Heart disease has ranked No. 1 in the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. for years. In 2020,1 690,882 people died from heart disease. This is compared to 633,842 who died in 2015, which represents a 9% jump in six short years. One of the key risk factors for heart disease is high blood pressure.2 New data show a diet rich in herbs and spices may help reduce high blood pressure.3 Blood pressure measurements are expressed as two numbers.4 The top number is called the systolic number and the bottom is called the diastolic number. These numbers represent the pressure measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) required to move blood through your arteries. The top number is how much pressure is on the artery as the heart beats and the diastolic number is how much pressure remains in the artery between heart beats. In 2017, the American College of Cardiology,5 in collaboration with the American Heart Association,6 published new guidelines that defined high blood pressure. This moved the measurement to diagnose high blood pressure from 140/90 to 130/80 mmHg.7 Researchers had been noticing a rise in heart disease in individuals whose blood pressure was previously thought to be within normal limits. With the changed guidelines, the American Heart Association8 estimated more than 100 million Americans have high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, kidney disease, vision loss, stroke and damaged blood vessels.9 New data published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrate how closely associated your diet is to your blood pressure measurement.10 24 Herbs and Spices Over Four Weeks Lowered Blood PressureResearchers at Pennsylvania State University11 sought to understand the effect that eating herbs and spices would have on cardiovascular disease. According to the researchers,12 this was the first controlled feeding study to evaluate mixed herbs and spices in a traditional U.S. diet against the risk factors for heart disease. The researchers recruited 71 people with known risk factors for heart disease. Of those, 63 participants completed the controlled feeding study. The researchers used blood samples and blood pressure to gauge the effect of a low (0.5 grams), moderate (3.2 grams) and high (6.5 grams) intake of herbs and spices. The participants consumed each diet in random order for a period of four weeks with a two-week washout between each diet.13 The remainder of the diet was based on the average American intake. The herbs and spices included basil, thyme, cinnamon and turmeric. The researchers discovered that those consuming the diet high in herbs and spices had lower systolic blood pressure then those who consumed the diet with medium or low-dose herbs and spices. The participants wore a blood pressure monitor for 24 hours at the start of the study and at the end of each treatment period. The researchers were excited by the results because the study did not specifically change the diet to be heart healthy. The only difference was in the number of herbs and spices consumed by the participants. Penny M. Kris-Etherton, professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State Evan Pugh University,14 said in a press release:15
Vitamin D Deficiency May Be Linked to High Blood PressureSeveral important factors influence your blood pressure, and your vitamin D level is one of them.16 Researchers have found vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are associated with high blood pressure in adults and now find that low levels in infants and children can increase the risk of high blood pressure later in childhood and during the teen years.17 Vitamin D plays a significant role in several health conditions, and it may be one of the simplest solutions to a wide range of problems. Optimally, you'll want to obtain vitamin D through sun exposure. However, since many dermatologists and other agencies18,19,20 began telling people to avoid the sun and use liberal amounts of sunscreen, vitamin D deficiency has reached epidemic proportions.21,22,23 In the U.K., the optimal level of vitamin D is 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) and higher.24 However, in the U.S., sufficient levels are between 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) and 60 ng/mL (150 nmol/L)25 or from 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L) to 60 ng/mL (150 nmol/L).26 One study27 published in 2018 found 39.92% of the people had a vitamin D level of 20 ng/mL or less and 60.08% had levels of 20 ng/mL or greater. Since the lowest sufficient level is 30 ng/mL, at least 40% of the population surveyed were deficient in vitamin D, and likely higher. Evidence suggests that low levels are associated with high blood pressure. One literature review28 of 30 randomized clinical trials and 4,744 participants found that vitamin D3 could help reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The effect appeared dependent on the dose, duration and population. A second review29 of 17 trials with 1,687 participants found supplementation with vitamin D had a statistically significant difference in reducing systolic and diastolic pressure in people who were vitamin D deficient and had high blood pressure. Low levels of vitamin D also appear to have a predictive value in children. Researchers30 followed 775 children in ages ranging from birth to age 18 from 2005 to 2012 to investigate the effect vitamin D had on the development of high systolic blood pressure. Low vitamin D status was defined as less than 11 ng/mL at birth and less than 25 ng/mL during early childhood. The researchers31 compared those with low levels of vitamin D to children who were born with adequate levels. They found that children with low levels had about a 60% higher risk of elevated systolic blood pressure from ages 6 to 18. Children who experienced persistently low levels throughout childhood were at double the risk of elevated systolic blood pressure between ages 3 and 18.32 Take Care With Your Sodium/Potassium RatioIn the U.S. and many other developed countries, salt has been vilified as a primary cause of high blood pressure.33 The idea is with more salt, your body retains more fluid and therefore increases the work of the heart. According to research presented at the American Heart Association meeting in 2013,34 excessive salt contributed to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010. However, it is important to understand that sodium and potassium work together to affect your blood pressure. The average reported intake of potassium from food is about half35 of the 4,700 mg recommended.36 Research has demonstrated these low levels of potassium may have a significant impact on blood pressure,37,38,39 especially as it relates to the amount of salt normally found in the Western diet. Potassium works to relax the walls of your arteries, which keeps your muscles from cramping and lowers your blood pressure.40 Reduction in blood pressure with added potassium has also been associated with a reduced risk of stroke and all-cause mortality.41 It's recommended that you consume in the range of two to three times more potassium than sodium, depending on whether you currently have a heart condition or diabetes.42,43 But most Americans consume more sodium than potassium. If researchers are looking only at sodium levels and not the ratio, which is more important than the overall salt intake,44 then it may appear as if salt is driving high blood pressure. Therefore, by lowering your salt intake you automatically improve the ratio. More Strategies to Help Control Blood PressureThere are many factors that can positively or negatively affect your blood pressure. As discussed, your diet plays an important role in the nutrients supplied to your arterial system. Several other strategies you may consider include:
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/26/herbs-and-spices-lower-blood-pressure.aspx
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I want to share a very personal story and confession with you. When I was in medical school in the late ‘70s, I was on the front cover for the national medical student handbook. I’m sharing this photo with you that shows me administering a vaccine. At that time and for the next 15 years, I rigidly followed all vaccine guidelines. Even when I started seeing patients at my own clinic, I never once questioned the safety of any vaccine and I rejected information from people voicing their concerns. In the late ‘80s, one particularly kind patient of mine, a mother, patiently shared a personal testimony about her vaccine-injured son, Jack. She opened my eyes to a reality that I was previously unaware of and did not want to accept. She confronted me with clinical data that I could no longer ignore. In the years that followed, I saw more and more parents who had serious fears about certain vaccines; I slowly came to the realization that informed consent was practically nonexistent and there were serious medical risks being covered up by pharmaceutical companies and the federal government. We are now in the midst of vaccine mandates that have affected nearly every person on the planet. If you don’t know someone personally who has suffered a reaction to these vaccines, you are likely in the minority. Victims of Adverse Vaccine Reactions Need To Be HeardSheryl Ruettgers, who is the wife of former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Ken Ruettgers, is among those who have suffered severe adverse effects from a COVID-19 injection. Four days after receiving the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 shot in January 2021, Sheryl experienced a severe neurological reaction. She is still experiencing muscle pain, numbness, weakness and paresthesia that inhibit her daily activities.1 When she connected on social media with others who had been injured by the injections, the private pages were shut down. After connecting with doctors, nurses and other individuals who had experienced firsthand accounts of adverse reactions, the group wrote a letter to Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It stated:2
The group received no response from federal officials, which led Ken to start the website C19 Vax Reactions,3 for people to share their stories. There you can read over 500 real testimonies of adverse reactions to the shots and view dozens of videos detailing individuals’ reactions. In one example, 17-year-old Everest Romney received his first dose of the Pfizer shot, and experienced extreme swelling in his arm and neck that night.4 Two days later, the previously healthy athlete was unable to lift his head due to the pain and swelling. A pediatrician dismissed the concerns, blaming them on a sports injury. His mother insisted on a CT scan, which revealed a blood clot inside his jugular vein on the same side he got the shot. Rare blood clots in his brain were also later revealed. He ended up in the ICU, where doctors still refused to acknowledge that the clots could be linked to the shot. Adverse Reactions Are Being IgnoredMedical observations from doctors, nurses, first responders, general practitioners and other medical professionals regarding negative vaccine reactions are also included at C19 Vax Reactions. For example, Karen W. stated:5
Another medical professional, Dr. Katherine R., said:6
Y.D., another doctor, similarly stated:7
