As a brand new farmer, I farmed conventionally for two years and broke even both years on one quarter section. Not so good. No profit. Farming has to make money or there is no point in doing it, right?

I decided I could make a little more money if I converted to organic, plus I didn’t like spraying all those chemicals. So I began the next year with a crop of oats, and I didn’t spray. Well, in the spring, what popped out of the ground was a beautiful field of wild mustard weed. Again not so good. The oats did grow, but they suffered under the canopy of the wild mustard.

From a distance, the field looked like a canola field. I hung my head in shame thinking that once again, I would not make a profit. Some farmers laughed. Some jokingly commented on how beautiful my canola crop looked. And some probably thought I was one bale short of a hay stack! In desperation I searched the web for a solution, but could find nothing. I resigned myself to just let it grow and harvest whatever I could in the fall instead of plowing it under.

That summer I spoke to many farmers and eventually met up with an old timer who used to farm organically. Over coffee at his place, I told him about my field and all the things that went wrong. To my surprise, in one hour he gave me more info on how to farm organically than I had learned in months of searching on the net.

With this new-found knowledge, I purchased a few more pieces of old farm equipment to help me out. Fall came, and the oats, wild mustard, wild buckwheat, and all the other weeds that offered me their seed were pouring into the combine. It was a mess that looked like a dog’s breakfast, but, thanks to my friend, the old timer, I used an old-fashioned screening system I had found for $400.00 at a local farm auction to separate the small weeds from the larger oats . It worked so well, I was able to remove 99% of all the junk from the oats.

With this new found hope, I felt confident I could farm organically. But what was I to do with all these weed seeds like wild mustard? Most farmers just dig a hole in the field and bury them four feet under. I did some brainstorming and research, and then it came to me. I could crush them like they crush canola seeds to make my own fuel.

Since then, I have designed and built my own bio-diesel reactor, purchased a grain burning stove, and purchased a small canola crusher. My tractors and trucks run on my homemade bio-diesel, a major reduction of my fuel farming costs. I also heat my home on weed seeds, saving even more money.

The second year I planted wheat and was able to keep the weeds to a minimum. During the summer, I noticed I had a wheat midge problem. (A midge is a little bug that eats the wheat.) It wasn’t an all out devastating infestation, but I asked around to a few farmers who all told me I should spray to get rid of the pest. However, I knew if I sprayed, I would no longer qualify to be organic. So I went back to the web in hopes of an answer. I found nothing but chemicals used to kill the bugs.

I once again resigned myself to just letting the crop grow and harvesting in the fall if the bugs left anything to harvest.

I once read a quote by Ambrose Bierce, “Patience: A minor form of despair disguised as a virtue.” That sort of summed it up for me. But this story gets better. Much better! I have to tell you! Are you sitting down in your chair?

A miracle happened. About a week later, I noticed a new critter in the field. Lady bugs. Lady bugs and more lady bugs. What seemed like millions of them. Everywhere I looked and everywhere I walked, lady bugs would land on my arms, hands, and hair. I wondered what in the world they were doing in the field because I had not seen them there before. To my amazement, they were eating the pesky wheat midge. Just when I thought all hope was lost, the small seemingly insignificant lady bug came to my rescue.

Every day I would walk through the field and marvel at the tiny creatures that were now living in my field creating balance the way it was designed to work. You know the best thing I ever did was choose not to follow the conventional wisdom. Had I sprayed the first year for weeds, I wouldn’t have all this free bio-diesel. Had I sprayed the second year for the bugs, I would have killed the wheat midge, but I also would have indiscriminately killed many other critters like the amazing lady bug. I wouldn’t have let the natural cycle of the field follow its course. I would have missed out on a major blessing.

Organic agriculture is sustainable. I can’t help but wonder what we as a people could accomplish if we were just a little more patient.

If you Google foot detox, foot bath, Ionic Detoxification, Aqua Chi, or Bionic Hydrotherapy, you will find a lot of information about a new detoxifying treatment, the ionic foot bath. You will also find a lot of websites that emphatically state this treatment is a hoax, that you can’t draw toxins out of your body through the soles of your feet. I decided to test it myself.

