The Food and Drug Administration has announced a new risk-based approach to regulating homeopathic medicines with an increased focus on products administered by injection, intended for children or the elderly, and those marketed for serious diseases. Per the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994, homeopathic medicines will not need FDA approval to be on the market, but this proposal brings an increased level of inspection to the 3 billion dollar homeopathy industry.

Among other reasons, these guidelines have been introduced shortly after the discovery of inconsistent amounts of belladonna (otherwise known as deadly nightshade) were found in teething tablets, causing 400 injuries and 10 deaths.

NBC News reported that when Little Blaine Talbott started teething, his mom, Karina, saw homeopathic teething tablets in the store, she grabbed them. “It said homeopathic, all natural, you know, organic stuff, and so you think that stuff is going to be safe for your child.” Coon Blaine began having seizures. Neurologistsdidn’t know what was causing them, but the seizures stopped when Karina ran out of the tablets.

Supplements the FDA Will Focus On

While the FDA has made it clear they will not be changing the way the majority of homeopathic are regulated, some medications have been put on notice. These include

• Products that have or are associated with a history of manufacturing errors, adverse health incidences or other safety issues
• Products with infectious agents, controlled substances, and potentially toxic ingredients
• Products administered through non-oral or non-topical method, such as injection
• Products meant to treat serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, or addiction issues
• Products aimed at children or elderly populations
• Products that have been altered or where the strength, quality, or purity differs from established standards

Mild or Truly Terrifying?

It is possible to see this as the end of being able to treat yourself in the way you see fit. There is some truth in that, and as Americans being told what we can or can’t do is unsettling. “It’s a slippery slope…” But the good news is that this is on the mild side of medication regulation, and there is certainly an argument made for a greater level of regulation – with the right intentions. The FDA has released guidelines, as opposed to hard and fast rules. It’s entirely possible that many supplements will be left alone. If we learned one thing from Nestle’s recent acquisition of Pure Encapsulations, Garden of Life, and Douglas Labs, supplements are big business, and our government is extremely friendly to big business, which brings up the other possibility. We can see a future where large supplement manufacturers, of whom put the profits over our health, could ruin the health of the natural health industry.

Sources:

• FDA takes more aggressive stance toward homeopathic drugs – Washington Post
• Drug Products Labeled as Homeopathic Guidance for FDA Staff and Industry – FDA.gov

The DEA has announced that the company Insys has produced a synthetic marijuana product and the DEA deems it medically valuable and safer than real cannabis. The announcement was made on November 22nd in the Federal Register by the DEA. The drug is called Syndros. It’s a liquid form of synthetic THC that will be classified as a schedule 2 controlled substance. At this level, the drug can be prescribed by doctors legally, at the federal level.

On March 23, 2017, the DEA published an interim final rule to make FDA-approved products containing dronabinol in an oral solution a schedule II controlled substance. 82 FR 14815. The interim final rule provided an opportunity for interested persons to file written comments as well as a request for hearing or waiver of hearing, on or before April 24, 2017.”

Meanwhile, marijuana will continue to be listed as a “Schedule 1 controlled substance”. Schedule 1 is reserved for drugs like heroin, deemed to have “no currently accepted medical use” and have “a high potential for abuse.” As Politico says, “Jeff Sessions Isn’t Giving up on Weed. He’s Doubling Down.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVTqyuuSMI

The FDA has cleared Syndros for Synthetic Marijuana Approval

Synthetic marijuana will be hitting the market soon. Insys Therapeutics is based out of Arizona. This is not the kind of company marijuana advocates want involved in the cannabis industry.

A pharmaceutical company that manufactures the prescription painkiller fentanyl repeatedly misrepresented its product and the patients using it in order to boost sales, according to a blistering report released Wednesday by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).” – Mother Jones

We found a story on Collective Evolution:

Twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C. have now legalized some form of medical marijuana; however the DEA and the FDA still maintain their stance that cannabis is not medicine. Last year, the FDA even rejected a petition to have marijuana removed from the Schedule 1 category.”

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In 2011, a team of scientists headed by Duane L. Pierson published the paper Varicella Zoster Virus DNA at Inoculation Sites and in Saliva After Zostavax Immunization. Their paper looks at whether or not individuals who have been vaccinated with the shingles vaccine could remain infectious with chicken pox (varicella zoster virus) after vaccination. The team studied 36 individuals over 60 years of age who recently had been vaccinated with Zostavax, the shingles vaccine. The scientists say that the vaccine reduced the incidence of shingles, but many individuals tested positive for the varicella zoster virus DNA for up to 28 days after vaccination.

Shingles is caused by the Varicella Zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Only someone who has had chickenpox or who has gotten the chickenpox vaccine can get shingles. The virus stays in thebody, and may cause shingles many years later.

