It’s crazy, the idea that what we consume can cause disease. Everyone knows disease is something you catch, the card fate has dealt you, something out of your control. Toxins can accumulate in the body because of what we eat and due to our environment, sure, but this wacky idea that they have anything to do with cancer or other disease is a slippery slope. Next you’ll hear that reducing your body’s toxic load and getting the right nutrition can actually prevent disease. It’s as if these wacky people think our body’s cells actually depend on nutrition to function properly. Then we’ll hear really crazy things like nutrition can actually rid the body of disease!

I know, it’s sad. The people making these claims are obviously just greedy individuals trying to sell us something, unlike our pharmaceutical companies that actually care about their customers.
It really is a dangerous path, this whole “natural remedies” idea. Can you imagine what would happen to our beloved industries if people quit eating fast food on a regular basis, and demanded truly organic produce, and did not need to take pills for headaches and other symptoms of poor health? Sure, a few million lives would be saved, but do you have any idea what this would do to the stock market?!?!?

Back in the day, Dr. Gerson, that wacky cancer curing doctor who did all that cancer research many intelligent red blooded Americans were smart enough to ignore, was the first to adamantly oppose the tobacco companies. He suggested that people should not smoke. Not long after that, the American Medical Journal lost its largest source of advertising revenue, the tobacco companies. Thankfully our drug companies stepped up to fill the void.

Take a cheap multivitamin every morning, start an aspirin regimen, see your conventional doctor for regular checkups, be sure to get your recommended dosage of radiation via x-rays and mammograms and whatever else they offer, eat only pasteurized and/or cooked dead food, and pray for good health. Oh, and exercise, but don’t overdo it! Remember to stop all exercise before it becomes uncomfortable. And if you are not completely healthy, maybe exercise isn’t a good idea. </sarcasm>

Michael Edwards

Editor in Chief

I don’t tend to wear sunglasses, and I never wear sunscreen. I do burn easily if I have not taken the time to acclimate myself to the sun, so I will either wear long sleeve shirts and a hat, limit my exposure until my skin builds tolerance, or, more often than not, I’ll just burn.

I’m not recommending you go out and get sunburned, but I don’t think people should be so afraid of it. Sunlight is so important. It’s better to get burned a few times a year than to not get enough sunlight.

I work at my computer a lot. Sometimes I realize that I have gone more than a week without any significant sun exposure. Other times, I notice I am feeling depressed or I’m having trouble sleeping, or I’m irritable. My prescription: light sunbathing. I feel so much better after I spend some time soaking in the rays.

Dr. Holick wants us to get some sunlight and then put on sunscreen. I respectfully disagree. I don’t want to put toxic creams on my skin only to cook the ingredients in the sun. This seems like a recipe for skin cancer to me.

Sunlight is natural. When in doubt, go with what’s natural. It’s what we humans are programmed for. Almost every time, the natural choice is the healthy choice.

Michael Edwards

Editor in Chief

Studies showing that GMOs work and work well are accurate, to a point. Initially, yields are higher and farmers don’t need to spray as many herbicides or pesticides. In the long run, we read reports from all over the world claiming yields decline, super weeds are growing, and soil degradation is rampant.

Our society is one of short sighted vision. Our consumption model, which drives our people and our government, is also short sighted, resulting in increased debt and reliance on non-sustainable resources. It can’t last.

Pharmaceutical medications work the same way. You treat the symptoms (short term) not the cause (long term).

Companies are set up to make as much money as they can, as quickly as possible. When a company can no longer sustain its practices, it finds new ways, often corrupt ways, to maintain its profits. These methods often result in harming people and our environment in the long run.

Consider the fact that if Americans saved, spent money on what they needed, and refused to go into debt to buy “extras,” our economy would completely collapse.

Our society is comprised of pleasure seeking, quick fixing, short term results oriented, greedy consumers. That’s how we work. It can’t last forever.

Michael Edwards

Editor in Chief

I find it both humorous and sad when people cite studies that allow them to justify their toxic lifestyles. Do you really need a study to tell you smoking is bad for you? Back in the 1950s and 1960s we did. It seems silly now that people didn’t realize inhaling smoke is unhealthy. Now we need studies to tell us whether or not an obscene number of vaccinations containing mercury, aluminum, antifreeze, and/or other toxins are dangerous. Apparently, many people need studies to prove eating organic is healthier. Where’s their common sense? Food laced with poison versus food without poison. Which is healthier?

