The Health Plus Letter
March 7, 2007, Vol. 5, No. 3
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher
http://www.1healthyworld.com

You can read all back issues of The Health Plus Letter at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine.


Table Of Contents
New This Issue
Quote of the Day
Fast Fact
Juicing: Nutrition the Way Nature Intended by Steven Bailey, ND and Larry Trivieri, Jr.
Vitamins Can Kill You Says the AMA. Nonsense, Says Me
Self-Care Tips for Dealing with Blood Clots
God in the Compost Pile by Philip Domenico, PhD
Recommendations
Medical Freedom


New This Issue

As I promised last week, this is the beginning of a lengthier, more in-depth Health Plus Letter that I hope will better serve you in helping you to better understand and achieve optimal health. This week I’m sharing another excerpt from my latest book, Juice Alive: The Ultimate Guide to Juicing Remedies, which I had the pleasure of co-writing with Dr. Steven Bailey. Below, you can read why Steven and I consider juicing one of the best ways to be sure of obtaining the vital nutrients we need to stay healthy.

Also in this issue is an article I wrote that debunks the recent “news” that was prominently trumpeted by the mainstream media—namely that nutritional supplements can shorten life. As you’ll read below, this is patent nonsense.

Finally, you’ll also find self-care tips for dealing with blood clots, as well as an article I found very interesting that was submitted to me by one of my readers, Dr. Philip Domenico, along with my latest recommended websites, which I hope you will also view.
 
As always, please continue to send me your comments and suggestions. And please spread the word about The Health Plus Letter by passing it along to your friends and inviting them to subscribe.


Quote Of The Day

“The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you to do anything but be yourself.”
— Lao-tzu

 
Fast Fact

More than half of the bones in the human body are in the hands and feet.


 Unabashed Plug

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Juicing: Nutrition The Way Nature Intended by Steven Bailey, ND, and Larry Trivieri, Jr

In the last few decades, increasing numbers of Americans have learned about the importance of vitamins and other nutrients for good health. As a result, the market for vitamin markets has grown significantly in recent years. In the 1980s, Americans spent an estimated $2 million on nutritional supplements. Today, that figure is approaching $30 million.

While we certainly recognize the role that vitamin and other nutritional supplements can play in restoring and maintaining health, at the same time we also recognize that nutritional supplements are often unable to positively impact health in the way that nutrients obtained from a healthy, natural diet can. Ironically, a clue as to why this is so can be found in the meaning of the word vitamins itself, a term coined by Casimar Funk, a Polish-American biochemist and scientist who is credited with first formulating the concept of vitamins in early 20^th century.

Funk’s research built on the work of other scientists and physicians of his time, including Christiaan Eijkman of Holland, and Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins of England, both of whom were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1929. In 1897, Eijkman proved that a substance in the hull of brown and other unpolished rice was essential to proper functioning of the body’s nervous system as well as the proper metabolizing of carbohydrates. Eijkman also proved that when dietary deficiencies of this as yet unnamed substance occurred, they resulted in beriberi and other diseases. Hopkins, meanwhile, conducted research that eventually provided the scientific basis that proved that there were other nutritional factors besides proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and sodium that were necessary to sustain life. His work pioneered the study of vitamins and other nutrients, and eventually led to his discovering of the amino acid L-tryptophane and the essential role in played in many body functions.

Influenced by the work of Eijkman and Hopkins, Funk devoted himself to trying to isolate the substance Eijkman had written about. He succeeded in 1911, when he discovered what today is known as vitamin B1, also known as thiamine. Further study of the substances chemical properties revealed to Funk that it contained amines, a class of chemicals containing a mixture of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Because of this, he coined the phrase vital amine or vitamine, which literally means “union of vitality,” and which today is known as vitamin. Funk was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for his discovery.

