hailand announced last week that because of rising prices of foreign-made HIV/AIDS drugs, it would issue a five-year license to manufacture an inexpensive generic version of Merck & Co.'s Efavirenz drug.
Though Merck -- which holds the patent on Efavirenz -- criticized the military Thai government's decision to make its own cheaper version of the anti-retroviral drug, health advocates and AIDS activists commended the Health Ministry.
"This is both a brave and a progressive step by the Royal Thai Government to place the interests of people living with HIV in Thailand front and center," said UNAIDS country coordinator Patrick Brenny.
The Thai government -- headed by the military after a September coup to oust former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- declared a "national emergency" under World Trade Organization rules that allow governments to issue compulsory licenses to manufacture patented drugs without consent from the patent holder. Merck will receive a royalty of 0.5 percent on sales of its generic version of the drug, which will cost half what Merck charged for Efavirenz.
Thailand's national drug program, which treats 82,000 of the 580,000 HIV/AIDS patients in the country, has gained international recognition for its efficacy. However, as AIDS patients live longer and foreign drug companies boost prices, the government has struggled with costs.
Thawat Suntrajarn, head of the Health Ministry's Department of Disease Control, said foreign companies' prices are "very high, making it a big hurdle for patients to access [HIV/AIDS drugs] and the government cannot afford them. In the long run [patients] need this anti-retroviral drug to live a normal life like others."
Consumer health advocate Mike Adams, a vocal critic of intellectual property rights for pharmaceuticals, said more and more countries are beginning to question the patent protection pharmaceutical companies are granted for chemical compounds.
"When it comes to AIDS and public health, most people in the world believe that drugs should be open source and available to the public at non-monopolistic prices," Adams said. "But drug companies want to soak the population for as much money as they can, without consideration for whether people have AIDS, cancer or other diseases.
"They want to enforce profiteering prices on everyone, and they use the protection of intellectual property patents to get away with it," he said.
Merck claims it makes no profits off Efavirenz in Thailand, and that the Thai government did not contact the company to attempt to resolve the cost problems before issuing the generic production license.
According to a World Bank study of the Thai drug program, the government took a risk in overriding Merck's patent, as the decision could result in trade repercussions. However, supporters of the generic manufacturing license say the move could bolster Thailand's ability to negotiate lower prices with other drug firms
Friday, August 29, 2008
article199
NewsTarget) There is often confusion surrounding the difference between two conditions known as diverticulosis and diverticulitis. I'm going to explain the difference and reveal how to treat the symptoms of diverticulitis naturally.
Diverticula are small, pea-sized, bulging pouches in the digestive tract. While diverticula can form anywhere, most occur in your large intestine and are many times found in people that experience frequent constipation.
Having diverticula in the intestines is known as diverticulosis. This condition is many times unrecognized by the person affected because diverticulosis seldom causes any problems. Every once in a while however, diverticula can become infected or inflamed. This condition is called diverticulitis.
Many experts believe that a low-fiber diet is a key contributor to diverticulitis. Reason being is lack of fiber in the diet can make stool sometimes harder to pass. The excess pressure can result in certain areas of the colon to become weakened and collapse. This results in marble-sized pouches (diverticula) protruding through the colon wall. These pouches, which are small at first, but become larger gradually; typically develop in the sigmoid and descending colon. These are the lower portions of your large intestine just above your rectum. They are often the result of straining during bowel movements over a number of years.
Sometimes stool can become lodged in one of the pouches and the result can be an infection. Small tears or perforations can also develop in an infected pouch, which can lead to an infection within your abdomen (peritonitis). A person may also develop a collection of pus called an abscess if the infection is limited to an area around the wall of your colon where the diverticula are inflamed.
Diverticulitis can be acute or chronic. The majority of people affected are usually between the ages of 50 and 90. One reason that older people are generally more affected is that the walls of the large intestine tend to weaken with age.
For many people, symptoms are non-existent or mistaken for simple indigestion. For those who do experience symptoms, a pain in the lower left side of the abdomen is common. The pain is typically severe and surfaces rather abruptly. However, sometimes a person can experience a mild pain that can worsen over several days and have a fluctuating intensity.
Other typical symptoms include abdominal tenderness, fever, nausea, and constipation or diarrhea.
Less common signs and symptoms of diverticulitis may include:
Vomiting
Bloating
Frequent Urination
Difficulty or pain while urinating
Rectal Bleeding
Tenderness in the abdomen
Blood in the Stool
While the reason is not exactly known, there is some evidence that links smoking & stress to symptoms becoming worse. Other factors that increase risk of diverticulitis are disease in the genes, gallbladder disease, obesity & coronary artery disease.
The best steps you can take in treating diverticulitis have to do with your lifestyle.
A high fiber diet has been shown to be protective against diverticular disease. You'll need at least 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day to help prevent problems from diverticulosis. Consume fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals that are high in fiber and bran. Be sure to drink plenty of pure water each day, as a high fiber diet will not be effective without adequate water consumption.
Studies have also shown physical activity, specifically jogging or running, to protect against symptomatic diverticular disease.
Avoid foods such as celery and corn as these foods contain indigestible roughage and use bran to prevent constipation.
Eat a diet with your primary source of protein being from fish & vegetables. Stay away from grains, seeds or nuts, as these foods can be hard to digest which results in bloating & gas. Other foods that should be avoided include dairy products, red meat, fried foods, spices, sugar products as well as processed & refined foods.
Also remember to:
Try not to strain during bowel movements
Avoid alcohol
Exercise moderately
Drink at least eight glasses of pure water a day
Avoid smoking
Establish a regular bowel routine by spending at least 10 minutes a day trying to have a bowel movement at approximately the same time.
Avoid extremely hot or cold foods and fluids (which cause gas).
When you feel an attack or pain coming on, give yourself a cleansing enema with 2 quarts of luke-warm water mixed with the juice from a fresh squeezed lemon. This will aid in ridding the colon of undigested food that has been trapped and will also relieve pain.
Aside from lifestyle changes, supplementing with the following can also be helpful:
Acidophilus (Take as directed on label) - Helps support a healthy intestinal tract (gut) and replaces the flora in the small intestine, primarily to improve assimilation.
Fiber (Take as directed on label) - Helps prevent constipation. Also prevents infection.
Super Greens Formula - Garden of Life provides an excellent greens formula that is high in chlorophyll, which is extremely beneficial for this condition. Diverticulosis sufferers also seem to do better when chlorella is part of the diet. Chlorella will provide you with all the benefits of magnesium, carotenoids, chlorophyll and much more.
Vitamin B Complex (100 mg 3 times daily) - Aids in proper digestion.
Proteolytic Enzymes (Take as directed on label, between meals) - Aids in digestion & reduces inflammation in the colon.
Essential Fatty Acids (Take as directed on label) - Aids in protecting the cells that line the wall of the colon.
L-Glutamine (500 mg twice daily. Take with water or juice but never with milk) - Maintains the absorption surfaces of the gut called the villi.
Vitamin C - Anti-inflammatory and boosts immunity. I recommend a minimum of 3,000 to 8,000 mg daily in divided doses.
Garlic - Aids in digestion and is a natural antibiotic. I personally use Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract by Wakunaga, which is a high-quality odorless organic supplement. Take 2 capsules 3 times daily.
Alfalfa (2,000 mg in capsules or tincture) - Natural source of vitamin K and essential minerals that most people with intestinal disorders are lacking. Also contains chlorophyll, which aids in healing.
Aloe Vera Juice (Drink ½ cup 3 times a day) - promotes healing of the inflamed areas.
Diverticula are small, pea-sized, bulging pouches in the digestive tract. While diverticula can form anywhere, most occur in your large intestine and are many times found in people that experience frequent constipation.
Having diverticula in the intestines is known as diverticulosis. This condition is many times unrecognized by the person affected because diverticulosis seldom causes any problems. Every once in a while however, diverticula can become infected or inflamed. This condition is called diverticulitis.
Many experts believe that a low-fiber diet is a key contributor to diverticulitis. Reason being is lack of fiber in the diet can make stool sometimes harder to pass. The excess pressure can result in certain areas of the colon to become weakened and collapse. This results in marble-sized pouches (diverticula) protruding through the colon wall. These pouches, which are small at first, but become larger gradually; typically develop in the sigmoid and descending colon. These are the lower portions of your large intestine just above your rectum. They are often the result of straining during bowel movements over a number of years.
Sometimes stool can become lodged in one of the pouches and the result can be an infection. Small tears or perforations can also develop in an infected pouch, which can lead to an infection within your abdomen (peritonitis). A person may also develop a collection of pus called an abscess if the infection is limited to an area around the wall of your colon where the diverticula are inflamed.
Diverticulitis can be acute or chronic. The majority of people affected are usually between the ages of 50 and 90. One reason that older people are generally more affected is that the walls of the large intestine tend to weaken with age.
For many people, symptoms are non-existent or mistaken for simple indigestion. For those who do experience symptoms, a pain in the lower left side of the abdomen is common. The pain is typically severe and surfaces rather abruptly. However, sometimes a person can experience a mild pain that can worsen over several days and have a fluctuating intensity.
Other typical symptoms include abdominal tenderness, fever, nausea, and constipation or diarrhea.
Less common signs and symptoms of diverticulitis may include:
Vomiting
Bloating
Frequent Urination
Difficulty or pain while urinating
Rectal Bleeding
Tenderness in the abdomen
Blood in the Stool
While the reason is not exactly known, there is some evidence that links smoking & stress to symptoms becoming worse. Other factors that increase risk of diverticulitis are disease in the genes, gallbladder disease, obesity & coronary artery disease.
The best steps you can take in treating diverticulitis have to do with your lifestyle.
A high fiber diet has been shown to be protective against diverticular disease. You'll need at least 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day to help prevent problems from diverticulosis. Consume fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals that are high in fiber and bran. Be sure to drink plenty of pure water each day, as a high fiber diet will not be effective without adequate water consumption.
Studies have also shown physical activity, specifically jogging or running, to protect against symptomatic diverticular disease.
Avoid foods such as celery and corn as these foods contain indigestible roughage and use bran to prevent constipation.
Eat a diet with your primary source of protein being from fish & vegetables. Stay away from grains, seeds or nuts, as these foods can be hard to digest which results in bloating & gas. Other foods that should be avoided include dairy products, red meat, fried foods, spices, sugar products as well as processed & refined foods.
Also remember to:
Try not to strain during bowel movements
Avoid alcohol
Exercise moderately
Drink at least eight glasses of pure water a day
Avoid smoking
Establish a regular bowel routine by spending at least 10 minutes a day trying to have a bowel movement at approximately the same time.
Avoid extremely hot or cold foods and fluids (which cause gas).
When you feel an attack or pain coming on, give yourself a cleansing enema with 2 quarts of luke-warm water mixed with the juice from a fresh squeezed lemon. This will aid in ridding the colon of undigested food that has been trapped and will also relieve pain.
Aside from lifestyle changes, supplementing with the following can also be helpful:
Acidophilus (Take as directed on label) - Helps support a healthy intestinal tract (gut) and replaces the flora in the small intestine, primarily to improve assimilation.
Fiber (Take as directed on label) - Helps prevent constipation. Also prevents infection.
Super Greens Formula - Garden of Life provides an excellent greens formula that is high in chlorophyll, which is extremely beneficial for this condition. Diverticulosis sufferers also seem to do better when chlorella is part of the diet. Chlorella will provide you with all the benefits of magnesium, carotenoids, chlorophyll and much more.
Vitamin B Complex (100 mg 3 times daily) - Aids in proper digestion.
Proteolytic Enzymes (Take as directed on label, between meals) - Aids in digestion & reduces inflammation in the colon.
Essential Fatty Acids (Take as directed on label) - Aids in protecting the cells that line the wall of the colon.
L-Glutamine (500 mg twice daily. Take with water or juice but never with milk) - Maintains the absorption surfaces of the gut called the villi.
Vitamin C - Anti-inflammatory and boosts immunity. I recommend a minimum of 3,000 to 8,000 mg daily in divided doses.
Garlic - Aids in digestion and is a natural antibiotic. I personally use Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract by Wakunaga, which is a high-quality odorless organic supplement. Take 2 capsules 3 times daily.
Alfalfa (2,000 mg in capsules or tincture) - Natural source of vitamin K and essential minerals that most people with intestinal disorders are lacking. Also contains chlorophyll, which aids in healing.
Aloe Vera Juice (Drink ½ cup 3 times a day) - promotes healing of the inflamed areas.
article198
Hailed in ancient Eastern medicine as the "mushroom of immortality" and the "medicine of kings," you'd expect reishi to offer you some pretty astounding health benefits, right? Your assumptions are correct. This prized fungus may be able to boost your immune system, fight cancer, ward off heart disease, calm your nerves and relieve both allergies and inflammation.
"Reishi indeed sounds like a cure-all," writes Rebecca Wood in her book "New Whole Foods Encyclopedia." She goes on to explain reishi's wide range of uses: "An immunostimulant, it is helpful for people with AIDS, leaky-gut syndrome, Epstein-Barr, chronic bronchitis and other infectious diseases. It is used as an aid to sleep, as a diuretic, as a laxative and to lower cholesterol." It almost seems too good to be true.
How can one fungus help the human body in so many ways? Traditional Eastern medical science explains reishi's wide range of medicinal applications better, perhaps, than mainstream medicine ever could. According to Eastern thought, the body needs to defend itself against threats to its "equilibrium." These threats can be physical, such as viruses and bacteria that cause infection; emotional, such as stressors that cause anxiety; or energetic, in that they reduce alertness. Whatever the threat, reishi helps the body maintain its defense against these threats to its equilibrium, helping the body to maintain balance. In this sense, diseases like heart disease and cancer mean that the body is out of balance, which is why an equilibrium-enhancing remedy such as reishi can help so many diverse ailments.
Skeptics can doubt the previous explanation as Taoist "mumbo jumbo," but laboratory research proves many of reishi's medicinal applications. As Dr. Andrew Weil writes, reishi "has been the subject of a surprising amount of scientific research in Asia and the West." Research shows that the polysaccharide beta-1,3-D-glucan in reishi boosts the immune system by raising the amount of macrophages T-cells, which has major implications for people suffering from AIDS and other immune system disorders.
This immune-boosting action also works wonders in the prevention and treatment of cancer, as the T-cells are then able to fight cancer cells more effectively. However, reishi may help the body defeat cancer in not just one, but four ways. In addition to boosting the immune system, the glucan in reishi helps immune cells bind to tumor cells. Many experts believe that it also actually reduces the number of cancerous cells, making it easier for T-cells and macrophages to rid the body of them. Another substance in reishi, called canthaxanthin, slows down the growth of tumors, according to "Prescription for Dietary Wellness" author Phyllis A. Balch and other experts. As a result of these amazing anti-cancer abilities, laboratory research and traditional medicinal usage of reishi to fight cancer is so positive that the Japanese government officially recognizes it as a cancer treatment.
Besides cancer, reishi can help and treat another of America's top killers: cardiovascular disease. The protection reishi offers against heart disease and stroke is truly remarkable because it helps prevent so many different risk factors, due to its high content of heart-saving substances like sterols, ganoderic acids, coumarin, mannitol and polysaccharides. Experts believe that the ganoderic acids in particular lower triglyceride levels, remove excess cholesterol from the blood, lower blood pressure, reduce platelet stickiness and even help correct arrhythmia. In fact, for 54 people with hypertension unresponsive to medication, taking reishi extract three times a day for four weeks was enough to significantly lower blood pressure, according to a study reported by Burton Goldberg in "Heart Disease." Just imagine how the incidence of cardiovascular disease could be reduced if using reishi really caught on in the Western hemisphere.
While you protect your body against infectious disease, cancer and heart disease, your use of reishi can also help relieve your everyday discomforts. Do you have allergies? Japanese researchers discovered that the lanostan in reishi acts as a natural antihistamine. Do you suffer from muscle aches or arthritis? Dr. William B. Stavinhoa of the University of Texas Health Science Center found that reishi is as powerful as five milligrams of hydrocortisone, but with minimal side effects. What about anxiety or insomnia? According to "Mind Boosters" by Dr. Ray Sahelia, the reishi mushroom can calm the mind, as well as improve memory, concentration and focus. With all these benefits, reishi truly is the "medicine of kings."
Different types of reishi
Though there are six different types of reishi, all classified by color, herbalists generally call red reishi the most potent and medicinal variety, and thus it is the most commonly used form of reishi in North America, Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea. In the wild, the mushroom grows on deciduous trees in heavily forested areas of China and Japan, but it's now easily and widely cultivated commercially, so you don't have to venture into the forest to enjoy the benefits of what "Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook" author James Green calls a "remarkably beneficial fungus for the human body."
However, keep in mind that reishi isn't exactly the kind of mushroom you'll want to put in your next salad, either. Since it's more than 90 percent indigestible fiber, reishi has an extremely wood-like texture and to top it off, it's unpleasantly bitter. In spite of this bitter flavor, many reishi enthusiasts use ground reishi to make a life-enhancing tea or even use the mushrooms in soups. For the less daring, many health food stores offer reishi capsules, tablets and extracts, and Japanese research suggests taking vitamin C along with it may enhance reishi's medicinal effects.
