyer, Jewell, almost every flour tortilla producer, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Duncan Hines and more are adding aluminum compounds to your favorite snacks mixes and treats, Their in store bakery items are also very often tainted. I wish we Americans were not so complacent and/or ignorant. Bad enough the EPA allows toxic levels of aluminum in municipal water supplies, bad enough that useless filters such as PUR and Brita which do not remove any aluminum from the water don't have to alert the consumer, bad enough that our corrupt leadership fumbles about as if the medical research folk don't know the cause of scores of disease, organ failure, cancers, while if they would read they'd find studies linking aluminum to almost all of them, including Alzheimers, osteoporosis, autism, any number of skeletal and nervous system maladies (that includes the various functions of the brain, folks), and because it can invade and corrupt the DNA is thought to cause birth defects, learning/growth disorders and on and on and our faulty leaders have given the aluminum consortium a green light and thumbs up to the toxic nightmare.

Oh, you might like to know that injectable vitamin B12, which is supposed to do you good and is prescribed by so many well meaning medical folks, contains aluminum as a preservative. Ain't that a peach? If you have concerns and wish to emit a primal scream, my email is madhatter08(at)comcast.net and I, sadly was the victim of aluminum poisoning via B12 injections. I am now terminal with numerous health issues. My leg went numb where they gave me the injections and they misdiagnosed me with MS before, purely by accident, it was discovered the B12 was toxic. Thanks to the FDA...

Below is a post from another health related web site. I just went and signed the petition, and wanted to pass this on. I believe we should all have the choice as to buying GMO foods, and labeling them as such just seems like a really GOOD idea to me.

-----------------------------------

Posted On Oct 04, 2011

A far better way to be heard is to check out whitehouse.gov and look on the front page for something called "We the People". Obama made a way for regular people like you and me to post a petition on the whitehouse web site and get signatures for the petition. Once it reaches 25, 000 signatures policy makers take notice and review it. It's potentially a direct route into Obama's office to bring something to his attention. It has to reach that many signatures before 4 weeks ends from the time of the creation of the petition.

Today I made a Whitehouse.gov petition about requiring all GMO foods to be labeled as such. Sign the petition before November 3 by copying and pasting the following URL into your web browser and clicking the link to "sign this petition". You will have to register with your name and email first:

http://wh.gov/2cJ

Or if you could word it in a more convincing and thorough way make your own petition about it. I wish Dr. Mercola would create some petitions on the Whitehouse.gov website and then get us all to sign it. I don't have the time to word it perfectly and give quality research links backup in the petition for policy makers to review.

I agree, if it's not small amounts, it's questionable whether the supplements have been irradiated or not. Especially when the supplements are shipped through the mail or imported. The people who do best are probably the people who grow their own foods. Maybe those who go to farmer's markets but there's such a waste with bpa (or bpa-substitute) plastic bags for the produce there. I really don't know what irradiation will do but my gut doesn't like the sound of it. I know when it was done heavily to government mail, workers got sick. I heard about new laws passed where they technically don't have to tell us if it's for the safety against terrorists. Still taking ACV feels good.

Vitamins & Supplements: I hope I'm wrong - but isn't it a waste of money knowing Codex Alimentarius, in 2009, deemed all vitamins & supplements to contain a useless amount of vitamin/mineral and any containing more than the limit are illegal drugs and possession is a criminal offence, you go to jail. If it's now law - why keep buying them? Look for the vegetables/fruit that has the most. EG: Lie in the sun at midday - 8 minutes each side & get 11,000 IU vitamin D, free. No time for sun tan. Ummm, aren't there animal vitamins & supplements that are not included under Codex, like Lugols Iodine? Let's know.

Tell Congress The FDA's Draft Guidance on Supplements is Bad for Americans TODAY

The FDA's draft guidance for new dietary ingredients for supplements is not only counter to the intent of the law, it is bad for consumers' health and their wallets, and bad for our economy. Set aside a few minutes on Thursday, September 8, 2011 to call your legislators and ask them to take action to stop the FDA's overreach of power! Take Action!