This is the type of data that need to be collected, analyzed and studied in the midst of this unprecedented injection campaign, but instead those who speak out are silenced or discredited. Kyle Warner, a 29-year-old professional mountain bike racer, developed pericarditis, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and reactive arthritis following his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot.8 An ER doctor refused to believe it was an adverse reaction to the jab and instead blamed it on a “psychotic episode.” At the Real, Not Rare rally held in Washington, D.C., Warner spoke before politicians to make a difference in the support level for vaccine-injured people — which is nonexistent in the U.S. — and voice opposition to vaccine mandates. Their mission is to gain acknowledgement from elected officials and federal health agencies of vaccine adverse reactions and raise awareness within the medical community about these reactions. The Real, Not Rare website has also collected dozens of stories from people who have been injured by COVID-19 shots.9 They also want to stop the denial of certain vaccine exemptions and stop vaccine mandates:10
Without Acknowledgment, ‘We Don’t Exist’In a second letter to the CDC and FDA, dated September 4, 2021, the “ever-growing group of Americans who have suffered severe and ongoing neurological adverse reactions” to the COVID-19 shots, asked for acknowledgement that these reactions exist. “Until you acknowledge us, we simply do not exist,” they wrote, adding:11
Four Categories of Adverse Events DescribedWhile health officials remain silent about COVID-19 injection reactions, the growing number of reports cannot be silenced forever. Board-certified internist and cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough12 detailed the nonfatal syndromes that are occurring after COVID-19 shots, which cause symptoms similar to that of long COVID in many cases. The shot-induced syndromes fall into four areas, the first being cardiac. In addition to myocarditis, a recognized adverse reaction to the shots, atrial fibrillation in young people and pericarditis can also occur post-COVID-19 shot. The second category of shot-induced syndromes is neurologic, which causes neurological symptoms similar to those among COVID-19 long haulers, as well as additional, more serious, effects. This includes Guillain-Barré syndrome, which can be fatal, bell’s palsy, seizures, persistent headaches and blood clots in the brain. The third category is immunologic, which includes suppression of lymphocyte count and reactivation of other viral syndromes, including Epstein-Barr virus and shingles. The fourth category — hematologic — occurs about two weeks after the shot and describes vaccine-induced thrombocytopenic purpura. Signs include bruising all over the body, bleeding from the gums and nose and dark urine. If you notice these signs in the weeks after receiving a COVID-19 injection, get to a hospital immediately. For those suffering from these shot-induced syndromes, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Working Group’s I-RECOVER13 protocol for long-haul COVID syndrome has been used to treat shot-induced symptoms with similar success. The protocol can be downloaded in full,14 giving you step-by-step instructions on how to treat reactions from COVID-19 injections. Let Your Voice Be HeardI am dedicated now more than ever to individuals and families who have been injured by these vaccines. They were not informed of the risks. They believed what they were told — that the vaccines were safe and effective. These people’s lives have been changed forever. They have been isolated, unsupported and shamed; wading through grief in the wake of vaccine mandates established “for the greater good.” The more devoted I became in supporting the ethical principal of informed consent to medical risk taking — which includes the legal right to make voluntary decisions about getting an experimental injection — the more the attacks from the media, the government and pharmaceutical companies were compounded. People recognize truth when they see and hear it. We are united in our philosophical opposition to government health officials intimidating, threatening and coercing citizens to violate their conscientiously-held beliefs. Censorship is pervasive; big tech has colluded with dictators and pharmaceutical companies to bury the harms occurring through these experimental vaccines, including death. If you want your voice to be heard, I will help you share your testimony. Vaccine mandates have led to injuries, devastation and deaths — while the brainwashing “get your vaccine now” campaign is being used to divide and conquer. One parent’s personal grief shared with me nearly 30 years ago changed my life and opened my eyes. One spark is all that is required to start a fire. There is a revolution building — a revolution for freedom to live your life without medical mandates or dictators calling the shots. Please share your story with us, and encourage others you know who have a story to share theirs. It’s never been more important than now, for you and your family, to take control of your health. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/26/vaccine-victims-share-adverse-reactions.aspx Your entire body takes direction from your hormones. Hormones are secreted by your endocrine system and are responsible for telling your organs what to do and when to do it.1 They are essentially chemical messengers that travel throughout your bloodstream, working slowly over time to affect processes like growth and development, metabolism and reproduction. Sometimes, these chemical messengers may get out of balance, and this leads to chronic disorders such as Type 2 diabetes, weak bones and infertility.2 Hormones may be secreted by your adrenal glands, endocrine-related organs, hypothalamus, sex glands and other organs.3 Progesterone is important to fertility and supporting a pregnancy. It’s a steroid hormone secreted by the corpus luteum and then by the placenta if you become pregnant.4 In some cases, when couples suffer from infertility, they choose in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is a complex series of procedures in which eggs are retrieved from the ovaries, fertilized by sperm in a lab and then transferred into the uterus.5 One full cycle can take up to three weeks6 and cost $12,000.7 In response to her struggles with infertility, Amy Galliher-Beckley, Ph.D.,8 co-founded MFB Fertility and the progesterone test Proov.9 The Estrogen and Progesterone RelationshipEach of your bodily systems maintains a balance to help you maintain optimal health. Your reproductive system is no different. For a woman, there are several hormones affecting a complex system to mature an egg follicle and release an egg where it travels to the uterus. If fertilized, the egg must implant into the uterus, called the endometrium, where it begins to develop into a baby. These events are controlled by hormones secreted from several sources in the body. The ovaries produce the eggs and are the main source of estrogen. The adrenal glands sit on top of each kidney and also make a small amount. Estrogen plays a role in physical changes during puberty; it also controls the menstrual cycle, protects bone health and affects your mood.10 The second hormone essential to fertility is progesterone, a steroid hormone that is first secreted by the corpus luteum. After the egg is released, the corpus luteum is left attached to the ovary, which functions as a temporary gland.11 These two hormones are controlled by the release of other hormones. During the menstrual cycle gonadotropin-releasing hormone is secreted from the hypothalamus, triggering the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from the pituitary gland.12 This begins follicle development and triggers a rise in estrogen. Luteinizing hormone (LH), also secreted by the pituitary gland, supports the maturation of the follicle and a trigger to cause the egg to be released. When estrogen levels get sufficiently high it signals a sudden release of LH, around mid-cycle, which triggers a set of events that ultimately release the mature egg from the follicle.13 Once released, the empty follicle becomes the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. The release of progesterone triggers the uterus to develop a highly vascularized bed suitable for implantation of a fertilized egg. Without fertilization, the corpus luteum begins to degenerate, the secretion of progesterone drops off and menstruation occurs. If pregnancy occurs then the corpus luteum produces progesterone for the first 10 weeks until production is taken over by the placenta.14,15 Not About Getting Pregnant, but Staying PregnantAs Beckley explains in her interview with Forbes magazine,16 her test is not about getting pregnant, but rather staying pregnant. Progesterone not only prepares the uterus for the egg to implant; it also protects the endometrium from degeneration and menstruation. While the body is producing high levels of progesterone during a pregnancy, a second egg will not mature.17 In order to maintain a pregnancy, the corpus luteum must continue to secrete progesterone. This maintains the blood vessels in the endometrium to feed the growing baby. It is in these early weeks that women with low levels of progesterone may have difficulty, both conceiving and developing the right environment for a fertilized egg to grow. Some women who do get pregnant are at a high risk for miscarriage.18 The test Beckley developed comes with sticks used in much the same way ovulation and pregnancy tests are used. These sticks measure the amount of progesterone metabolites excreted in the urine. To date, this is the first at-home, over-the-counter test used to evaluate a woman's ability to produce progesterone.19 Beckley explains:20
Luteal Phase Defect Increases Chances of MiscarriageThe luteal phase in a woman's cycle begins after ovulation and represents the second half of the menstrual cycle. The luteal phase is named after the corpus luteum. Luteal Phase Defect (LPD) results in an abnormal endometrial growth that may not support a pregnancy.21,22 While researchers struggle to identify the underlying dysfunction and efficacy of LPD in supporting fertility, experts report women undergoing IVF always have LPD present.23 LPD is marked with a luteal phase less than 11 days. However, not all physicians believe the condition exists; reliable tests are lacking.24 Beckley developed the Proov urine test to help women identify a reduction in progesterone during their cycle. According to Beckley,25 her test gives women more knowledge about how their body works and provides a foundation for asking their infertility doctors better questions. The test measures the presence of metabolites in the urine that should increase and remain elevated after ovulation. It may be used to confirm ovulation and confirm levels of progesterone afterward. A single negative test before ovulation followed by a single positive test will confirm ovulation for women trying to get pregnant.26 For women trying to conceive, the test is recommended four days after peak fertility and then for continued testing 10 days past ovulation.27 When questions arise about levels of progesterone to maintain a pregnancy, they recommend testing six days after peak fertility and as needed during the pregnancy since the test should remain positive. Other Functions of ProgesteroneAlthough LPD has a significant impact on a woman's ability to carry a pregnancy, it is the subject of debate.28 In some cases, the ovaries release enough progesterone but the uterine lining does not respond.29 LPD has been linked to other health conditions, including:30