So, how much reishi should you take? In the "Vitamin Bible for the Twenty-first Century," vitamin expert Earl Mindell advises an average dose of 100 milligrams of reishi extract daily to boost your immune system, reduce inflammation and ease joint pain. On the other hand, Dr. Linda B. White recommends up to three 1,000-milligram tablets up to three times per day in her book "The Herbal Drugstore." Because of this wide range of dosage suggestions and additional risks it might pose for pregnant or lactating women (even though reishi has no known toxicity) you should check with a physician, preferably a naturopath, before adding reishi to your regimen. Similarly, you should be aware that reishi does have some side effects, including abdominal upset, dizziness, nose bleeds and dry mouth and throat, according to "Natural Pharmacy" author Schuyler W. Lininger. In other words, it's up to you and your naturopath to decide which dose of reishi is right for you.
The experts speak on reishi:
Reishi's wide range of medicinal applications
Health Benefits: Reishi indeed sounds like a cure-all. An immunostimulant, it is helpful for people with AIDS, leaky gut syndrome, Epstein-Barr, chronic bronchitis, and other infectious viruses. It is used as an aid to sleep; as a diuretic; as a laxative; and to lower cholesterol. Reishi mushrooms are antioxidants and liver protectants..
New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood, page 288
One key function, identified long ago by Eastern medical science, is defense--that is, the body has the need and ability to defend itself against threats to its equilibrium, whether they be physical, emotional, or energetic. Having noted and studied the body's defensive capabilities, Chinese doctors then explored the natural world to find ways of maintaining and enhancing them, and they discovered a number of ways to do so, including the administration of herbal remedies. Among these remedies are ginseng, astragalus, and several mushrooms that grow on trees, such as Ganoderma lucidum (known to the Chinese as ling chih and the Japanese as reishi).
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 15
Not all of the active components in reishi have been isolated; like many other organic substances, the molecules in this plant are quite complex, though they are probably mostly polysaccharides and peptides. Dr. Terry Willard, a proponent of the medical uses of this mushroom, maintains that reishi also decreases free radicals by 50.4 percent through an as yet, unidentified antioxidant. ... Other researchers suspect that reishi may not have an antioxidant of its own but rather stimulates production of the body's own free radical scavenger, an enzyme called superoxide dismutase (SOD). According to the Bulletin of the Oriental Healing Arts Institute, reishi acts as an agent for promoting an increase in leukocytes, phagocytosis which in turn increase the number of disease-fighting T-cells in the bloodstream.
Attaining Medical Self Sufficiency An Informed Citizens Guide by Duncan Long, page 196
These powerful adaptogens -- Siberian ginseng, schisandra, ginseng, astragalus, and reishi--are among what Teeguarden calls the "superstars of Chinese tonic herbalism . . . incomparable, legendary herbal substances [that] have withstood the test of time." These five herbs also tend to be the ones with the most scientific backing for their strengthening and normalizing effects.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 291
Reishi and the immune system
Reishi is a purely medicinal mushroom, not a culinary one, both because it is hard and woody and because it tastes very bitter. But it is nontoxic and has been the subject of a surprising amount of scientific research, both in Asia and the West. Although most of the research has been in animals, the results are so promising that I think human studies will soon follow. Like maitake and other related mushroom species, reishi improves immune function and inhibits the growth of some malignant tumors. Additionally, it shows significant anti-inflammatory effect, reduces allergic responsiveness, and protects the liver.
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 140
Reishi is a supreme immune tonic. Because of its neutral energy, it is fine for anyone to take. It treats immune disorders including AIDS as it raises the T cell levels (an index of AIDS and immune disorders). It is also specific for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It inhibits bacteria and viruses, treats cancer and tumors and its adaptogenic quality protects the body against stress. It treats heart disease, reduces cholesterel and lowers high blood pressure.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 195
Maitake, shiitake, and reishi mushrooms possess beta-1,3-D-glucan, a type of polysaccharide that stimulates the immune cells. Their immune-boosting power makes them essential for fighting the flu.
Prescription For Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A Balch CNC and James F Balch MD, page 469
In addition to being an effective energizer, reishi is an antioxidant that protects the body from the harmful effects of radiation and free radicals. It contains polysaccharides and other compounds that may combat bacteria and viruses and boost the immune system
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 56
Reishi Mushrooms Known as kisshotake or the "lucky fungus," in Japan, reishi mushrooms were originally used in China in both cooking and traditional healing. However, for several thousand years the Japanese have used these delicately flavored mushrooms in their cuisine. reishi mushrooms, which are quite pricey, are available in Asian markets and gourmet shops. However, they may be worth their weight in gold. Recent studies show that reishi may stimulate the immune system, which increases the body's ability to ward off disease. In addition, reishi mushrooms contain compounds that are natural antihistamines and have strong anti-allergic activity. Other studies show that reishi can lower blood cholesterol levels and prevent the formation of dangerous blood clots that can lead to a heart attack or stroke..
Earl Mindells Soy Miracle Earl Mindel RPH PHD, page 107
reishi is a supreme immune tonic. Because of its neutral energy, it is fine for anyone to take. It treats immune disorders including AIDS as it raises the T cell levels (an index of AIDS and immune disorders). It is also specific for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It inhibits bacteria and viruses, treats cancer and tumors and its adaptogenic quality protects the body against stress. It treats heart disease, reduces cholesterel and lowers high blood pressure.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 195
Herbal Medicine: There are numerous herbs useful in the care of infections. Some are directly antibacterial or antiviral while others are immune potentiators. Some herbs do both. Examples include goldenseal, licorice, astragalus, garlic, Panax ginseng, reishi and shiitake mushrooms, slippery elm, and echinacea.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 1112
The third is reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), currently available in US health food stores. It is said to have been used as a "fountain of youth" elixir for centuries. A novel protein with immunomodulating activity in vivo has been isolated from the mycelial extract of reishi.
Cancer Therapy by Ralph W Moss PhD, page 248
reishi tones the immune system, supports nerve function, scavenges free radicals, protects the liver, and quells inflammation and allergies. According to Hobbs (1996), "reishi has the unique ability among medicinal mushrooms to calm and support nerve function." In his practice, he recommends reishi to people with chronic stress, anxiety, or insomnia.
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 116
Reishi, shiitake, and maitake mushroom extracts or powders are all proven antivirals and are used as immunostimulants around the world for everything from colds to cancer.
Herbal Defense by Ralph T Golan ND, page 180
Immunity (increases) astragalus, codonopsis, cinnamon, ginger, ginseng, bayberry, schisandra reishi echinacea and American ginseng.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 231
The most common herbs used in fu-zheng are blood-vitalizing herbs, including astragalus, milletia, reishi, panax ginseng, schizandra, jujube, ligus-ticum, hoelen, salvia, ho shou wu, cordyceps, atractylodis, and codonopsis. Studies continue to demonstrate that these herbs have a dramatic impact on the enhancement of an immune system weakened by chemo and radiation therapies. They not only protect the immune and endocrine systems but also inhibit such diseases as influenza, upper respiratory infections, fungal infections, and chemically induced hepatitis. These diseases can cause serious complications for the person with cancer, requiring an interruption in treatment and a course of antibiotics that can lead to diarrhea and other debilitating problems.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 85
If yeast or other vaginal infections keep coming back, your best bet is to see a natural health practitioner who'll recommend an herbal tonic program that you'll use for a series of months. It will likely include herbs such as astragalus, reishi, shiitake, nettles, or burdock -- botanicals that gently and gradually rebuild the immune system and the many organs it involves. Such a program will likely include some diet changes as well, such as cutting down on caffeine and sugar.
The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B White MD, page 535
The once extremely rare and precious reishi mushroom is now cultivated and widely available. It is a very potent immune system and longevity tonic. Traditionally used to "nourish the heart and pacify the spirit," it has also been found to have numerous other health benefits.
The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook by Alan Keith Tillotson, page 190
Use one of the immune-boosting tonics, like maitake, reishi, or astragalus. In cities, people live in close proximity and come into contact with each other more frequently than in rural areas. Germs spread easily in dense populations, so give your immune system some help.
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 229
HERBS: Herbal medicine is best administered under the guidance of a professional trained in their use. The following herbs can be used safely as a self-care protocol, however. Dr. Bock recommends astragalus, ginseng, and maitake and reishi mushrooms for general immune support.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 1043
Mushrooms, particularly Eastern varieties, revitalize the body. Various cultures consider them to contain the secrets of staying young. Reishi and shiitake mushrooms build resistance to stress by strengthening the immune system. They also provide key B vitamins to the liver and stimulate the adrenals with their high concentration of pantothenic acid. The common American button mushroom contains methionine, an amino acid high in sulphur. When combined with tofu, the result is a more complete protein.
Food Swings by Barnet Meltzer MD, page 258
Several species of mushroom -- including shiitake (Lentinus edodes), reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), and maitake (Grifola frondosa) -- are considered immune system stimulants. They contain compounds called polysac-charides that are similar to those found in other immune-boosting plants, such as astragalus and echinacea. These compounds increase the ability of white blood cells to devour germs.
Anti-Aging Prescriptions by James Duke PhD, page 163
This is the type of herbal tea I drink most frequently. After all, on a day-to-day basis, we mostly need to keep our good health intact. If I feel "immune challenged" or I want to start my day with an immune boost, I'll drink a cup of a blend that contains any of the following tonic herbs, known as adaptogens (herbs that strengthen or enhance the immune system, nervous system, and/or glandular system while they help the body cope with stress): Siberian ginseng, Panax ginseng, astragalus, shizandra, echinacea, ashwagandha, reishi mushrooms, licorice.
Caffeine Blues By Stephen Cherniske MS, page 324
Therapeutic and Healing Powers: reishi and shiitake mushrooms boost the immune system by producing interferon-like effects that fight viral infection. Mushrooms are also being studied for their anti-cancerous capabilities.
Food Swings by Barnet Meltzer MD, page 216
Mushrooms from Japan -- specifically, shiitake as a food, and reishi and maitake (which are currently available in the United States only as extracts) -- offer a host of immune-system benefits.
Herbal Defense by Ralph T Golan ND, page 152
All edible mushrooms contain both medicinal and nutritional qualities. Scientific research indicates that the major actions of medicinal mushrooms are stimulating the immune system and protecting against cardiovascular disease, free radicals, mutagens, and toxins. Most medicinal mushrooms contain polysaccharides (complex sugar molecules) called beta-glucans that increase RNA and DNA in the bone marrow where immune cells, like lymphocytes, are made. The combination of compounds in mushrooms is believed to target the immune system and aid in neuron transmission, metabolism, and the transport of nutrients and oxygen. Three mushroom varieties -- reishi, shiitake, and maitake -- have been studied intensively and have proven to possess strong medicinal properties. All mushrooms must be cooked to get the nutritional value. The cell walls cannot be digested unless they are tenderized by heat.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 167
If you have a family history of cancer, have been a smoker, have worked in a hazardous occupation, or know that you have had toxic exposures, take one or more of the tonics that are cancer-protective and immune-enhancing. My first choices would be maitake and reishi mushrooms.
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 251
Ganoderma: Ganoderma lucidum, the Chinese "mushroom of immortality" called ling zhi (in Japan, reishi) has been extensively studied in the laboratory for antiviral activity and is well known for its immune-modulating activity. My teacher of Chinese medicine, the late Dr. York Why Loo, kept a specimen of dried wild Chinese ling zhi in a jar for use in his old age. So revered by Chinese doctors is ling zhi that it is frequently pictured on their business cards or displayed in their shop windows as a sign of respect for its importance.
Viral Immunity by J.E, page 292
In China, many pharmacological, chemical, and biochemical studies have been conducted with this remarkable mushroom. Results show that reishi meets all qualifications of being an ad-aptogen and tonic. Its use bolsters the immune system, stimulates health, and improves or prevents allergic conditions and a variety of degenerative and other disease conditions.
Miracle Medicine Herbs by Richard M Lucas, page 9
Try shiitake or reishi mushrooms with your veggies -- the Chinese use them to bolster the immune system.
Prescription Alternatives by Earl Mindell RPh PhD and Virginia Hopkins MA, page 283
Preliminary human research demonstrates some efficacy for the mushroom reishi in treating chronic hepatitis B, although this use still needs to be confirmed.
The Natural Pharmacy by Schuyler W Lininger, page 80
Many researchers are now recommending a combination of mushrooms to maximize effects on the immune system. "A complex blend of medicinal fungi can offer a powerful therapeutic punch," says internationally renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, known by some as "Mr. Medicinal Mushroom."1 Two other mushrooms that hold great therapeutic promise are reishi, or Ling zhi (Ganoderma lucidum), and maitake (Gri-Jola frondosa).
The Encyclopedia Of Popular Herbs by Robert S McCaleb, page 335
Improves conditions of viral hepatitis (70% of all cases with this condition showed marked improvement after taking reishi).
Miracle Medicine Herbs by Richard M Lucas, page 9
Chinese herbalists have long considered mushrooms to be the most beneficial of all medicinal foods; however, the ordinary culinary mushrooms found at the supermarket are not as advantageous to the immune system as the more exotic reishi, maitake, or shiitake mushrooms. Modern research has determined that these mushrooms can support immune function. Extracts of these mushrooms can be purchased in capsule form.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 10
Immune tonics: reishi, astragalus, schisandra liver tonics: dandelion, fennel nerve tonics: scullcap, valerian nutritive tonics: comfrey, marshmallow.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 139
Immune-modulating plants often used by doctors of herbal medicine include Asian ginseng, eleuthero (Siberian ginseng, ashwagandha, and the medicinal mushrooms shiitake and reishi.
The Natural Pharmacy by Schuyler W Lininger, page 89
The reishi mushroom is traditionally used in Chinese medicine for asthenia-type syndromes, characterized by a deficiency of vital energy and functions of the lower body. reishi is the perfect remedy for the typical American suffering from constant stress. This type of individual has depressed vital force and is likely to be both deficient and toxic. When a person in such a state develops cancer and is then faced with the toxicities of chemotherapy, the situation calls for reishi. reishi's overall effects could be described as regulatory and beneficial to the restoration of homeostasis. Its effect on the immune system is total enhancement of immune function: increase of white blood-cell count, platelets, hemoglobin, and various tumor-fighting cells. reishi also improves both energy and sleep.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 156
Master the language of mushrooms. Forget those bland, almost tasteless specimens that you find in the typical mushroom omelet. Your immune system craves exotic mushrooms, notably shiitake, maitake, and reishi. "Shiitake and maitake mushrooms strengthen the immune system," notes Santa Cruz, California, herbalist Christopher Hobbs, L.Ac., the author of several authoritative herb guides. "reishi mushrooms build up bone marrow, where white blood cells are made."
Blended Medicine by Michael Castleman, page 10
Reishi is one of the most versatile medicinal mushrooms. It has long been used in Asia as an energy tonic to promote longevity and overall health. Studies indicate that reishi is an antioxidant and contains polysaccharides and other compounds that may boost the immune system. reishi is taken to counter bacteria and viruses and has shown promise as an agent to help prevent or treat cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other conditions. Russian researchers at the Cancer Research Center in Moscow have had positive results using reishi extracts to boost the immunity of cancer patients.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 88
The fruiting body of reishi mushroom is sweet in taste and neutral to slightly warming in action. It calms the spirit; strengthens immunity; slows aging; strengthens the heart, lungs, and liver; and relaxes spasms.
The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook by Alan Keith Tillotson, page 190
"Reishi indeed sounds like a cure-all," writes Rebecca Wood in her book "New Whole Foods Encyclopedia." She goes on to explain reishi's wide range of uses: "An immunostimulant, it is helpful for people with AIDS, leaky-gut syndrome, Epstein-Barr, chronic bronchitis and other infectious diseases. It is used as an aid to sleep, as a diuretic, as a laxative and to lower cholesterol." It almost seems too good to be true.
How can one fungus help the human body in so many ways? Traditional Eastern medical science explains reishi's wide range of medicinal applications better, perhaps, than mainstream medicine ever could. According to Eastern thought, the body needs to defend itself against threats to its "equilibrium." These threats can be physical, such as viruses and bacteria that cause infection; emotional, such as stressors that cause anxiety; or energetic, in that they reduce alertness. Whatever the threat, reishi helps the body maintain its defense against these threats to its equilibrium, helping the body to maintain balance. In this sense, diseases like heart disease and cancer mean that the body is out of balance, which is why an equilibrium-enhancing remedy such as reishi can help so many diverse ailments.
Skeptics can doubt the previous explanation as Taoist "mumbo jumbo," but laboratory research proves many of reishi's medicinal applications. As Dr. Andrew Weil writes, reishi "has been the subject of a surprising amount of scientific research in Asia and the West." Research shows that the polysaccharide beta-1,3-D-glucan in reishi boosts the immune system by raising the amount of macrophages T-cells, which has major implications for people suffering from AIDS and other immune system disorders.
This immune-boosting action also works wonders in the prevention and treatment of cancer, as the T-cells are then able to fight cancer cells more effectively. However, reishi may help the body defeat cancer in not just one, but four ways. In addition to boosting the immune system, the glucan in reishi helps immune cells bind to tumor cells. Many experts believe that it also actually reduces the number of cancerous cells, making it easier for T-cells and macrophages to rid the body of them. Another substance in reishi, called canthaxanthin, slows down the growth of tumors, according to "Prescription for Dietary Wellness" author Phyllis A. Balch and other experts. As a result of these amazing anti-cancer abilities, laboratory research and traditional medicinal usage of reishi to fight cancer is so positive that the Japanese government officially recognizes it as a cancer treatment.