“Union of vitality,” the intended meaning given by Funk to describe the class of nutrients he discovered, suggests that he realized that the nutritional components of the foods we eat are meant to act in concert with each other to create their multiple health effects. Ironically, the union of nutrients that Funk was referring to is all too often not found in the nutritional supplements so many people rely upon each day to help them stay healthy. As we discussed in Chapter One, fruits and vegetables and the juices that can be prepared from them, contain nearly all of the nutrients that we need to ensure good health. Just as importantly, all of these nutrients work together to provide synergistic health benefits that are not possible when each nutrient is taken separately, as is so often the case with nutritional supplements. Many forms of vitamin C supplements, for example, do not contain the wide array of bioflavonoids that are necessary for vitamin C to act most effectively in the body. By contrast, a wealth of bioflavonoids, as well as many other “co-factor” nutrients are contained fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C. It is for this reason that Casimar Funk, along with Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgi, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1937 for his discovery of vitamin C, advised the public at the time that they accepted their Nobel Prizes to meet their bodies’ nutritional needs primarily from a healthy diet, not from supplements. Dr. Szent-Gyorgi also stated that the concentrated whole foods he used in his research were far more effective than isolated vitamin C for preventing and reversing scurvy, which is caused by vitamin C deficiency.

Further compounding this problem is the fact that the vast majority of vitamin products in today’s marketplace are synthetic, meaning that they are created in laboratories and meant to mimic their natural counterparts that are found in nature. This trend toward synthetic supplements is not surprising, considering the fact that every major nutritional company in the United States is now a subsidiary of pharmaceutical companies. Employing the same pharmaceutical approach that is used to manufacture pharmaceutical drugs, most manufacturers of vitamin and mineral products today emphasize the isolation of so-called “active ingredients” at the expense of the equally important co-factor nutrients found in raw, unprocessed food. The end result of this manufacturing process is that the synthetic forms of these nutrients are less effective than the natural forms found in food.

There are two main reasons why most vitamin and many other nutritional supplements do not provide the same range of benefits that nutrients obtained from food do. The first reason has to do with the fact that over such supplements are composed of unnatural ingredients derived from man-made chemical processes that make up over 90 percent of the supplements’ composition. This means that such supplements do not possess the same “aliveness” that nutrients in raw, unprocessed foods do. As a result, synthetic nutritional supplements cannot be utilized by the human body to the same extent that the body is able to make use of naturally-derived nutrients. Moreover, synthetic nutrients are far less absorbable than naturally-derived nutrients are once they are ingested, further diminishing their effectiveness in the body.

Another concern with regard to synthetic nutritional supplements is that, when used long-term, they may be harmful in some instances. According to health writer and research Stephen Blauer, “Prolonged use or misuse of vitamin and minerals supplements may actually hurt us more than help us. By taking too much of one supplement, we initiate a negative chain reaction that destroys the balance of all other chemical levels in our body.”

Blauer further explains this point by writing about what happens what happens over time when a person supplements with a synthetic iron supplement to treat anemia due to iron deficiency. He states, “Adrenal glands are stimulated by the introduction of excess inorganic iron. As a reaction, sodium levels rise. Rising sodium levels cause magnesium levels to plunge. This signals calcium levels to sink, which in turn causes the potassium level to jump; which in turn decreases levels of copper and zinc. The net result is a chemical imbalance capable of producing a host of symptoms from headaches to heart palpitations. Most significant, however, this chemical balancing act depletes iron further, leaving the body more anemic than when it [supplementation] began.”

As Bauer also points out, these problems would not have occurred if, instead of supplementing with iron, the same person had chosen to make iron-rich foods as part of his daily food intake. Then, Bauer says, “The body would have absorbed all the organic iron it needed and excreted the excess. The body knows when to say ‘no’ to iron in its natural, organic form; it can’t always tell when to stop with a continuing barrage of synthetic supplements.”

Juicing organic fruits and vegetables, even more than eating them, avoids all of the potential shortcomings and problems associated with synthetic nutritional supplements. On average, your body requires two or more hours to properly digest fruits and vegetables when they are eaten in solid form. Only after this digestion process is completed are the nutrients that such foods contain fully absorbed by your body and then delivered to your cells, tissues, organs, bones, and muscles via the bloodstream. By contrast, when you juice fruits and vegetables, the nutrients they contain are available for your body to use almost immediately because of how such juices predigest themselves. In addition, because you can comfortably consume much more fruits and vegetables when they are juiced compared to when they are eaten, the amount of nutrition you receive from juicing is also far greater. In short, juicing is the easiest and most convenient method that we known of for providing your body with all of its nutritional needs in the way that nature intended.
 