The idea is that in 30 minutes, The Detox Foot Spa Purifier will pull toxins, including heavy metals, out of your body. The water in the foot-bath changes color. Each color relates to toxicity of a different organ or system of the body.

• Brown = Liver and Joints
• Green = Gall Bladder
• Yellow = Urinary Tract
• Orange = Joints
• White = Lymphatic and/or Yeast
• Blue = Kidneys
• Black Flecks = heavy metals toxins

So if the water turns blue, your kidneys are the most toxic part of your body, and the foot bath is pulling toxins from your kidneys through the soles of your feet.

I must admit, it sounded pretty ridiculous. I’m a skeptic when it comes to this kind of thing. That’s why I decided I was the best person to try it out.

I am very in tune with my body. I know when something isn’t working right and I know why. I know if my kidneys are hurting, I know if my liver is over toxic, and I know if I am not getting enough minerals. I’ve always paid attention to my body and developed a good understanding through my own experiences and through research about how the body works, and how the body gets sick. I am not a doctor, but I do know my body.

I spent a few weeks living a not so “organic lifestyle” which included some alcohol and a lot of “regular” food. When I say some alcohol, I mean a good amount. In fact, this part of my experiment began during the Christmas holidays, and I did celebrate New Years Eve.

After three weeks of living a toxic lifestyle, my kidneys where not happy. Every time I woke up, my back was stiff. Urination was difficult, and my urine was nearly brown and had a strong odor. If I pushed an inch below my belly button I felt intense pain. I also had diarrhea off and on. I defiantly had kidney problems.

I went to see Dr. Tim Kelly, one of Organic Lifestyle Magazine’s contributors. I didn’t tell him I had been living a toxic lifestyle. I got all set up, put my feet in the water, and watched as the water began to turn a yellowish tint. Interesting. In about 5 minutes the water was a dark thick yellow. But then it turned blue, a nasty, dark, murky blue with big, black flecks in it. It was gross.
Those websites who call this treatment a hoax said the water would have changed color whether my feet were in there or not. But I never told Dr. Kelly my kidneys were hurting, and the water turned the right color. And after the treatment, I did feel better. Before the treatment I couldn’t stand upright after sitting for long periods of time. But after thirty minutes in the foot bath, I was able to stand right up without stiffness. The next day I woke up with about ½ the lower back stiffness and had no trouble peeing.
Step two was to go back to Dr. Kelly after I spent a few weeks detoxifying. I ate nothing but healthy foods, concentrating on raw, fresh organic vegetables. I took herbs to help cleanse my body. I felt like a new man. I regained my health. My sleep improved, my energy was up, and my kidneys were fine.

I went back to Dr. Kelly and again, told him nothing, just got myself hooked up to the foot bath equipment, put my feet in, and sat there for thirty minutes with a magazine. At the end of thirty minutes the water was yellow. Not a deep dark yellow, just a light yellow as if I had urinated in it. There were no black flecks.

One more test was in order. I wanted to see what would happen if my liver was toxic. I went back to eating crap, drinking, and I took some over the counter medications for allergies and to treat the headaches my new lifestyle had triggered. I also ate a lot of food with high fructose corn syrup. After a couple of weeks, I had deep dark circles under my eyes, regardless of sleep (a sign of a toxic liver). I was getting regular headaches (about three a week) and I was also stiff, tired, and achy all the time. I had gained 9 pounds. Throughout this time, I was drinking cranberry juice (organic, unsweetened), and taking Standard Processes Phosfood to keep my kidneys from getting backed up. I was also keeping my body alkaline. I was doing my best to keep the rest of my body relatively healthy, while overburdening my liver. Not very scientific, I know, but I got the results I wanted.

The third time the foot bath changed from green to orange and then to dark brown for the last 25 minutes—the color of a toxic liver. Once again, I felt a little better immediately and the next morning I felt and looked much better.