In some circumstances, when these conditions are treated, the LPD resolves.31 Later in life, if levels of progesterone decline, a woman’s period may become irregular, heavier and longer,32 increasing her chance of experiencing anemia, depending on the amount and length of her period.33 Variations in hormone levels after menopause may also influence cognition and mood.34 In a study of 643 healthy postmenopausal women, researchers found that while estrogen had little effect on tests of executive function or global cognition, progesterone concentrations were associated with verbal memory. The researchers suggest this positive association merits additional study. Bioidentical progesterone, also known as micronized progesterone in the oral form, has been successful in helping relieve hot flashes and night sweats during menopause. Dr. Jerilynn Prior from the University of British Columbia Vancouver presented her study at an endocrine society meeting during which she compared the use of progesterone to placebo.35 The study assigned 114 postmenopausal women into one of two groups, a placebo group and another who took 300 mg of micronized oral progesterone daily. To be eligible for the study, the women had to be off hormone therapy for at least six months.36 At the end of the 12-week study, researchers found that the group taking micronized progesterone demonstrated a 56% decrease in a score reflecting the number and intensity of symptoms, while the women taking the placebo reported a 28% decrease.37 Age Does Affect Hormone BalanceAs is borne out by the number of women struggling with hormonal imbalances as they age and those requiring fertility assistance to become pregnant after 40,38 Beckley is vocal about the difficulty women may have supporting a pregnancy after she turns 40.39 Beckley says,40 “The closer a woman gets to menopause, the least likely her body is going to be able to support a pregnancy.” Much of this is related to the imbalance of hormones required to successfully support a pregnancy that occurs as women age. Her research in designing the progesterone urine test led Beckley to believe 30% to 40% of women who undergo IVF treatment to become pregnant ultimately do not need IVF.41 Instead, they may require progesterone to develop a healthy endometrial lining and support early pregnancy. Overall Fertility Is on the DeclineCouples experience infertility for a number of reasons. In a study42 released in 2017, researchers evaluated 38 years of information and found sperm counts declined significantly between 1973 and 2011. The sperm counts declined 52% to 59% in men located in North America, Europe and Australia. The Australian Department of Health reports 1 in every 6 Australian couples suffers from fertility problems, which they attribute to the decision to have children later in life as well as declining sperm count. Quality and lifestyle factors such as smoking, not eating healthfully, consuming excessive amounts of alcohol and not having a healthy BMI also affect fertility.43 In May 2019, the Pew Research Center reported that for the fourth year in a row, key fertility indicators for U.S. couples declined, reaching a record low.44 Two of the three indicators used to determine fertility reflected a decline in numbers. The total fertility rate, or the estimation of the number of children a woman would have in her lifetime, was 1.73 children in 2018. This was lower than the estimate of 1.74 from the mid-1970s.45 Research suggests men’s fertility is affected by environmental toxins and chemicals you may find in your own home, which I discuss in a past article, “50 Percent Fertility Reduction Because of These Household Chemicals.” Additionally, as described in the past article, “Birth Rate Reaches Record Low as Premature Deliveries Rise,” statistics from the CDC show the number of new births was down 2% in 2018 as compared to 2017, but the number of premature births was rising. Infertility and pregnancy are complex conditions that likely need a comprehensive approach to experience a successful outcome. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/09/18/ivf-treatment.aspx The type of fat you eat has an impact on your health and can affect your risk of certain diseases. An animal study published in Nature1 in November 2021 found a link between palmitic acid from palm oil and cancer metastasis. Another compelling report published in the journal Gastroenterology2 offers a radically novel, yet logically sound, explanation as to why unsaturated fat intake is associated with increased mortality from COVID-19. According to the Gastroenterology study, data indicate that mortality rates are heavily influenced by the amount of unsaturated fats you eat. On the bright side, they believe early treatment with inexpensive calcium and egg albumin could reduce rates of organ failure and ICU admissions. Although no clinical studies have been done yet, the authors believe it's time as it appears that early albumin and calcium supplementation may bind unsaturated fats and reduce injury to vital organs. They also point out that saturated fats are protective by reducing lipolysis.3 The argument over what constitutes a healthy diet is highly influenced by processed food manufacturers who liberally use omega-6 fats in their products and promote seed oils as a “healthy” alternative to lard and butter. However, the evidence against unsaturated fats continues to mount and this time it’s been linked to the spread of cancer. Palmitic Acid Promoted Metastasis in an Animal StudyThe Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona conducted the study published in Nature.4 In this experiment, the researchers demonstrated that palmitic acid promoted metastasis of melanoma and oral cancers in mice.5 Some of the hallmarks of metastasis are fatty acid uptake and altered metabolism. In this study, oral tumor cells and skin cancer melanomas were exposed to palmitic acid and then transplanted into mice. The researchers watched how quickly the cells spread and found even when they were exposed to the palmitic acid for a short period there was a greater capacity to metastasize. There appeared to be permanent alterations in the genome of the metastatic cells.6 Subsequently, these cells had the most aggressive properties, which the authors described as a “stable memory.” The researchers believe that the results favor the development of malignant cancer when cells are exposed to palmitic acid, even in the very early stages when a tumor may not have been detected. When palmitic acid was removed, cancer cells that had already been exposed remained highly metastatic.7 The cells appeared to have a colonizing capacity as a result of palmitic acid but not after exposure to oleic acid or linoleic acid.8 This suggested that the aggressive nature of the cells was linked to epigenetic modifications that occurred in response to palmitic acid. One of the pathways identified in this study was a neural network that forms around a tumor after the cells are exposed to palmitic acid. Tumor cells with the greatest capacity to metastasize worked with the animals’ neural network to produce a regenerative environment where the cells could grow and spread. The researchers’ cellular analysis indicated that the genetic influence of palmitic acid affected Schwann cells,9 which are a primary part of the peripheral nervous system.10 These Schwann cells secreted an extracellular matrix that triggered metastasis. The researchers concluded the evidence suggested palmitic acid induced changes that “lead to a long-term stimulation of metastasis, and that this is related to a pro regenerative state of tumor-activated Schwann cells.”11 The researchers believe blocking the epigenetic changes that occur with exposure to palmitic acid could effectively stop metastasis for these tumor cells. The idea was to identify how the process could be blocked to interfere with a tumor response. Salvador Aznar-Benitah, Ph.D., said in a press release:12
He believes that using medication to block the process is a realistic approach, which “doesn’t depend on whether a patient likes Nutella or pizza. Playing with diets is so complicated,” he says.13 Far-Reaching Effect of the Palm Oil IndustryGreg Hannon, Ph.D., is director of the Cancer Research U.K. Cambridge Institute. He was not part of the study, but spoke with The Guardian about the potential implications of the data, saying:14
One paper published in 2019 in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization15 looked at the large-scale industrial use of pal palm oil in food processing, which they acknowledge as “one of the world’s most commonly used vegetable oils.”16 The researchers found a mutually profitable relationship between agriculture and the processed food industry. The review also showed the detrimental practices in the industry that are linked to environmental and human health damage. They believe their analysis demonstrated there were parallels between the practices in the palm oil and vegetable oil industries and the actions adopted by the tobacco and alcohol industries.17 Palm oil is found in roughly half of frequently consumed foods and consumer products such as cosmetics. Production has risen from 15 million tons in 1995 to 66 million tons in 2017. The rise in production is related to the clear advantages the oil has in the processed food industry, including a high smoke point and being semi-solid at room temperature. One meta-analysis18 pulling data from across 23 countries demonstrated that with an increased use of palm oil there was a significantly higher mortality rate from ischemic heart disease in the population. Another review19 demonstrated populations with high palm oil consumption had higher levels of atherogenic low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Across the world, oil-palm plantations cover an area totaling approximately the size of New Zealand. Experts estimate the industry in 2019 was worth $60 billion and directly employed 6 million people.20 The industry is expected to reach a value of $88 billion by 2022. In the meta-analysis, writers did a rapid review of the literature in 2018. They identified 40 review and research articles published from 2002 to 2018. From the literature, they found consistent environmental concerns linked to the industry, including biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and habitat fragmentation. They also found mixed reports linking palm oil to health. However, four of the nine studies that demonstrated positive health associations were composed by the Malaysian Palm Oil board. Not to mention the environmental damage the land-clearing practices for cultivation of palms has caused, they also have affected the health of people in Southeast Asia, leading to premature death, cardiovascular disease and respiratory illness from air pollution.21 A major concern of the air pollution resulting from land clearing practices is on child mortality and cognitive impairment. Processed Vegetable Oils Raise Inflammation and Harm HealthIt has become increasingly clear that one of the most damaging factors in the modern diet is processed vegetable oil. These oils contain excessive amounts of omega-6 linoleic acid (LA). This is a polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) that triggers damage even worse than that caused by refined sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, as it incites mitochondrial dysfunction that drives the disease process.22,23,24 In this action, the resulting higher proportion of LA causes proinflammatory conditions that can lead to thrombus, atheroma, allergic reactions and inflammatory diseases.25 However, the good news is that replacing these dangerous oils can go a long way toward boosting your health and reducing your risk of chronic disease. Humans used to eat a diet with an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of approximately 1-to-1.26 Both fatty acids are essential to human health. However, in the current Western diet, that ratio is at least 16.7-to-1 or greater, with a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids. In those consuming a diet where the ratio is 4-to-1, there is an associated 70% decrease in mortality.27 In addition to understanding the dangers associated with consuming higher levels of omega 6, it's important to remember that the LA28 and palmitic acid29 found in processed foods and seed oil degrade when heated. It is the missing hydrogen atoms30 that make PUFAs highly susceptible to oxidation. This means the fat breaks down into harmful metabolites called OXLAMS (oxidized LA metabolites). These have a profoundly negative impact on human health.31 While excess sugar is certainly bad for your health and should be limited to 25 grams per day or less, it doesn't oxidize like LA does, so it's nowhere near as damaging. If you think the answer is to just consumer more omega 3s, I have found it's nearly impossible to correct the imbalance of omega-6 to omega 3 by simply consuming more omega-3 fat. In an interview with Tucker Goodrich,32 we discuss the damage omega-6 triggers in the body. While it is important to increase your intake of omega-3, it is crucial that you also eliminate vegetable oils and processed foods that are loaded with omega-6 PUFA. Even foods we generally think of as healthy, such as olive oil and chicken (fed LA rich grains) are high in omega-6 fat. Goodrich explains:33