[Excerpted from Juice Alive: The Ultimate Guide to Juicing Remedies by Steven Bailey, ND and Larry Trivieri, Jr, available at your local bookstore and online at www.amazon.com, and www.bn.com (Barnes & Noble).]


Vitamins Can Kill You Says the AMA. Nonsense, Says Me

No doubt you have by now heard or read about the recently published “study” that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the official publication of the American Medical Association (AMA). Certainly the mainstream media did, calling the study a “landmark” and “a startling analysis” and all sorts of other hyperbolic descriptions. Why? Because, the headlines blared, taking vitamins can kill you. Cue the horror movie soundtrack, please.

According to the JAMA article, researchers in Denmark conducted a meta-analysis of 68 previous studies on vitamins and minerals (mostly antioxidants and far from a complete list of all the vitamins and minerals known to be essential for good health). The “startling” results of this review of the previous studies allegedly showed that taking antioxidant supplements has no appreciable effect on overall mortality and, in the case of the nutrient supplementation of vitamin A, beta carotene, and vitamin E, risk of mortality increased by as much as 16 percent.

To which I reply: Hogwash! Here’s why:

In order to conduct an accurate meta-analysis of scientific studies, it is necessary that the meta-analysis be designed to evaluate studies that are all similar to each other and which also involve similar populations of study participants. This was not done for the “landmark, startling” study. Instead, the 68 studies that were evaluated differed from each other in a variety of significant ways, including the nutrients tested, the dosages of those nutrients as they were used in each study, the duration of each study, and the types of subjects that were involved in each study. This wide variance in these and other factors makes the meta-analysis flawed to begin with.

Yet there is a far more serious flaw that neither JAMA nor the mainstream media (which, don’t forget, derives a significant portion of its ad revenues from Big Pharma) admit to. Namely that for the most part the studies that were evaluated were not geared towards studying nutrients” ability to prevent disease in people who were healthy, but instead, involved populations of study participants who were already sick or were at-risk of being sick. This is a very important point because it is impossible to accurately determine the effects of nutrients on the general population based on how the meta-analysis was conducted. These factors alone are enough to debunk this particular meta-analysis, but its flaws go beyond them.

Perhaps most tellingly, as Andrew Shao, Ph.D., vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) pointed out, “It was only after the researchers divided the chosen clinical trials into ‘high risk bias’ and ‘low risk bias’ groups, using their own criteria, that they observed a statistically significant effect on mortality. This meta-analysis appears to be a predetermined conclusion in search of a method to support it.” (my emphasis added). Let’s consider Dr. Shao’s last statement again: “a predetermined conclusion in search of a method to support it.” Put more bluntly, this means that it appears that the researchers rigged their meta-analysis to produce the result they wanted before they even began. What a surprise!

Here are some other important points to consider before you swallow JAMA’s hogwash. First of all, none of the previous studies that the meta-analysis supposedly evaluated were halted prior to their originally planned durations, which most certainly would have happened (an early halt) had any of the nutrients used in those studies been shown to increase the risk of death. So, the original studies, it is safe to assume, showed to signs of increased risk of mortality due to nutrient use, yet now we have JAMA warning us that nutrients can kill – an entirely opposite finding from the original studies themselves, in other words.

The second point to consider is that there exist a number of large-scale controlled studies on nutrients that show nutritional supplementation to be useful for good health. Among them are two large vitamin studies from China and Italy that showed antioxidant supplements lowered mortality risk. Those studies were excluded from the meta-analysis. Gee, I wonder why! Moreover, the conclusions the meta-analysis made about vitamin E fly in the face of a 19-year study of 29,092 men conducted by National Cancer Institute researchers, who concluded that “Higher circulating concentrations of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) within the normal range are associated with significantly lower total and cause-specific mortality in older male smokers.” In the study, vitamin E was found to reduce death from all causes, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. (Source: Wright ME, Lawson KA, Weinstein SJ, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Higher baseline serum concentrations of vitamin E are associated with lower total and cause-specific mortality in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Nov;84(5):1200-7.)