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Members of Congress listen to what you say. Each time they are contacted it represents 1, 000 voices. Are you concerned with healthcare in this country? Make your voice heard and create change!

http://www.anh-usa.org/ - FOR MORE INFO VISIT THIS LINK

Tell Congress to Oppose the Dietary Supplement Labeling Act
The Dietary Supplement Labeling Act has been introduced in the Senate. The bill instead targets supplements and supplement manufacturers, exploiting a hot-button food issue to try to pass more regulation for dietary supplements. Moreover, almost all of its provisions are already covered by existing law. There is no need for any new legislation; the only need is for existing laws to be fully enforced.

FDA is seeking to destroy your business with New Dietary Ingredient regulations that are targeted to pull 55,000 products off of store shelves and require approval before they can be marketed. Tough new regulations will require them to meet same stringent requirements as Synthetic Food Preservatives which requires a margin of safety that most products can never meet. That is the point get them off the shelf and protect big pharma profits.

Please read:

http://www.lef.org/featured-articles/0719_FDA-views-supplements-as-synthetic-food-preservatives.htm

http://www.naturalnews.com/032924_dietary_supplements_FDA_approval.html

the go to the following link to make your comments known directly to FDA on the internet.

http://www.regulations.gov/#! SubmitComment;D=FDA-2011-D-0376-0002

The company, job or health you save may be your own.

Sincerely, Jack

Debbie from Melborne. You don't need to tell me about wild herbs. Many years ago I got the first swine flu shot and developed sinus problems. Went to dr and treated with antibiotics. Things progressed to chronic bronchitis and finaly asthma. Finally heard of master herbalist, Hannah Kroeger in nearby city. I guess I can mention her name. She's passed on now, but she cured me. I developed fungus in my lung, she cured that. This was the most amazing woman. She lectured all over the country, wrote many books and people flocked to her by the hundreds. Some came from other states. I got so interested in herbs I bought every book I could get my hands on and even considered taking a course to get certified. She was charged (I think I read 20 times) for practicing medicine without a license. The doctors couldn't stand it.

People picketed outside the court for her. They never did anything to her, but tell her to quit it. I was in line one day and we got up to her and this very well dressed man in front of me introduced himself (he was an attorney) and his neighbor was a judge and the judge told him to go to her. (Mayo clinic couldn't help him). Most people went to her because the drs couldn't help them or sometimes couldn't even diagnose their problem. I could go on and on telling of the problems she cured that allopathic med has no answer for, other than surgery - or drugs that made them worse. Never knew her to cure cancer tho'.

I found a website where you can order seed for the wild herbs and grow your own. I intend to do that before government shuts that down.

Granny Laura, I think Codex is already here. Last winter I was prescribed potassium. I told doctor I have some. She said, "What you have, no matter the brand, is a miniscule amount compared to the prescription and wouldn't do any good. " Also read on the internet 2-3 years ago that the body will only absorb about 20% of mg printed on the label of all otc vit and min. If this is so, what are they going to cut them down to? Does this mean we're already wasting our money?

I agree, it would be nice if the remedies here were summed up and availble in an ebook. I know it'd probably take a lot of work for one person like Deirdre. Maybe there are some sefless souls out there to help? Lets help each other. Can't wait to see an ebook download link!

I thought Codex Alimentarius has already been done by most food and supplements are irradiated. Someone wrote earlier that gem dealers were having gems change color in mail due to irradiation. You can verify this in a net search too. I do my best to grow my own and buy local. I hear enough folks complaining those leaving too big of a carbon foot print should be punished in ways like this. Natural resources aren't infinite for a growing population so learn to read between the lines. Don't forget the placebo or nocebo affect and our bodies can heal themselves quite a bit. I think it is alarming how many people are taking the bait and living poor lifestyles. With women not only having to work but now they also have to raise kids and feed their families. I am amazed how many pedestrians I see walking with their cell phones glued to their heads on my way home from work. I can only imagine the big book of health care and funeral homes to come. At least here, people are more clued in and proactive.