Diet and Cancer Are Inextricably LinkedHelen Rippon, Ph.D., is chief executive of Worldwide Cancer Research, one of the featured study’s funding sources34 and a charity that funds "visionary, pioneering researchers to develop groundbreaking treatments that will help end cancer."35 She spoke with The Guardian about the results of the research demonstrating the effect palmitic acid has on cancer metastasis, saying:36
Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D., has long been a proponent of classifying cancer as a metabolic disease that is a result of following a poor diet. Seyfried also has been one of the pioneers in the application of nutritional ketosis for cancer therapy.37 This stems from the work of Dr. Otto Warburg, who was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant biochemists of the 20th century and who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1931 for the discovery of metabolism of metal malignant cells.38 Seyfried has followed in these giant scientific footsteps, conducting important research to advance the science and shedding light on the metabolic underpinnings of cancer.39,40,41 His book, "Cancer as a Metabolic Disease,"42 has made important contributions to the field of study. By setting aside the traditionally held view or dogma that cancer is a genetic disease, Seyfried discovered how defective cellular energy metabolism in the mitochondria contributes in large part to the development and progression of cancer. Together with further research into the dangers associated with seed oils and palmitic acid, science is moving closer to understanding the development and metastasis of cancer cells. This has offered strong evidence of the lifestyle choices that may reduce your risk of cancer and may contribute to developing choices that can successfully treat the disease. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/25/palm-oil-palmitic-acid.aspx This article was previously published November 28, 2020, and has been updated with new information. Loss of sense of smell, a condition known as anosmia, has emerged as a hallmark symptom of COVID-19. It's estimated that 33.9% to 68% of COVID-19 patients1 — and as high as 98%, according to one study2 — experience some type of olfactory dysfunction, which is often regarded as more of an inconvenience than an actual health threat. In reality, however, you may not realize how important your sense of smell is until it's gone. When you lose your sense of smell, you also lose your normal sense of taste. In the case of COVID-19, anosmia often occurs alongside dysgeusia, an altered or impaired sense of taste.3 In fact, the combination of anosmia/dysgeusia was a far better predictor of COVID-19 than other common symptoms like fever/chills or respiratory difficulty.4 "It's mentally tough knowing the foods you used to love now simply taste like sewage. I no longer crave food or enjoy eating. It's a chore," Lucy Packman, a university student who developed COVID-19 along with anosmia in March 2020, told Medium.5 Beyond that, cutting off your sense of smell detaches you from the environment in ways that can be isolating — like an inability to smell your partner or your baby — or dangerous, such as missing the scent of something burning. The silver lining in COVID-19 is that 89% of those with an altered sense of smell had complete resolution or improvement in severity after four weeks.6 For those whose smell impairment is ongoing, or caused by one of the many risk factors beyond COVID-19, smell training may be the key to regaining this invaluable asset. What Causes Loss of Smell?COVID-19 aside, there are many reasons why you may lose your sense of smell. The common cold is among the most common, along with other illnesses like influenza, sinus infections, hay fever and nonallergic rhinitis.7 Virtually anything that causes your nasal passageways to become obstructed, including tumors, nasal polyps or nasal deformity, can also interfere with your sense of smell, as can conditions that impair your olfactory pathways, which transmit messages between your nasal passages and brain. A variety of neurological conditions, certain medications and even advancing age can also affect your sense of smell. As you age, especially beyond age 70, loss of nerve endings and less mucus production in your nose may diminish smell, in part because mucus plays a role in keeping odors in the nose longer, so they can be detected by the nerve endings there.8 It's estimated that 62.5% of 80- to 97-year-olds have some type of olfactory impairment,9 while even about 12% of people over the age of 40 may have some trouble smelling, along with close to 25% of men in their 60s.10 One important side note: Those with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to have smell impairment, and researchers believe this deficiency may play a significant role in age-related smell and taste impairment.11 This is especially relevant since vitamin D deficiency12 is also linked to COVID-19. The following health conditions can also cause a dulling or diminishment of the sense of smell:13
Lost Your Ability to Taste? It Could Be AnosmiaAs mentioned, when you lose your sense of smell, your taste goes along with it. Ann-Sophie Barwich, a cognitive scientist and assistant professor in the department of history and philosophy of science and medicine at Indiana University Bloomington, explained in STAT:14
This is one reason why anosmia is far more than an inconvenience or minor annoyance. Not only can you no longer detect if you've eaten something spoiled, which would prompt you to quickly spit it out, you can no longer enjoy your favorite foods and the scents that go along with them. Odor-evoked memories also come along with powerful emotions and are known to activate the "neurolobiological substrates of emotional processing," according to neuroscientist Rachel S. Herz, an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University.15 Research published in Learning and Memory even suggests that odors may modulate the dynamics of memory consolidation,16 and, by boosting mood, lowering stress and reducing inflammation, it's likely that the powerful emotions elicited by positive odor-evoked memories can influence psychological and physiological health.17 Without your sense of smell, however, you miss out on experiencing those powerful, odor-evoked memories. "Two of the great joys in people's lives are the sensations of smell and taste," says Dr. R. Peter Manes, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Yale Medicine. "When these senses are altered or absent, people lose that pleasure and can feel isolated from those around them who are not afflicted."18 Losing Your Sense of Smell Is Linked to Serious Health RisksIn a study of 3,005 community-dwelling adults, those who had a dysfunctional sense of smell were more likely to die in the next five years than those with a good sense of smell. Olfactory function was deemed to be one of the strongest predictors of five-year mortality, and researchers suggested it may "serve as a bellwether for slowed cellular regeneration or as a marker of cumulative toxic environmental exposures."19 Another study of adults aged 71 to 82 also found those with "poor olfaction had a 46% higher cumulative risk for death after 10 years" compared to those with a good sense of smell, and poor olfaction was associated with a higher risk of death from neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.20 An inability to identify odors is also an early symptom of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.21 Beyond the physical risks, losing your sense of smell can cause psychological distress. People with smell and taste disorders often report a negative emotional impact, including feelings of isolation and problems with relationships and day-to-day functioning.22 Among COVID-19 patients, smell and taste loss were associated with depressed mood and anxiety, while fever, cough and shortness of breath were not, even though the latter may be harbingers of more dire COVID‐19 outcomes,23 highlighting the power that these senses have over your emotional well-being. In a Harvard Health Blog post detailing his own experience with loss of smell and taste, Leo Newhouse, LICSW noted:24
Retraining Your Nose How to SmellTreating anosmia involves identifying its underlying cause and addressing it at the foundational level. Loss of smell due to a cold or influenza, for instance, should resolve along with the viral infection. In some cases, however, the cause of the olfactory dysfunction is unknown, making treatment difficult. AbScent, an organization providing support to those affected by anosmia and other smell disorders, has developed the Sense of Smell Project in collaboration with patients with smell disorders and scientists.25 They've developed a smell training app for members of the project, and also a simple smell training protocol designed to help those who have lost their sense of smell for two weeks or more to regain the sense. The training is based on the protocol first described by professor Thomas Hummel of the Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden, Germany.26 He published research in 2009 showing that olfactory training involving exposure to four intense odors (rose, eucalyptus, lemon and clove) twice daily for 12 weeks led to an increase in olfactory function.27 To try it, all you need is four different fragrances, such as those Hummel used — rose, lemon, clove and eucalyptus essential oils. Essential oils are ideal for scent training due to their highly concentrated scents. Once you've gathered your fragrances, actively sniff each scent for about 20 seconds a couple of times a day, such as immediately after waking up and before going to bed. AbScent explains:28