But here’s the most important point to consider. For decades now, nutritional supplements have been and continue to be consumed on a regular basis by well over a hundred million people in the US, Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world. During all that time, if said nutrients truly did pose an increased risk of death, that risk would by now be readily apparent. It isn’t.

So ask yourself these questions: Who paid for this so-called meta-analysis? Who stands to profit by its conclusions now that they’ve been widely spread throughout the world? And how is it that such an allegedly reputable medical journal such as JAMA could see fit to publish such an obviously unscientific piece of nonsense?

On a related note, consider this recent press release from the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (OMNS), which is peer-reviewed and not for profit:

“23 Years Of Documented Vitamin Safety

(OMNS, Feb 27, 2007) Over a twenty-three year period, vitamins have been connected with the deaths of a total of ten people in the United States. Poison control statistics confirm that more Americans die each year from eating soap than from taking vitamins.

Where are the bodies? A 23-year review of US poison control center annual reports (1) tells a remarkable and largely ignored story: vitamins are extraordinarily safe.

Annual deaths alleged from vitamins:

2005:  zero
2004:  two
2003:  two
2002:  one
2001:  zero
2000:  zero
1999:  zero
1998:  zero
1997:  zero
1996:  zero
1995:  zero
1994:  zero
1993:  one
1992:  zero
1991:  two
1990:  one
1989:  zero
1988:  zero
1987:  one
1986:  zero
1985:  zero
1984:  zero
1983:  zero

The zeros are not due to a lack of reporting. The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), which maintains the USA’s national database of information from 61 poison control centers, has noted that vitamins are among the 16 most reported substances. Even including intentional and accidental misuse, the number of alleged vitamin fatalities is strikingly low, averaging less than one death per year for more than two decades. In 16 of those 23 years, AAPCC reports that there was not one single death due to vitamins. (my emphasis added)

These statistics specifically include vitamin A, niacin (B-3), pyridoxine (B-6), other B-complex, C, D, E, "other" vitamin(s), such as vitamin K, and multiple vitamins without iron. Minerals, which are chemically and nutritionally different from vitamins, have an excellent safety record as well, but not quite as good as vitamins. On the average, one or two fatalities per year are typically attributed to iron poisoning from gross overdosing on supplemental iron. Deaths attributed to other supplemental minerals are very rare. Even iron, although not as safe as vitamins, accounts for fewer deaths than do laundry and dishwashing detergents.

References:

1. Annual Reports of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure Database (formerly known as the Toxic Exposure Surveillance System). AAPCC, 3201 New Mexico Avenue, Ste. 330, Washington, DC 20016.

Download any report from1983-2005 at http://www.aapcc.org/annual.htm free of charge. The "Vitamin" category is usually near the end of the report.
 
Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine. Linus Pauling defined orthomolecular medicine as "the treatment of disease by the provision of the optimum molecular environment, especially the optimum concentrations of substances normally present in the human body." Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org”

It’s worth repeating that the above statistics come not from the OMNS, but from the AAPCC, meaning that they are trustworthy. So there you have it: nutrients are extremely safe. And they can play a very important role in helping you to attain and maintain good health, regardless of the scare tactics behind such stories as the JAMA study.


Self-Care Tips for Dealing with Blood Clots

Blood clots, also known as thrombi, are formed inside major blood vessels, and are the major cause of many heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disorders. Symptoms of blood clots are usually not apparent, which is why diagnostic screening on a regular (yearly) basis is recommended.

What To Consider

Blood solidification, or clotting, usually occurs as a healthy response within minutes after the skin is cut or there is trauma that causes bleeding. A clot helps seal the damage. However, blood clotting can be dangerous when it occurs inside healthy blood vessels. Unhealthy clotting can occur from platelets that get “activated” to clump together. This occurs when platelets come in contact with damaged arterial walls, or due to nutrient deficiencies, poor dietary habits, or genetic predisposition. Once platelets get sticky, their shape changes and they easily mesh or clump together, causing a clot.