Coincidence? No. Not when the colors matched the symptoms. Not when the relief was so significant.

Dr. Timothy Kelly’s treatment center is located in the Buckhead community of Atlanta, Georgia. He is available for phone consultations. Check out his website at www.drtimkelly.net.

The problem of bioaccumulated toxins is reaching crisis proportions. Residues of more than 400 toxic chemicals have been found in human blood and tissues, many of them at levels that cause disease in animals. Recent medical and scientific studies show disturbing correlations between chronic low-level exposure to synthetic chemicals and allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, birth defects, developmental delays, cancer, and a host of other problems. Thousands of chemicals permeate our everyday life.

Fortunately, we can minimize these toxins through education and common sense. We must learn how to stop bringing toxins into our homes, to rid ourselves of toxins we have already introduced, and to help our bodies detoxify.

We accumulate toxins from air, water, and food. Surprisingly, most of our toxic load comes from sources in our own homes. Indoor air pollution poses a serious threat to the health and safety of families—especially to children. Indoor air is usually five times more polluted than outdoor air. The EPA has measured many indoor air samples to be 70 times more polluted.

Common household products contribute some of the most dangerous chemicals. One class of products is aerosols. A new study in the Archives of Environmental Health looked at the effects of aerosol air fresheners on the health of more than 10,000 young mothers and their infants. Formaldehyde and phenol are components of air fresheners that interfere with the ability to smell by coating nasal passages with an oil film or by releasing a deadening nerve agent.

Aerosol products, from air fresheners to cleaning products and shaving cream, contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can include known carcinogens such as benzene and known neurotoxins such as xylene. Studies have shown that within 26 seconds of exposure to such products, traces of these chemicals can be found in every organ in the body and daily use of such aerosols causes a gradual increase in the amount of VOCs in the home air.

Daily use of air fresheners has been shown to cause adults to experience a 10 percent increase in headaches and a 25 percent increase in depression. Infants living in these homes suffered significantly more earaches and were 32 percent more likely to suffer from diarrhea. Keep in mind that these symptoms were the result of toxins seriously harming normal cell chemistry. The solution is simple: don’t use aerosols! (If you feel you must, use them sparingly with very good ventilation.)

Furniture and carpets made of synthetic materials are significant sources of indoor pollution and VOCs; they will off-gas toxic chemicals for decades. New carpets are especially toxic. Chemicals outgas from the fibers as well as the adhesives, backing, and padding. Researchers at Anderson Labs measured the effects of carpet toxicity on 110 families and found that within three months of installation, 82 percent of those people developed diverse health problems including irregular heartbeat, fatigue, rashes, memory loss, muscle pain, blurred vision, and tremors.

The problems with carpets first gained attention in 1988 when the new headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency caused “sick building syndrome.” The problem was eventually traced to chemicals outgassing from the backing of their new carpets. Synthetic-fiber carpets can contain as many as 200 different chemicals, many of which outgas into a home’s living space.

Mice exposed to fumes from new carpets died in a matter of hours, while carpets up to 12 years old caused severe neurological problems. If carpet fumes can kill mice, what are carpets doing to you, your children, and your pets? And if all this isn’t bad enough, it gets worse when carpets are cleaned.

Carpet cleaning products usually contain a multitude of toxic ingredients, including high risk hazardous chemicals such as 2-butoxy ethanol, formaldehyde, and perchlorethylene. During application and while drying, these chemicals evaporate and pollute the air. Carpet shampoos also leave a residue on carpet fibers. Such residues can disperse into the air or be picked up by pets and children who are close to the carpet. Children play on the floor and they tend to put everything in their mouths. They are more susceptible to toxins because their detox systems are still developing.

Carpet cleaning also leaves carpets wet for too long, encouraging the growth of mold. Once mold begins to grow in a carpet or its pad, it is impossible to adequately remove it. Even when mold is not actively growing, mold particles and spores can cause health problems such as fatigue, headaches, allergy symptoms, and asthma attacks. Chemicals from molds can cause cancer and mimic hormones.