Besides cancer, reishi can help and treat another of America's top killers: cardiovascular disease. The protection reishi offers against heart disease and stroke is truly remarkable because it helps prevent so many different risk factors, due to its high content of heart-saving substances like sterols, ganoderic acids, coumarin, mannitol and polysaccharides. Experts believe that the ganoderic acids in particular lower triglyceride levels, remove excess cholesterol from the blood, lower blood pressure, reduce platelet stickiness and even help correct arrhythmia. In fact, for 54 people with hypertension unresponsive to medication, taking reishi extract three times a day for four weeks was enough to significantly lower blood pressure, according to a study reported by Burton Goldberg in "Heart Disease." Just imagine how the incidence of cardiovascular disease could be reduced if using reishi really caught on in the Western hemisphere.
While you protect your body against infectious disease, cancer and heart disease, your use of reishi can also help relieve your everyday discomforts. Do you have allergies? Japanese researchers discovered that the lanostan in reishi acts as a natural antihistamine. Do you suffer from muscle aches or arthritis? Dr. William B. Stavinhoa of the University of Texas Health Science Center found that reishi is as powerful as five milligrams of hydrocortisone, but with minimal side effects. What about anxiety or insomnia? According to "Mind Boosters" by Dr. Ray Sahelia, the reishi mushroom can calm the mind, as well as improve memory, concentration and focus. With all these benefits, reishi truly is the "medicine of kings."
Different types of reishi
Though there are six different types of reishi, all classified by color, herbalists generally call red reishi the most potent and medicinal variety, and thus it is the most commonly used form of reishi in North America, Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea. In the wild, the mushroom grows on deciduous trees in heavily forested areas of China and Japan, but it's now easily and widely cultivated commercially, so you don't have to venture into the forest to enjoy the benefits of what "Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook" author James Green calls a "remarkably beneficial fungus for the human body."
However, keep in mind that reishi isn't exactly the kind of mushroom you'll want to put in your next salad, either. Since it's more than 90 percent indigestible fiber, reishi has an extremely wood-like texture and to top it off, it's unpleasantly bitter. In spite of this bitter flavor, many reishi enthusiasts use ground reishi to make a life-enhancing tea or even use the mushrooms in soups. For the less daring, many health food stores offer reishi capsules, tablets and extracts, and Japanese research suggests taking vitamin C along with it may enhance reishi's medicinal effects.
So, how much reishi should you take? In the "Vitamin Bible for the Twenty-first Century," vitamin expert Earl Mindell advises an average dose of 100 milligrams of reishi extract daily to boost your immune system, reduce inflammation and ease joint pain. On the other hand, Dr. Linda B. White recommends up to three 1,000-milligram tablets up to three times per day in her book "The Herbal Drugstore." Because of this wide range of dosage suggestions and additional risks it might pose for pregnant or lactating women (even though reishi has no known toxicity) you should check with a physician, preferably a naturopath, before adding reishi to your regimen. Similarly, you should be aware that reishi does have some side effects, including abdominal upset, dizziness, nose bleeds and dry mouth and throat, according to "Natural Pharmacy" author Schuyler W. Lininger. In other words, it's up to you and your naturopath to decide which dose of reishi is right for you.
The experts speak on reishi:
Reishi's wide range of medicinal applications
Health Benefits: Reishi indeed sounds like a cure-all. An immunostimulant, it is helpful for people with AIDS, leaky gut syndrome, Epstein-Barr, chronic bronchitis, and other infectious viruses. It is used as an aid to sleep; as a diuretic; as a laxative; and to lower cholesterol. Reishi mushrooms are antioxidants and liver protectants..
New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood, page 288
One key function, identified long ago by Eastern medical science, is defense--that is, the body has the need and ability to defend itself against threats to its equilibrium, whether they be physical, emotional, or energetic. Having noted and studied the body's defensive capabilities, Chinese doctors then explored the natural world to find ways of maintaining and enhancing them, and they discovered a number of ways to do so, including the administration of herbal remedies. Among these remedies are ginseng, astragalus, and several mushrooms that grow on trees, such as Ganoderma lucidum (known to the Chinese as ling chih and the Japanese as reishi).
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 15
Not all of the active components in reishi have been isolated; like many other organic substances, the molecules in this plant are quite complex, though they are probably mostly polysaccharides and peptides. Dr. Terry Willard, a proponent of the medical uses of this mushroom, maintains that reishi also decreases free radicals by 50.4 percent through an as yet, unidentified antioxidant. ... Other researchers suspect that reishi may not have an antioxidant of its own but rather stimulates production of the body's own free radical scavenger, an enzyme called superoxide dismutase (SOD). According to the Bulletin of the Oriental Healing Arts Institute, reishi acts as an agent for promoting an increase in leukocytes, phagocytosis which in turn increase the number of disease-fighting T-cells in the bloodstream.
Attaining Medical Self Sufficiency An Informed Citizens Guide by Duncan Long, page 196
These powerful adaptogens -- Siberian ginseng, schisandra, ginseng, astragalus, and reishi--are among what Teeguarden calls the "superstars of Chinese tonic herbalism . . . incomparable, legendary herbal substances [that] have withstood the test of time." These five herbs also tend to be the ones with the most scientific backing for their strengthening and normalizing effects.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 291
Reishi and the immune system
Reishi is a purely medicinal mushroom, not a culinary one, both because it is hard and woody and because it tastes very bitter. But it is nontoxic and has been the subject of a surprising amount of scientific research, both in Asia and the West. Although most of the research has been in animals, the results are so promising that I think human studies will soon follow. Like maitake and other related mushroom species, reishi improves immune function and inhibits the growth of some malignant tumors. Additionally, it shows significant anti-inflammatory effect, reduces allergic responsiveness, and protects the liver.
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 140
Reishi is a supreme immune tonic. Because of its neutral energy, it is fine for anyone to take. It treats immune disorders including AIDS as it raises the T cell levels (an index of AIDS and immune disorders). It is also specific for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It inhibits bacteria and viruses, treats cancer and tumors and its adaptogenic quality protects the body against stress. It treats heart disease, reduces cholesterel and lowers high blood pressure.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 195
Maitake, shiitake, and reishi mushrooms possess beta-1,3-D-glucan, a type of polysaccharide that stimulates the immune cells. Their immune-boosting power makes them essential for fighting the flu.
Prescription For Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A Balch CNC and James F Balch MD, page 469
In addition to being an effective energizer, reishi is an antioxidant that protects the body from the harmful effects of radiation and free radicals. It contains polysaccharides and other compounds that may combat bacteria and viruses and boost the immune system
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 56
Reishi Mushrooms Known as kisshotake or the "lucky fungus," in Japan, reishi mushrooms were originally used in China in both cooking and traditional healing. However, for several thousand years the Japanese have used these delicately flavored mushrooms in their cuisine. reishi mushrooms, which are quite pricey, are available in Asian markets and gourmet shops. However, they may be worth their weight in gold. Recent studies show that reishi may stimulate the immune system, which increases the body's ability to ward off disease. In addition, reishi mushrooms contain compounds that are natural antihistamines and have strong anti-allergic activity. Other studies show that reishi can lower blood cholesterol levels and prevent the formation of dangerous blood clots that can lead to a heart attack or stroke..
Earl Mindells Soy Miracle Earl Mindel RPH PHD, page 107
reishi is a supreme immune tonic. Because of its neutral energy, it is fine for anyone to take. It treats immune disorders including AIDS as it raises the T cell levels (an index of AIDS and immune disorders). It is also specific for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It inhibits bacteria and viruses, treats cancer and tumors and its adaptogenic quality protects the body against stress. It treats heart disease, reduces cholesterel and lowers high blood pressure.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 195
Herbal Medicine: There are numerous herbs useful in the care of infections. Some are directly antibacterial or antiviral while others are immune potentiators. Some herbs do both. Examples include goldenseal, licorice, astragalus, garlic, Panax ginseng, reishi and shiitake mushrooms, slippery elm, and echinacea.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 1112
The third is reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), currently available in US health food stores. It is said to have been used as a "fountain of youth" elixir for centuries. A novel protein with immunomodulating activity in vivo has been isolated from the mycelial extract of reishi.
Cancer Therapy by Ralph W Moss PhD, page 248
reishi tones the immune system, supports nerve function, scavenges free radicals, protects the liver, and quells inflammation and allergies. According to Hobbs (1996), "reishi has the unique ability among medicinal mushrooms to calm and support nerve function." In his practice, he recommends reishi to people with chronic stress, anxiety, or insomnia.
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 116
Reishi, shiitake, and maitake mushroom extracts or powders are all proven antivirals and are used as immunostimulants around the world for everything from colds to cancer.
Herbal Defense by Ralph T Golan ND, page 180
Immunity (increases) astragalus, codonopsis, cinnamon, ginger, ginseng, bayberry, schisandra reishi echinacea and American ginseng.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 231
The most common herbs used in fu-zheng are blood-vitalizing herbs, including astragalus, milletia, reishi, panax ginseng, schizandra, jujube, ligus-ticum, hoelen, salvia, ho shou wu, cordyceps, atractylodis, and codonopsis. Studies continue to demonstrate that these herbs have a dramatic impact on the enhancement of an immune system weakened by chemo and radiation therapies. They not only protect the immune and endocrine systems but also inhibit such diseases as influenza, upper respiratory infections, fungal infections, and chemically induced hepatitis. These diseases can cause serious complications for the person with cancer, requiring an interruption in treatment and a course of antibiotics that can lead to diarrhea and other debilitating problems.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 85
If yeast or other vaginal infections keep coming back, your best bet is to see a natural health practitioner who'll recommend an herbal tonic program that you'll use for a series of months. It will likely include herbs such as astragalus, reishi, shiitake, nettles, or burdock -- botanicals that gently and gradually rebuild the immune system and the many organs it involves. Such a program will likely include some diet changes as well, such as cutting down on caffeine and sugar.
The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B White MD, page 535
The once extremely rare and precious reishi mushroom is now cultivated and widely available. It is a very potent immune system and longevity tonic. Traditionally used to "nourish the heart and pacify the spirit," it has also been found to have numerous other health benefits.
The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook by Alan Keith Tillotson, page 190
Use one of the immune-boosting tonics, like maitake, reishi, or astragalus. In cities, people live in close proximity and come into contact with each other more frequently than in rural areas. Germs spread easily in dense populations, so give your immune system some help.
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 229
HERBS: Herbal medicine is best administered under the guidance of a professional trained in their use. The following herbs can be used safely as a self-care protocol, however. Dr. Bock recommends astragalus, ginseng, and maitake and reishi mushrooms for general immune support.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 1043
Mushrooms, particularly Eastern varieties, revitalize the body. Various cultures consider them to contain the secrets of staying young. Reishi and shiitake mushrooms build resistance to stress by strengthening the immune system. They also provide key B vitamins to the liver and stimulate the adrenals with their high concentration of pantothenic acid. The common American button mushroom contains methionine, an amino acid high in sulphur. When combined with tofu, the result is a more complete protein.
Food Swings by Barnet Meltzer MD, page 258
Several species of mushroom -- including shiitake (Lentinus edodes), reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), and maitake (Grifola frondosa) -- are considered immune system stimulants. They contain compounds called polysac-charides that are similar to those found in other immune-boosting plants, such as astragalus and echinacea. These compounds increase the ability of white blood cells to devour germs.
Anti-Aging Prescriptions by James Duke PhD, page 163
This is the type of herbal tea I drink most frequently. After all, on a day-to-day basis, we mostly need to keep our good health intact. If I feel "immune challenged" or I want to start my day with an immune boost, I'll drink a cup of a blend that contains any of the following tonic herbs, known as adaptogens (herbs that strengthen or enhance the immune system, nervous system, and/or glandular system while they help the body cope with stress): Siberian ginseng, Panax ginseng, astragalus, shizandra, echinacea, ashwagandha, reishi mushrooms, licorice.
Caffeine Blues By Stephen Cherniske MS, page 324
Therapeutic and Healing Powers: reishi and shiitake mushrooms boost the immune system by producing interferon-like effects that fight viral infection. Mushrooms are also being studied for their anti-cancerous capabilities.
Food Swings by Barnet Meltzer MD, page 216
Mushrooms from Japan -- specifically, shiitake as a food, and reishi and maitake (which are currently available in the United States only as extracts) -- offer a host of immune-system benefits.
Herbal Defense by Ralph T Golan ND, page 152
All edible mushrooms contain both medicinal and nutritional qualities. Scientific research indicates that the major actions of medicinal mushrooms are stimulating the immune system and protecting against cardiovascular disease, free radicals, mutagens, and toxins. Most medicinal mushrooms contain polysaccharides (complex sugar molecules) called beta-glucans that increase RNA and DNA in the bone marrow where immune cells, like lymphocytes, are made. The combination of compounds in mushrooms is believed to target the immune system and aid in neuron transmission, metabolism, and the transport of nutrients and oxygen. Three mushroom varieties -- reishi, shiitake, and maitake -- have been studied intensively and have proven to possess strong medicinal properties. All mushrooms must be cooked to get the nutritional value. The cell walls cannot be digested unless they are tenderized by heat.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 167
If you have a family history of cancer, have been a smoker, have worked in a hazardous occupation, or know that you have had toxic exposures, take one or more of the tonics that are cancer-protective and immune-enhancing. My first choices would be maitake and reishi mushrooms.
8 Weeks To Optimum Health By Andrew Weil MD, page 251
Ganoderma: Ganoderma lucidum, the Chinese "mushroom of immortality" called ling zhi (in Japan, reishi) has been extensively studied in the laboratory for antiviral activity and is well known for its immune-modulating activity. My teacher of Chinese medicine, the late Dr. York Why Loo, kept a specimen of dried wild Chinese ling zhi in a jar for use in his old age. So revered by Chinese doctors is ling zhi that it is frequently pictured on their business cards or displayed in their shop windows as a sign of respect for its importance.
Viral Immunity by J.E, page 292
In China, many pharmacological, chemical, and biochemical studies have been conducted with this remarkable mushroom. Results show that reishi meets all qualifications of being an ad-aptogen and tonic. Its use bolsters the immune system, stimulates health, and improves or prevents allergic conditions and a variety of degenerative and other disease conditions.
Miracle Medicine Herbs by Richard M Lucas, page 9
Try shiitake or reishi mushrooms with your veggies -- the Chinese use them to bolster the immune system.
Prescription Alternatives by Earl Mindell RPh PhD and Virginia Hopkins MA, page 283
Preliminary human research demonstrates some efficacy for the mushroom reishi in treating chronic hepatitis B, although this use still needs to be confirmed.
The Natural Pharmacy by Schuyler W Lininger, page 80
Many researchers are now recommending a combination of mushrooms to maximize effects on the immune system. "A complex blend of medicinal fungi can offer a powerful therapeutic punch," says internationally renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, known by some as "Mr. Medicinal Mushroom."1 Two other mushrooms that hold great therapeutic promise are reishi, or Ling zhi (Ganoderma lucidum), and maitake (Gri-Jola frondosa).
The Encyclopedia Of Popular Herbs by Robert S McCaleb, page 335
Improves conditions of viral hepatitis (70% of all cases with this condition showed marked improvement after taking reishi).
Miracle Medicine Herbs by Richard M Lucas, page 9
Chinese herbalists have long considered mushrooms to be the most beneficial of all medicinal foods; however, the ordinary culinary mushrooms found at the supermarket are not as advantageous to the immune system as the more exotic reishi, maitake, or shiitake mushrooms. Modern research has determined that these mushrooms can support immune function. Extracts of these mushrooms can be purchased in capsule form.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 10
Immune tonics: reishi, astragalus, schisandra liver tonics: dandelion, fennel nerve tonics: scullcap, valerian nutritive tonics: comfrey, marshmallow.
The Herbs Of Life by Lesley Tierra, page 139
Immune-modulating plants often used by doctors of herbal medicine include Asian ginseng, eleuthero (Siberian ginseng, ashwagandha, and the medicinal mushrooms shiitake and reishi.
The Natural Pharmacy by Schuyler W Lininger, page 89
The reishi mushroom is traditionally used in Chinese medicine for asthenia-type syndromes, characterized by a deficiency of vital energy and functions of the lower body. reishi is the perfect remedy for the typical American suffering from constant stress. This type of individual has depressed vital force and is likely to be both deficient and toxic. When a person in such a state develops cancer and is then faced with the toxicities of chemotherapy, the situation calls for reishi. reishi's overall effects could be described as regulatory and beneficial to the restoration of homeostasis. Its effect on the immune system is total enhancement of immune function: increase of white blood-cell count, platelets, hemoglobin, and various tumor-fighting cells. reishi also improves both energy and sleep.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 156
Master the language of mushrooms. Forget those bland, almost tasteless specimens that you find in the typical mushroom omelet. Your immune system craves exotic mushrooms, notably shiitake, maitake, and reishi. "Shiitake and maitake mushrooms strengthen the immune system," notes Santa Cruz, California, herbalist Christopher Hobbs, L.Ac., the author of several authoritative herb guides. "reishi mushrooms build up bone marrow, where white blood cells are made."
Blended Medicine by Michael Castleman, page 10
Reishi is one of the most versatile medicinal mushrooms. It has long been used in Asia as an energy tonic to promote longevity and overall health. Studies indicate that reishi is an antioxidant and contains polysaccharides and other compounds that may boost the immune system. reishi is taken to counter bacteria and viruses and has shown promise as an agent to help prevent or treat cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other conditions. Russian researchers at the Cancer Research Center in Moscow have had positive results using reishi extracts to boost the immunity of cancer patients.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 88
The fruiting body of reishi mushroom is sweet in taste and neutral to slightly warming in action. It calms the spirit; strengthens immunity; slows aging; strengthens the heart, lungs, and liver; and relaxes spasms.