Another factor that can cause unhealthy blood clots is the production of fibrin, which helps bind the clump of platelets together. Fibrin is the end product of a cascade of coagulation (clumping) factors that occurs with the activation of just one molecule. This, in turn, can lead to the explosion of up to 30,000 molecules of fibrin at the site of injury on the arterial wall.

Factors that can cause a buildup of platelet stickiness and fibrin include: the use of birth control pills, late stages of pregnancy, nutrient deficiencies, smoking, free radicals (inadequate antioxidant nutrients), a high-cholesterol diet, low essential fatty acids, a diet high in saturated fat and low in vegetables and fish, and liver disease. Prolonged sitting on long airline flights, especially in cramped conditions, can also increase the risk of developing pulmonary thrombosis. Blood clots forming in the legs or another part of the body break loose and then block one of the arteries to the lungs. Some practical preventive measures during long flights include getting up and walking the aisle every hour, wearing loose, comfortable clothing, periodically stretching the legs and tightening and loosening the muscles of the abdomen and buttocks, and taking some slow, deep breaths.

Studies conducted at Duke University showed that moderate exercise can help protect against heart attacks and strokes by enhancing the body’s natural mechanism for dissolving blood clots. In addition, Duke researchers found that the higher risk of blood clotting in women taking oral contraceptives can be significantly reduced by exercise.

Note: If you take aspirin as a daily preventive therapy, you may want to begin a gut rejuvenation program to stimulate healing and proper gastrointestinal wall functioning, in order to offset aspirin’s traumatizing effects on the gut wall when taken on daily basis. It is a good idea to do a bowel cleanse and rejuvenation several times a year when on daily aspirin (consult your physician for guidance).

Self-Care

Diet: Foods that act to decrease platelet stickiness and fibrin formation include garlic, ginger, onions, and hot peppers (capsicum), all of which protect against heart attack and stroke. Use granulated garlic on food as a regular spice. Fish oils also help to reduce clotting of blood. Increase consumption of cold-water fish at least three times per week. Also decrease sugar consumption as sugar intake increases platelet stickiness.

Nutritional Supplementation: Research in Japan has shown that nattokinase, an enzyme derived from soy, can dissolve blood clots in as little as two hours, making it one of the most effective nutrients for preventing and reversing blood clots.

Other useful nutrients include: vitamin B6, garlic capsules, niacin (vitamin B3), lipotropic factors (nutrients useful for liver metabolism of fat), omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, bromelain, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.

Herbs: Hawthorne berry is a very useful herb for helping to prevent blood clots.

Homeopathy: Hamamelis.

Juice Therapy: Combine the juices of garlic, carrot, parsley, spinach, celery, and beet and drink 8-12 ounces daily.

Professional Care

If your symptoms persist despite the above measures, seek the help of a qualified health professional. The following professional care therapies have all been shown to be useful for treating and relieving the symptoms of blood clots: Chelation Therapy, Environmental Medicine, Naturopathic Medicine, Osteopathy, and Oxygen Therapy (ozone autohemotherapy - treatment by re-injection of the individual’s own blood).

(The above information is adapted from Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, co-written and edited by Larry Trivieri, Jr.)


God in the Compost Pile by Philip Domenico, PhD

Philosophers throughout history have sought out grand theories to define Nature, as if there were a unifying feature. The ancient Greeks were particularly curious in this regard, though they had very little evidence to work with. In the early 6th century BC, Thales postulated that the primary substance of Nature is water. Anaximenes defined it as air. Heraclitus concluded that it was fire. By the mid-5^th century BC in Sicily, Empedocles identified four basic elements­ – earth, water, air, and fire – that comprised all of Nature. Such musings say a lot more about human limitation than they do about Nature. To be sure, Nature is too vast and varied to fit conveniently into a box. It will retain its mystery, despite our lame efforts to name it, or tame it.

Nevertheless, scientists have unraveled many of the mysteries of Nature since ancient times. So, rather than rely on old stories or religious texts to explain what it’s all about, many now look to the collective information from thousands of lifetimes of scientific inquiry.  In one sense, no one can know the nature of things as intimately as a scientist. However, a single scientist does not typically look at the whole picture, but rather focuses on one single aspect of it. The sharper the focus, the more knowledge gained. Each scientist is just a dot on the mosaic of understanding. It takes the efforts of thousands of scientists to make sense out of the whole. Today’s evidence-based view of Nature may not be as enchanting, holistic or succinct as those in religion or myth, but it is as close as we can get to reliable truth.