Dangerous gasses and particles are also generated by household appliances. Gas stoves, water heaters, furnaces, space heaters, and fireplaces all release toxins such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and other gasses along with fine particles into the air. Furnaces and gas water heaters should be kept outside the living space, in a shed or an unattached garage. If that is not possible, consider switching to an electric water heater. This is what I had to do. Gas stoves should be used only with good ventilation. Electric stoves are preferable. Use fireplaces sparingly and never use artificial logs as they put a heavy VOC load into the living space and the neighborhood.

The list continues. Paradichlorobenzene, found in mothballs and deodorizers, is another common indoor pollutant and carcinogen. Pesticides are very toxic. Never use them in or around the home. Tobacco smoke, perfume, cosmetics, cleaning products, aerosol products, and all manner of scented products are toxic and should be avoided. Biological contaminants include mold, animal dander, dust mites, and cockroaches.

Attached garages pose another problem. Exhaust fumes and hydrocarbon vapors coming from the engine can enter the living space. The interiors of vehicles, especially new vehicles, are exceedingly toxic. Even tap water is dangerous. Most tap water is contaminated with aluminum, arsenic, pesticides, chlorinated hydrocarbons, chlorine, and fluoride. In addition to damaging the brain and lowering IQ, fluoride also causes cancer, weak bones, poor teeth, and soft tissue calcification.

Exposure by breathing these chemicals in your bath can rival or exceed exposure from drinking the water. Breathing the fumes from dishwashers, clothes washers, bathtubs, and showers is particularly bad, and bleaches and detergents used in washing add to the toxic load.

Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors. Indoor air pollution is creating an epidemic of undiagnosed chronic disease that is mystifying medical doctors. Too often the medical response is to prescribe medications that only add to the toxic load.

Even if we could stop putting all these toxins into our bodies today, we would still be in toxic overload. Since toxins are now unavoidable, we must reduce our toxic exposures and help our bodies detoxify.

There are three major approaches to detoxifying: eating a nutrient-rich diet, consuming high-quality supplements, and taking regular saunas.

Most of us are malnourished. The body’s detoxification system requires a variety of nutrients to operate efficiently. Lack of these nutrients allows toxins to build up and do harm. Nutrients critical to detoxification include vitamins C and E, magnesium, zinc, molybdenum, selenium, carotenes, quercitin, CoQ10, glutamine, choline, and glutathione. It is important to supplement with detoxification-supporting nutrients and herbs.

There is another very effective way to get rid of toxins—saunas. According to detox expert Dr. Sherry Rogers, “Saunas have become a household necessity.” Sweating is a critical detoxification pathway, and saunas are the only proven way we know of to effectively rid the body of the hundreds of manmade chemicals we bioaccumulate. Through regular saunas, people with undiagnosable and untreatable problems have been restored to health. Unfortunately, saunas themselves can be toxic.

It took me two years to find and approve a sauna that met my exacting standards for safety and effectiveness. I finally found a far infrared (FIR) sauna made of nontoxic wood with special patented heating elements. I have one in my home. Twice a week, I sauna for an hour-and-twenty-minutes.

FIR saunas which operate at lower temperatures, take out more toxins and are far safer and more easily tolerated than regular saunas. If you are unable to have a sauna in your home, you can sauna at a health or fitness club. The important thing is to sauna regularly, at least once a week.

Other household aids include water filters, shower filters, and air filters. Each of these helps to reduce our toxic exposure. Finally, eating organic foods and using safe personal-care products such as organic, non-toxic shampoos, soaps, toothpastes, deodorants, and skin creams are a must. There are safe alternatives for most of the dangerous products we use. Remember, there are only two causes of disease: deficiency and toxicity. Both of these causes are under your control.

With a modicum of education and a willingness to put it to work, almost anyone can improve their nutrition, reduce their toxic load, get well, and stay well.

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• 8 Easy Steps to Health
• Hot & Cold Hydrotherapy

No Sweeteners for You, and that Includes Agave!