Hi Granny Laura, as I got better informed I stopped buying multi-vitamins. One thing they can't achieve, that is to come home and control how many pills we take. The health shop where I often go in Switzerland advises people to take more than it is written in the bottles of their own brand and what they write in the bottle is subject to the regulations. It is a very sad state of afairs and in a globalized world you can't escape it because all countries will be doing the same thing, as it is already happening. Forcing people to go to the doctor in order to get a prescription for supplements is wrong first because you have to pay the doctor and waste your time and his, then because doctors were indoctrinated to discard supplements as useless so what is the use anyway? I don't usually go to the doctor anyway, only in extreme cases!

The two homeopathic doctors we had in our region gave up last year, there is no one to go to now! One of them was a regular GP as well but he is gone too! And think about all the health food shops, when they close it will be a disaster because they are so many now. What will happen to all those people? To all those premises which won't be rented out again as many shops are closing anyway? And the manufacturers of natural products? I don't think governments oversee disasters very well nowadays especially in a time of terrible crisis! I am not religious but I have to say: God help us!

Judy, do what I am doing, collect non hybrid seeds of vegetables, grow aloe vera. I am also collect organic wheatgrass seeds to be able to juice. Buy books on wild herbs... They have amazing qualities. Grow a lemon tree, and other fruit trees. Lemons in particular are amazing.

Grow your own hot pepper trees and dehydrate the seeds and pods yourself.

Buy bulk packs of unrefined sea salt, organic coconut oil, apple cider vinegar.

Most of the above are better than the supplements you can buy which a lot of are now synthetic anyway. Read, read, read up on natural remedies.

Print out all the great cures on this wonderful website.

Maybe Deidre could start an ebook on the remedies here to save on printing pages individually... Deidre??

Buy a water filter system

Buy a colloidal silver machine..

We just have to be prepared for ourselves and our children.

This is scary. I've been reading about this for over a year and have signed every petition against it I get in my mailbox.

They don't want us to be in control of our own health. They know good non-gm food, raw milk, nutritional supplements and herbs can cure ailments pharmaceuticals can't touch and big money can't stand it and doctors don't believe it.

Besides, they need to eliminate the surplus population and they intend to do it by slowly poisoning us.

Any doubters should go to a very OLD cemetary and look around. There are people that lived through flu epidemics, smallpox, etc. and managed to live to 80's and 90's with nothing but herbs and decent food, and exercise, and probably very few doctors.

The Codex Ailamentarius going to take away all health supplements so that you must have a prescription to buy them. And , what you will be able to buy will be so weak as to be ineffective. About 5, 000 natural health products are about to disappear from the shelves.

The EU Directive classifies vitamins and minerals in Europe as "medical drugs" rather than dietary supplements, which means that they are subject to government regulation in terms of dosage and availability. The US is next, look up Codex Ailamentarius on this site for more information on this directive from the government to ban health food supplements! It seems to part of the New World Order agenda.

It gets worse.

There are many nutrients known to be vital to optimal health that are not on the government's RDA nutrient list. These include chromium picolinate, lysine and selenium.Under the directive, these types of supplements will be banned from over-the-counter sale. It will be illegal to buy them without a prescription.

The supplements that will be available till be restricted to multi-vitamins that will contain no more than 100 per cent of the established RDA amounts, which are usually useless trivial quantities and they will be far more expensive than what we have now.

This directive will make it illegal for people to keep themselves healthy by supplementing their diet with essential nutrients.

Plus, the directive allows supplements to be made from a list of only 15 minerals and 13 vitamins. That leaves out at least 40 minerals important to the human metabolism and forbids the use of the most bio-available forms of vitamin complexes.