With the wealth of new information, we have much more to go on in explaining how the world turns. Certainly, there is nothing simple about the workings of Nature. To explain Nature fully, one must account for the many unique elements and their myriad associations that contribute to its majesty. From simple atoms vibrating in solution to multicellular life, an endless array of structures defines the Earth and its movement. Living and non-living matter are constantly in flux, and overlapping in ordered patterns. Earth’s secrets lie in the interplay of its multifaceted, opportunistic elements.

It is the grandest of experiments. Life springs forth powerfully, dynamically, abundantly, with ever more clay. Over billions of years, creatures still unimaginable have inhabited this planet, filling every conceivable niche. Cataclysmic disaster created new habitats and destroyed others, and life adapted. Countless, nameless species learned to thrive at extremes, in freezing or boiling, oxidative or anaerobic, high or low-pressure conditions. Relentlessly, life’s manifestations arise from clay like mushrooms, defy death momentarily, and are recycled anew.

There are about 72 elements detectable in seawater, from whence life originated. Each element is endowed with a special utility that defines its role in the big picture. Life has exploited a few dozen of these elements, and the special features inherent in them. A prime example is the attraction of sulfur for minerals. Iron and zinc combine with sulfur in hundreds of different enzymes in our cells. Enzymes containing iron-sulfur clusters are key players in energy production. Other enzymes contain protruding “zinc fingers” that walk along our DNA and fix damaged genes. Delicate zinc-sulfur sensors can detect slight chemical changes in blood and trigger major inflammatory responses. Metal-sulfur interactions drive chemical reactions, regulate enzyme activity, participate in energy transfer and cell signaling, and form durable structures like skin, cartilage and bone. Life has exploited mineral-sulfur interactions to the max. Yet, that’s only one of the many interactions occurring between organic and inorganic substances.

This interplay between organic and inorganic gets to the heart of Nature’s essence. Life owes its plasticity to these interactions. Minerals (i.e., dirt, rock) represent the inorganic phase and carbon-based molecules (protein, carbohydrates, fats) define the organic phase. Each essential mineral—calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, cobalt, chromium, selenium, molybdenum, etc—plays a unique role in the process. Magnesium drives activity in over 300 enzymes involved in an assortment of functions. Zinc may affect even more processes. The hormone insulin functions poorly in the absence of chromium. The body’s antioxidant system cannot protect us from toxic metals, viruses and cancer when selenium is low. In their organic forms, minerals are linked to proteins (e.g., metallo-enzymes), carbohydrates (e.g., fiber), nucleic acids (e.g., DNA, RNA), or fats (e.g., membrane lipids) in coordinated fashion. Organic-mineral complexes dominate nature. Energy from the sun drives the assembly of these many and varied interactions. However, in death (or in the compost pile), these interactions are again broken down to their component parts. The cycle goes from complex to simple and back again.

The quality of soil depends greatly on its mineral content. It starts in the soil, where bacteria cling to solid rock and eat away at its surface. Every bout of rain promotes this microbial process to help release the rock’s minerals into the soil. Thus, rain provides more than water; it also helps generate new minerals for plant growth. Rain also gets things going in the compost pile, where minerals are recycled from crop refuse (green) and manure (brown). Rich and full-spectrum mineral content in the refuse makes for high-quality compost. Alternatively, a handful or two of pristine sea salt (not the white stuff) or rock dust can activate the pile. Decomposition over several months converts minerals to their elemental form. Plants and microbes prefer these inorganic minerals, and convert them back to complex structures like enzymes, chemical signals, antioxidants, pigments and structural integument. The minerals are now in organic form, which animals prefer. What comes out the other end is thrown back into the compost pile, and converts to dirt all over again.

