Research news on nutrition, environmental medicine and health
“An Inconvenient Tooth” is a documentary film by Guy Wagner about fluoride. It was released September 6th, 2012 at the city hall in Portland, Oregon. On the same day a public hearing was held before the five-member City Council about whether or not the city should fluoridate its water supplies. http://AnInconvenientTooth.org
Although there may be genetic or developmental components to autism, the evidence in this current review of the brain findings in autism clearly indicates the reality of brain injury in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD); moreover, the brain injury symptoms which characterize autism closely correspond to those seen in sub-acute mercury (Hg) intoxication. The evidence presented in this paper is consistent with Hg being identified as either causal or contributory, working synergistically with other compounds or pathogens in producing the brain pathology observed in those diagnosed with ASD.
Their review article is published in Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis (2012; 72 (2): 113-153). This peer-reviewed journal is published by Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw, Poland.
Janet K. Kern, David A. Geier, Tapan Audhya, Paul G. King, Lisa K. Sykes, and Mark R. Geier
Evidence of parallels between mercury intoxication and the brain pathology in autism
Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars) 2012; 72 (2): 113-153
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this review is to examine the parallels between the effects mercury intoxication on the brain and the brain pathology found in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This review finds evidence of many parallels between the two, including: (1) microtubule degeneration, specifically large, long-range axon degeneration with subsequent abortive axonal sprouting (short, thin axons); (2) dentritic overgrowth; (3) neuroinflammation; (4) microglial/astrocytic activation; (5) brain immune response activation; (6) elevated glial fibrillary acidic protein; (7) oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation; (8) decreased reduced glutathione levels and elevated oxidized glutathione; (9) mitochondrial dysfunction; (10) disruption in calcium homeostasis and signaling; (11) inhibition of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity; (12) disruption of GABAergic and glutamatergic homeostasis; (13) inhibition of IGF-1 and methionine synthase activity; (14) impairment in methylation; (15) vascular endothelial cell dysfunction and pathological changes of the blood vessels; (16) decreased cerebral/cerebellar blood flow; (17) increased amyloid precursor protein; (18) loss of granule and Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum; (19) increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in the brain (TNF-alppha, IFN-gamma, IL-1beta, IL-8); and (20) aberrant nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kappaB). This review also discusses the ability of mercury to potentiate and work synergistically with other toxins and pathogens in a way that may contribute to the brain pathology in ASD. The evidence suggests that mercury may be either causal or contributory in the brain pathology in ASD, possibly working synergistically with other toxic compounds or pathogens to produce the brain pathology observed in those diagnosed with an ASD.
“If I poisoned someone, they would put me away for life, but the company I worked for poisoned me and got away with it,” says a disabled worker.
Hard Metals Disease (1987) is the shocking story of the Valenite Corporation, a subsidiary of General Telephone and Electric (GTE) and an international corporation with factories in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. This investigative documentary spent four years tracking Valenite activities. Did Valenite knowingly expose its workers to hazardous substances? What happens to jobs and workers when factories move to Mexico? The trail of dead and sick workers Valenite left behind raises questions about corporate responsibility.
As a correspondent for NBC’s Today Show, Jon Alpert consistently brought investigative reporting on controversial social issues to commercial television. This Emmy® Award winning documentary examines “Hard Metals Disease,” cobalt poisoning among workers in the tungsten carbide machine tool industry. Alpert focuses on workers suffering from this debilitating, incurable lung disease who were exposed to cobalt dust at three plants of the Valenite Metals Corporation. Establishing a close rapport with the workers as they tell their own stories of Valenite’s negligence and subsequent cover-up, Alpert departs from standard television reportage in his powerful and unapologetic indictment of industry.
by Steve Hickey, PhD; Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD; Andrew W. Saul, PhD; Gert E. Schuitemaker, PhD; Damien Downing, MD
People have been misinformed about the tragedy at Fukushima and its consequences. There is a continuing cover up, the reactors have not been stabilized, and radiation continues to be released. The Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy (JCIT) has recently released a video for people wishing to learn more about how to protect themselves from contamination by taking large doses of vitamin C.
In the fall of 2011, JCIT presented a study that Fukushima workers had abnormality gene expression, which may be avoided using dietary antioxidants, especially vitamin C. The data was presented in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. The JCIT sent letters to the government urging the government to tell the people how they may protect themselves from radiation. To date, the recommendation has been ignored by Japanese government and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company).
Linus Pauling gained the Nobel Peace Prize in part based on his calculations of the number of deaths from nuclear weapons fallout (1). He was supported by physicist and father of the Soviet bomb Andrei Sakharov, who also later received the Nobel Prize for peace (2). These and other scientists estimated that there would be an extra 10,000 deaths worldwide for each megaton nuclear test in the atmosphere. A nuclear reactor can contain much more radioactive material than a nuclear weapon. Fukushima had six reactors, plus stored additional radioactive material and nuclear waste.