In essence, it means that all nutritional supplements will be virtually the same and next to useless.

The specific combinations might vary, but the types and amounts of nutrients will be identical, no matter what product they are formulated into. Our governments are selling us out to the people that are determined to reduce the population of the earth by 90%. In other words, survival of the fittest. They don't want a population that is anything but healthy enough to work between the ages of 14 and 44 years. You will be expendable before that as they don't have that much invested in you in the cost of your education. After the age of 44 when your production might be expected to fall because of health related issues you once again become expendable. Google Codex Ailamentarius and find out for yourself what your government has in store for you!!

Courtney, the problem here in Europe is that it is not at all about quality but government earning more money, as the licensing is very expensive, putting small firms out of business and banning a lot of supplements! Quality doesn't come into the equation! There was an article in a British newspaper, today, and as one commentator, a Chinese doctor said, who is right, Chinese medicine which has used some hearb for thousands of year or our science which all of a sudden says that this herb is dangerous? Also about the interaction with medication, shouldn't mainstream medication come with the warning that it can interact with some herbs or supplements? Why is it only the supplements that have to mention the interaction with medication? A lot of people who take supplements avoid all mainstream medication anyway!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2023896/The-hidden-risks-herbal-remedies-pharmacists-dont-tell-about.html

Tough call. There's a part of me that actually welcomes some regulation because it is so difficult to know which brands are quality and which are garbage. Right now, it's a crap shoot - we take our chances when purchasing supplements. And believe me, some of the names we trust aren't the ones who make the quality supplements.

I'm truly on the fence about it. In theory and in general, I don't care for regulations, but in this instance, it might not be a bad thing.

I have loved Earth Clinic for years, and have used many of the remedies found here with great success. However, many of those remedies will be useless if the FDA bill demanding to regulate every supplement made before 1994 is passed.

I hope that you will start publicizing this on your website so that people who are unaware of what the government is trying to do have a chance to let their opinions be heard.

Welcome to the real world, here in Europe it has happened already! Lukily there is still a lot on sale and manufacturers are trying to register products and bring them back but it will all cost a lot of money and supplements will be completely out of normal people's reach. I haven't noticed much as there is still a lot being sold but I am sure that they will make it more and more difficult till they get rid of everything!

This is URGENT!!! Please watch this. It HAS to be stopped.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP-XEpAAtl8&feature=player_embedded#at=18

Hi This is a very interesting audio interview.

From http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/14/dr-shiv-chopra-on-corrupt-to-the-core.aspx

also found there http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1815723

What Happens When Your Government Chooses to Side-Step Scientific Truth?

Dr. Shiv Chopra is a world renowned scientist, author and public speaker. As a former employee of Health Canada (the Canadian equivalent of the US FDA) for 35 years, he was the Senior Scientific Advisor for the regulatory assessment of food and drugs, including new vaccines. When he changed job titles from human prescription drugs to the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs, the first file that landed on his desk was Eli Lilly's application to use rBGH in Canada.

In this interview he discusses subjects covered in his most recent book, Corrupt to the Core, which chronicles his many decades fighting for scientific principles against profit-hungry corporations and ultimately against his own bosses and the Canadian government itself.
Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. Chopra
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X71F9UCdPN8&nofeather=True
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0CMtTd6zSE&feature=related
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgUdVU8pzxg&feature=related
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsU8MmHm-xs&feature=related
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyNKX4zYHig&feature=relmfu

I hope you enjoy it, Alain

Here is a great list of ailments and next to them is a list of vitamins that you may be lacking in. I saw quite a few symptoms I have that I need to supplement with. A good list to print out for reference.

Interesting warts and moles are said to be a deficiency of Vitamins C, A & E.

http://www.health-science-spirit.com/deficiency.html

Hi EC, I think this might interest you Copyright Infringement Bill in Senate (S.978)

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1821808#i

Alain

what is interesting is that Weil isn't making any false claims or telling people not to take a vaccine. Just encouraging the use of Astragalus to boost the immune system they see as a threat to their vaccine industry... And therefore threaten to shut him down... wow, what country are we in!