Quality mineral nutrition comes primarily from plants grown in good organic soil. But, since most soils are depleted, we are wise to take mineral supplements.  Unfortunately, most of the minerals in drugstore supplements are in the elemental form found in dirt, and do not contribute much to health. That’s probably why they’re dirt-cheap, so to speak. Organic (or chelated) mineral supplements cost more, but are much more likely to confer health benefits than are inorganic forms. This has been demonstrated repeatedly in clinical trials. As the following table shows, almost every mineral that ends in chloride, oxide, or sulfate does not get absorbed well by the human gut. Quality is on the organic side. The question is, why then do most multivitamins contain magnesium oxide and chromium chloride? Answer: Follow the money. As always, you get what you pay for.

Table. Differentiating Quality Forms of Mineral Supplements

The compost pile is a paragon of death and renewal. Mixing organic waste and manure (part green, part brown) in a mound large enough to retain heat promotes decomposition and disinfection. The pile is turned early and often for uniformity and to avoid malodorous fermentation. In aerated piles, good organisms dominate and smelly ones die. The heated pile also becomes inhospitable for Salmonella, E. coli and other manure pathogens. The recent infestations of spinach, onions, peanut butter or hamburger do not arise from organic farms where good compost is used, but rather from factory farms with filthy runoff problems and that use sewer sludge as fertilizer. Good compost can serves to promote quality in foods. In a well-made compost pile, good bacteria defeat the bad ones, just like it should be. An abundance of friendly microbes defines the quality of finished compost, and the power of those microbes depends on their mineral content.

Compost is not just the key to sustainable agriculture, but also God’s will.  It is the renewal of things, and the only tangible form of reincarnation. It is life’s resolve and death’s acceptance. What transpires in a compost pile is as awesome as in any religion, and its miracles are accessible. The God in the compost pile is worth dirtying one’s fingernails for. The fruit of its faith is in the fertility of the land, the salubrity and appeal of its produce, and ultimately in the balance of things. Eating fresh, hardy, local organic produce is spiritually gratifying, like returning to Eden. Understanding the wisdom of nature and respecting its mystery, through compost, brings us closer to the Oneness: Nature’s unifying principle.

Organic and mineral elements are driven to assemble and dissolve, each particle carrying a quantum of soul with it. Like the atom that carries it, this soul cannot be destroyed; disassembled, yes, but not destroyed. Soul is empowered in ever more complex life forms. Humans, the greatest assembly of soul, are Nature’s crowned jewels and God in its highest order. This comforts me, and brings me closer to the task ahead: to live in harmony with my world.


Unabashed Plug

Protect Yourself From Energy Pollution With the BioElectric Shield^TM. Energy pollution is all around us in the fo/rm of harmful electromagnetic frequencies and radiation (EMFs and EMR) emitted by power lines, cells phones, computers, and many other so-called modern conveniences. By wearing the BioElectric Shield pendant, you can protect yourself from the harmful effects of EMFs and EMR. To obtain a BioElectricShield, visit http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=408491. To learn more about how and why the BioElectric Shield works, see my article about it at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine/vol4no9.cfm.


Recommendations

Websites:

For news about Franken-foods (genetically-modified, or GM foods), please see the following:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2326209.ece - to learn how Monsanto, which is leading the charge in the GM food arena, fed their “foods” to sick patients despite animal experiments that showed that rats fed the same foods suffered reductions in the weight of their hearts and prostate glands.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=440302&in_page_id=1770&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=NEWS&ct=5 - This story is even more bizarre. Another GM manufacturer, Ventria Bioscience, is set to start growing GM rice containing human genes. No, I did not make that up. But don’t worry, according to Ventria Bioscience, this is all wonderful news and humanitarian to boot, since the rice, they say, will help to stop the problem of diarrhea among third world children. Really? That’s what VB is saying. Needless to say, it’s patent nonsense, since nearly all cases of diarrhea in the third world is caused by lack of sanitary drinking water coupled with poor nutrition. Both of which can be easily reversed but for a lack of political will among our world leaders (who, of course, are for the most part puppets of the multinational corporations who bought and paid for them).