Related: How Plumbing (Not Vaccines) Eradicated Disease

Inoculation site samples taken within 10 minutes after vaccination were positive for Zostavax VZV DNA in 18 (50%) of 36 subjects. The VZV DNA copy number per nanogram of total DNA ranged from 28 to 2.1 × 106 (Table 1), possibly reflecting the presence of infectious virus since no alcohol or other agent was used to wipe the skin after inoculation.

“No saliva specimen collected immediately before immunization contained VZV DNA. During the first week after immunization, VZV DNA was detected in saliva of 21 (58%) of 36 subjects (13 men and 8 women). During the 28-day study period, VZV DNA was found in 11 (31%) of 36 subjects (5 men and 6 women) at day 14, in 10 (28%) of 36 subjects (6 men and 4 women) at day 21, and in 2 (6%) of 36 subjects (1 man and 1 woman) at day 28.” – Duane Pierson

Authors conclusion:

“Finally, that while transmission of vaccine virus has not been found among vaccine recipients, the detection of VZV DNA in saliva of Zostavax recipients for up to 28 days suggests that contact with saliva of recently immunized individuals represents a potential source of transmission.”

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

Fifty percent of those in the study tested positive for Zostavax VZV DNA, and therefor, could potentially spread chicken pox to the unvaccinated individuals.

Related: Influenza Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness of the Flu Shot

This paper is just one of many proving that it is the vaccinated who put others at risk, not the other way around. For further information, please read Studies Show that Vaccinated Individuals Spread Disease: Should the Recently Vaccinated be Quarantined to Prevent Outbreaks?” – Health Impact News

It turns out that both the active and the inert ingredients in the world’s most common herbicides can produce antibiotic resistance. A team of researchers in New Zealand, building on their 2015 research that identified Roundup, 2,4-D, and dicamba as triggers for antibiotic-resistant Salmonella eterica and Escherichia coli, has found that this resistance occurred with doses below reasonable levels. According to the lead author of the study, Jack Heinemann, Ph.D., University Canterbury’s School of Biological Sciences,

The sub-lethal effects of industrially manufactured chemical products should be considered by regulators when deciding whether the products are safe for their intended use…These products are sold in the local hardware store and may be used without training, and there are no controls that prevent children and pets from being exposed in home gardens or parks. Despite their ubiquitous use… herbicides may be undermining the use of a fundamental medicine-antibiotics.”

Recommended: How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz5MYfpzoJA

To achieve these findings, scientists first exposed S. eterica to pure dicamba, glyphosate, and 2,4-D. The bacteria were then treated with select antibiotics. The inert ingredients polysorbate 80 and CMC were applied to both S. eterica and E. coli, and they were treated with the same group of antibiotics, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, kanamycin, and tetracycline. The active ingredients had a more pronounced effect on the bacteria than the inert ingredients did, and the results, though varied, confirmed that these herbicides can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Related: Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases

These Herbicides are Everywhere

So what does this mean in the current quest to solve antibiotic resistance? The current push by scientists and medical professionals to find answers to this issue focus on the excessive use of antibiotic in factory farming. But glyphosate is found in the urine of 93% of Americans, and this doesn’t take into account the other herbicides tested here. Is everything in our current food system designed to undermine our health? Have we gone too far to come back?

Sources:

• WHO Says the World Will Run Out of Antibiotics Able to Treat Bacteria Superbugs – OLM
• Monsanto’s Roundup Causes Antibiotic Resistance—a Fact That’s Not Considered by Regulators – Alternet
• New research finds common herbicides cause antibiotic resistance – University of Canterbury

The yearly Food and Drug Administration report on the sale of “medically important” antibiotics for food-producing animals has been released, and it’s good news. For the first time since the FDA started tracking these sales in 2009, sales of medically important antibiotics have gone down. They decreased by 14 percent in 2016, and a new FDA policy makes it likely that the trend will continue.

Why Have Sales Dropped?

There has been a concentrated effort from the scientific and medical communities to bring awareness to the issue of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In 2017, the FDA asked manufacturers to stop selling medically important antibiotics for the use of animal farming. Though this policy request occurred past the deadline for the 2016 yearly report, it does coincide with Canadian and European pushes for livestock raised with fewer antibiotics. With the United States government beginning to take this issue seriously, the sale and use of medically important antibiotics will likely continue to decrease.

Recommended: How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials

Baby Steps

There are still quite a few questions though. Without a massive overhaul of the factory farming system, farmers need something to replace these antibiotics. Non-antibiotic treatments are in the work, but data on how that could potentially affect humans hasn’t surfaced.

Another concern is the language continually being used – medically important antibiotics. One of the most important reported cases of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is the development of a colistin-resistant bacteria. Colistin was not considered a medically important antibiotic because of the kidney damage it causes, and the product only became medically important when other antibiotics were failing. According to the World Health Organization, there are not enough antibiotics being developed to deal with superbugs. What is the likelihood that one of the medically non-important antibiotics becomes medically necessary?

Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Using Data for the Greater Good

In addition to tracking sales, this is the first year that the FDA broke down the sale of antibiotics by animal type, giving a clearer picture of the relationship between food-producing animals and our medication. Restaurants and supermarkets have focused on delivering antibiotic-free chicken, and that’s reflected in the numbers. Poultry accounts for only 15 percent of medically important antibiotic sales, while swine and cattle account for 37 and 43 percent, respectively. It’s not clear that changes in restaurant policy have changed those figures, but it’s silly to think that the company that sells the 37 million nuggets a day doesn’t change the way that chicken is produced.

Related: How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System

Progress!

This report is a good sign for a couple of reasons. First, we have a more detailed breakdown of which animals are receiving more antibiotics. Secondly, all of the consumer pressure placed on corporations and governments for healthier options can actually have an effect. The free flow of information can bring about change, but we’re running out of time for that. Continued progress is a must.

Sources:

• For the First Time, Antibiotic Use in Farm Animals Drops – The Atlantic
• FDA Announces Implementation of GFI #213, Outlines Continuing Efforts to Address Antimicrobial Resistance – FDA
• WHO Says the World Will Run Out of Antibiotics Able to Treat Bacteria Superbugs – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Pressure’s on for on-farm alternatives to antibiotics – Calgary Herald

Monsanto Co says it will give cash back to U.S. farmers who purchase a controversial weed killer, XtendiMax with VaporGrip, a dicamba-based herbicide. The herbicide has been linked to widespread crop damage. Monsanto is offering the cash incentive even as regulators in several U.S. states are deciding on restrictions for its use. Federal and state regulators are requiring training for farmers and limiting when and how the product can be used. Some farmers are saying the restrictions make the chemical too costly and inconvenient to apply, but Monsanto believes the incentive will help push past the products many issues and concerns. Monsanto could refund farmers more than half of the sticker price of the product.

Of course, Monsanto says XtendiMax is perfectly safe when applied properly. BASF SE and DowDuPont also sell dicamba-based herbicides.

Related: Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods

We believe cash-back incentives for using XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology better enable growers to use a management system that represents the next level of weed control.” – Ryan Rubischko, Monsanto product manager.

Monsanto is facing increasing government oversight lately:

On Monday, Missouri said it would ban sprayings of XtendiMax and DowDuPont’s product, called FeXapan, in 10 counties after June 1, 2018, and statewide after July 15, 2018. Last month, the state imposed the same restrictions on BASF’s dicamba herbicide, Engenia. North Dakota said it planned to prohibit the use of dicamba herbicides after June 30, 2018, and when temperatures top 85 degrees Fahrenheit in a bid to prevent the chemical from drifting away from where it is sprayed. Arkansas is close to prohibiting dicamba sprayings after April 15, 2018, the tightest limits yet, while Minnesota is also considering restrictions. The states are taking action after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandated special training for dicamba users for 2018 and required farmers to keep records proving they were complying with label instructions.” – Reuters

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The number of people with type 2 diabetes has been on the rise for some time now, and it’s believed that this rise is directly related to the obesity epidemic. Fat accumulated in the abdomen impeeds pancreatic function, which makes sense when you consider how glands work, and what happens when a gland does not have enough space to function properly. If you squeeze a glad it will secret hormones, so consider how excessive fat accumulation plays a role when putting pressure on glands.

These findings are very exciting. They could revolutionise the way type 2 diabetes is treated. This builds on the work into the underlying cause of the condition, so that we can target management effectively. Substantial weight loss results in reduced fat inside the liver and pancreas, allowing these organs to return to normal function. What we’re seeing … is that losing weight isn’t just linked to better management of type 2 diabetes: significant weight loss could actually result in lasting remission.” – Prof Roy Taylor, Newcastle University, lead researcher

This is huge! We now have the scientific community recognizing that diabetes can be reversed by diet. Nine out of 10 people in the trial who lost 15kg (33 lbs) or more put their type 2 diabetes into remission – no more insulin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EFeVsFsYCE

Restricted vs. Healthy

One thing to consider though is that reducing calories is not enough. It may be enough to reverse the worst aspects of a disease, but for those wanting to enjoy a body in complete homeostasis, toxins need to be eliminated and nutrition needs to be assimilated. We would bet anything that the one person out of the ten people who did not go into remission would have healed with the right diet. You are what you eat, and science is starting to see this, to an extent. New studies are regularly coming out about gut microbes, how diet effect them, and how toxins affect us. Scientists are not yet connecting the dots with how food can heal very well, so there is a lot more about what’s wrong with our diet than how to fix it. Scientists still may be a long way from realizing how powerful food can be for healing. If you want to reverse diabetes (or almost any chronic illness), check out Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones. It’s a journey, and it’s not easy to heal holistically. It’s a lifestyle change, a journey, a process involving more than just diet. But many have done it, and more and more people are waking up to the reality that we are in fact in control of our health.

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• Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet
• How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes
• Diabetes, Endocrine Functions of the Pancreas, and Natural Healing
• Natural Diabetes Cure
• Foods That Contribute to Diabetes