Smell Training May Strengthen Neural PathwaysThe basis for smell training is that using a neural pathway, such as that used by your olfactory nerve cells, reinforces and strengthens it. According to cell biologist Nancy Rawson, associate director at the Monell Center in Philadelphia, in an interview with AbScent founder Chris Kelly, "… Not only is smell training helping the olfactory receptor cells, but it also is helping to create pathways in the brain that will be better able to receive, interpret and remember the information that it is getting."29 Research trials suggest smell training is beneficial in many cases,30 and, when used in people with a normal sense of smell, can enhance the sense to the level of a high-performing group of wine professionals. This suggests "the olfactory system is highly responsive to training," according to researchers in the journal Chemical Senses.31 In another study involving 10 anosmic patients and 14 healthy controls, a 12-week smell training session significantly increased the sensitivity to detect odors in the anosmic group, and modifications in the functional connections of networks used to process chemosensory input were also noted.32 Another study in adults aged 50 to 84 found significant improvement in olfactory function after olfactory training (OT), along with improved verbal function and well-being, and decreased depressive symptoms, with researchers concluding, "OT may constitute an inexpensive, simple way to improve quality of life in older people."33 Even if you feel it's too soon to try retraining your sense of smell, it's important to give the training a try. AbScent notes that "the earlier you begin, the greater the benefit to you in the long run."34 Considering there's no risk involved to giving it a try, and the process takes only a few minutes a day using scents that are easily accessible, there's every reason to give scent training a try if you're experiencing any level of anosmia. Also, as noted, since vitamin D deficiency is associated with smell and taste impairment, be sure to get your vitamin D levels tested and optimized. An overall healthy lifestyle will also support healthy olfaction, and exercising even one time a week — long enough to break a sweat — may reduce your risk of losing your sense of smell as you age.35 from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/25/retrain-your-brain-how-to-smell-again.aspx Gratitude is a simple practice that can have profound effects on your health and well-being. Its underpinnings are believed to be principles of cooperation that were pivotal in the development of human communication and social reciprocity, and the ability to experience gratitude to others is a fundamental feature of human cognition.1 The positive effects linked to gratitude include social, psychological and physical benefits,2 which increase the more you make gratitude a regular part of your daily routine. “The limits to gratitude’s health benefits are really in how much you pay attention to feeling and practicing gratitude,” noted neuroscientist Glenn Fox, Ph.D., a gratitude expert at the University of Southern California. “It’s very similar to working out, in that the more you practice, the better you get. The more you practice, the easier it is to feel grateful when you need it.”3 How Gratitude Changes Your BrainGratitude has distinct neurobiological correlates, including in brain regions associated with interpersonal bonding and stress relief.4 When Fox and colleagues elicited gratitude in 23 female subjects, via stories of survivors of the Holocaust, “ratings of gratitude correlated with brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex,” which are associated with moral cognition, value judgment and theory of mind.5 Individual differences in proneness to gratitude are also linked to increased gray matter volume in the brain,6 and it’s possible that it elicits long-term changes in your psyche. Fox grew deeply interested in gratitude after his mother’s death from ovarian cancer. During her illness, he would send her studies on the benefits of gratitude in cancer patients, and she kept a gratitude journal in her last years. In one example, 92 adults with advanced cancer engaged in mindful gratitude journaling or routine journaling. After seven days, those who kept a gratitude journal had significant improvements in measures of anxiety, depression and spiritual well-being, such that the researchers concluded “mindful gratitude journaling could positively affect the state of suffering, psychological distress and quality of life of patients with advanced cancer.”7 “Grateful people tend to recover faster from trauma and injury,” Fox told The Pulse. “They tend to have better and closer personal relationships and may even just have improved health overall.”8 When he tried to find gratitude after losing his mother, what he experienced wasn’t a quick fix or an immediate route to happiness, but a way to make his grief more manageable in the moment. As it turns out, grateful writing such as letters of gratitude is a positive psychological intervention that leads to longer term changes in mental health. Among 293 adults who sought out psychotherapy services, those who engaged in gratitude writing reported significantly better mental health after four and 12 weeks than people who did not writing or who wrote about their thoughts and feelings.9 Gratitude Boosts Health, Well-BeingGratitude can be difficult to define, as it has elements of an emotion, a virtue and a behavior, all rolled into one. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and an expert on gratitude, defines it as a two-step process. As explained in “The Science of Gratitude,” a white paper by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, the two steps include “1) ‘recognizing that one has obtained a positive outcome’ and 2) ‘recognizing that there is an external source for this positive outcome.’”10 In this regard, the benefits of gratitude may be gleaned from the actions of other people or experienced in an internalized manner, such as when feeling gratitude about good fate or nature. In this way, gratitude is both a state and a trait.11 As a state, it’s based on a person’s ability to be empathic and elicit grateful emotions that promote prosocial behavior. As a trait, gratitude describes the practice of being grateful, noticing the little things in life and appreciating the positive in the world and other people. Gratitude can be felt both from being helped by others and habitually focusing on the good in your life. A study published in Clinical Psychology Review found that gratitude has a positive effect on psychopathology, especially depression, adaptive personality characteristic, positive social relationships and physical health, including stress and sleep. What’s more, they noted that “the benefits of gratitude to well-being may be causal.”12 Fox also explained, “Benefits associated with gratitude include better sleep, more exercise, reduced symptoms of physical pain, lower levels of inflammation, lower blood pressure and a host of other things we associate with better health,”13 including improved resilience. It’s likely that gratitude leads to benefits via multiple mechanisms, not only by improving life satisfaction14 but also by contributing to an increase in healthy activities and a willingness to seek help for health problems.15 Those who are grateful have even been found to have a better sense of the meaning of life by being able to perceive good family function and peer relationships.16 Gratitude Could Help You Sleep Better, Be Less MaterialisticGratitude is known to facilitate improvements in healthy eating17 and benefits depression by enhancing self-esteem and wellbeing.18 Further, people who are more grateful tend to be:19
A 2021 study comparing gratitude and optimism similarly found that both traits were associated with:20
Feeling gracious can help you sleep better and longer, too, perhaps by improving your thoughts prior to sleep. “The relationship between gratitude and each of the sleep variables was mediated by more positive pre-sleep cognitions and less negative pre-sleep cognitions,” according to a study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research.21 Those who scored higher on measures of gratitude had better sleep quality and sleep duration and less sleep latency (the amount of time it takes you to fall asleep) and daytime dysfunction. Among adolescents, the simple practice of keeping a gratitude journal significantly reduce materialism while reducing the negative effect of materialism on generosity.22 Those who wrote down what they were grateful for donated 60% more of their earnings to charity, for instance. There’s good reason to teach children the importance of gratitude, too, as doing so can improve school performance and orient individuals toward a positive life approach.23 Positive Gratitude InterventionsFox likens gratitude to a muscle that must be trained — something that you can practice and become better at over time:24
Rather than a magic bullet, Fox added, it’s the regular practice of being grateful that makes a difference: “You know, it’s like water cutting rock through a canyon,” he said. “It’s not done all at once, and it’s just steady practice is where you start to get things.”25 Two “gratitude interventions” that you can try in your daily life to promote gratitude include keeping a gratitude journal and expressing gratitude. With a gratitude journal, you write down lists of what you’re grateful for on a regular basis. The behavioral expression of gratitude involves expressing grateful feelings to others, such as by saying thank you or writing gratitude letters, which you then read to the recipients.26 Showing gratitude to your partner is also a good way to boost your relationship. In a study of romantic partners, gratitude from interactions was linked to increased connection and satisfaction with the relationship, with researchers suggesting, “gratitude had uniquely predictive power in relationship promotion, perhaps acting as a booster shot for the relationship.”27 Emmons also shared tips for living a more grateful life:28
If you want to get started today, keep a notebook by your bedside and make a point to jot down one or two things you’re grateful for each night before bed, and express gratitude to others often, such as writing quick thank you notes to friends. from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/25/profound-health-benefits-of-being-grateful.aspx Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, an internal medicine doctor and former head of health at the Council of Europe, spoke with Planet Lockdown on the fundamental corruption at the World Health Organization and how it contributed to manufacturing a “test pandemic.”1 The seeds were sown more than a decade ago during the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic. In 2010, Wodarg accused pharmaceutical companies of influencing WHO’s pandemic declaration, calling swine flu a “false pandemic” that was driven by Big Pharma, which cashed in on the health scare.2 According to Wodarg, the swine flu pandemic was “one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century.”3 As noted by Planet Lockdown, Wodarg, then a member of the German Parliament, “knew something wasn't right when 800 cases in Mexico was declared a pandemic”:4
With a Definition Change, WHO Could Create Pandemic AnytimeSecret agreements were made between Germany, Great Britain, Italy and France with the pharmaceutical industry before the H1N1 pandemic began, which stated that they would purchase H1N1 flu vaccinations — but only if a pandemic level 6 was declared by WHO. Six weeks before the pandemic was declared, no one at WHO was worried about the virus, but the media was nonetheless exaggerating the dangers.5 Then, in the month leading up to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, WHO changed the official definition of pandemic, removing the severity and high mortality criteria and leaving the definition of a pandemic as "a worldwide epidemic of a disease."6 This switch in definition allowed WHO to declare swine flu a pandemic after only 144 people had died from the infection worldwide.7 While the swine flu scare was eventually deflated, this wasn’t so with COVID-19, even though the real signs of a pandemic are absent. As Wodarg explained, it used to be that a pandemic was associated with widespread severe illness and death, but that’s no longer the case:8