We get asked about every new sweetener put out by the purveyors of unhealthy sweetness. Agave nectar or syrup is the most recent. Put a gun to our heads and we’ll tell you not to eat it. Actually, we’ll do that without the pistol and dramatics. We’re quite consistent that way.

Whole foods have fiber, vitamins, and nutrients that enrich the body and in some cases slow down the sugar hit that comes from glucose and fructose. When a naturally sugary food like an apple or a generous hunk of agave cactus is processed into a syrup or nectar, everything good about the whole food is lost in the production vat.

In the specific case of agave, the debate comes down to whether glucose or fructose is more harmful to the body. Natural agave, the plant from which tequila is derived, is approximately half and half glucose to fructose. The nectar or syrup appears primarily to be all fructose, according to published statistics from agave distributors.

Now, is fructose better for you than glucose or sucrose? If you listen to the fructose manufacturers and some diabetes experts, then yes, fructose is better for you. Fructose doesn’t raise glucose levels in the bloodstream, which means there is less of an insulin response and a consequent benefit to diabetics because insulin Agave Plant management is the name of the game.

But is spiking up on fructose any better for anyone whether diabetic or not? We say No! And we’re not alone. Fructose has been linked to raised triglycerides, fatty liver disease, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and more belly fat, which can all be collected together as Metabolic Syndrome.

Agave seems to have other drawbacks as well. The first one that sets our teeth on edge is the fact that agave nectar you buy might not actually be agave nectar.

According to the Chicago Tribune, products labeled as being from the blue agave plant …may in fact be mostly corn syrup or high-fructose corn syrup. may, in fact, be mostly corn syrup or high-fructose corn syrup. Tequila manufacturers get first call on the expensive blue agave cactus that grows in Mexico. There are strict requirements for tequila to come from the blue agave in the same way the German Beer Purity Law says beer must be made from wheat or barley, hops, water, and fermenting yeast. So, when supply did not meet demand, some nectar producers cut what agave they had with similar corn-based fructose.

“Agave is really chemically refined hydrolyzed high-fructose syrup and not from the blue agave plant, organic or raw, asclaimed,” says Russ Bianchi, a food and beverage formulator.

So far the Food and Drug Administration sees no reason to regulate agave for any safety concerns, but admits that agave products may have been “economically adulterated and misbranded by adding corn syrup or high-fructose corn syrup.”

The Chicago Tribune also reports some less well-documented effects of agave nectar consumption that may be a concern. Apparently, some agave products and other sweeteners may have botulism spores and thus shouldn’t be given to small children. There are assertions that agave may cause miscarriages and/or other harm to pregnant or lactating mothers, and agave, like many other sugary products, has also been linked to increased acne.

Agave does have some possible health benefits touted by its proponents. As stated, glucose levels aren’t raised. Agave is loaded with inulin, a complex sub-variant of fructose, which is broken down by friendly bacteria to make fatty acids that may fight colon cancer. Additionally, agave may have some anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. But, these effects are hotly debated.

“It’s almost all fructose, highly processed sugar with great marketing,” says Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt of the American College of Nutrition and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. “Fructose interferes with healthy metabolism when taken at higher doses. Many people have fructose intolerance like lactose intolerance. They get acne or worse diabetes symptoms even though blood glucose is OK.”

Even some agave proponents like Dave Grotto, a Registered Dietician and author of101 Foods that Could Save Your Life, will admit that “excess consumption of any sweetener is not wise. But, honey and agave are value-added sweeteners, if used moderately.”

If the best the pro-agave people can come up with for their product is “use in moderation,” we should translate that statement into “avoid as much as possible.” If sugar, fructose, honey, agave, and other sweeteners can lead to addiction, then how is the average person to know what in moderation actually means? How much is too much before a small dose of agave that may help with cancer and inflammation becomes a mainline hit of fructose to the bloodstream and liver?

Limit yourself to less than two teaspoons a day for any refined sweetener to avoid the many related health effects. We live in the same world you do, and we understand about occasionally falling off the wagon. But remember that any sweetener removed from its natural state is a refined sweetener that should be avoided as much as possible. Agave is no different. Now you know.