The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook by Alan Keith Tillotson, page 190
article197
NewsTarget) Raw honey – which has not been pasteurized or filtered, and ideally taken directly from the hive – is a treasure chest of nutritional value and medicinal remedies. It contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals and is a natural and powerful medicine, both internally and externally.
The list of honey's beneficial functions is a long one. Honey increases calcium absorption; can increase hemoglobin count and treat or prevent anemia caused by nutritional factors; can help arthritic joints, when combined with apple cider vinegar; fights colds and respiratory infections of all kinds; can help to boost gastrointestinal ulcer healing; works as a natural and gentle laxative; aids constipation, allergies and obesity; provides an array of vitamins and minerals; and supplies instant energy without the insulin surge caused by white sugar. Many have found raw honey helpful for its positive effects against allergies and hay fever, and one or two teaspoons last thing at night can help with insomnia. As an antiseptic, honey is also a drawing agent for poisons from bites or stings or infected wounds, and has outperformed antibiotics in treatments for stomach ulcerations, gangrene, surgical wound infections, surgical incisions and the protection of skin grafts, corneas, blood vessels and bones during storage and shipment.
"Raw honey is exceptionally effective internally against bacteria and parasites. Plus, raw honey contains natural antibiotics, which help kill microbes directly. Raw honey, when applied topically, speeds the healing of tissues damaged by infection and/or trauma. It contains vitamins, minerals and enzymes, as well as sugars, all of which aid in the healing of wounds."
So writes Dr. Cass Igram, D.O. in The Survivor's Nutritional Pharmacy. In a fascinating modern development, scientists and doctors are beginning to rediscover the effectiveness of honey as a wound treatment. In recent years, honey has been used effectively in clinical settings for the treatment of fist-sized ulcers extending to the bone, as well as for first, second and third degree burns. Complete healing has been reported without the need for skin grafts and with no infection or muscle loss. It can be applied full strength to such conditions, covered with a sterile bandage, and changed daily. When the wounds are clean, honey acts as a healer. This also is the same procedure for infected wounds, ulcerations and impetigo. Garlic honey can also be applied directly to infected wounds, which will help clean up the area of infection.
Dr. Peter Molan, professor of biochemistry at Waikato University, New Zealand, has been at the forefront of honey research for 20 years. He heads the university's Honey Research Unit, which is internationally recognized for its expertise in the antimicrobial properties of honey. Clinical observations and experimental studies have established that honey has effective antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Astonishingly, it painlessly removes pus, scabs and dead tissue from wounds and stimulates new tissue growth. "Randomized trials have shown that honey is more effective in controlling infection in burn wounds than silver sulfadiazine, the antibacterial ointment most widely used on burns in hospitals," explains Dr. Molan.
Dr. Molan believes that if honey were used from the start in cases of septicemia, there would be far less tissue damage resulting. "The remarkable ability of honey to reduce inflammation and mop up free radicals should halt the progress of the skin damage like it does in burns, as well as protecting from infection setting in", says Dr. Molan. "At present, people are turning to honey when nothing else works. But there are very good grounds for using honey as a therapeutic agent of first choice."
Researchers believe that the therapeutic potential of honey is grossly underutilized. With increasing interest in the use of alternative therapies and as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria spreads, honey may finally receive its due recognition as a wound healer.
Indeed, it works: Raw honey makes a sterile, painless and effective wound dressing. Apply it directly to open cuts, abrasions and burns, and cover it with a piece of gauze. The results will occur quicker than with conventional alternatives, such as salves and creams.
Honey is also exceptionally effective for respiratory ailments. One Bulgarian study of almost 18,000 patients found that it improved chronic bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis, chronic and allergic rhinitis and sinusitis. It's an effective treatment for colds, flu, respiratory infections and a generally depressed immune system. Whereas sugar shuts down the immune system, a good quality honey will stimulate it into action.
Here are some more ways to utilize the healing power of honey:
BURNS - Apply freely over burns. It cools, removes pain and aids fast healing without scarring. Apart from being a salve and an antibiotic, bacteria simply cannot survive in honey.
BED WETTING - A teaspoon of honey before bed aids water retention and calms fears in children.
INSOMNIA - A dessertspoon of honey in a mug of warm milk aids sleep and works wonders.
HYPERACTIVITY - Replace all use of white sugar with honey. White sugar is highly stimulating with no food qualities. Honey provides the energy without the "spike."
NASAL CONGESTION - Place a dessertspoon of honey in a basin of water and inhale fumes after covering your head with a towel over the basin. Very effective!
FATIGUE - Dissolve a dessertspoon of honey in warm water or quarter honey balance of water in a jug and keep in the fridge. Honey is primarily fructose and glucose, so it's quickly absorbed by the digestive system. Honey is a unique natural stabilizer: Ancient Greek athletes took honey for stamina before competing and as a reviver after competition.
FACIAL DEEP CLEANSER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of oatmeal, and apply as a face pack. Leave on for half an hour, then wash it off. Great as a deep cleanser for acne and other unwanted blemishes.
POOR DIGESTION - Mix honey with an equal quantity of apple cider vinegar and dilute to taste with water. This is also wonderful for the joints – and promotes weight loss.
HAIR CONDITIONER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of olive oil, cover head with a warm tower for half an hour then shampoo off. Feeds hair and scalp. Your hair will never look or feel better!
SORE THROATS - Let a teaspoon of honey melt in the back of the mouth and trickle down the throat. Eases inflamed raw tissues.
FOR STRESS - Honey in water is a stabilizer, calming highs and raising lows. Use approximately 25 percent honey to water.
ANEMIA - Honey is the best blood enricher by raising corpuscle content. The darker the honey, the more minerals it contains.
FOOD PRESERVATIVE – If you replace the sugar in cake and cookie recipes with honey, they'll stay fresher longer due to honey's natural antibacterial properties. Reduce liquids in the mixture by about one-fifth to allow for the moisture present in the in honey.
BABY'S BOTTLE - Four teaspoons of honey to a baby's bottle of water is an excellent pacifier and multivitamin additive. If the baby's motions are too liquid, then reduce the honey by half a teaspoon; if too solid increase by half a teaspoon. (Caution: Don't give raw honey to babies under 1 year old; it's just too rich.) For teething, honey rubbed on a baby's gums is also a mild sedative and anesthetic.
OSTEOPOROSIS – Research has shown that a teaspoon of honey per day aids calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis – probably not a bad idea for anyone over 50.
LONGEVITY - The most long-lived people in the world are all regular users of honey. An interesting fact, yet to be explained, is that beekeepers suffer less from cancer and arthritis than any other occupational group worldwide.
MIGRAINE - Use a dessertspoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water. Sip at the start of a migraine attack, and, if necessary, repeat after another 20 minutes.
CONJUNCTIVITIS - Dissolve honey in an equal quantity of warm water. When cooled, apply as a lotion or eye bath.
COUGH MIXTURE – Combine 6 ounces (170 grams) liquid honey, 2 ounces (55 grams) glycerin and the juice of two lemons. Mix well. Bottle and cork firmly, and use as required.
Raw honey may become granulated, as some does after a week and another maybe only after several years. If the granulations bother you, simply place the honey into a pan of hot water (not boiling) and let it stand until becoming liquid again.
Kelly Joyce Neff has an interdisciplinary degree in Celtic Studies which includes work in cultural anthropology, history, linguistics, language, and literature. She is a traditional midwife and herbalist, a reiki master, and an active craftsperson. She lives in San Francisco.
The list of honey's beneficial functions is a long one. Honey increases calcium absorption; can increase hemoglobin count and treat or prevent anemia caused by nutritional factors; can help arthritic joints, when combined with apple cider vinegar; fights colds and respiratory infections of all kinds; can help to boost gastrointestinal ulcer healing; works as a natural and gentle laxative; aids constipation, allergies and obesity; provides an array of vitamins and minerals; and supplies instant energy without the insulin surge caused by white sugar. Many have found raw honey helpful for its positive effects against allergies and hay fever, and one or two teaspoons last thing at night can help with insomnia. As an antiseptic, honey is also a drawing agent for poisons from bites or stings or infected wounds, and has outperformed antibiotics in treatments for stomach ulcerations, gangrene, surgical wound infections, surgical incisions and the protection of skin grafts, corneas, blood vessels and bones during storage and shipment.
"Raw honey is exceptionally effective internally against bacteria and parasites. Plus, raw honey contains natural antibiotics, which help kill microbes directly. Raw honey, when applied topically, speeds the healing of tissues damaged by infection and/or trauma. It contains vitamins, minerals and enzymes, as well as sugars, all of which aid in the healing of wounds."
So writes Dr. Cass Igram, D.O. in The Survivor's Nutritional Pharmacy. In a fascinating modern development, scientists and doctors are beginning to rediscover the effectiveness of honey as a wound treatment. In recent years, honey has been used effectively in clinical settings for the treatment of fist-sized ulcers extending to the bone, as well as for first, second and third degree burns. Complete healing has been reported without the need for skin grafts and with no infection or muscle loss. It can be applied full strength to such conditions, covered with a sterile bandage, and changed daily. When the wounds are clean, honey acts as a healer. This also is the same procedure for infected wounds, ulcerations and impetigo. Garlic honey can also be applied directly to infected wounds, which will help clean up the area of infection.
Dr. Peter Molan, professor of biochemistry at Waikato University, New Zealand, has been at the forefront of honey research for 20 years. He heads the university's Honey Research Unit, which is internationally recognized for its expertise in the antimicrobial properties of honey. Clinical observations and experimental studies have established that honey has effective antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Astonishingly, it painlessly removes pus, scabs and dead tissue from wounds and stimulates new tissue growth. "Randomized trials have shown that honey is more effective in controlling infection in burn wounds than silver sulfadiazine, the antibacterial ointment most widely used on burns in hospitals," explains Dr. Molan.
Dr. Molan believes that if honey were used from the start in cases of septicemia, there would be far less tissue damage resulting. "The remarkable ability of honey to reduce inflammation and mop up free radicals should halt the progress of the skin damage like it does in burns, as well as protecting from infection setting in", says Dr. Molan. "At present, people are turning to honey when nothing else works. But there are very good grounds for using honey as a therapeutic agent of first choice."
Researchers believe that the therapeutic potential of honey is grossly underutilized. With increasing interest in the use of alternative therapies and as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria spreads, honey may finally receive its due recognition as a wound healer.
Indeed, it works: Raw honey makes a sterile, painless and effective wound dressing. Apply it directly to open cuts, abrasions and burns, and cover it with a piece of gauze. The results will occur quicker than with conventional alternatives, such as salves and creams.
Honey is also exceptionally effective for respiratory ailments. One Bulgarian study of almost 18,000 patients found that it improved chronic bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis, chronic and allergic rhinitis and sinusitis. It's an effective treatment for colds, flu, respiratory infections and a generally depressed immune system. Whereas sugar shuts down the immune system, a good quality honey will stimulate it into action.
Here are some more ways to utilize the healing power of honey:
BURNS - Apply freely over burns. It cools, removes pain and aids fast healing without scarring. Apart from being a salve and an antibiotic, bacteria simply cannot survive in honey.
BED WETTING - A teaspoon of honey before bed aids water retention and calms fears in children.
INSOMNIA - A dessertspoon of honey in a mug of warm milk aids sleep and works wonders.
HYPERACTIVITY - Replace all use of white sugar with honey. White sugar is highly stimulating with no food qualities. Honey provides the energy without the "spike."
NASAL CONGESTION - Place a dessertspoon of honey in a basin of water and inhale fumes after covering your head with a towel over the basin. Very effective!
FATIGUE - Dissolve a dessertspoon of honey in warm water or quarter honey balance of water in a jug and keep in the fridge. Honey is primarily fructose and glucose, so it's quickly absorbed by the digestive system. Honey is a unique natural stabilizer: Ancient Greek athletes took honey for stamina before competing and as a reviver after competition.
FACIAL DEEP CLEANSER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of oatmeal, and apply as a face pack. Leave on for half an hour, then wash it off. Great as a deep cleanser for acne and other unwanted blemishes.
POOR DIGESTION - Mix honey with an equal quantity of apple cider vinegar and dilute to taste with water. This is also wonderful for the joints – and promotes weight loss.
HAIR CONDITIONER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of olive oil, cover head with a warm tower for half an hour then shampoo off. Feeds hair and scalp. Your hair will never look or feel better!
SORE THROATS - Let a teaspoon of honey melt in the back of the mouth and trickle down the throat. Eases inflamed raw tissues.
FOR STRESS - Honey in water is a stabilizer, calming highs and raising lows. Use approximately 25 percent honey to water.
ANEMIA - Honey is the best blood enricher by raising corpuscle content. The darker the honey, the more minerals it contains.
FOOD PRESERVATIVE – If you replace the sugar in cake and cookie recipes with honey, they'll stay fresher longer due to honey's natural antibacterial properties. Reduce liquids in the mixture by about one-fifth to allow for the moisture present in the in honey.
BABY'S BOTTLE - Four teaspoons of honey to a baby's bottle of water is an excellent pacifier and multivitamin additive. If the baby's motions are too liquid, then reduce the honey by half a teaspoon; if too solid increase by half a teaspoon. (Caution: Don't give raw honey to babies under 1 year old; it's just too rich.) For teething, honey rubbed on a baby's gums is also a mild sedative and anesthetic.
OSTEOPOROSIS – Research has shown that a teaspoon of honey per day aids calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis – probably not a bad idea for anyone over 50.
LONGEVITY - The most long-lived people in the world are all regular users of honey. An interesting fact, yet to be explained, is that beekeepers suffer less from cancer and arthritis than any other occupational group worldwide.
MIGRAINE - Use a dessertspoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water. Sip at the start of a migraine attack, and, if necessary, repeat after another 20 minutes.
CONJUNCTIVITIS - Dissolve honey in an equal quantity of warm water. When cooled, apply as a lotion or eye bath.
COUGH MIXTURE – Combine 6 ounces (170 grams) liquid honey, 2 ounces (55 grams) glycerin and the juice of two lemons. Mix well. Bottle and cork firmly, and use as required.
Raw honey may become granulated, as some does after a week and another maybe only after several years. If the granulations bother you, simply place the honey into a pan of hot water (not boiling) and let it stand until becoming liquid again.
Kelly Joyce Neff has an interdisciplinary degree in Celtic Studies which includes work in cultural anthropology, history, linguistics, language, and literature. She is a traditional midwife and herbalist, a reiki master, and an active craftsperson. She lives in San Francisco.
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Ayurveda - The Indian Traditional Healing System And Way Of Life
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of healing incorporating a number of different techniques such as dietary therapy, herbal medicine, meditation and massage.
Background and History
Ayurveda means 'science of longevity' and it originated around the 6th century BCE. Originally a Hindu system, it soon spread across religions. Its principles were said to have been passed down to humankind from by the gods, originating with Brahma, the father of all gods.
By the Middle Ages the system was extremely well developed, with great universities teaching all aspects of Ayurveda. However, it began to suffer as India was invaded, with the final straw being the colonization of India by the British, who bought scientific Western medicine with them. Thankfully, the Indian Congress realized how important Ayurveda was and supported it and in 1921 Mahatma Gandhi opened the first new college for ayurvedic medicine. This began the revival in the old ways, and now ayurveda is practiced alongside Western medicine in India. Ayurveda has become increasingly popular in the West since the 80s, due to such figures as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and Dr. Deepak Chopra MD.
How does it work?
Ayurveda holds that we are born in a state of perfection and poise, but soon lose this due to bad diet, temperament or living conditions. The ancient texts talk of 3 basic constitutions or 'doshas' - Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These are balanced in health, but become unbalanced in illness. Vata controls movement and communication and relates to the nervous system. Pitta is connected with fire and water, and it regulates heat and digestion and the metabolism. Kapha is responsible for stability and moisture and relates to the structure of the body.
In order to prevent or treat illness these three doshas must be balanced and this can be achieved by changing your lifestyle or diet, by massage, meditation, yoga, or herbs, among other things. An experienced Ayurveda therapist will choose the best treatment for each specific case.
Ayurveda is truly a holistic system, more of a way of life than just a healing therapy, and incorporating every strand of human existence. Still very common in India, it is relatively unknown in the West, and certainly not as well known as traditional Chinese Medicine, with which it shares some broad similarities. This is a shame, as it has much to offer.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of healing incorporating a number of different techniques such as dietary therapy, herbal medicine, meditation and massage.
Background and History
Ayurveda means 'science of longevity' and it originated around the 6th century BCE. Originally a Hindu system, it soon spread across religions. Its principles were said to have been passed down to humankind from by the gods, originating with Brahma, the father of all gods.
By the Middle Ages the system was extremely well developed, with great universities teaching all aspects of Ayurveda. However, it began to suffer as India was invaded, with the final straw being the colonization of India by the British, who bought scientific Western medicine with them. Thankfully, the Indian Congress realized how important Ayurveda was and supported it and in 1921 Mahatma Gandhi opened the first new college for ayurvedic medicine. This began the revival in the old ways, and now ayurveda is practiced alongside Western medicine in India. Ayurveda has become increasingly popular in the West since the 80s, due to such figures as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and Dr. Deepak Chopra MD.
How does it work?
Ayurveda holds that we are born in a state of perfection and poise, but soon lose this due to bad diet, temperament or living conditions. The ancient texts talk of 3 basic constitutions or 'doshas' - Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These are balanced in health, but become unbalanced in illness. Vata controls movement and communication and relates to the nervous system. Pitta is connected with fire and water, and it regulates heat and digestion and the metabolism. Kapha is responsible for stability and moisture and relates to the structure of the body.