Other noteworthy links:

http://www.cafeoflifepikespeak.com/Videos/Licensed%20To%20Pill.swf and http://www.cafeoflifepikespeak.com/Videos/The%20Drugs%20I%20Need.mov - both of these links will take you to funny, yet accurate, satirical videos about our nation’s Big Pharma drug culture (for the second one, you will need Quicktime player).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070228/prescription-drug-abuse# - This link will take you to an article about report by the International Narcotics Control Board showing that abuse of Big Pharma drugs is about to overtake illegal drug use, with often fatal consequences.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/health/16798039.htm - Read this to learn more about the facts versus the hype surrounding HPV and cervical cancer. Once again Big Pharma (in this case Merck) is getting away with framing the debate in a manner that has little to do with reality and everything to do with profits. (For more on this subject, see me article above.)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-cough0301,0,6016527.story - this link takes you to a story about how over-the-counter cold remedies are harming and, in some cases, killing children. Despite being petitioned by leading pediatricians about this, so far the FDA has done nothing. Imagine how differently the agency would be acting were these injuries and deaths causes by natural supplements. If that were the case, you would also see politicians on both sides of the aisle and in Big Pharma’s pockets demanding that the products be taken off the market and that the FDA be given more power to control the supplement industry. So far, not a peep from politicians about the dangers of cold medicines, though.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070304/hl_nm/antibiotic_cattle_dc - this link takes you to another story about the FDA’s dereliction of duty, this time its intent to approve a controversial cattle drug that poses health risks to humans, despite the objections of the Veterinary Medical Advisory Committee, the American Medical Association and other health groups, and the FDA’s own advisory panel. (This is hardly the first time the FDA has ignored warnings from its own advisors, usually resulting in increased profits for Big Pharma and tragic consequences for we the people.) If the drug is approved for cattle, according to the Washington Post, “The fear is that using such drugs in animals can lead to the emergence of new drug-resistant ‘superbugs’ which will be immune to similar drugs when used in people.” (Overuse of antibiotics is already the primary reason for the increased prevalence of “superbugs.” – LT) Compounding the problems inherent in the FDA’s intent is the fact that more than a dozen antibiotics are already on the market for the respiratory syndrome in cattle the new drug is said to treat, and all of them are still effective.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0304-02.htm - It’s not just the FDA that’s the only corrupt federal agency, of course. This link is to an LA Times story revealing how a sub-organization within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) charged with evaluating the health risks posed to humans by the chemical industry has for years relied on a private firm with multiple ties to the chemical industry in performing its job. You can’t make this stuff up, folks!

http://www.rense.com/general75/warfo.htm - This article by Luise Light, MS, EdD, a nutritionist and author of What to Eat: The Ten Things You Need to Know to Eat Well and Be Healthy, explains how and why our food supply is at great risk.
 
Unabashed Plug

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http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Mind-Mastery-Book-Info.cfm.


Medical Freedom

Please contact and support the following organizations dedicated to protecting our health freedoms.
 
Citizens for Health - http://www.citizens.org

Alliance for Natural Health – http://www.alliance-natural-health.org (The leading organization fighting to preserve health f/r/e/edom in England and the EU.)

Institute for Health Freedom – http://www.ForHealthF/r/e/edom.org

International Advocates for Health Freedom (IAHF) – http://www.iahf.com

And to learn how corrupt and extensive Big Pharma’s monopoly is, visit http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/online/research/index.html the website for the Campaign Against Fraudulent Medical Research. In particular, read their in-depth report The Pharmaceutical Drug Racket that you will find th/e/re.


That’s all for this week.

Health and Blessings!

Larry Trivieri, Jr. (larry@1healthyworld.com)

Disclaimer: The Health Plus Letter is a weekly eZine published by Larry Trivieri, Jr. and Library of Health, LLC (dba www.1healthyworld.com) 1514 Genesee Street, Suite 52, Utica, NY 13502. It is made available without charge for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical care. If you are experiencing a health problem, seek prompt medical attention.

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Legal Notice: The information in this eZine may be freely and widely disseminated so long as full attribution is made as follows: The Health Plus Letter, March 6, 2007, Vol. 5, No. 2. Copyright © 2007 by Larry Trivieri, Jr. All rights reserved.

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