There are many obvious signs that you need to detox and a few not so obvious signs. A brief and far from complete list of not-so-obvious indicators of a toxic body includes the following:

• Cold feet and/or hands
• Dandruff and/or itchy scalp
• Greasy and/or dry skin
• Greasy and/or dry hair
• Aches and pains Slow healing
• Zits, pimples, and/or blackheads
• Hair loss
• Attention deficit disorder hyperactivity
• Trouble sleeping
• Discolored teeth
• Vision deterioration
• Vision “floaters”
• Trouble urinating
• Body odor
• Bad breath
• Lower back pain
• difficulty concentrating
• Brittle and/or broken nails
• Dark cirlces under Eyes Chapped lips
• Having trouble staying warm
• Glasy or dull eyes

There are many who argue that a proper whole foods diet is all anyone needs to be healthy. OLM’s stance on this is that in today’s modern, toxic world, our bodies are constantly inundated with toxins. If you have eaten very well all your life, have avoided foods with toxins (like tuna with mercury and beef with hormones and antibiotics), have never taking drugs (prescription or otherwise), have never had vaccinations, and have never worked or lived in a heavily polluted environment, then you won’t need to detox. For that matter, you probably don’t need to supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals. If you are included in the other 99.9999% of the population, you need to detox, at least every few years. Dr Shillington recommends once or twice a year.When we talk about a ‘detox’ we mean detoxifying your body and ridding it of wastes and toxins. We do not mean “fasting” in a way that restricts your nutrition. While reducing your calories and eliminating certain foods may be fine under normal circumstances, we recommend you ingest vitamins, minerals, and enzymes during your detox. We do not feel that restricting nutrients is wise, especially when detoxifying.

This is especially true for anyone with a sign or symptom of any kind of ailment. For most people (and by most, we mean 97% or more) a proper detox, followed by a proper diet (and we mean an organic diet with 80% or more fresh, raw, fruits and vegetables), will rid your body of any and all problems. Very few people are too far gone to completely heal and get off of drugs. Some may need more supplemental support (in the form of high quality supplements) than others.

If you have cancer, diabetes, ADHD, migraines, Lupus, thyroid problems, or deteriorating eye sight, it’s time to quit blaming your genetics and take action.

A detox is a radical lifestyle change for a brief period of time. A proper detox will last a minimum of two weeks, and typically, much longer, depending on one’s health. If you have ailments but feel a “radical” detox is too inconvenient, consider the inconvenience of taking 5 to 15 prescription drugs. Consider the inconvenience of waking up stiff and sore with aches and pains every morning. Consider the inconvenience of headaches, fuzzy memory, or any of the chronic or “incurable” diseases that have become so common.

Check out our Cheap and Easy Detox.

Last year I had the good fortune to be invited as a panel member to the Autism Conference in upper Michigan, along with Dr. Ed Yazbak and Dr. Boyd Haley. The conference was a grassroots event, organized by a local group of parents of autistic kids. It was promoted to the general public.

What brought these people together was the growing suspicion that the local medical authorities might be trying to cover up the reasons why an enormous percentage of their local children were turning out autistic – a proportion obviously far higher than the Vaccine Toxins There is no government agency responsible for following up on the consequences of lots that have been verified as contaminated. estimated national average of 1 child in 150.

Dr. Yazbak’s presentation was brilliant and compelling as he traced the rise of autism in this country since the 1990s. Or I should say, it was brilliant and compelling for me, since it is my area. But as I watched the crowd from my seat on the panel, I did not see many signs of comprehension.

Next was Dr. Haley’s equally cogent PowerPoint on mercury toxicity and how mercury acts in human physiology. Again the message was clear and powerful, documented beyond all reasonable doubt.

As I took the stage and began my presentation, I looked out into the audience and saw those same blank stares. It suddenly occurred to me to ask for a show of hands. “How many of you people in this room have an autistic child?” I was momentarily speechless when I saw nearly every hand go up. It took me so off guard that it was several days before I realized the significance of all those hands being raised.