In order to prevent or treat illness these three doshas must be balanced and this can be achieved by changing your lifestyle or diet, by massage, meditation, yoga, or herbs, among other things. An experienced Ayurveda therapist will choose the best treatment for each specific case.
Ayurveda is truly a holistic system, more of a way of life than just a healing therapy, and incorporating every strand of human existence. Still very common in India, it is relatively unknown in the West, and certainly not as well known as traditional Chinese Medicine, with which it shares some broad similarities. This is a shame, as it has much to offer.
article195
NewsTarget) HIV patients may have an effective weapon to lengthen their lives, thanks to selenium. Taking a selenium supplement daily appears to keep HIV at bay and also strengthen the immune system, according to research by the University of Miami.
In a double-blind study of 262 HIV patients divided between patients receiving the supplements and placebos, the patients who received 200 micrograms of high-selenium yeast each day fought the disease much better. When each patient was given a comprehensive medical exam at the end of the study 9 months later, the ones who took selenium daily had a lower amount of the HIV virus in their bloodstream and better immune cell counts compared to those who hadn't.
"It's no surprise that selenium is finally getting the credit it deserves as a potent antiviral mineral," said Mike Adams, author of "The Seven Laws of Nutrition."
"In fact, combined with other natural antiviral medicines, HIV can be completely controlled without medications at all," Adams said. "The people of the world have been completely hoodwinked by the pharmaceutical companies into thinking there are no natural treatments for HIV, but in fact there are dozens."
The reason selenium may help people with HIV live longer is its antioxidant properies: it may help reverse damage that the disease does to the immune system. However, that does not make it a substitute for the antiretroviral therapy medications used to fight HIV, the researchers concluded.
The increased intake of selenium, while observed in other studies as having a positive effect in lowering mortality rates for people with lung, prostate and colorectal cancer, also may increase the risk of skin cancer, some studies have found. The verdict among scientists is not complete whether selenium is useful for cancer prevention.
With these initial findings, doctors have urged that more research be done to find out whether selenium is an effective tool in slowing down the effects of HIV.
In a double-blind study of 262 HIV patients divided between patients receiving the supplements and placebos, the patients who received 200 micrograms of high-selenium yeast each day fought the disease much better. When each patient was given a comprehensive medical exam at the end of the study 9 months later, the ones who took selenium daily had a lower amount of the HIV virus in their bloodstream and better immune cell counts compared to those who hadn't.
"It's no surprise that selenium is finally getting the credit it deserves as a potent antiviral mineral," said Mike Adams, author of "The Seven Laws of Nutrition."
"In fact, combined with other natural antiviral medicines, HIV can be completely controlled without medications at all," Adams said. "The people of the world have been completely hoodwinked by the pharmaceutical companies into thinking there are no natural treatments for HIV, but in fact there are dozens."
The reason selenium may help people with HIV live longer is its antioxidant properies: it may help reverse damage that the disease does to the immune system. However, that does not make it a substitute for the antiretroviral therapy medications used to fight HIV, the researchers concluded.
The increased intake of selenium, while observed in other studies as having a positive effect in lowering mortality rates for people with lung, prostate and colorectal cancer, also may increase the risk of skin cancer, some studies have found. The verdict among scientists is not complete whether selenium is useful for cancer prevention.
With these initial findings, doctors have urged that more research be done to find out whether selenium is an effective tool in slowing down the effects of HIV.
article194
Health officials in Lawrenceville, Georgia have arrested and jailed Francisco Santos, a teenager who tried to walk out of a hospital and go home after being diagnosed with TB (tuberculosis). Instead of allowing him to leave the hospital, health authorities arrested and jailed the teen, throwing him in into a 15 x 20 foot isolation chamber and not allowing him to leave until he submitted to chemical treatments pushed by doctors at the hospital. Francisco is being described as "...a threat to public safety" due to his tuberculosis.
Francisco's plight is the latest episode in a growing number of "gunpoint medicine" episodes where individuals are being arrested at gunpoint and thrown into jails or detainment centers until they submit to treatment with pharmaceuticals, chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. NewsTarget has covered other cases of gunpoint medicine, including:
• Katie Wernecke, a teenage cancer patient who was kidnapped by Texas authorities and forced to submit to chemotherapy. Her parents were arrested and subjected to actions by Child Protective Services, who took Katie away. This all happened because Katie's parents refused to subject their daughter to chemotherapy and wanted to pursue safer, more natural holistic medical therapies.
• Abraham Cherrix, a 16-year old cancer patient who also refused a second round of chemotherapy after the first round nearly killed him. His doctor was outraged that Abraham would refuse chemotherapy and called Child Protective Services who had Abraham's parents arrested at gunpoint. CPS then took over joint custody of the child and attempted to force the teen to submit to barbaric cancer treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.
In this latest example of Gunpoint Medicine, 17-year old Francisco Santos is now being held against his will and will apparently be incarcerated for as long as doctors believe he is a threat to the safety of others. He's also being told he cannot leave until he takes medication.
Patients, or Prisoners?
As these cases of Gunpoint Medicine clearly demonstrate, you now surrender your rights when you walk into a hospital. You are not a patient; you are a prisoner. And if the medical authorities, in their own opinion, perceive you as resisting their authority, they can have you arrested on the spot, without a court order, without a trial, and even when you pose no threat to others (such as having cancer). These medical arrests are taking place in clear violation of both the Fourth Amendment (protection from unreasonable search and seizure) and Fifth Amendment (due process) of the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Just as worrisome, law enforcement authorities are supporting these tyrannical actions of doctors, effectively providing firepower to what can only be called the "tyranny branch" of modern medicine. Any system of medicine that requires firearms to motivate patients is, in my opinion, more a system of control than a system of healing. Whatever happened to, "First, do no harm?"
Remember this the next time you enter a hospital or clinic: By subjecting yourself to the false authority of a doctor, you are in effect surrendering your freedoms and shall only be allowed to leave the hospital or clinic by the grace of the physician! If they decide that, for whatever reason, you should not be allowed to leave the hospital, you may be arrested at gunpoint and thrown into jail for an indefinite period of time until you agree to undergo their toxic -- even deadly -- treatments.
But isn't Santos contagious?
Skeptics of this assessment will point out that Santos has a contagious form of TB and is a genuine threat to society. Therefore, the thinking goes, medical authorities are justified in locking him up against his will, without a trial or court order.
That's a fascinating bit of delusional thinking. If you believe that, then you must also believe that health authorities should round up all AIDS patients and throw them into detention camps "for the safety of the public." After all, if you believe that TB is a disease that's dangerous enough to lock people away for having, then why not AIDS? Why not HPV, Hepatitis, or any upper respiratory illness that might pose a health hazard to some senior citizen? Once you cross the line of arresting people against their will for showing symptoms of one particular contagious disease, then you have to follow through and arrest everyone with similarly dangerous diseases.
Of course, if that happened, half the country would be behind bars, because the truth is that there are people everywhere who carry infectious germs. Simply walking through any airport exposes you to countless strains of bacteria, fungi and viruses that might pose a risk to your health.
And how about all the dangerous elderly drivers doped up on medication? I've seen some crazy Alzheimer's patients operating vehicles who should never be allowed to drive and are a clear threat to the safety of other drivers. Why aren't these people being locked up for the safety of the public? (I'm not saying they should be, but if you're going to be consistent here, locking up TB patients means locking up all kinds of other people...)
The gunpoint approach that has been invoked to imprison Santos is a demonstration of modern medical madness. The mainstream media has stirred the people into a frenzy over freewheeling lawyer Andrew Speaker and his TB infection, and now health authorities are so paranoid about being blamed for allowing a TB patient to walk free that they would rather trample on Santos' rights than expose themselves to professional risk. Apparently, the only requirement for locking someone up who shows symptoms of an infectious disease is that the particular disease has received a lot of mention in the press and the public is now scared silly over it.
Can you imagine the outcry if medical authorities started locking up AIDS patients? Don't dismiss this idea: It could be next. Any tyrannical health system that can stick a gun in the face of a teenage boy with TB and throw him in prison is perfectly capable of sticking a gun in the face of an AIDS patient and locking them away, too. Today it's TB, tomorrow it could be HIV. (Just wait for the "AIDS camps" to become official U.S. policy...)
Enjoy your freedom? Don't visit doctors
All this explains why I continue to encourage people to avoid doctors altogether. It's much better to take care of your health through exercise, strong nutritional habits, superfoods consumption and outright avoidance of toxic chemicals. Stay healthy and you won't need to see a doctor... ever! (I've known many people who have never seen a doctor in their entire lives, and yet are extremely healthy and long-lived.) I don't visit doctors, and I foresee no need to ever visit one unless I suffer some sort of accident or acute injury.
If you value your freedom, stay as far away from conventional doctors as possible. As you've seen here, they can have you locked up at their discretion, even without a shred of evidence that you're really dangerous to others.
Tuberculosis myths
This "highly infectious form of TB," for example, is largely a medical myth. Allow me to explain: The bacterium certainly does exist, and it can be passed through the air, but the most important point that still escapes the understanding of conventional medical authorities is that vitamin D prevents TB infections. The only people susceptible to TB infectious are those who are chronically deficient in vitamin D! That includes people who don't get enough sunlight (or who have been brainwashed into using sunscreen all the time) and who eat atrocious diets lacking in vitamin D sources like fish oils. The problem with TB is not simply the person walking around with the bacteria, it's the people who are in such poor nutritional health that they're practically begging to be infected by something.
This is why TB is now an epidemic in the UK, by the way: There's very little sunlight at that latitude, and more than 80 percent of UK citizens are vitamin D deficient. (It also explains the ongoing problems with dental health and bone fractures in the UK, but that's a different story...)
An incredible double standard
What's all this about doctors pretending to "protect the public" anyway? They claim to be locking up Santos in order to protect the health of the public, and yet they'll send patients home by the thousands with prescriptions for toxic pharmaceuticals that harm everyone! FDA-approved prescription drugs are now the 4th leading cause of death in the United States (tuberculosis isn't even close). I suppose if we were to really take steps to protect the general public, we should actually be locking up the drug-pushing doctors! They are right now killing far more patients than any infectious disease.
Think about it: Oncologists openly push dangerous chemotherapy drugs that cause permanent damage to the brain, heart, liver and kidneys, even while insisting that patients take no vitamins, superfoods or nutritional supplements to protect their healthy cells during the chemo treatments. General Practitioners send patients home with prescriptions for dangerous COX-2 inhibitor drugs, diabetes drugs, statin drugs and psychotropic drugs that kill, at minimum, tens of thousands of Americans every year through heart attacks, strokes, liver failure and suicides. Where is the call to protect the public from these dangerous chemicals that are causing casualty numbers resembling a world war?
Where is the effort to protect the public from all the dangerous cancer-causing food additives like sodium nitrite? Hydrogenated oils? Chemical preservatives and sweeteners? With the American population more diseased than ever before in the history of human civilization, and drug companies inundating the people with deadly chemicals, I find it astounding that health authorities would see one teenager with TB as such a huge threat that they have to arrest him at gunpoint. Doesn't this seem a bit strange to you?
If guns are to be drawn at all, they should be drawn during the arrest of corrupt FDA officials, evil Big Pharma operatives and unethical food company CEOs who are knowingly killing hundreds of thousands of Americans each year with their highly-profitable chemicals, additives and medicines. Francisco Santos is not a threat to your health, but modern medicine certainly is! And the FDA is without question a threat to your health and safety. In previous stories on this site, I've documented how the FDA is far more dangerous to Americans than any terrorist threat.
Francisco's plight is the latest episode in a growing number of "gunpoint medicine" episodes where individuals are being arrested at gunpoint and thrown into jails or detainment centers until they submit to treatment with pharmaceuticals, chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. NewsTarget has covered other cases of gunpoint medicine, including:
• Katie Wernecke, a teenage cancer patient who was kidnapped by Texas authorities and forced to submit to chemotherapy. Her parents were arrested and subjected to actions by Child Protective Services, who took Katie away. This all happened because Katie's parents refused to subject their daughter to chemotherapy and wanted to pursue safer, more natural holistic medical therapies.
• Abraham Cherrix, a 16-year old cancer patient who also refused a second round of chemotherapy after the first round nearly killed him. His doctor was outraged that Abraham would refuse chemotherapy and called Child Protective Services who had Abraham's parents arrested at gunpoint. CPS then took over joint custody of the child and attempted to force the teen to submit to barbaric cancer treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.
In this latest example of Gunpoint Medicine, 17-year old Francisco Santos is now being held against his will and will apparently be incarcerated for as long as doctors believe he is a threat to the safety of others. He's also being told he cannot leave until he takes medication.
Patients, or Prisoners?
As these cases of Gunpoint Medicine clearly demonstrate, you now surrender your rights when you walk into a hospital. You are not a patient; you are a prisoner. And if the medical authorities, in their own opinion, perceive you as resisting their authority, they can have you arrested on the spot, without a court order, without a trial, and even when you pose no threat to others (such as having cancer). These medical arrests are taking place in clear violation of both the Fourth Amendment (protection from unreasonable search and seizure) and Fifth Amendment (due process) of the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Just as worrisome, law enforcement authorities are supporting these tyrannical actions of doctors, effectively providing firepower to what can only be called the "tyranny branch" of modern medicine. Any system of medicine that requires firearms to motivate patients is, in my opinion, more a system of control than a system of healing. Whatever happened to, "First, do no harm?"
Remember this the next time you enter a hospital or clinic: By subjecting yourself to the false authority of a doctor, you are in effect surrendering your freedoms and shall only be allowed to leave the hospital or clinic by the grace of the physician! If they decide that, for whatever reason, you should not be allowed to leave the hospital, you may be arrested at gunpoint and thrown into jail for an indefinite period of time until you agree to undergo their toxic -- even deadly -- treatments.
But isn't Santos contagious?
Skeptics of this assessment will point out that Santos has a contagious form of TB and is a genuine threat to society. Therefore, the thinking goes, medical authorities are justified in locking him up against his will, without a trial or court order.
That's a fascinating bit of delusional thinking. If you believe that, then you must also believe that health authorities should round up all AIDS patients and throw them into detention camps "for the safety of the public." After all, if you believe that TB is a disease that's dangerous enough to lock people away for having, then why not AIDS? Why not HPV, Hepatitis, or any upper respiratory illness that might pose a health hazard to some senior citizen? Once you cross the line of arresting people against their will for showing symptoms of one particular contagious disease, then you have to follow through and arrest everyone with similarly dangerous diseases.
Of course, if that happened, half the country would be behind bars, because the truth is that there are people everywhere who carry infectious germs. Simply walking through any airport exposes you to countless strains of bacteria, fungi and viruses that might pose a risk to your health.
And how about all the dangerous elderly drivers doped up on medication? I've seen some crazy Alzheimer's patients operating vehicles who should never be allowed to drive and are a clear threat to the safety of other drivers. Why aren't these people being locked up for the safety of the public? (I'm not saying they should be, but if you're going to be consistent here, locking up TB patients means locking up all kinds of other people...)
The gunpoint approach that has been invoked to imprison Santos is a demonstration of modern medical madness. The mainstream media has stirred the people into a frenzy over freewheeling lawyer Andrew Speaker and his TB infection, and now health authorities are so paranoid about being blamed for allowing a TB patient to walk free that they would rather trample on Santos' rights than expose themselves to professional risk. Apparently, the only requirement for locking someone up who shows symptoms of an infectious disease is that the particular disease has received a lot of mention in the press and the public is now scared silly over it.
Can you imagine the outcry if medical authorities started locking up AIDS patients? Don't dismiss this idea: It could be next. Any tyrannical health system that can stick a gun in the face of a teenage boy with TB and throw him in prison is perfectly capable of sticking a gun in the face of an AIDS patient and locking them away, too. Today it's TB, tomorrow it could be HIV. (Just wait for the "AIDS camps" to become official U.S. policy...)
Enjoy your freedom? Don't visit doctors
All this explains why I continue to encourage people to avoid doctors altogether. It's much better to take care of your health through exercise, strong nutritional habits, superfoods consumption and outright avoidance of toxic chemicals. Stay healthy and you won't need to see a doctor... ever! (I've known many people who have never seen a doctor in their entire lives, and yet are extremely healthy and long-lived.) I don't visit doctors, and I foresee no need to ever visit one unless I suffer some sort of accident or acute injury.
If you value your freedom, stay as far away from conventional doctors as possible. As you've seen here, they can have you locked up at their discretion, even without a shred of evidence that you're really dangerous to others.
Tuberculosis myths
This "highly infectious form of TB," for example, is largely a medical myth. Allow me to explain: The bacterium certainly does exist, and it can be passed through the air, but the most important point that still escapes the understanding of conventional medical authorities is that vitamin D prevents TB infections. The only people susceptible to TB infectious are those who are chronically deficient in vitamin D! That includes people who don't get enough sunlight (or who have been brainwashed into using sunscreen all the time) and who eat atrocious diets lacking in vitamin D sources like fish oils. The problem with TB is not simply the person walking around with the bacteria, it's the people who are in such poor nutritional health that they're practically begging to be infected by something.
This is why TB is now an epidemic in the UK, by the way: There's very little sunlight at that latitude, and more than 80 percent of UK citizens are vitamin D deficient. (It also explains the ongoing problems with dental health and bone fractures in the UK, but that's a different story...)
An incredible double standard
What's all this about doctors pretending to "protect the public" anyway? They claim to be locking up Santos in order to protect the health of the public, and yet they'll send patients home by the thousands with prescriptions for toxic pharmaceuticals that harm everyone! FDA-approved prescription drugs are now the 4th leading cause of death in the United States (tuberculosis isn't even close). I suppose if we were to really take steps to protect the general public, we should actually be locking up the drug-pushing doctors! They are right now killing far more patients than any infectious disease.