Ionizing radiation acts to damage living tissue by forming free radicals. Essentially, electrons are ripped from molecules. Removing an electron from an atom or molecule turns it into an ion, hence the term ionizing radiation. X-rays, gamma rays, alpha- and beta-radiation are all ionizing.
Most of the damage occurs from ionizing radiation generating free radicals in water, as water molecules are by far the most abundant in the body. While avoiding unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation is clearly preferable, people affected by Fukushima do not have the luxury of avoiding contamination.
Free-radical scavengers, as the name suggests, mop up the damaging radicals produced by radiation. The more common term for free radical scavenger is antioxidant. Antioxidants replace the electrons stripped from molecules by ionizing radiation. Antioxidants have long been used in the treatment of radiation poisoning (3-7). Most of the harm from ionizing radiation occurs from free radical damage which may be quenched by the free electrons antioxidants provide. Fortunately, safe antioxidants are widely available as nutritional supplements. Vitamin C is the prime example.
Vitamin C is of particular importance and should be included at high intakes for anyone trying to minimize radiation poisoning. High dose vitamin C provides continual antioxidant flow through the body. It is absorbed from the gut and helps to replenish the other antioxidants. When it is used up, it is excreted in the urine. Importantly, it can chelate, or grab onto, radioactive heavy metal atoms and help eliminate them from the body. Large dynamic flow doses of vitamin C (about 3,000 mg, taken 4 times a day for a total of 12,000 mg) would exemplify antioxidant treatment. Higher doses have been used by Dr. Atsuo Yanagisawa and colleagues (8-9).
Shortly after the disaster, Dr. Damien Downing described how supplements can help protect against radioactive fallout (10). OMNS issued an update on the response to Fukushima in Japan (11). Recently, Dr. Gert Schuitemaker has provided a review of vitamin C as a radio-protectant for Fukushima contamination (12).
Persons living in the areas affected by radioactive contamination can take antioxidant supplements, especially high doses of vitamin C, to counteract the negative consequences of long-term low dose radiation exposure, as well as to protect the health of coming generations.(12, 13). People who have a possible internal or external radiation exposure should take antioxidant supplements to maintain an optimal antioxidant reserve. Because of the enormous size and oceanic spread of Fukushima contamination, this literally applies to everyone.
(Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, May 14, 2012)
“The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine is pleased to have participated in the making of this important DVD on the protective effects of intravenous vitamin C on radiation exposure from the Fukushima nuclear plant in March 2011. We are in full support of the valuable work of Dr. Yanagisawa and his colleagues, and we very much appreciate the commitment of Mr. Daisuke Shibata, who has made it possible for the free distribution of the video around the world. May this orthomolecular message raise awareness and foster improvement in the treatment of radiation exposure.”
Steven Carter
Director, International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine
1. The Nobel Foundation (1962) The Nobel Peace Prize 1962, Linus Pauling Biography.
2. Sakharov A. (1975) The Nobel Peace Prize 1975, Andrei Sakharov, Autobiography.
3. Brown SL, Kolozsvary A, Liu J, et al: Antioxidant diet supplementation starting 24 hours after exposure reduces radiation lethality. Radiat Res 2010; 173: 462-8.
4. Zueva NA, Metelitsa LA, Kovalenko AN, et al: Immunomodulating effect of berlithione in clean-up workers of the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident [Article in Russian]. Lik Sprava 2002; (1): 24-26.
5. Yamamoto T, Kinoshita M et al. Pretreatment with ascorbic acid prevents lethal gastrointestinal syndrome in mice receiving a massive amount of radiation. J Radiat Res (Tokyo) 2010; 51 (2): 145-56.
6. Gaby A. Intravenous Nutrient Therapy: the “Myers’ Cocktail”. Alt Med Rev 2002; 7 (5): 389:403.
7. Narra VR, Howell RW, Sastry KS, Rao DV. Vitamin C as a radioprotector against iodine-131 in vivo. J Nucl Med 1993; 34 (4): 637-40.
8. Yanagisawa A. Orthomolecular approaches against radiation exposure. Presentation Orthomolecular Medicine Today Conference. Toronto 2011.
9. Green MH, Lowe JE et al. Effect of diet and vitamin C on DNA strand breakage in freshly-isolated human white blood cells. Mutat Res 1994; 316(2):91-102
10. Downing D. (2011) Radioactive Fallout: Can Nutritional Supplements Help? A Personal Viewpoint. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, May 10.