By removing the severity and high mortality criteria, WHO could make a pandemic whenever they wanted. “The pandemic is just a picture spread by the media, making us afraid. But what the people experience is not what we used to understand when we used the word epidemic or pandemic,” he said.9 Now, the word pandemic has to do with fear, not illnesses. “It’s a brand for fear.” COVID-19 Is a ‘Test’ PandemicIf there hasn’t been a true pandemic, in the old definition of the word, then how are the media and government getting all of these high case numbers for COVID-19? This is due to the PCR test. “It was accepted by WHO, and they said when the test is positive, we have a case of COVID-19. And this is how they started counting the cases,” Wodarg said. “What they counted was the activity of testing. And the more they tested, the more cases they found.”10 Positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests are not designed to be used as a diagnostic tool as they cannot distinguish between inactive (noninfectious) viruses and "live" or reproductive ones.11 Inactive and reproductive viruses are not interchangeable in terms of infectivity. If you have a nonreproductive virus in your body, you will not get sick from it and you cannot spread it to others. Further, many if not most laboratories amplify the RNA collected far too many times, which results in healthy people testing "positive.” The higher the cycle threshold (CT) — i.e., the number of amplification cycles used to detect RNA particles — the greater the chance of a false positive. While any CT over 35 is deemed scientifically unjustifiable,12,13 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended running PCR tests at a CT of 40.14 A test known as the Corman-Drosten paper and tests recommended by the World Health Organization were set to 45 cycles.15,16,17 When labs use these excessive cycle thresholds, you end up with a grossly overestimated number of positive tests, so what we're really dealing with is a "casedemic"18,19 — an epidemic of false positives. Wodarg says COVID-19 “was a ‘test’ pandemic. It was not a virus pandemic,”20 because PCR tests may give a positive result when it detects coronaviruses that have been around for 20 years. He explained:21
The PCR test only tests for certain sequences of the RNA. It gives a positive result when it only finds a small fragment; it doesn’t need the whole virus. If the virus was there weeks ago or you have a touch of the virus present, but no infection, it can still test positive and add another COVID-19 “case,” even though you’re not actually sick. COVID-19 Shot Conflicts of Interest Putting Lives at RiskThe mass COVID-19 shot campaign is riddled with conflicts of interest at a fundamental level, and these conflicts are putting people’s lives at risk by putting vaccine production ahead of disease prevention. As Wodarg noted, if you want to earn money producing vaccines, you need new markets in which to use them, and new diseases so you can sell your vaccine. “This is a very serious matter,” he said, which has nothing to do with health or hygiene — “it has to do with criminology”:22
So we have a “pandemic” that’s based on a test that doesn’t prove infection, but what it did do was make people afraid. And that fear was the basis for saying we need a vaccine. The shots, however, aren’t effective. In November 2020, Pfizer, in a joint venture with Germany-based BioNTech, announced that their mRNA-based injection was “more than 90% effective” in a Phase 3 trial.23 This does not mean that 90% of people who get injected will be protected from COVID-19, however, as it’s based on relative risk reduction (RRR). The absolute risk reduction (ARR) for the jab is less than 1%. “Although the RRR considers only participants who could benefit from the jab, the absolute risk reduction (ARR), which is the difference between attack rates with and without a jab, considers the whole population. ARRs tend to be ignored because they give a much less impressive effect size than RRRs,” researchers wrote in The Lancet Microbe in April 2021.24 Nonetheless, the jabs received emergency use authorization, which has paved the way for vaccine mandates and other assaults to your freedom and health. Will Vaxxed People End Up Sicker?The lack of effectiveness is one key reason why Wodarg believes most people do not need a COVID-19 jab. The other reasons include serious risks of adverse events from these experimental jabs, and the fact that, Wodarg says, cross-immunity exists due to multiple previous exposures to other coronaviruses in most people.25 “The genetically produced so-called vaccines are not necessary, because we have immunity.”26 As he stated, your immune system is well-equipped to protect you, and new viral exposures each year help to keep this complex system updated. Risk increases when you avoid regular viral exposures to keep your immune system ready:27
The spike protein that the shots stimulate your cells to produce is also deeply concerning, since it’s toxic:28
This is a likely reason why there are so many side effects associated with the shots, as injecting these spike proteins is unnatural and very dangerous. It’s since been revealed that the spike protein on its own is enough to cause inflammation and damage to the vascular system, even independent of a virus.29 Further, Wodarg says, once your body has been injected with the spike protein, it may have an overreactive response the next time it comes in contact with a typical coronavirus, potentially leading to a dangerous cytokine storm. When counting COVID-19 cases this winter, Wodarg believes it is important to ask whether the person received a COVID-19 shot or not. “I am quite sure,” he said, “that those people vaccinated will be the severe cases and that those who are not vaccinated will just experience a normal flu.”30 What’s more, once you’re vaccinated, they have all your data — the batch of the shot, the date and time. So, you’re essentially part of a clinical trial that you’ve never agreed to, and there’s no transparency about the risks involved. Wodarg believes that the pandemic “emergency” is being prolonged from month to month because it helps their injection studies, even as there are massive conflicts of interest involved. If you listen to the media, you’ll be brainwashed that the jab is necessary, but don’t fall for the hype, including that getting the shot will earn you your freedom back. Wodarg said:31
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/24/who-institution-of-corruption.aspx Are you prepared to wear masks forever? Some are, but their positive attitude toward masks is a likely result of deceptive and misleading information. The resulting magical thinking relating to masks has created one of the most polarized debates in U.S. history and led to anti-maskers being labeled as “grandma killers.”1 To be clear, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has blatantly lied about masks’ effectiveness. November 5, 2021, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky tweeted, “Masks can help reduce your chance of #COVID19 infection by more than 80%.”2 But as Dr. Vinay Rasad, MPH, a hematologist-oncologist and associate professor in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco, put it in the Brownstone Institute, “I don’t know how to put this politely, but it is a lie, and a truly unbelievable one at that … The idea that masks could reduce the chance of infection by 80% is simply untrue, implausible and cannot be supported by any reliable data.”3 Masks Have Meager Effectiveness, if AnyWalensky didn’t give a reference for her claim that masks reduce COVID-19 infection by 80%, but a large study4 from researchers at Yale, Stanford and the University of California Berkeley found much less impressive results from masks. The trial involved 342,183 people from 600 villages in rural Bangladesh from November 2020 to April 2021. In villages that received masks, the number of symptomatic COVID-19 infections were 9.3% lower compared to villages without masks, or 11% lower in villages that received surgical masks instead of cloth masks.5 Why, then, hasn’t Walensky’s tweet been flagged for misinformation and targeted by “fact checkers” calling out the blatant lie? Rasad featured a tweet6 by Carnegie Mellon University mathematician Wesley Pegden, who said:7
Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens Live on Face MasksWhile face masks continue to be recommended or mandated, little has been said about the risks inherent to covering your mouth and nose with fabric or other materials. Both cotton and surgical masks collect pathogens that may increase your risk of infectious illness — a factor that’s rarely taken into account when discussing their merits. When researchers from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, analyzed the microbial community on surgical and cotton face masks from 13 healthy volunteers after being worn for four hours, bacteria including Bacillus, Staphylococcus and Acinetobacter were found — 43% of which were antibiotic-resistant.8 In order to best clean masks to remove the bacteria, the study found boiling at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees F), washing at 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees F) with detergent or ironing with a steam iron worked best, but only 21% of survey respondents said they cleaned their cotton face masks daily.9 According to the researchers:
Researchers from Germany similarly questioned whether a mask that covers your nose and mouth is “free from undesirable side effects” and potential hazards in everyday use.10 It turned out they were not and instead posed significant adverse effects and pathophysiological changes, including the following, which often occur in combination:11
Mask-Induced Exhaustion Syndrome Is PrevalentThe study referred to this cluster of symptoms as mask-induced exhaustion syndrome (MIES) and warned that children, pregnant women and those who are sick or suffering from certain chronic conditions may be particularly at risk from extended masking. While short-term effects include microbiological contamination, headaches, exhaustion, carbon dioxide retention and skin irritation, the long-term effects may lead to chronic issues:12
Further, “it can be assumed,” they wrote, “that the potential adverse mask effects described for adults are all the more valid for children: … physiological internal, neurological, psychological, psychiatric, dermatological, ENT, dental, sociological, occupational and social medical, microbiological and epidemiological impairments … The masks currently used for children are exclusively adult masks manufactured in smaller geometric dimensions and had neither been specially tested nor approved for this purpose.”13 Again, in taking on these unknown risks — both short- and long-term — to wear masks, the benefits are highly questionable and intended to thwart a pathogen with a low death rate for most populations:14
‘The Mask of Your Enslavement’It’s clear that the evidence in support of masks for physical protection against disease is lacking, while their potential for psychological harm is immense. Brownstone Institute highlighted the story of folk saint Escrava Anastácia, a slave of African descent who lived in Brazil during the 19th century.15 She was forced to wear a metal, muzzle-like mask during her lifetime in order to silence her from speaking out about the oppression and injustice she was facing. As written by Roberto Strongman, associate professor in the department of black studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara:16
Strongman pointed out several undeniable reasons why face mask mandates “fashion the citizenry as slaves” and act as symbols of enslavement. Among them, they:17
Magical Thinking on MasksIn addition to flat-out lies, the CDC also makes nonsensical statements, like this: “Cloth masks will not protect you from wildfire smoke … They might not catch small, harmful particles in smoke that can harm your health.”19 But we are to believe that they will protect us from an aerosolized virus? “The virus is 25X smaller than a smoke particle,” wrote Steve Kirsch, executive director of the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation. “So it’s like trying to stop a mosquito with a chain link fence.”20 Yet magical thinking — the belief that you can influence outcomes by doing something that has no causal connection to them — persists. Robert Dingwall, a consulting sociologist, questioned why the U.K.’s Health Security Agency expert panel used only a second-class evidence base that failed to demonstrate clear benefits on which to base their conclusion that face masks in the community help reduce transmission. He wrote:21