Think about it: Oncologists openly push dangerous chemotherapy drugs that cause permanent damage to the brain, heart, liver and kidneys, even while insisting that patients take no vitamins, superfoods or nutritional supplements to protect their healthy cells during the chemo treatments. General Practitioners send patients home with prescriptions for dangerous COX-2 inhibitor drugs, diabetes drugs, statin drugs and psychotropic drugs that kill, at minimum, tens of thousands of Americans every year through heart attacks, strokes, liver failure and suicides. Where is the call to protect the public from these dangerous chemicals that are causing casualty numbers resembling a world war?
Where is the effort to protect the public from all the dangerous cancer-causing food additives like sodium nitrite? Hydrogenated oils? Chemical preservatives and sweeteners? With the American population more diseased than ever before in the history of human civilization, and drug companies inundating the people with deadly chemicals, I find it astounding that health authorities would see one teenager with TB as such a huge threat that they have to arrest him at gunpoint. Doesn't this seem a bit strange to you?
If guns are to be drawn at all, they should be drawn during the arrest of corrupt FDA officials, evil Big Pharma operatives and unethical food company CEOs who are knowingly killing hundreds of thousands of Americans each year with their highly-profitable chemicals, additives and medicines. Francisco Santos is not a threat to your health, but modern medicine certainly is! And the FDA is without question a threat to your health and safety. In previous stories on this site, I've documented how the FDA is far more dangerous to Americans than any terrorist threat.
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Think U.S. health authorities have never conducted outrageous medical experiments on children, women, minorities, homosexuals and inmates? Think again: This timeline, originally put together by Dani Veracity (a NewsTarget reporter), has been edited and updated with recent vaccination experimentation programs in Maryland and New Jersey. Here's what's really happening in the United States when it comes to exploiting the public for medical experimentation:
(1845 - 1849) J. Marion Sims, later hailed as the "father of gynecology," performs medical experiments on enslaved African women without anesthesia. These women would usually die of infection soon after surgery. Based on his belief that the movement of newborns' skull bones during protracted births causes trismus, he also uses a shoemaker's awl, a pointed tool shoemakers use to make holes in leather, to practice moving the skull bones of babies born to enslaved mothers (Brinker).
(1895)
New York pediatrician Henry Heiman infects a 4-year-old boy whom he calls "an idiot with chronic epilepsy" with gonorrhea as part of a medical experiment ("Human Experimentation: Before the Nazi Era and After").
(1896)
Dr. Arthur Wentworth turns 29 children at Boston's Children's Hospital into human guinea pigs when he performs spinal taps on them, just to test whether the procedure is harmful (Sharav).
(1906)
Harvard professor Dr. Richard Strong infects prisoners in the Philippines with cholera to study the disease; 13 of them die. He compensates survivors with cigars and cigarettes. During the Nuremberg Trials, Nazi doctors cite this study to justify their own medical experiments (Greger, Sharav).
(1911)
Dr. Hideyo Noguchi of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research publishes data on injecting an inactive syphilis preparation into the skin of 146 hospital patients and normal children in an attempt to develop a skin test for syphilis. Later, in 1913, several of these children's parents sue Dr. Noguchi for allegedly infecting their children with syphilis ("Reviews and Notes: History of Medicine: Subjected to Science: Human Experimentation in America before the Second World War").
(1913)
Medical experimenters "test" 15 children at the children's home St. Vincent's House in Philadelphia with tuberculin, resulting in permanent blindness in some of the children. Though the Pennsylvania House of Representatives records the incident, the researchers are not punished for the experiments ("Human Experimentation: Before the Nazi Era and After").
(1915)
Dr. Joseph Goldberger, under order of the U.S. Public Health Office, produces Pellagra, a debilitating disease that affects the central nervous system, in 12 Mississippi inmates to try to find a cure for the disease. One test subject later says that he had been through "a thousand hells." In 1935, after millions die from the disease, the director of the U.S Public Health Office would finally admit that officials had known that it was caused by a niacin deficiency for some time, but did nothing about it because it mostly affected poor African-Americans. During the Nuremberg Trials, Nazi doctors used this study to try to justify their medical experiments on concentration camp inmates (Greger; Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
(1932)
(1932-1972) The U.S. Public Health Service in Tuskegee, Ala. diagnoses 400 poor, black sharecroppers with syphilis but never tells them of their illness nor treats them; instead researchers use the men as human guinea pigs to follow the symptoms and progression of the disease. They all eventually die from syphilis and their families are never told that they could have been treated (Goliszek, University of Virginia Health System Health Sciences Library).
(1939)
In order to test his theory on the roots of stuttering, prominent speech pathologist Dr. Wendell Johnson performs his famous "Monster Experiment" on 22 children at the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home in Davenport. Dr. Johnson and his graduate students put the children under intense psychological pressure, causing them to switch from speaking normally to stuttering heavily. At the time, some of the students reportedly warn Dr. Johnson that, "in the aftermath of World War II, observers might draw comparisons to Nazi experiments on human subjects, which could destroy his career" (Alliance for Human Research Protection).
(1941)
Dr. William C. Black infects a 12-month-old baby with herpes as part of a medical experiment. At the time, the editor of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, Francis Payton Rous, calls it "an abuse of power, an infringement of the rights of an individual, and not excusable because the illness which followed had implications for science" (Sharav).
An article in a 1941 issue of Archives of Pediatrics describes medical studies of the severe gum disease Vincent's angina in which doctors transmit the disease from sick children to healthy children with oral swabs (Goliszek).
Researchers give 800 poverty-stricken pregnant women at a Vanderbilt University prenatal clinic "cocktails" including radioactive iron in order to determine the iron requirements of pregnant women (Pacchioli).
(1942)
The Chemical Warfare Service begins mustard gas and lewisite experiments on 4,000 members of the U.S. military. Some test subjects don't realize they are volunteering for chemical exposure experiments, like 17-year-old Nathan Schnurman, who in 1944 thinks he is only volunteering to test "U.S. Navy summer clothes" (Goliszek).
Merck Pharmaceuticals President George Merck is named director of the War Research Service (WRS), an agency designed to oversee the establishment of a biological warfare program (Goliszek).
(1944 - 1946) A captain in the medical corps addresses an April 1944 memo to Col. Stanford Warren, head of the Manhattan Project's Medical Section, expressing his concerns about atom bomb component fluoride's central nervous system (CNS) effects and asking for animal research to be done to determine the extent of these effects: "Clinical evidence suggests that uranium hexafluoride may have a rather marked central nervous system effect ... It seems most likely that the F [code for fluoride] component rather than the T [code for uranium] is the causative factor ... Since work with these compounds is essential, it will be necessary to know in advance what mental effects may occur after exposure." The following year, the Manhattan Project would begin human-based studies on fluoride's effects (Griffiths and Bryson).
The Manhattan Project medical team, led by the now infamous University of Rochester radiologist Col. Safford Warren, injects plutonium into patients at the University's teaching hospital, Strong Memorial (Burton Report).
(1945)
Continuing the Manhattan Project, researchers inject plutonium into three patients at the University of Chicago's Billings Hospital (Sharav).
The U.S. State Department, Army intelligence and the CIA begin Operation Paperclip, offering Nazi scientists immunity and secret identities in exchange for work on top-secret government projects on aerodynamics and chemical warfare medicine in the United States ("Project Paperclip").
(1945 - 1955) In Newburgh, N.Y., researchers linked to the Manhattan Project begin the most extensive American study ever done on the health effects of fluoridating public drinking water (Griffiths and Bryson).
(1946)
Continuing the Newburg study of 1945, the Manhattan Project commissions the University of Rochester to study fluoride's effects on animals and humans in a project codenamed "Program F." With the help of the New York State Health Department, Program F researchers secretly collect and analyze blood and tissue samples from Newburg residents. The studies are sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission and take place at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Strong Memorial Hospital (Griffiths and Bryson).
(1946 - 1947) University of Rochester researchers inject four male and two female human test subjects with uranium-234 and uranium-235 in dosages ranging from 6.4 to 70.7 micrograms per one kilogram of body weight in order to study how much uranium they could tolerate before their kidneys become damaged (Goliszek).
Six male employees of a Chicago metallurgical laboratory are given water contaminated with plutonium-239 to drink so that researchers can learn how plutonium is absorbed into the digestive tract (Goliszek).
Researchers begin using patients in VA hospitals as test subjects for human medical experiments, cleverly worded as "investigations" or "observations" in medical study reports to avoid negative connotations and bad publicity (Sharav).
The American public finally learns of the biowarfare experiments being done at Fort Detrick from a report released by the War Department (Goliszek).
(1947)
Col. E.E. Kirkpatrick of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) issues a top-secret document (707075) dated Jan. 8. In it, he writes that "certain radioactive substances are being prepared for intravenous administration to human subjects as a part of the work of the contract" (Goliszek).
A secret AEC document dated April 17 reads, "It is desired that no document be released which refers to experiments with humans that might have an adverse reaction on public opinion or result in legal suits," revealing that the U.S. government was aware of the health risks its nuclear tests posed to military personnel conducting the tests or nearby civilians (Goliszek).
The CIA begins studying LSD's potential as a weapon by using military and civilian test subjects for experiments without their consent or even knowledge. Eventually, these LSD studies will evolve into the MKULTRA program in 1953 (Sharav).
(1947 - 1953) The U.S. Navy begins Project Chatter to identify and test so-called "truth serums," such as those used by the Soviet Union to interrogate spies. Mescaline and the central nervous system depressant scopolamine are among the many drugs tested on human subjects (Goliszek).
(1948)
Based on the secret studies performed on Newburgh, N.Y. residents beginning in 1945, Project F researchers publish a report in the August 1948 edition of the Journal of the American Dental Association, detailing fluoride's health dangers. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) quickly censors it for "national security" reasons (Griffiths and Bryson).
(1950)
(1950 - 1953) The U.S. Army releases chemical clouds over six American and Canadian cities. Residents in Winnipeg, Canada, where a highly toxic chemical called cadmium is dropped, subsequently experience high rates of respiratory illnesses (Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
In order to determine how susceptible an American city could be to biological attack, the U.S. Navy sprays a cloud of Bacillus globigii bacteria from ships over the San Francisco shoreline. According to monitoring devices situated throughout the city to test the extent of infection, the eight thousand residents of San Francisco inhale five thousand or more bacteria particles, many becoming sick with pneumonia-like symptoms (Goliszek).
Dr. Joseph Strokes of the University of Pennsylvania infects 200 female prisoners with viral hepatitis to study the disease (Sharav).
Doctors at the Cleveland City Hospital study changes in cerebral blood flow by injecting test subjects with spinal anesthesia, inserting needles in their jugular veins and brachial arteries, tilting their heads down and, after massive blood loss causes paralysis and fainting, measuring their blood pressure. They often perform this experiment multiple times on the same subject (Goliszek).
Dr. D. Ewen Cameron, later of MKULTRA infamy due to his 1957 to1964 experiments on Canadians, publishes an article in the British Journal of Physical Medicine, in which he describes experiments that entail forcing schizophrenic patients at Manitoba's Brandon Mental Hospital to lie naked under 15- to 200-watt red lamps for up to eight hours per day. His other experiments include placing mental patients in an electric cage that overheats their internal body temperatures to 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and inducing comas by giving patients large injections of insulin (Goliszek).
(1951)
The U.S. Army secretly contaminates the Norfolk Naval Supply Center in Virginia and Washington, D.C.'s National Airport with a strain of bacteria chosen because African-Americans were believed to be more susceptible to it than Caucasians. The experiment causes food poisoning, respiratory problems and blood poisoning (Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
(1951 - 1956) Under contract with the Air Force's School of Aviation Medicine (SAM), the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston begins studying the effects of radiation on cancer patients -- many of them members of minority groups or indigents, according to sources -- in order to determine both radiation's ability to treat cancer and the possible long-term radiation effects of pilots flying nuclear-powered planes. The study lasts until 1956, involving 263 cancer patients. Beginning in 1953, the subjects are required to sign a waiver form, but it still does not meet the informed consent guidelines established by the Wilson memo released that year. The TBI studies themselves would continue at four different institutions -- Baylor University College of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine -- until 1971 (U.S. Department of Energy, Goliszek).
American, Canadian and British military and intelligence officials gather a small group of eminent psychologists to a secret meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montreal about Communist "thought-control techniques." They proposed a top-secret research program on behavior modification -- involving testing drugs, hypnosis, electroshock and lobotomies on humans (Barker).
(1952)
At the famous Sloan-Kettering Institute, Chester M. Southam injects live cancer cells into prisoners at the Ohio State Prison to study the progression of the disease. Half of the prisoners in this National Institutes of Health-sponsored (NIH) study are black, awakening racial suspicions stemming from Tuskegee, which was also an NIH-sponsored study (Merritte, et al.).
(1953 - 1974) The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) sponsors iodine studies at the University of Iowa. In the first study, researchers give pregnant women 100 to 200 microcuries of iodine-131 and then study the women's aborted embryos in order to learn at what stage and to what extent radioactive iodine crosses the placental barrier. In the second study, researchers give 12 male and 13 female newborns under 36 hours old and weighing between 5.5 and 8.5 pounds iodine-131 either orally or via intramuscular injection, later measuring the concentration of iodine in the newborns' thyroid glands (Goliszek).
As part of an AEC study, researchers feed 28 healthy infants at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine iodine-131 through a gastric tube and then test concentration of iodine in the infants' thyroid glands 24 hours later (Goliszek).
(1953 - 1957) Eleven patients at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are injected with uranium as part of the Manhattan Project (Sharav).
In an AEC-sponsored study at the University of Tennessee, researchers inject healthy two- to three-day-old newborns with approximately 60 rads of iodine-131 (Goliszek).
Newborn Daniel Burton becomes blind when physicians at Brooklyn Doctors Hospital perform an experimental high oxygen treatment for Retrolental Fibroplasia, a retinal disorder affecting premature infants, on him and other premature babies. The physicians perform the experimental treatment despite earlier studies showing that high oxygen levels cause blindness. Testimony in Burton v. Brooklyn Doctors Hospital (452 N.Y.S.2d875) later reveals that researchers continued to give Burton and other infants excess oxygen even after their eyes had swelled to dangerous levels (Goliszek, Sharav).
A 1953 article in Clinical Science describes a medical experiment in which researchers purposely blister the abdomens of 41 children, ranging in age from eight to 14, with cantharide in order to study how severely the substance irritates the skin (Goliszek).
The AEC performs a series of field tests known as "Green Run," dropping radiodine 131 and xenon 133 over the Hanford, Wash. site -- 500,000 acres encompassing three small towns (Hanford, White Bluffs and Richland) along the Columbia River (Sharav).
In an AEC-sponsored study to learn whether radioactive iodine affects premature babies differently from full-term babies, researchers at Harper Hospital in Detroit give oral doses of iodine-131 to 65 premature and full-term infants weighing between 2.1 and 5.5 pounds (Goliszek).
(1955 - 1957) In order to learn how cold weather affects human physiology, researchers give a total of 200 doses of iodine-131, a radioactive tracer that concentrates almost immediately in the thyroid gland, to 85 healthy Eskimos and 17 Athapascan Indians living in Alaska. They study the tracer within the body by blood, thyroid tissue, urine and saliva samples from the test subjects. Due to the language barrier, no one tells the test subjects what is being done to them, so there is no informed consent (Goliszek).
(1956 - 1957) U.S. Army covert biological weapons researchers release mosquitoes infected with yellow fever and dengue fever over Savannah, Ga., and Avon Park, Fla., to test the insects' ability to carry disease. After each test, Army agents pose as public health officials to test victims for effects and take pictures of the unwitting test subjects. These experiments result in a high incidence of fevers, respiratory distress, stillbirths, encephalitis and typhoid among the two cities' residents, as well as several deaths (Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
(1957)
The U.S. military conducts Operation Plumbbob at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Operation Pumbbob consists of 29 nuclear detonations, eventually creating radiation expected to result in a total 32,000 cases of thyroid cancer among civilians in the area. Around 18,000 members of the U.S. military participate in Operation Pumbbob's Desert Rock VII and VIII, which are designed to see how the average foot soldier physiologically and mentally responds to a nuclear battlefield ("Operation Plumbbob", Goliszek).
(1957 - 1964) As part of MKULTRA, the CIA pays McGill University Department of Psychiatry founder Dr. D. Ewen Cameron $69,000 to perform LSD studies and potentially lethal experiments on Canadians being treated for minor disorders like post-partum depression and anxiety at the Allan Memorial Institute, which houses the Psychiatry Department of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. The CIA encourages Dr. Cameron to fully explore his "psychic driving" concept of correcting madness through completely erasing one's memory and rewriting the psyche. These "driving" experiments involve putting human test subjects into drug-, electroshock- and sensory deprivation-induced vegetative states for up to three months, and then playing tape loops of noise or simple repetitive statements for weeks or months in order to "rewrite" the "erased" psyche. Dr. Cameron also gives human test subjects paralytic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy 30 to 40 times, as part of his experiments. Most of Dr. Cameron's test subjects suffer permanent damage as a result of his work (Goliszek, "Donald Ewan Cameron").
In order to study how blood flows through children's brains, researchers at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia perform the following experiment on healthy children, ranging in age from three to 11: They insert needles into each child's femoral artery (thigh) and jugular vein (neck), bringing the blood down from the brain. Then, they force each child to inhale a special gas through a facemask. In their subsequent Journal of Clinical Investigation article on this study, the researchers note that, in order to perform the experiment, they had to restrain some of the child test subjects by bandaging them to boards (Goliszek).