People love to quote studies that claim coffee is a strong antioxidant so they can justify their coffee habits. If I developed cocaine that had vitamin D, zinc, and vitamin C, would you snort a few lines to combat the common cold? I have studies that will show you how important those three nutrients are for fighting a virus, so, what’s the problem?

We’re out of touch and not at all in tune with our bodies. Diseases that are said to be genetic are on the rise, spiraling out of control, increasing much more rapidly than population growth, and yet we need studies to tell us what we can and can’t do. But when we read about a study that tells us to stop doing whatever we consider convenient or normal, we’re quick to find flaws in it and we do everything we can to debunk it. Meanwhile some major corporation secretly funds a bogus study, gets all the peer reviews it wants, and we then use that study to show why we don’t need to change our habits.

The problem with studies is that they too often look for one correlation. It’s not solely vaccinations that are causing autism. It’s not only cell phones that are causing cancer. It’s not just high fructose corn syrup that’s causing diabetes. You can’t point a finger at any one thing. It’s the whole package, the blatant disregard for common sense in the name of profit and convenience.

If you accept the fact that our lifestyles are leading us down a road of poor health and medications, then the next step is to do something about it. This is where most people can get pretty overwhelmed.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: eat 80% fresh raw fruits and vegetables (more veggies than fruit). That’s step one. That’s your foundation. See how much better you feel. Keep learning. Keep an open mind. You decide what’s step two. You don’t need a study to tell you that this is a good move.

Michael Edwards

Editor in Chief

The previous article is one of many appalling stories I’ve read since I’ve been the editor-in-chief of OLM. I used to believe that these stories were rare. Because of my own experience, I now pay more attention. I know horrific cases of injustice are all too common.

The day my daughter was born, I constantly argued with the doctors and nurses. They convinced my wife that she needed antibiotics. They told us several times that she might need a C-section. Once our daughter was born, they also convinced my wife that our baby might die if she did not receive IV antibiotics. They threatened to call child protective services if we didn’t comply. They later admitted the IV antibiotics were given as a precaution. In other words, they lied. Our whole experience was a nightmare. But that’s another story. That’s not what this article is about. This article is about my experience with our justice system.

When my wife and I separated, my daughter was two years old. The separation was a mutual decision, and at first we got along pretty well, but it wasn’t long before our relationship went from good to bad. It would take a book to reveal every important or significant detail of this story, which I am in the process of writing. For now, let me just say that I wrongly lost my parental rights; I am no longer recognized as my daughter’s father, and I am currently on probation for my “crimes.”

My daughter and I were very close. In fact, we were much closer than she and her mom. In the weeks prior to the allegation, she told everyone who would listen, “I want to go live with my daddy.”  My daughter was four years old when, out of nowhere, my ex-wife accused me of child molestation. The court indicted me for rape, incest, aggravated child molestation, and child molestation.

It didn’t matter that I’d passed a polygraph to the contrary with flying colors, or that a psycho-sexual evaluation found that I was not a child molester. Nor did it matter that her hymen was fully intact with no scarring or tearing. In the first of many revelations that convinced me the world had gone mad, my lawyer told me the DA would find a doctor to testify that a child’s hymen can grow back. As crazy as this sounds, my attorney, himself a former DA, said such testimony was common practice. Can you imagine?

My daughter had a persistent rash. My ex-wife called and reminded me to check that rash on my daughter’s last visit. When she was examined 19 days later, she still had the rash—a red area, with one tiny “skin tear” a millimeter in size, halfway between her vagina and anus. When asked by the hospital social worker, “Did Daddy touch you down there?” she said, “Yes.”  She was right. I had touched her “down there.”  I had checked her rash.

A rash of this sort is typical in young children, caused by anything from bubble bath to not wiping well. In her case, rashes were the typical result whenever she ate refined sugar.

From the moment I was charged with this crime, I was ordered not to speak to my child or to my ex-wife. I spent a year in jail awaiting trial. My resources were drained. My family’s resources were quickly exhausted. I was assigned a lawyer. On the day my trial was to start, I was told that even though I had “raped my daughter” I could take a plea and walk out of the courtroom–go home that very day with time served and probation. I refused.