As the pandemic stretches on, science continues to be ignored and recommendations are primarily pushed based on emotional justifications and triggers. If science were actually followed, universal mask wearing by healthy people would not — indeed could not — be recommended. In the beginning, health officials did, in fact, advise against masks for healthy people,22 but somewhere along the way — early on — they flip-flopped. Why? According to Strongman:23
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/24/the-magical-thinking-and-dangers-of-masks.aspx This article was previously published December 10, 2020, and has been updated with new information. Alzheimer's disease continues to be a leading cause of death in the U.S., with 1 in 3 seniors dying with Alzheimer's or dementia — more than the number killed by breast and prostate cancers combined.1 While a cure has remained elusive, the connection between brain health and gut microbiota has grown clearer, and research suggests that the bacteria in your intestines may influence brain functioning and can even promote neurodegeneration.2 A team of Swiss and Italian researchers has taken the correlation a step further, with research showing a connection between imbalanced gut microbiota and the development of amyloid plaques in the brain;3 Alzheimer's is characterized by an accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Proteins Produced by Gut Bacteria May Trigger Alzheimer'sThe study involved a cohort of 89 people between 65 and 85 years of age. Some of them suffered from Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases while others were healthy with no memory problems. The researchers used PET imaging to measure amyloid deposition in their brains, then measured markers of inflammation and proteins produced by intestinal bacteria, such as lipopolysaccharides and short-chain fatty acids, in their blood. Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) are dead bacteria or, more specifically, the cell walls of dead bacteria. Your immune system treats them as living bacteria and mounts immune defenses against the perceived invaders. LPSs are proinflammatory and have been found in amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.4 The study revealed that high blood levels of LPSs and the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate and valerate were associated with large amyloid deposits in the brain. Other SCFAs, namely butyrate, appeared to have a protective effect; high levels of butyrate were associated with less amyloid. Butyrate — an SCFA produced when gut bacteria ferment fiber — activates the secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF),5 reduced levels of which have been linked to Alzheimer's disease. "Our results are indisputable: Certain bacterial products of the intestinal microbiota are correlated with the quantity of amyloid plaques in the brain," explains Moira Marizzoni, a study author with the Fatebenefratelli Center in Brescia, Italy.6 Probiotic 'Cocktail' May Act as an Early PreventativeThe study represents a continuation of prior research by the team, which found that the gut microbiota in people with Alzheimer's disease differs from those without the condition. In those with Alzheimer's, microbial diversity is reduced, with certain bacteria being overrepresented and other microbes decreased. "Furthermore," said neurologist Giovanni Frisoni, study author and director of the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) Memory Center in Switzerland, "we have also discovered an association between an inflammatory phenomenon detected in the blood, certain intestinal bacteria and Alzheimer's disease; hence the hypothesis that we wanted to test here: Could inflammation in the blood be a mediator between the microbiota and the brain?"7 With the connection growing stronger, the team is planning further research to reveal which specific bacteria or groups of bacteria may be responsible for the effect, which could ultimately lead to a preventive treatment "cocktail." Frisoni said in a news release:8
The Fasting ConnectionOne reason why fasting is so beneficial for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's is because it helps your body to cycle through autophagy and the rebuilding phase. Autophagy is the process by which your body cleans out damaged organelles, encouraging proliferation of new, healthy cells, which relates to Alzheimer's because the refolding process is one of several factors that need to work in order for your brain to function. Importantly, fasting activates autophagy,9 which is your body's way of taking out the trash, and will also trigger the regeneration of stem cells.10 In our 2017 interview, Dr. Steven Gundry explained that this also may have a direct connection with LPSs, and that giving your gut a rest from these proinflammatory proteins via fasting may be healing:
Probiotics Show Promise for Alzheimer'sThe effect of beneficial bacteria on brain health is well-established, including in people with Alzheimer's disease. A 2016 study of 60 Alzheimer's patients looked into the effect of probiotic supplements on cognitive function, with promising results.11 Those who drank milk containing probiotics experienced significant improvements in cognitive function. While average Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores increased among the probiotics group and the control group, which drank plain milk, had a decrease in scores. The probiotics group also had beneficial metabolic changes, including lowered triglycerides, very low-density lipoprotein and C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation, as well as reduced markers for insulin resistance. The researchers suggested the beneficial metabolic changes may be responsible for the cognitive improvements. Walter Lukiw, a professor at Louisiana State University who was not involved in the study, further explained to Medical News Today that your gut and brain are intricately connected:12
Probiotics May Inhibit NeurodegenerationProbiotics are thought to influence the central nervous system and behavior via the microbiota-gut-brain-axis, and researchers have suggested they may have both preventive and therapeutic potential for Alzheimer's disease (AD) by modulating the inflammatory process and counteracting oxidative stress, among other mechanisms.13 Writing in the open-access Impact Journal on Aging, researchers explained:14
They conducted a meta-analysis involving five studies and 297 subjects, which revealed a significant improvement in cognition and a significant reduction in malondialdehyde and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein — inflammatory and oxidative biomarkers — in probiotic groups compared to controls.15 Research is still uncovering which bacteria are most beneficial, but the Bifidobacterium breve strain A1 may be of particular use in Alzheimer's treatment. Using Alzheimer's disease model mice, researchers were able to confirm that daily oral administration of B. breve A1 reduced the cognitive dysfunction normally induced by amyloid beta.16 One of the mechanisms behind these protective effects was found to be suppression of amyloid-beta-induced changes in gene expression in the hippocampus. In short, the bacterium had an ameliorating effect on amyloid-beta toxicity. Still other research suggests gut microbiota may contribute to Alzheimer's risk via multiple avenues, including by influencing aging, diabetes, sleep and circadian rhythm.17 It's also possible, researchers hypothesize, that decades of factors such as diet, stress, aging and genetics, combine to disrupt gut permeability and the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, allowing the entry of inflammatory agents and pathogens and inducing an inflammatory response that triggers a neuroinflammatory response in the brain.18 "There is mounting evidence that the gut microbiota interacts with AD pathogenesis by disrupting neuroinflammation and metabolic homeostasis," they noted, adding that "the gut microbiota has gone from being the forgotten organ to a potential key player in the AD pathology."19 Alzheimer's Prevention StrategiesOptimizing your gut flora is a key strategy to preventing Alzheimer's and a host of other chronic diseases. To do this, avoid processed foods, antibiotics and antibacterial products, fluoridated and chlorinated water, and be sure to eat traditionally fermented and cultured foods, along with taking a high-quality probiotic if needed. Maintaining a healthy gut is one of the healthy lifestyle parameters outlined by Dr. Dale Bredesen, professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, and author of "The End of Alzheimer's: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline."20 Bredesen's ReCODE protocol evaluates 150 factors, including biochemistry, genetics and historical imaging, known to contribute to Alzheimer's disease. This identifies your disease subtype or combination of subtypes so an effective treatment protocol can be devised. Time-restricted eating or fasting, is another important strategy, as is reducing your intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, also called PUFAs, found in vegetable oils, edible oils, seed oils, trans fat and plant oils. A high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb ketogenic diet is ideal for preventing degeneration that can lead to Alzheimer’s,21 and this will also help to nourish a healthy gut. Overall, nourishing your brain health is best done with a comprehensively healthy lifestyle. By leveraging 36 healthy lifestyle parameters, Bredesen was able to reverse Alzheimer's in 9 out of 10 patients. This included the use of exercise, ketogenic diet, optimizing vitamin D and other hormones, increasing sleep, meditation, detoxification and eliminating gluten and processed food. For more details, you can download Bredesen's full-text case paper online, which details the full program.22 from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/24/link-between-alzheimers-and-gut.aspx According to a commentary in the journal Nature, it is nearly impossible to get both sides of the fluoride issue to meet in the middle of anything.1 On one side, fluoride treatment supporters say it prevents cavities and strengthens teeth. On the other side, Michael Connett of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) and others say the risks fluoride presents to children’s overall health far outweigh any dental benefits. Connett had been preparing his testimony to give before the Environmental Protection Agency for nearly four years when he gave his opening statement June 8, 2020, from his office over a Zoom call. The bulk of his testimony and that of his witnesses argued that fluoride is a neurotoxin, the addition of which to the water supply is not necessary to lower the rate of oral cavities. He and others provided scientific evidence of the damage that fluoride causes in infants. Proponents, including the American Dental Association (ADA) and the Oral Health Division of the CDC, have spent millions of dollars on promotion2 and public relations3 to sell fluoridation using half-truths, convincing talking points, and diversions. To date fluoride is hailed by the CDC as "one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century,"4,5 with roughly 72.4% of the U.S. population drinking from a fluoridated public water supply.6 The history of fluoridated water begins in the 1940s, when published studies supported the addition of fluoride to the drinking water