The first thing that dawned on me was the likelihood that this small community was experiencing the living consequence of one or more vaccine hot lots.

As I explain in the new 12th edition of The Sanctity of Human Blood, vaccines are produced in batches, called lots. A lot is comprised of anywhere from 20,000 to 700,000 or more doses. Certain lots cause an unusual number of reactions and deaths. These are called hot lots. Some sources define a hot lot as one which has more than 2 deaths or 10 serious adverse reactions, but others assign no set number.

So what we were looking at here in this small backwoods community was very likely the textbook example of hot lot damage. Of course, it will never be investigated. There is no government agency responsible for following up on the consequences of lots that have been verified as contaminated. In this case, no one was even suggesting it, because the locals never heard of hot lots.

The other thing that will never happen is the calculation of the actual ratio of autistics to normal children in this community. With 1 child in 150 as the accepted national average, this community’s true number was probably closer to 1 in 50 or even 1 in 25. But they’ll never know because no one’s tracking it. And there’s no reason to, because even if it were proven, there is no law that would force the manufacturer to withdraw the hot lot. No manufacturer has ever withdrawn a hot lot, even a verified one.

My second realization was more disconcerting: vaccines are recommended for the entire childhood population. Overwhelming scientific evidence of their potential for permanent neurological and developmental damage now exists. These sources are carefully evaluated in my book. Yet the majority of parents who are interested in learning about their kids’ chances of vaccine injury are those whose lives have already been directly affected, usually as the result of permanent damage to their own child. When it’s too late, they study it. As Sascha Sarnov says, the child goes to sleep as the parent wakes up.

This is certainly the case for most of the researchers and activists in the vaccine awareness arena. Personal tragedies in their own families motivated them to research and publish. For example, Congressman Dan Burton, the organizer of the Congressional hearings into vaccine damage, is the grandfather of an autistic child.

Why should we worry about something that doesn’t affect us? Because today the risk of being affected by vaccine damage is too high for parents to simply ignore. As Mark Geier has shown, one child in six in the U.S. has a neurodevelopmental disorder. This is an astounding indictment: one child in six! Fourteen percent are actually enrolled in a learning disability program.

There is no office downtown where you go to sign up when your child becomes autistic. No one really knows how extensive that epidemic is. What is known is that between 1993 and 2006 there was an average increase in autism of 1700% across the U.S. At present we know there are at least 1.1 million autistic children in the U.S., but it is completely possible that the actual number might be more than four million. There is no government office making an effort to find an accurate count. On the contrary, there is a systematic effort to cover up the actual figures and data and to publish only those studies which confirm the approved mantra, namely that there can be no possible connection with vaccines.

Upon discovering that their child is autistic, parents often go through five psychological phases:

1. Denial
2. Dawning awareness
3. Anger
4. Guilt
5. Acceptance

These phases are not universal, nor are they always separate and distinct, but most parents experience them in some form or other.
Phase One, the ‘Not My Kid’ phase, is characterized by a disbelief either in the disease itself, or that the condition will be permanent in their child.
Phase Two brings an awareness that their child will not learn any more words and will gradually withdraw and deteriorate mentally.
Phase Three is anger directed outward. No one told them about the dangers of vaccines.

Phase Four is when the parents blame themselves for not having taken the time or the trouble to be informed about a defect that has taken away their child’s chances of a normal life, a tragedy that could have been avoided.

Phase Five is the inevitable acceptance phase as parents realize their child is truly autistic. Unfortunately most of these children will not receive the daily care and treatment Vaccine Argument they need. This lifetime commitment is incredibly time consuming and horrifically expensive, impossible for most families.

As we look more closely at vaccines, we find that autism is not the only danger. The shocking increase in the number of vaccines since 9/11, the ingredients and culturing techniques, the sharp increase in childhood cancer and diabetes, the rising percentage of state monies now devoted to learning disabilities and other defects, the nature of the economic motivators behind the scenes – these are some of the issues that the responsible parent should know about before blindly sub-mitting to the Well Baby Program. To obtain all of one’s information about vaccines from the same people who make a living selling them may not be the best way to keep children out of harm’s way. Parents today must protect their children from all threats, from any quarter. And the only way to do that is with a little homework.