11. OMNS (2012) Vitamin C Prevents Radiation Damage, Nutritional Medicine in Japan. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, February 1.
12. Schuitemaker GE. Vitamin C as protection against radiation exposure. J Orthomolecular Med 2011, 26: 3; 141-145. [Also in Dutch: Schuitemaker G.E. Radioactiviteit in Japan: Orthomoleculair antwoord. Ortho 2011:3, June.
13. Yanagisawa A, Uwabu M, Burkson BE, Weeks BS, Hunninghake R, Hickey S, Levy T, (2011) Environmental radioactivity and health. Official JCIT Statement, March 29.
Every person today has been touched or will be touched by the loss of a loved one to illness and premature death. In a time when modern medicine and science have made such enormous advancements, why is this so? The film identifies the effects of animal agriculture upon the environment. There are many ways of reducing impact upon climate change.
“Livestock are responsible for about 18 percent of the global warming effect, more than transportation’s contribution.” “At present, there are about 1.5 billion cattle and domestic buffalo and about 1.7 billion sheep and goats. With pigs and poultry, they form a critical part of our enormous biological footprint upon this planet.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Through interviews with top experts in the field of medicine, ecology and nutrition, this documentary explains why people in the Western World are subject to the unprecedented epidemic of ill health.
The film, written by Aaron Scheibner, shows a way out of this cycle of sickness, both human and environmental. We don’t think about where our food comes from and what it does to our body and mind or what impact it has on the world around us.
A Delicate Balance -The Truth (2008) is a succinct production featuring candid, heartfelt interviews with some of the world’s leading experts (including mainstream researchers, doctors, nutritionists, cattle ranchers, environmentalists and politicians) from Harvard to Cornell to Tufts.
A Delicate Balance was made in order to help reduce the unnecessary loss of human life, to reduce the suffering of animals across the planet and to help empower people to make environmental change.
This is a good, but a little known documentary about water fluoridation. Directed and edited by Brandon Kovatch.
Dr. Dana Colson graduated from Dentistry in 1977 from the University of Toronto, Canada. She has practiced holistic, mercury free and mercury safe dentistry since 1983. Dr. Colson is aware that mercury vapor and dental infections can have a negative impact on overall health. Because of this concern, she focus on patient education and strive to remove mercury amalgam (silver) fillings in a safe way. She has now published a review article about this topic in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health.
Dana G. Colson
A safe protocol for amalgam removal
J Environ Public Health 2012; 2012: 517391
ABSTRACT
Today’s environment has different impacts on our body than previous generations. Heavy metals are a growing concern in medicine. Doctors and individuals request the removal of their amalgam (silver mercury) restorations due to the high mercury content. A safe protocol to replace the silver mercury filling will ensure that there is minimal if any absorption of materials while being removed. Strong alternative white composite and lab-processed materials are available today to create a healthy and functioning mouth. Preparation of the patient prior to the procedure and after treatment is vital to establish the excretion of the mercury from the body.
In a group of 465 patients diagnosed as having chronic mercury toxicity (CMT), 32.3% had severe fatigue, 88.8% had memory loss, and 27.5% had depression. A significant correlation was found between CMT and the Apo-lipoprotein E4 genotype (p=0.001). An investigation into an additional 864 consecutively seen general practice patients, resulted in 30.3% having evidence consistent with CMT, and once again a significant correlation was found with the APO-E4 genotype (p=0.001). Removal of amalgam mercury fillings when combined with appropriate treatment resulted in a significant symptom reduction (p<0.001) to levels reported by healthy subjects.
Reference
Wojcik DP, Godfrey ME, Christie D, Haley BE. Mercury toxicity presenting as chronic fatigue, memory impairment and depression: diagnosis, treatment, susceptibility, and outcomes in a New Zealand general practice setting (1994-2006). Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2006; 27 (4): 415-23.
Submission (Underkastelsen) is a Swedish documentary (2010) about the war against ourselves and humanity’s ability to survive it. Hear testimonies from 23 world leading professors, of the threat that surrounds us and in us, and which could wipe out humanity long before epidemics, war or climate change.
Swedish filmmaker Stefan Jarl is concerned about today’s “chemical society.” At the time of World War II, humans used 1 million tons of chemicals per year; today the amount has risen to 500 million tons. The chemical business is the fastest-growing industry on the planet.
This revealing documentary explores 100,000 chemicals encountered daily, from softeners (phthalates) to flame retardants (PBDE) to surfactants (PFOS, PFOA), and the hundreds of foreign chemicals revealed to be present in Jarl’s own blood.
The film examines the known effects of these chemicals and questions of how and why individuals are willing to submit themselves to such hazards. Website for the documentary.
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