I wanted to go to trial. I argued with my attorney, insisting on a trial, but I was facing a maximum term of life plus 30 years in prison. Finally I was convinced that the risk was just too great, especially since my lawyer’s trial preparation had been minimal, at best. But I refused to lie and say I was guilty. I agreed to take a plea called “Alford v. South Carolina.” Through this plea, I could maintain my innocence. The judge agreed I could take this plea, but only if I agreed to a 6-month prison sentence in addition to time served. He also agreed to include “first offender status,” which means I will not need to register as a sex offender after my probation is completed. The felony will be hidden from most background checks. Unless I want to work a high security job like at an airline or a bank, no one need ever know about my conviction. That is, unless I tell them.

I will tell them.

I have never tried to keep this case a secret. I never intend to.

I’ve been told I was very, very lucky, that the DA didn’t think I was guilty. No one, from the parole officers who reviewed my case while I was in prison to the probation officers assigned to me since my release, can make sense of my initial charges and the resultant deal. “What exactly did you supposedly do here?” my probation officer asked me with a look of bewilderment. They all say I dodged a bullet. They all say I am lucky. But I don’t feel lucky. I lost my child.

My court-mandated therapist knows I’m not a pedophile, but we continue to meet; our sessions are included in the terms of my probation.

The law is on my side for a successful habeas corpus, but I don’t yet have the money to fight a successful court battle. If I raise the money before the deadline, I can show that the arresting police officer, who also interviewed my child, gave false information at the indictment. A habeas corpus could result in one of two things: the right to a new trial or the charges being dropped.

A habeas corpus would put me back at the beginning—as if I had never gone to prison or served any time on probation. I could be re-arrested, to await my day in court, to face a jury—twelve people who will have no idea I’ve already served my time. And then, I could win. Or I could lose.

I am still in a lot of pain. I am willing, but not yet able, to fight back. I may never get the ruling reversed. I may go to trial and win. But even if I were to prove my innocence and successfully sue the county for millions, I’m told there is no legal precedent that will allow me to regain my parental rights. I’m told, “They just don’t do that.” Win or lose, my daughter and I have already lost. This isn’t something either one of us will ever “get over.”

I am braced for the worst outcome. If we don’t conform like the sheep we are meant to be, our government, our society in general, is likely to hurt us. People have a tendency to sit on their high horses and look down on others for being different, for bucking the system. They can take everything away from you. Almost everything.

For now, I fight back in a different way. They took my freedom. They took my child. But they didn’t take my morality. They didn’t take my integrity. They didn’t break me.

I fight back by publishing a magazine the goes against the grain. I fight back by speaking out against what I firmly, in the bottom of my heart, believe are lies and  injustice perpetrated against the American people. I fight against the degradation of our food supply. I fight for our health.

I come across too radical for some, but I know from personal experience that corruption in the name of money, power, ego, and social standing is everywhere—in business, in the pharmaceutical industry, in the agricultural industry, in government. This is why I publish OLM. This is why I work 80 plus hours a week. Right now, this is the only way I can fight back.

You may have heard the government is imposing their idea of health care on us. People may go to jail for refusing health insurance. People may go to jail for refusing vaccinations. People will undoubtedly lose their children for refusing these mandates. For those of you who worry about things like this, you have every reason to fear.

For those of you who have lost a child or children due to non-conformity, I feel your pain. For those of you who started a business selling health food and/or supplements and did everything you could to be in full compliance but were still ruined by the lawless FDA and/or the FTC, I know it happens. For those of you who have been forced to do something you were not comfortable with for fear of legal trouble, I understand completely.

It’s a tough world out there. I have no easy answers. I will tell my story. I will finish my book. I plan to start a non-profit one day to help fight injustice. Regardless, I know I will keep fighting. Even if I end up living under a bridge with nothing left, I will go to my local library and blog on their free computer. For right now, I am doing all I can do.

For those of you who have been a victim of our “justice” system or big business, I say fight back if you can, any way you can, even if it’s just through telling your story.

There are such extremes in our society. Take politics for instance. No matter what the left side does, Fox news will inevitably find a flaw with it. If Obama said exactly what Bush would say or acted exactly as Bush would act in any given situation, Fox would scream that he is an idiot. (In fact, in some situations, Obama does seem to act exactly like Bush).