The sad result of that trip to Michigan is the low possibility that anything will evolve from the convention that would substantially improve the situation in that community. It was obvious that the majority of the people at the lectures did not understand what they were hearing, because it was so outside the standard conventional line they’ve heard all their lives – namely that childhood vaccines are safe and necessary for their children’s wellbeing. But even if they did generally understand the well-documented likelihood of the vaccine connection for their local autism epidemic, what could they do? Organize a local boycott of the Well Baby Program? Petition the state government to hold a moratorium on vaccines until they are proven safe and effective? Such a movement is not forthcoming in the lemming warren this country has become today, let alone in upstate Michigan.

Mainstream media is not reporting on the vaccine controversy or on the growing number of parents who are signing their state exemption forms to opt out of vaccines for their children. These parents agonized over the issue as a moral dilemma. Through much study and research, they finally came to the conclusion that as responsible parents they could not permit their children to take part in a mass experiment. And they will not reconsider until a more thorough testing protocol (including risk-to-benefit studies) is implemented by an agency less economically involved in conflicts of interest than today’s FDA.

Dr. Tim O’Shay is the author of The Sanctity of Human Blood, 12 ed. 2008 Visit his website for a wealth of information about health and nutrition: thedoctorwithin.com.

This month OLM evaluates bath and skincare products. Many people will be interested to know which moisturizers passed the test. But readers should note that skin issues such as dry skin, acne, and eczema are symptoms of overall poor health. The health of your skin is primarily determined by what you eat and what you don’t eat. It is also determined by the chemicals you put on it.

Have you ever noticed how some women slather on hand lotion 30+ times a day? They need to ask themselves two questions:

1. What is causing their skin to be dry?
2. Could lotion be the cause rather than the  solution? Or at the very least, could it be making the problem worse?

Do you have chapped lips or cracked heels?  Maybe acne, which is usually a sign of a toxified liver and kidneys. If you have dry skin, you probably have a slow thyroid and/or slow kidneys, and/or do not get enough of the right kinds of fats in your diet (read FAT from our September issue).

Healthy skin comes from the inside out. If your body is getting enough nutrition and not being overwhelmed with toxins, it’s amazing how well it works!

That being said, you may will still want to use a good moisturizer from time to time. You may be working outside with your hands, or your house might be too dry in the winter. If you don’t have a water filtration system for your shower, tap water can dry out your skin. Regardless of the reason, you should not need to repeatedly apply a moisturizer. If you do, it isn’t working.

OLM discovered some wonderful moisturizers. They last, and unlike most other skin care products, they don’t dry out your skin causing a skincare addiction. While these moisturizers nourish your skin, and the moisture they infuse lasts, you will not be putting toxins onto your skin and into your body. Did you know that more than 60% of liquids and creams you put on your skin are completely absorbed into the body?

If you have chronically dry skin or other skin issues after switching to healthy skincare products, it’s certainly time for a detox (see our detox articles in this issue) and more importantly, a lifestyle change.

Further Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• Hypothyroidism – Natural Remedies, Causes, and How To Heal the Thyroid
• How to Cure Lyme Disease, and Virtually Any Other Bacterial Infection, Naturally

Recommended Supplements:

• Shillington’s Kidney/ Bladder Formula
• Shillington’s Liver/Gallbladder Formula
• Shillington’s Blood Detox
• Oil of Oregano – Gaia Herbs
• Coconut Oil
• Lymphagogue Compound – Wise Woman Herbals
• Lavender Essential Oil – Wise Woman Herbals

Further Reading:

• Natural Remedies for Acne
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem
• The Power of Our Hormones and How To Balance Them
• Make Your Immune System Bulletproof with These Natural Remedies
• Inexpensive Easy Detox The One Gallon Challenge