(1958)
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) drops radioactive materials over Point Hope, Alaska, home to the Inupiats, in a field test known under the codename "Project Chariot" (Sharav).
(1961)
In response to the Nuremberg Trials, Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram begins his famous Obedience to Authority Study in order to answer his question "Could it be that (Adolf) Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?" Male test subjects, ranging in age from 20 to 40 and coming from all education backgrounds, are told to give "learners" electric shocks for every wrong answer the learners give in response to word pair questions. In reality, the learners are actors and are not receiving electric shocks, but what matters is that the test subjects do not know that. Astoundingly, they keep on following orders and continue to administer increasingly high levels of "shocks," even after the actor learners show obvious physical pain ("Milgram Experiment").
(1962)
Researchers at the Laurel Children's Center in Maryland test experimental acne antibiotics on children and continue their tests even after half of the young test subjects develop severe liver damage because of the experimental medication (Goliszek).
The FDA begins requiring that a new pharmaceutical undergo three human clinical trials before it will approve it. From 1962 to 1980, pharmaceutical companies satisfy this requirement by running Phase I trials, which determine a drug's toxicity, on prison inmates, giving them small amounts of cash for compensation (Sharav).
(1963)
Chester M. Southam, who injected Ohio State Prison inmates with live cancer cells in 1952, performs the same procedure on 22 senile, African-American female patients at the Brooklyn Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital in order to watch their immunological response. Southam tells the patients that they are receiving "some cells," but leaves out the fact that they are cancer cells. He claims he doesn't obtain informed consent from the patients because he does not want to frighten them by telling them what he is doing, but he nevertheless temporarily loses his medical license because of it. Ironically, he eventually becomes president of the American Cancer Society (Greger, Merritte, et al.).
Researchers at the University of Washington directly irradiate the testes of 232 prison inmates in order to determine radiation's effects on testicular function. When these inmates later leave prison and have children, at least four have babies born with birth defects. The exact number is unknown because researchers never follow up on the men to see the long-term effects of their experiment (Goliszek).
(1963 - 1966) New York University researcher Saul Krugman promises parents with mentally disabled children definite enrollment into the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, N.Y., a resident mental institution for mentally retarded children, in exchange for their signatures on a consent form for procedures presented as "vaccinations." In reality, the procedures involve deliberately infecting children with viral hepatitis by feeding them an extract made from the feces of infected patients, so that Krugman can study the course of viral hepatitis as well the effectiveness of a hepatitis vaccine (Hammer Breslow).
(1963 - 1971) Leading endocrinologist Dr. Carl Heller gives 67 prison inmates at Oregon State Prison in Salem $5 per month and $25 per testicular tissue biopsy in compensation for allowing him to perform irradiation experiments on their testes. If they receive vasectomies at the end of the study, the prisoners are given an extra $100 (Sharav, Goliszek).
Researchers inject a genetic compound called radioactive thymidine into the testicles of more than 100 Oregon State Penitentiary inmates to learn whether sperm production is affected by exposure to steroid hormones (Greger).
In a study published in Pediatrics, researchers at the University of California's Department of Pediatrics use 113 newborns ranging in age from one hour to three days old in a series of experiments used to study changes in blood pressure and blood flow. In one study, doctors insert a catheter through the newborns' umbilical arteries and into their aortas and then immerse the newborns' feet in ice water while recording aortic pressure. In another experiment, doctors strap 50 newborns to a circumcision board, tilt the table so that all the blood rushes to their heads and then measure their blood pressure (Goliszek).
(1964 - 1967) The Dow Chemical Company pays Professor Kligman $10,000 to learn how dioxin -- a highly toxic, carcinogenic component of Agent Orange -- and other herbicides affect human skin because workers at the chemical plant have been developing an acne-like condition called Chloracne and the company would like to know whether the chemicals they are handling are to blame. As part of the study, Professor Kligman applies roughly the amount of dioxin Dow employees are exposed to on the skin 60 prisoners, and is disappointed when the prisoners show no symptoms of Chloracne. In 1980 and 1981, the human guinea pigs used in this study would begin suing Professor Kligman for complications including lupus and psychological damage (Kaye).
(1845 - 1849) J. Marion Sims, later hailed as the "father of gynecology," performs medical experiments on enslaved African women without anesthesia. These women would usually die of infection soon after surgery. Based on his belief that the movement of newborns' skull bones during protracted births causes trismus, he also uses a shoemaker's awl, a pointed tool shoemakers use to make holes in leather, to practice moving the skull bones of babies born to enslaved mothers (Brinker).
(1895)
New York pediatrician Henry Heiman infects a 4-year-old boy whom he calls "an idiot with chronic epilepsy" with gonorrhea as part of a medical experiment ("Human Experimentation: Before the Nazi Era and After").
(1896)
Dr. Arthur Wentworth turns 29 children at Boston's Children's Hospital into human guinea pigs when he performs spinal taps on them, just to test whether the procedure is harmful (Sharav).
(1906)
Harvard professor Dr. Richard Strong infects prisoners in the Philippines with cholera to study the disease; 13 of them die. He compensates survivors with cigars and cigarettes. During the Nuremberg Trials, Nazi doctors cite this study to justify their own medical experiments (Greger, Sharav).
(1911)
Dr. Hideyo Noguchi of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research publishes data on injecting an inactive syphilis preparation into the skin of 146 hospital patients and normal children in an attempt to develop a skin test for syphilis. Later, in 1913, several of these children's parents sue Dr. Noguchi for allegedly infecting their children with syphilis ("Reviews and Notes: History of Medicine: Subjected to Science: Human Experimentation in America before the Second World War").
(1913)
Medical experimenters "test" 15 children at the children's home St. Vincent's House in Philadelphia with tuberculin, resulting in permanent blindness in some of the children. Though the Pennsylvania House of Representatives records the incident, the researchers are not punished for the experiments ("Human Experimentation: Before the Nazi Era and After").
(1915)
Dr. Joseph Goldberger, under order of the U.S. Public Health Office, produces Pellagra, a debilitating disease that affects the central nervous system, in 12 Mississippi inmates to try to find a cure for the disease. One test subject later says that he had been through "a thousand hells." In 1935, after millions die from the disease, the director of the U.S Public Health Office would finally admit that officials had known that it was caused by a niacin deficiency for some time, but did nothing about it because it mostly affected poor African-Americans. During the Nuremberg Trials, Nazi doctors used this study to try to justify their medical experiments on concentration camp inmates (Greger; Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
(1932)
(1932-1972) The U.S. Public Health Service in Tuskegee, Ala. diagnoses 400 poor, black sharecroppers with syphilis but never tells them of their illness nor treats them; instead researchers use the men as human guinea pigs to follow the symptoms and progression of the disease. They all eventually die from syphilis and their families are never told that they could have been treated (Goliszek, University of Virginia Health System Health Sciences Library).
(1939)
In order to test his theory on the roots of stuttering, prominent speech pathologist Dr. Wendell Johnson performs his famous "Monster Experiment" on 22 children at the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home in Davenport. Dr. Johnson and his graduate students put the children under intense psychological pressure, causing them to switch from speaking normally to stuttering heavily. At the time, some of the students reportedly warn Dr. Johnson that, "in the aftermath of World War II, observers might draw comparisons to Nazi experiments on human subjects, which could destroy his career" (Alliance for Human Research Protection).
(1941)
Dr. William C. Black infects a 12-month-old baby with herpes as part of a medical experiment. At the time, the editor of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, Francis Payton Rous, calls it "an abuse of power, an infringement of the rights of an individual, and not excusable because the illness which followed had implications for science" (Sharav).
An article in a 1941 issue of Archives of Pediatrics describes medical studies of the severe gum disease Vincent's angina in which doctors transmit the disease from sick children to healthy children with oral swabs (Goliszek).
Researchers give 800 poverty-stricken pregnant women at a Vanderbilt University prenatal clinic "cocktails" including radioactive iron in order to determine the iron requirements of pregnant women (Pacchioli).
(1942)
The Chemical Warfare Service begins mustard gas and lewisite experiments on 4,000 members of the U.S. military. Some test subjects don't realize they are volunteering for chemical exposure experiments, like 17-year-old Nathan Schnurman, who in 1944 thinks he is only volunteering to test "U.S. Navy summer clothes" (Goliszek).
Merck Pharmaceuticals President George Merck is named director of the War Research Service (WRS), an agency designed to oversee the establishment of a biological warfare program (Goliszek).
(1944 - 1946) A captain in the medical corps addresses an April 1944 memo to Col. Stanford Warren, head of the Manhattan Project's Medical Section, expressing his concerns about atom bomb component fluoride's central nervous system (CNS) effects and asking for animal research to be done to determine the extent of these effects: "Clinical evidence suggests that uranium hexafluoride may have a rather marked central nervous system effect ... It seems most likely that the F [code for fluoride] component rather than the T [code for uranium] is the causative factor ... Since work with these compounds is essential, it will be necessary to know in advance what mental effects may occur after exposure." The following year, the Manhattan Project would begin human-based studies on fluoride's effects (Griffiths and Bryson).
The Manhattan Project medical team, led by the now infamous University of Rochester radiologist Col. Safford Warren, injects plutonium into patients at the University's teaching hospital, Strong Memorial (Burton Report).
(1945)
Continuing the Manhattan Project, researchers inject plutonium into three patients at the University of Chicago's Billings Hospital (Sharav).
The U.S. State Department, Army intelligence and the CIA begin Operation Paperclip, offering Nazi scientists immunity and secret identities in exchange for work on top-secret government projects on aerodynamics and chemical warfare medicine in the United States ("Project Paperclip").
(1945 - 1955) In Newburgh, N.Y., researchers linked to the Manhattan Project begin the most extensive American study ever done on the health effects of fluoridating public drinking water (Griffiths and Bryson).
(1946)
Continuing the Newburg study of 1945, the Manhattan Project commissions the University of Rochester to study fluoride's effects on animals and humans in a project codenamed "Program F." With the help of the New York State Health Department, Program F researchers secretly collect and analyze blood and tissue samples from Newburg residents. The studies are sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission and take place at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Strong Memorial Hospital (Griffiths and Bryson).
(1946 - 1947) University of Rochester researchers inject four male and two female human test subjects with uranium-234 and uranium-235 in dosages ranging from 6.4 to 70.7 micrograms per one kilogram of body weight in order to study how much uranium they could tolerate before their kidneys become damaged (Goliszek).
Six male employees of a Chicago metallurgical laboratory are given water contaminated with plutonium-239 to drink so that researchers can learn how plutonium is absorbed into the digestive tract (Goliszek).
Researchers begin using patients in VA hospitals as test subjects for human medical experiments, cleverly worded as "investigations" or "observations" in medical study reports to avoid negative connotations and bad publicity (Sharav).
The American public finally learns of the biowarfare experiments being done at Fort Detrick from a report released by the War Department (Goliszek).
(1947)
Col. E.E. Kirkpatrick of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) issues a top-secret document (707075) dated Jan. 8. In it, he writes that "certain radioactive substances are being prepared for intravenous administration to human subjects as a part of the work of the contract" (Goliszek).
A secret AEC document dated April 17 reads, "It is desired that no document be released which refers to experiments with humans that might have an adverse reaction on public opinion or result in legal suits," revealing that the U.S. government was aware of the health risks its nuclear tests posed to military personnel conducting the tests or nearby civilians (Goliszek).
The CIA begins studying LSD's potential as a weapon by using military and civilian test subjects for experiments without their consent or even knowledge. Eventually, these LSD studies will evolve into the MKULTRA program in 1953 (Sharav).
(1947 - 1953) The U.S. Navy begins Project Chatter to identify and test so-called "truth serums," such as those used by the Soviet Union to interrogate spies. Mescaline and the central nervous system depressant scopolamine are among the many drugs tested on human subjects (Goliszek).
(1948)
Based on the secret studies performed on Newburgh, N.Y. residents beginning in 1945, Project F researchers publish a report in the August 1948 edition of the Journal of the American Dental Association, detailing fluoride's health dangers. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) quickly censors it for "national security" reasons (Griffiths and Bryson).
(1950)
(1950 - 1953) The U.S. Army releases chemical clouds over six American and Canadian cities. Residents in Winnipeg, Canada, where a highly toxic chemical called cadmium is dropped, subsequently experience high rates of respiratory illnesses (Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
In order to determine how susceptible an American city could be to biological attack, the U.S. Navy sprays a cloud of Bacillus globigii bacteria from ships over the San Francisco shoreline. According to monitoring devices situated throughout the city to test the extent of infection, the eight thousand residents of San Francisco inhale five thousand or more bacteria particles, many becoming sick with pneumonia-like symptoms (Goliszek).
Dr. Joseph Strokes of the University of Pennsylvania infects 200 female prisoners with viral hepatitis to study the disease (Sharav).
Doctors at the Cleveland City Hospital study changes in cerebral blood flow by injecting test subjects with spinal anesthesia, inserting needles in their jugular veins and brachial arteries, tilting their heads down and, after massive blood loss causes paralysis and fainting, measuring their blood pressure. They often perform this experiment multiple times on the same subject (Goliszek).
Dr. D. Ewen Cameron, later of MKULTRA infamy due to his 1957 to1964 experiments on Canadians, publishes an article in the British Journal of Physical Medicine, in which he describes experiments that entail forcing schizophrenic patients at Manitoba's Brandon Mental Hospital to lie naked under 15- to 200-watt red lamps for up to eight hours per day. His other experiments include placing mental patients in an electric cage that overheats their internal body temperatures to 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and inducing comas by giving patients large injections of insulin (Goliszek).
(1951)
The U.S. Army secretly contaminates the Norfolk Naval Supply Center in Virginia and Washington, D.C.'s National Airport with a strain of bacteria chosen because African-Americans were believed to be more susceptible to it than Caucasians. The experiment causes food poisoning, respiratory problems and blood poisoning (Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
(1951 - 1956) Under contract with the Air Force's School of Aviation Medicine (SAM), the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston begins studying the effects of radiation on cancer patients -- many of them members of minority groups or indigents, according to sources -- in order to determine both radiation's ability to treat cancer and the possible long-term radiation effects of pilots flying nuclear-powered planes. The study lasts until 1956, involving 263 cancer patients. Beginning in 1953, the subjects are required to sign a waiver form, but it still does not meet the informed consent guidelines established by the Wilson memo released that year. The TBI studies themselves would continue at four different institutions -- Baylor University College of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine -- until 1971 (U.S. Department of Energy, Goliszek).
American, Canadian and British military and intelligence officials gather a small group of eminent psychologists to a secret meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montreal about Communist "thought-control techniques." They proposed a top-secret research program on behavior modification -- involving testing drugs, hypnosis, electroshock and lobotomies on humans (Barker).
(1952)
At the famous Sloan-Kettering Institute, Chester M. Southam injects live cancer cells into prisoners at the Ohio State Prison to study the progression of the disease. Half of the prisoners in this National Institutes of Health-sponsored (NIH) study are black, awakening racial suspicions stemming from Tuskegee, which was also an NIH-sponsored study (Merritte, et al.).
(1953 - 1974) The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) sponsors iodine studies at the University of Iowa. In the first study, researchers give pregnant women 100 to 200 microcuries of iodine-131 and then study the women's aborted embryos in order to learn at what stage and to what extent radioactive iodine crosses the placental barrier. In the second study, researchers give 12 male and 13 female newborns under 36 hours old and weighing between 5.5 and 8.5 pounds iodine-131 either orally or via intramuscular injection, later measuring the concentration of iodine in the newborns' thyroid glands (Goliszek).
As part of an AEC study, researchers feed 28 healthy infants at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine iodine-131 through a gastric tube and then test concentration of iodine in the infants' thyroid glands 24 hours later (Goliszek).
(1953 - 1957) Eleven patients at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are injected with uranium as part of the Manhattan Project (Sharav).
In an AEC-sponsored study at the University of Tennessee, researchers inject healthy two- to three-day-old newborns with approximately 60 rads of iodine-131 (Goliszek).
Newborn Daniel Burton becomes blind when physicians at Brooklyn Doctors Hospital perform an experimental high oxygen treatment for Retrolental Fibroplasia, a retinal disorder affecting premature infants, on him and other premature babies. The physicians perform the experimental treatment despite earlier studies showing that high oxygen levels cause blindness. Testimony in Burton v. Brooklyn Doctors Hospital (452 N.Y.S.2d875) later reveals that researchers continued to give Burton and other infants excess oxygen even after their eyes had swelled to dangerous levels (Goliszek, Sharav).
A 1953 article in Clinical Science describes a medical experiment in which researchers purposely blister the abdomens of 41 children, ranging in age from eight to 14, with cantharide in order to study how severely the substance irritates the skin (Goliszek).
The AEC performs a series of field tests known as "Green Run," dropping radiodine 131 and xenon 133 over the Hanford, Wash. site -- 500,000 acres encompassing three small towns (Hanford, White Bluffs and Richland) along the Columbia River (Sharav).
In an AEC-sponsored study to learn whether radioactive iodine affects premature babies differently from full-term babies, researchers at Harper Hospital in Detroit give oral doses of iodine-131 to 65 premature and full-term infants weighing between 2.1 and 5.5 pounds (Goliszek).