to aid in the reduction of tooth decay.7 Yet, research since then paints a different picture. Despite a lack of fluoridated water in some communities, the rates of tooth decay have continued to decline in tandem with fluoridated communities.8 The High Cost of the War Over FluorideThe first fluoride community trials9 were done in New York, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. In each area, the researchers compared a pair of cities, one with fluoridated water and one without. For example, they compared Newburgh and Kingston in New York state and Grand Rapids and Muskegon in Michigan.10 The researchers conducted surveys over 13 to 15 years and found in the communities where children drank fluoridated water, cavities were reduced by up to 70%. After the data were released, communities around the U.S. began adding fluoride to their water. Since the initial studies looked at the difference between children and adults drinking fluoridated water and those who did not consume it, scientists theorized that the best benefit came from consumption. However, in the following years, it was discovered that fluoride is most effective against tooth decay only after teeth have erupted from the gums.11 According to the article in Nature,12 in the early years, researchers thought fluoride would benefit an infant growing in its mother's womb. But, they later found that while fluoride is incorporated into a fetus’ developing teeth, it only works after the baby is born and the teeth have erupted. Another discovery they made was that, when the mouth environment becomes acidic, fluoride ions move out of the plaque and pull minerals from saliva to raise mineral levels in the enamel surface and slow cavity development. When researchers showed that topical application was another way to ward off dental decay, dentists began using topical fluoride applications, fluoridated toothpaste flooded the market and children in primary schools were given fluoride tablets. All the while, health officials continued to add fluoride to the water supply, right up until the present day. This is one of the reasons for Connett’s charges against the EPA — that water fluoridation is no longer necessary when fluoride applications appear to have the same benefit. First, Do No HarmFindings from a fluoride study published in JAMA Pediatrics13 in 2019 and another published in Environmental Health14 in 2017 have garnered the most attention in fluoride research in recent years. Researchers in the JAMA study compared the IQ of children who were born in areas using fluoridated water against those in areas using non-fluoridated water. The data demonstrated there was as much as a five-point drop in IQ when an infant is exposed to fluoride in utero. Christine Till is a neuropsychologist from Toronto, Canada, and lead scientist on the study. She told Nature:
Following these two studies, Philippe Grandjean, environmental medicine researcher from Denmark, developed a benchmark dose study on fluoride to determine when there would be detectable adverse effects on IQ.15 His June 2021 paper showed levels as low as 0.2 mg per liter had a distinct effect on IQ. This is less than one-third of the level recommended for water supplementation and one-20th of the maximum allowable level in the U.S.16 In other words, Grandjean determined that the levels of fluoride currently being used for U.S. water supplementation are much higher than the lowest level at which fluoride consumption negatively affects an infant’s IQ. Added to this is a 2015 meta-analysis of 107 studies published by the Cochrane Library,17 which found there was “insufficient information to determine whether initiation of a water fluoridation program results in a change in disparities in carries across socioeconomic status levels.”18 This conclusion is important since many who argue for a fluoridated water supply believe it's necessary for cavity prevention in communities where people cannot afford dental care and not all children can be given topical fluoride. E. Angeles Martinez Mier studies dental public health at Indiana University. Despite poor evidence that consuming fluoride can reduce the development of caries, Martinez Mier told the Nature reporter,19 “A lot of public-health dentists are adamant that fluoridated water is the only thing we have that reaches the public, regardless of access to care, regardless of public health.” Atomic Bomb and Section 21 of the Toxic Substances ActWhat is sometimes forgotten is that fluoride was added to the water supply not because scientists originally believed that it would help reduce cavities in children's teeth, but because they had an abundance of the key chemical used in making the atomic bomb. Unfortunately, it was also one of the most toxic chemicals for the workers and nearby communities.20 Investigative reporters Chris Bryson and Joel Griffiths wrote an article in 1997 which was originally commissioned by the Christian Science Monitor. The story was fully documented but remained unpublished until the FAN published it in September 1997.21 It is a fascinating story of how science and the military joined forces in the name of national security. In a race to build the atomic bomb, documented evidence that fluoride was a neurotoxin was classified and buried with information about the Manhattan Project, the code name for the atomic bomb.22 Declassified documents revealed a body of evidence that fluoride had significantly negative health effects. Without a way to adequately dispose of the toxin, scientists and the military developed “Program F” in an effort to find evidence that could help defeat litigation against fluoride's effect on human injury.23 This has allowed manufacturers to make hundreds of millions of dollars24 a year selling a hazardous industrial waste for use as a water additive rather than having to pay for toxic waste disposal. “Toxic Treatment: Fluoride’s Transformation from Industrial Waste to Public Health Miracle” in the March 2018 issue of Origins,25 a joint publication by the history departments at The Ohio State University and Miami University, notes:
Today, Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act allows citizens and nongovernmental organizations to petition the EPA to remove toxic substances found to pose an “unreasonable risk”26 either to the population or a subset of that population. This is the law that FAN used to bring litigation against the EPA to ban the deliberate addition of fluoride chemicals to the U.S. drinking water supply. The petition included a large body of research demonstrating fluoride is neurotoxic and included over 2,500 pages of scientific evidence detailing the health risks.27 Based on current evidence that fluoride consumption is a neurotoxin to developing infants and young children, it would seem reasonable that it represents an unreasonable risk. Is Your Food Supply an Environmental Factor Lowering IQ?One of the neurotoxic effects scientists have demonstrated is reduction in IQ. Interestingly, scientists have also found that IQ scores have been falling since the 1970s.28,29 Researchers from Norway published their data in 2018, which showed that scores declined in individuals born after 1975. Other studies have found similar results in Britain, France, Denmark and Finland. Ole Rogeberg was one of the researchers who told CNN30 that the cause of the decline is likely due to environmental factors. Although access to education is one environmental factor being considered, the team acknowledges that more research is needed to understand what else may be linked to intelligence. Coincidentally, sulfuryl fluoride has been a registered pesticide in the U.S. since 1959.31 The product is a colorless and odorless gas that's used to fumigate for bed bugs, termites, mice and rats. It’s also used on some agricultural products and was approved as a food fumigant on post-harvest food in 2004.32 Since it breaks down into fluoride after it’s applied, it can leave fluoride residues on the grains, fruits, tree nuts and other foods to which it’s applied.33 This approval raised the level of fluoride residue on food to its highest level in history. In 2005 the EPA gave an additional approval to sulfuryl fluoride for direct treatment of coffee and cocoa. Recognizing the neurotoxicity effect that this could have in reducing IQ and because it's a highly potent greenhouse gas,34 the EPA drafted a risk assessment in 2011 recommending that the aggregate exposure from water, toothpaste and food was too high for infants and children. They proposed canceling acceptable pesticide residue levels on food to phase out sulfuryl fluoride over a three-year period. However, in 2013,35 the House of Representatives Appropriations Interior and Environmental subcommittee voted to cut the budget of the EPA and prevent the agency from enforcing the decision to phase out sulfuryl fluoride from the food supply. In other words, with full knowledge of declassified early studies that fluoride has a neurotoxic effect, and data demonstrating the effect it has on IQ of all infants, the House of Representatives chose to protect the financial interests of the industry, rather than the health and brains of the children. Fluoridation Is Neurotoxic to Developing Infants and ChildrenOne of the arguments for maintaining the status quo is that fluoride now reaches children and adults of all socioeconomic statuses. Even those who are unable to get routine dental care are now exposed to fluoride on a regular basis.36 What is not considered is exposure to the same individuals through toothpaste, mouthwash and their food supply. It also doesn't appear that any governmental agency or legislative body is interested in reducing your exposure. During that June 2020 testimony, Connett spoke of the 2019 National Toxicology Program (NTP) draft report that reached the same conclusion — fluoride is a developmental neurotoxin.37 The report was not entered as evidence and the case remains open as the judge waits for the 2022 NTP conclusion. If you need further proof of fluoride’s neurotoxicity, in addition to slowly dumbing down the next generation to protect teeth and gums, scientists have revealed that fluoride acts as an endocrine disruptor38 and has been linked to thyroid disease.39 This in turn can contribute to obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and depression. Exposure to fluoridated water also increases the number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.40 But, the effects of fluoride do not end in infants and children. One 2019 study41 demonstrated that chronic low-level fluoride exposure alters sleep patterns of adolescents aged 16 to 19. The study used data from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that included plasma fluoride and water fluoride measurements. An analysis of the data revealed that for every 0.52 milligram per liter increase in water fluoride, there were 197% higher odds of symptoms that suggested sleep apnea, a 24-minute later bedtime and a 26-minute later waking time.42 Exposure to too much fluoride also causes dental fluorosis. This condition changes the appearance of the tooth enamel so there are white spots and sometimes pitting. While the CDC43 says a mild condition does not affect dental function, a study published in Sweden in 202144 found there was as much as a 50% higher rate of hip fractures in postmenopausal women in areas with up to 1 mg per liter of fluoride in the drinking water. The level of evidence that fluoride is neurotoxic far exceeds the evidence that was in place when lead was banned from gasoline. During an interview with me in June 2021, Connett, who holds a degree in chemistry and specializes in environmental toxicology, said:45
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/11/23/fluoride-exposure-in-water.aspx |
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