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm186837.htm

HI U GOOD FOLKS DOIN, , , , , , Seeing lots of references to Dr. Mercola's writings. After much research, I caution you to go slow. First do his resume and the years experience don't add up. I admit he has some good folks on his show, but he also has on some sales folks. At 75, I have gardened my entire life. The video of his garden told me he needs to read another book or two.

ATS =====ROBERT HENRY=========

One book I would recommend is "How can I be prepared with Self-Sufficiency and Survival Foods, Isabell Shipard". There are 16 pages of edible weeds.

Here is a good link to a survival website will some good books. These relate to Australia but I am sure some weeds are global. Excellent website.

http://www.survival.org.au/books.php#weeds

Hi Francisca and Lily, I just wanted to respond to your request about wild foods and herbs. Last year I did a lot of studying on it and went on a few wild food hikes in our area which were really awesome.

I wanted to tell you that if you go on youtube, there's a really great guy who teaches you extensively about wild foods and even how to prepare them. His channel is called Eat The Weeds on youtube and you can watch tons of episodes. Also there's a guy name Markus Rothkranz and he did a dvd series called Free Food And Medicine which I think if you google it, you will find it. He's a very interesting guy and I had the opportunity to hear him speak here in LA. He was a very sickly child and adult that transformed himself w/ wild foods and raw foods.

Both of these suggestions will teach you a whole lot on wild foods. When I was on my road to restore my health, we juiced everyday and added in weeds from our yard. They are so powerfully restorative if you know what you're choosing! Best to you both!

Hi Debbie, like Francisca also asked, could you please give us some of the title's of the best Herb books you have, like and recommend! Thanks Lily.

Stacey, yes I agree they can't eradicate weeds so we need to learn about weeds (even go seed collecting from weeds in the wild that haven't had pesticide on them). There are some good websites about "survival" Some weeds have amazing vitamins, health benefits. A good way to get vitamins from the "weeds" is to juice them, although I haven't done that yet.

Hi Debbie-I'm aware of the Codex Alimentarius. It is scary--I've moved heavily into regional wildcrafting in case the worst happens. Luckly, I live in a richly biodiverse area. Let's see them try to eradicate poke weed, dandelion, and chickweed ;)

Susan, San Francisco, you know more than I do..... Let's wait for May 1st then.....

Debbie from Melbourne, could you maybe add a few reviews of the books you have been reading to the book page? That could be very interesting for a lot of us! I will look up the Codex Alimentaris Danger. Could it really be true that they want to outlaw even organic farming in your own garden? I can hardly believe it...... But then, as I said before, they outlawed here making nettle juice even to use in your garden and giving the recipe to anybody. That has changed now for private use but is still prohibited in farms, maybe because it is efficient and cheap?

Stacey, you may want to google "Codex Alimentaris Danger". They want to ban nutritional supplements and organic food. You won't be able to grow organic food in your own garden! Please research.

Hi Francisca, yes you have to be very careful. But in the meantime you could buy herbs from reputable stores or online businesses. I am also buying seeds. I have some wonderful herb books. I read all the time. Many herbs can be used in a tea and you can get many benefits from them. If I read about herbs I don't really know about I google the name and click on "images" and it brings up all the photographs of the herb. Great for checking what they look like.

Hi Francisca in Alsace - I read somewhere that the law went into effect April 1st but wouldn't be implemented until May 1st. Odd, that.

Hi Debbie, that sounds great but I am always afraid to use any herbs or berries growing in the wild as many plants look like each others. Nowadays we eat quite a lot of dendelion, for example, but I wouldn't collect it from my garden. A friend of mine does but I am afraid. Silly maybe but you only need to make a mistake and it can kill you. A short while ago I pointed out to my husband what seemed like flat leaf parsley growing in the garden of our rented house. As I knew that they used to grow some vegetables because I found the lables I thought that it really was parsley but my husband pointed out that it is some other herb which is not edible so..... Be careful!