You’ve got the same extremes with so many issues. Take vaccinations. A small portion of the population believes that any and all vaccinations are bad. Nearly everyone else thinks children should have 40 or more vaccinations by the time they’re 18. Some guys will refuse to go to the doctor unless they’ve lost an appendage, while others will rush to the emergency room for a fever of 102.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that people are becoming more and more divided, more and more extreme, and consequently, more and more hysterical. A perfect example is the bill HR 875. You have, for the most part, three sides to this issue; those who don’t know anything about it, those who believe it to be a much needed law that can protect us from the evil bacteria that plague our nuts and vegetables, and others who believe the bill will outlaw organic farming.

With arguments from vaccinations, to global warming, to politics, I tend to disagree with both sides. People seem to choose a side in popular arguments just to shore up their identity. I’m usually left shaking my head, thinking that both sides are missing the whole point. Consequently, people on both sides often think I’m a crazy radical who just doesn’t “get it”. But I’m cool with that.

Michael Edwards

Editor in Chief

1. Conventional doctors are egotistical, brainwashed drug pushers who know nothing about health.
Yes, there are some good doctors out there, but unfortunately doctors typically don’t know anything about health. Their expertise lies in disease management and whatever the drug companies have told them.

2. Alternative health doctors and practitioners with their potions, herbs, creams, and supplements are typically no better than conventional doctors.

You may think that OLM is all about the alternative medicine practitioners. While we do feel that the best doctors in the world practice alternative medicine, we prefer a holistic naturopath who understands how the whole body works together. You can’t fix one symptom and/or one organ while ignoring a toxic lifestyle and expect the body to work right. The biggest problem with doctors of both the conventional and alternative varieties is that they tend to think that their one area of expertise, be it drugs, surgery, herbs, or chiropractic, is the answer to everything. First and foremost, if you want to be healthy, you need to adopt a natural, healthy lifestyle. And if your doctor doesn’t address this, he or she’s not the doctor for you. It should be noted that most doctors who say they take a holistic approach do not, and they still have a lot to learn about what really is a healthy lifestyle. You’d be surprised to know how many doctors don’t even know what essential fatty acids are (they think they do, but they don’t).
3. Complementary alternative medicine is for people who can’t make up their minds.

In most cases of complementary alternative medicine, the “alternative” part is so weak and’ half-assed” that there would be no positive results without the conventional medicine. However, with the conventional medicine, it’s extremely hard to get anywhere with alternative medicine because you are too busy adding chemicals to your body.

4. Medicine is very rarely used to restore health.

Whether it be alternative or conventional, medicine is typically used to cover up symptoms so that one can go about a toxic lifestyle unhampered.

5. Health and fitness are not the same thing.

Look at Lance Armstrong! While he is a remarkable man, and a hero in many respects by most standards, he had to be in extremely poor health to get cancer. Health and fitness can go very well together, but they are not synonymous. Powerbars, gelpacks, protein powders, creatine, Gatorade, and caffeine are not healthy.

6. Healthcare in America and most of our modern societies is all about illness –
not about health.

It’s about treating and managing illness. The goal is to make patients feel good enough
to carry their illness through their toxic lifestyles. When is the last time you heard of the
modern medical establishment coming up with a cure for anything?

7. The majority of supplements sold are ineffective.

Synthetic vitamins, fillers, undigestible minerals; the list goes on. Forget buying quality supplements at your local drug store, GNC, multi-level marketing sources, or even at most health food stores. At best, most supplements are weak and ineffective. At worst, supplements are toxic and actually cause deficiencies.
8. Vaccines do more damage than good.

This article is not here to argue whether or not vaccines can eradicate disease. But there are too many vaccines, they contain toxic ingredients, and they are damaging the health of our children. It’s out of control! Why more people don’t see this is absolutely amazing!

9. Pharmacies are the unhealthiest places to be.

There isn’t anything healthy at a pharmacy!

10. There is a cure for cancer, diabetes, and most of the other illnesses plaguing us today.

The cure is a natural, healthy lifestyle. Raymond Francis says it best, “There is only one disease, cell malfunction. There are two causes, toxicity and deficiency.”

11. You and only you are responsible for your own health.

The easy part is accepting this. The hard part is undoing the brainwashing most people have had. Health is much simpler than we make it out to be. Eat mostly raw, nutrient dense foods as free of toxins as you can find. If most of your diet consists of raw fresh fruits and vegetables that have been grown properly (in rich soil), you will prevent almost every disease plaguing man today, and eradicate most as well.

12. Ignore the top disclaimer. That’s only for us not to get sued.

Note: Please remember, the entire list, including number 12 is what we would say only if we had no concern of lawsuits, but we do.