I still hope the world will change and all this repression will one day end so that we can choose what we want to heal ourselves. For the time being a person like me, who mostly uses natural therapies and supplements will be insured, pay a lot of money but make little use of it while paying everything else on the side. My husband who goes mostly for main stream medicine doesn't use his natural allowance at all but he can't pass it on to me and as it is rather small most of what I take I have to pay myself! Not fair......

Hi everyone,

I'm a nonpracticing herbalist in North Carolina, and I wanted to give you an update on NC Senate Bill 31(AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE PENALTY FOR THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF MEDICINE).

Because there has been such a protest, the bill has been amended to exempt alternative medicine practitioners. For the time being, we can still practice.

I do believe that the bill wan't meant to attack alternative practitioners, but rather to counter the unlicensed cosmetic surgery clinics that have caused a few deaths in NC. Basically, people were going to get what they thought were "botox" injections and ended up dying. Also, remember that NC is in the middle of the "Bible Belt, " and that bill would have made faith healers felons. Considering the "religiousity" of conservative NC culture, the bill would have harrassed the constituency of many government officials.

That being said, we still have to see how these bills are supported:

SB 467 Naturopathic Licensing Act
HB 522 Midwifery Licensing Act (currently in the House Health & Human Services Committee)
HB 847 Naturopathic Doctors Licensing Act

Francisca, what I am doing is learning about herbs, many of which are found growing near us in the garden or in parks or the side of the road (as weeds). Our ancestors went to nature for cures of illnesses. We need to do the same.

Hi Susan, San Francisco, I was dreading the 1st of April but we have just come back from Holland where I went to a very good health food shop and they were still selling a lot of supplements. I have the feeling that a lot have disappeared as small firms were not in a state to pay for tests and registration but there are still enough supplements around. It seems that there were many protests when they wanted to do it years ago so it didn't happen, only when they died out the law was passed without people even knowing about it. A lot of laws are passed that way nowadays, unfortunately. When you hear about it it is too late to do anything. I know that people have been writing to their MEP (Members of the European Parliament), I did too but it didn't help, well, it hardly ever does. I think that protesting, at least peaceful protest doesn't help here anymore. Even violent ones don't help, they wait for them to die out, throw a number of people in prison to teach the other ones a lesson and that's it. People are too buy trying to live their lives and too afraid of the consequences.

I think that you can make your own medicine and give it to someone else, they have no way of knowing but till a little while ago, here in France, it was forbidden to make nettle juice to treat your farm or your garden, which is cheap and very good, or to give the recipe to someone else. Now it is still forbidden to use it in a farm but you can use it in your garden. That smells like repression to me.... Only so that big corporations make more profits making stuff which hurts us and the environment! They also want to outlaw many health practitioners if they don't pay high registrations fees, let's see what happens. The few we have around here seem to be working so far....... The other day I advised a book here called The Trillion Dollar Conspiracy, I will post a little review in the book section soon. Maybe of interest to some of you...... I don't know where I would be without my supplements!

Hello Francisca from Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France. I was wondering if there are any protests going on in Europe regarding the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (TMPD)? Europe is so much older than America and I'm really shocked that the corporations have gotten away with this. Are the authorities talking about outlawing an individuals right to make their own traditional medicines for their own use or the giving away of it to freinds or neighbors? Thanks So Much

Actually it was George Orwell ;)

I hope you meant H. G. Wells

This is going on everywhere, the restriction on natural medicine and supplements started here in Europe on April 1st and.... Just it was not a joke! Not only a lot of supplements will be banned, others have to have such expensive licenses and trials that they will disappear anyway and the quantities of vitamin and minerals in supplements will be so small that it is no use taking them anyway! I don't know much about the restrictions on the treatments but they exist as well. I think that the goal is to get rid of anything natural.

Is everyone aware of this bill that they just managed to delay today? This is unbelievable!! Please tell everyone you know in NC to oppose it.

http://www.naturalnews.com/031964_North_Carolina_practice_medicine.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/031953_medical_practice_licensing.html

Dear Bill, I am half way a very interesting book: The Trillion Dollar Conspiracy by Jim Marrs. Not only about Big Pharma versus supplements but about a lot of other subjects. One of the ideas I had never thought about is the banning of supplements in order to make sure we are not working on our immune system too much so that we are more susceptible to anything they throw at us. Sounds far fetched but could it be true anyway? I don't know! April is fast approching and then a lot of supplements will be banned here in Europe. People like me will have nowhere to turn to as buying from websites will undoubtedly be prohibited as well!

As far as big Pharma goes it is true that they have to keep you ill otherwise how will they make their profits? If you have the opportunity and the interest read this book and find out about what is making us ill, how they create all the pandemics and much more. Incredible stuff but..... I believe true!

Hi Rob... Much thanks for the info on low dose naltrexone, which I know about. Dr Bernard Bihari was the discoverer of the beneficial effects of low dose naltrexone on many autoimmune diseases including various Cancers, MS, HIV AIDS and Fibromyalgia. Other imaginative doctors also ran with LDN including Dr Berkson who has used it successfully together with Alpha Lipoic Acid IVs specifically to repair and heal severe liver problems.

From his website, here are Dr Bihari's own comments on the reasons for autoimmune diseases from his own experience which are clearly very different from the views held by mainstream medicine:

"There exists a common notion that the immune system in a person with an autoimmune disorder is too strong and, in its exuberance, targets a body tissue for attack. Rather, the evidence is more consistent with autoimmunity resulting from immunodeficiency.¹ Kukreja et al have demonstrated that multiple immunoregulatory T cell defects lie behind Type 1 diabetes both in humans and in non-obese diabetic mice.²

Multiple scientific papers from various other research centers have demonstrated that an underlying immunodeficiency is characteristic of any tested autoimmune disease. Examples thus far reported include multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome. ^{3, 4, 5}

Sacerdote et al measured low beta-endorphin levels in two animal examples of autoimmune disease — a mouse strain with a lupus-like syndrome and a strain of chicken with an autoimmune thyroiditis.⁶ They had significantly lower hypothalamic concentrations of the opioid than normal controls. In each case, the low levels of beta-endorphin were found well before the expression of autoimmune disease. This adds to considerable evidence of a key role for endorphins in regulating immune responses and suggests a therapeutic pathway.

Bihari et al found that a low oral dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone, when taken at bedtime, led to a doubling or tripling of low levels of circulating beta-endorphin.⁷ Bihari has since treated some 100 people with autoimmune disorders. None of them has progressed further while the patient continued taking low dose naltrexone each night at bedtime. Since no side effects are apparently associated with its use, this medication might well be studied as a possible preventive for Type I diabetes in those youngsters with beta-cell autoantibodies."

Research References: www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ldn_and_ai.htm#Background

And here is a large and interesting list of autoimmune diseases that can benefit from low dose naltrexone use:

www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/index.htm#What_diseases_has_it_been_useful_for

thanks Bill... Low Dose Naltrexone would fall under the same predicament as DCA, and now it is patient driven because it is out of patent. I don't buy into any real conspiracy (unless I have real proof) that the industry would hold back a cure etc. But I do believe they are guilty of profit interest over public health. The rush to label everything as a disease so they can patent a drug seems pervasive... One needs to be cautious, and take control of their health but they are not necessarily always the bad guys.... In just a generation we no longer fear polio thanks to pharma... But.. Like the stock market etc.. it has grown to a self perpetuating beast quick to dismiss anything that cannot be exploited for profit.

Hi Bill - Yes it is so frustrating! Thank you for the interesting, and very thought provoking post. You are a treasure to the EC community.

Hear hear....