(1955 - 1957) In order to learn how cold weather affects human physiology, researchers give a total of 200 doses of iodine-131, a radioactive tracer that concentrates almost immediately in the thyroid gland, to 85 healthy Eskimos and 17 Athapascan Indians living in Alaska. They study the tracer within the body by blood, thyroid tissue, urine and saliva samples from the test subjects. Due to the language barrier, no one tells the test subjects what is being done to them, so there is no informed consent (Goliszek).
(1956 - 1957) U.S. Army covert biological weapons researchers release mosquitoes infected with yellow fever and dengue fever over Savannah, Ga., and Avon Park, Fla., to test the insects' ability to carry disease. After each test, Army agents pose as public health officials to test victims for effects and take pictures of the unwitting test subjects. These experiments result in a high incidence of fevers, respiratory distress, stillbirths, encephalitis and typhoid among the two cities' residents, as well as several deaths (Cockburn and St. Clair, eds.).
(1957)
The U.S. military conducts Operation Plumbbob at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Operation Pumbbob consists of 29 nuclear detonations, eventually creating radiation expected to result in a total 32,000 cases of thyroid cancer among civilians in the area. Around 18,000 members of the U.S. military participate in Operation Pumbbob's Desert Rock VII and VIII, which are designed to see how the average foot soldier physiologically and mentally responds to a nuclear battlefield ("Operation Plumbbob", Goliszek).
(1957 - 1964) As part of MKULTRA, the CIA pays McGill University Department of Psychiatry founder Dr. D. Ewen Cameron $69,000 to perform LSD studies and potentially lethal experiments on Canadians being treated for minor disorders like post-partum depression and anxiety at the Allan Memorial Institute, which houses the Psychiatry Department of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. The CIA encourages Dr. Cameron to fully explore his "psychic driving" concept of correcting madness through completely erasing one's memory and rewriting the psyche. These "driving" experiments involve putting human test subjects into drug-, electroshock- and sensory deprivation-induced vegetative states for up to three months, and then playing tape loops of noise or simple repetitive statements for weeks or months in order to "rewrite" the "erased" psyche. Dr. Cameron also gives human test subjects paralytic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy 30 to 40 times, as part of his experiments. Most of Dr. Cameron's test subjects suffer permanent damage as a result of his work (Goliszek, "Donald Ewan Cameron").
In order to study how blood flows through children's brains, researchers at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia perform the following experiment on healthy children, ranging in age from three to 11: They insert needles into each child's femoral artery (thigh) and jugular vein (neck), bringing the blood down from the brain. Then, they force each child to inhale a special gas through a facemask. In their subsequent Journal of Clinical Investigation article on this study, the researchers note that, in order to perform the experiment, they had to restrain some of the child test subjects by bandaging them to boards (Goliszek).
(1958)
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) drops radioactive materials over Point Hope, Alaska, home to the Inupiats, in a field test known under the codename "Project Chariot" (Sharav).
(1961)
In response to the Nuremberg Trials, Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram begins his famous Obedience to Authority Study in order to answer his question "Could it be that (Adolf) Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?" Male test subjects, ranging in age from 20 to 40 and coming from all education backgrounds, are told to give "learners" electric shocks for every wrong answer the learners give in response to word pair questions. In reality, the learners are actors and are not receiving electric shocks, but what matters is that the test subjects do not know that. Astoundingly, they keep on following orders and continue to administer increasingly high levels of "shocks," even after the actor learners show obvious physical pain ("Milgram Experiment").
(1962)
Researchers at the Laurel Children's Center in Maryland test experimental acne antibiotics on children and continue their tests even after half of the young test subjects develop severe liver damage because of the experimental medication (Goliszek).
The FDA begins requiring that a new pharmaceutical undergo three human clinical trials before it will approve it. From 1962 to 1980, pharmaceutical companies satisfy this requirement by running Phase I trials, which determine a drug's toxicity, on prison inmates, giving them small amounts of cash for compensation (Sharav).
(1963)
Chester M. Southam, who injected Ohio State Prison inmates with live cancer cells in 1952, performs the same procedure on 22 senile, African-American female patients at the Brooklyn Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital in order to watch their immunological response. Southam tells the patients that they are receiving "some cells," but leaves out the fact that they are cancer cells. He claims he doesn't obtain informed consent from the patients because he does not want to frighten them by telling them what he is doing, but he nevertheless temporarily loses his medical license because of it. Ironically, he eventually becomes president of the American Cancer Society (Greger, Merritte, et al.).
Researchers at the University of Washington directly irradiate the testes of 232 prison inmates in order to determine radiation's effects on testicular function. When these inmates later leave prison and have children, at least four have babies born with birth defects. The exact number is unknown because researchers never follow up on the men to see the long-term effects of their experiment (Goliszek).
(1963 - 1966) New York University researcher Saul Krugman promises parents with mentally disabled children definite enrollment into the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, N.Y., a resident mental institution for mentally retarded children, in exchange for their signatures on a consent form for procedures presented as "vaccinations." In reality, the procedures involve deliberately infecting children with viral hepatitis by feeding them an extract made from the feces of infected patients, so that Krugman can study the course of viral hepatitis as well the effectiveness of a hepatitis vaccine (Hammer Breslow).
(1963 - 1971) Leading endocrinologist Dr. Carl Heller gives 67 prison inmates at Oregon State Prison in Salem $5 per month and $25 per testicular tissue biopsy in compensation for allowing him to perform irradiation experiments on their testes. If they receive vasectomies at the end of the study, the prisoners are given an extra $100 (Sharav, Goliszek).
Researchers inject a genetic compound called radioactive thymidine into the testicles of more than 100 Oregon State Penitentiary inmates to learn whether sperm production is affected by exposure to steroid hormones (Greger).
In a study published in Pediatrics, researchers at the University of California's Department of Pediatrics use 113 newborns ranging in age from one hour to three days old in a series of experiments used to study changes in blood pressure and blood flow. In one study, doctors insert a catheter through the newborns' umbilical arteries and into their aortas and then immerse the newborns' feet in ice water while recording aortic pressure. In another experiment, doctors strap 50 newborns to a circumcision board, tilt the table so that all the blood rushes to their heads and then measure their blood pressure (Goliszek).
(1964 - 1967) The Dow Chemical Company pays Professor Kligman $10,000 to learn how dioxin -- a highly toxic, carcinogenic component of Agent Orange -- and other herbicides affect human skin because workers at the chemical plant have been developing an acne-like condition called Chloracne and the company would like to know whether the chemicals they are handling are to blame. As part of the study, Professor Kligman applies roughly the amount of dioxin Dow employees are exposed to on the skin 60 prisoners, and is disappointed when the prisoners show no symptoms of Chloracne. In 1980 and 1981, the human guinea pigs used in this study would begin suing Professor Kligman for complications including lupus and psychological damage (Kaye).
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(NewsTarget) A cocktail of nutrients can improve the quality of life in those diagnosed with HIV infection and markedly slow deterioration into full-blown AIDS, according to the results of a new trial conducted at the Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.
The study, published in the latest edition of The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, involved 310 patients divided into two groups, one of whom received daily multivitamin and mineral capsules containing 30 nutrients, whilst the second group received capsules containing the same multinutrients in combination with specific antioxidants, such as selenium, N-acetyl-cysteine and alpha-lipoic acid, designed to raise levels of the natural antiretroviral enzyme glutathione peroxidase. The scientists also sought to measure the effect of the nutrients on CD4 T lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell, low levels of which are often associated with HIV/AIDS progression), as well as body weight and quality of life parameters.
Of the 263 patients who completed the trial, average CD4 and glutathione peroxidase counts improved significantly in both groups, as did average weight (by approximately 1kg), along with some apparently remarkable changes in physical condition; 'many patients... described significant appetite increases, together with the return of their ability to walk long distances' wrote lead author Edith Namulemia.
The trial was conceived of by Dr. Harold Foster of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, who has previously authored a book on the subject of nutritional treatment for HIV infection. The premise behind both Foster’s book, entitled What Really Causes AIDS and the trial is that HIV causes AIDS by 'hijacking' cells, impersonating glutathione peroxidase, and stealing four key nutrients that are needed to produce it, those being tryptophan, cysteine, selenium and glutamine.
These deficiencies, claims Dr. Foster, account largely for the various symptoms experienced by the HIV-infected patient: a severe deficiency of selenium and glutamine being responsible for rapid immune system deterioration, while tryptophan abnormalities are associated with psychological disturbances, which tend to appear during the latter stages of the disease. It is also selenium, Foster notes, that appears to be deficient in the soil of the most prevalent areas of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The discovery that HIV acts in such a way was made by Dr. E. W. Taylor and colleagues at the University of Georgia, and the so-called 'selenium CD4 T cell tailspin' theory of AIDS appeared to gain some credibility from two smaller trials elsewhere in Africa, in which patients diagnosed as HIV infected improved through taking the four nutrients central to Foster's AIDS hypothesis.
Dr. Foster is not the first scientist to question the validity of the original theory of AIDS. In 1987, Dr. Peter Duesberg, a virologist at the University of California, Berkeley, created controversy with an article that claimed HIV may have no relationship with AIDS at all. Since then, Duesberg has been joined by a number of other scientists, including Nobel Prize winner Dr. Kary Mullis, in calling for a reappraisal of the true causes of the disease. However, 'the epidemiology and geography of the AIDS pandemic', argues Foster, 'clearly illustrate that Duesberg and his supporters are wrong'.
This latest study, the scientist and his co-authors suggest, adds further credence to the possibility that HIV infection causes immune system abnormalities that can be reversed with targeted nutritional supplementation, and concluded that 'nutrient combinations, taken by HIV-positive patients receiving no antiretroviral drugs, can significantly slow their decline into AIDS'. This calls for further studies to establish optimum dosages and nutrient combinations.
The study, published in the latest edition of The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, involved 310 patients divided into two groups, one of whom received daily multivitamin and mineral capsules containing 30 nutrients, whilst the second group received capsules containing the same multinutrients in combination with specific antioxidants, such as selenium, N-acetyl-cysteine and alpha-lipoic acid, designed to raise levels of the natural antiretroviral enzyme glutathione peroxidase. The scientists also sought to measure the effect of the nutrients on CD4 T lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell, low levels of which are often associated with HIV/AIDS progression), as well as body weight and quality of life parameters.
Of the 263 patients who completed the trial, average CD4 and glutathione peroxidase counts improved significantly in both groups, as did average weight (by approximately 1kg), along with some apparently remarkable changes in physical condition; 'many patients... described significant appetite increases, together with the return of their ability to walk long distances' wrote lead author Edith Namulemia.
The trial was conceived of by Dr. Harold Foster of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, who has previously authored a book on the subject of nutritional treatment for HIV infection. The premise behind both Foster’s book, entitled What Really Causes AIDS and the trial is that HIV causes AIDS by 'hijacking' cells, impersonating glutathione peroxidase, and stealing four key nutrients that are needed to produce it, those being tryptophan, cysteine, selenium and glutamine.
These deficiencies, claims Dr. Foster, account largely for the various symptoms experienced by the HIV-infected patient: a severe deficiency of selenium and glutamine being responsible for rapid immune system deterioration, while tryptophan abnormalities are associated with psychological disturbances, which tend to appear during the latter stages of the disease. It is also selenium, Foster notes, that appears to be deficient in the soil of the most prevalent areas of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The discovery that HIV acts in such a way was made by Dr. E. W. Taylor and colleagues at the University of Georgia, and the so-called 'selenium CD4 T cell tailspin' theory of AIDS appeared to gain some credibility from two smaller trials elsewhere in Africa, in which patients diagnosed as HIV infected improved through taking the four nutrients central to Foster's AIDS hypothesis.
Dr. Foster is not the first scientist to question the validity of the original theory of AIDS. In 1987, Dr. Peter Duesberg, a virologist at the University of California, Berkeley, created controversy with an article that claimed HIV may have no relationship with AIDS at all. Since then, Duesberg has been joined by a number of other scientists, including Nobel Prize winner Dr. Kary Mullis, in calling for a reappraisal of the true causes of the disease. However, 'the epidemiology and geography of the AIDS pandemic', argues Foster, 'clearly illustrate that Duesberg and his supporters are wrong'.
This latest study, the scientist and his co-authors suggest, adds further credence to the possibility that HIV infection causes immune system abnormalities that can be reversed with targeted nutritional supplementation, and concluded that 'nutrient combinations, taken by HIV-positive patients receiving no antiretroviral drugs, can significantly slow their decline into AIDS'. This calls for further studies to establish optimum dosages and nutrient combinations.
article190
Yoga Therapy for Eating Disorders
In the United States, anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect nearly 10 million women and one million men, primarily teens and young adults, according to conservative estimates. Often thought only as a mental disease, new research is finding that eating disorders have a physical component as well. Eating disorders are complex and potentially life-threatening conditions that arise from a combination of behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, biological, and social factors. People with eating disorders often use food and the control of food in an attempt to numb or avoid feelings and emotions that are over-whelming. Yoga can be an effective tool to restore the imbalances in both the body and the mind that occur with eating disorders. Yoga has a profound ability to balance the emotions and has been shown to help relieve depression, anger and anxiety and to promote equanimity: a calm, clear focused mind. Yoga can also promote self-esteem and a positive body image, which play primary roles in eating disorders, through the cultivation of non-judgment, confidence, self-acceptance, openness and inner strength. Physically, a regular yoga practice can help rebuild the strength, energy and bone density that is damaged and lost with Anorexia.
Eating disorders are viewed as a dysfunction of the first chakra in the yogic energetic system. To balance this chakra, use poses that target the area of the base of the spine, such as: staff posture, bound angle, crab, full wind relieving pose, pigeon and locust. Use grounding postures such as Warrior 1 and 2, mountain, goddess, standing squat, child, and prayer squat to connect with the body, to become rooted to the earth and to build strength and courage. If depression is a strong contributing factor, backbending poses will be beneficial for their energizing, tonifying and heart opening qualities. If anxiety is a primary contributing factor, forward bends can be utilized for their calming and nurturing aspects.
When practicing yoga postures, the use of Pratyahara (inner focus) should be applied. The exterior alignment should be de-emphasized and the focus should be drawn deeply inwards to experience and explore the feeling and sensations that arise in the poses. By withdrawing attention from the external environment and by focusing inwards on the breath and sensations, the mind can be stilled and the awareness of the body increases. With this awareness and focus it is possible to move deeper into the practice of yoga and increases the ability for one to move through any limitations, fears and expectations.
Pranayama (yogic breathing exercises) are also helpful to calm the body and mind and to balance the energy in the body during the recovery stage of the disease. Nadi Sodhana Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) is balancing, calming and reduces anxiety. Dirga Pranayama (three part breath) is calming, grounding and nurturing.
As eating disorders have a large mental component to them, the practice of meditation is very beneficial to cultivate a sense of control over life’s events and to reduce obsessive thoughts. A general meditation practice will be beneficial, but using an active and targeted meditation would be more effective. Practice any or all of the following based upon what calls you to be invoked within yourself: Inner Peace Meditation, Third Eye Meditation, Root Chakra Meditation or Prana Healing Meditation. If it becomes uncomfortable to practice with the eyes closed, have them slightly open with a soft downward gaze.
The most important aspect of healing from an eating disorder is the individual’s awareness and acceptance that there is a problem and the genuine desire for change. Unfortunately, the denial that there is a problem often does not change until the late stages of the disease when serious complications arise. Yoga’s inherent ability to promote self-awareness and self-acceptance can play a role in realizing the problem is within, although yoga is usually more readily embraced in the recovery stages of the disease.
Yoga is not a substitute for conventional medical treatment; please consult your medical professional before starting a yoga practice.
On our Membership Site: A complete list of yoga poses for Eating Disorders and a yoga therapy resource guide for Eatin
In the United States, anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect nearly 10 million women and one million men, primarily teens and young adults, according to conservative estimates. Often thought only as a mental disease, new research is finding that eating disorders have a physical component as well. Eating disorders are complex and potentially life-threatening conditions that arise from a combination of behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, biological, and social factors. People with eating disorders often use food and the control of food in an attempt to numb or avoid feelings and emotions that are over-whelming. Yoga can be an effective tool to restore the imbalances in both the body and the mind that occur with eating disorders. Yoga has a profound ability to balance the emotions and has been shown to help relieve depression, anger and anxiety and to promote equanimity: a calm, clear focused mind. Yoga can also promote self-esteem and a positive body image, which play primary roles in eating disorders, through the cultivation of non-judgment, confidence, self-acceptance, openness and inner strength. Physically, a regular yoga practice can help rebuild the strength, energy and bone density that is damaged and lost with Anorexia.
Eating disorders are viewed as a dysfunction of the first chakra in the yogic energetic system. To balance this chakra, use poses that target the area of the base of the spine, such as: staff posture, bound angle, crab, full wind relieving pose, pigeon and locust. Use grounding postures such as Warrior 1 and 2, mountain, goddess, standing squat, child, and prayer squat to connect with the body, to become rooted to the earth and to build strength and courage. If depression is a strong contributing factor, backbending poses will be beneficial for their energizing, tonifying and heart opening qualities. If anxiety is a primary contributing factor, forward bends can be utilized for their calming and nurturing aspects.
When practicing yoga postures, the use of Pratyahara (inner focus) should be applied. The exterior alignment should be de-emphasized and the focus should be drawn deeply inwards to experience and explore the feeling and sensations that arise in the poses. By withdrawing attention from the external environment and by focusing inwards on the breath and sensations, the mind can be stilled and the awareness of the body increases. With this awareness and focus it is possible to move deeper into the practice of yoga and increases the ability for one to move through any limitations, fears and expectations.
Pranayama (yogic breathing exercises) are also helpful to calm the body and mind and to balance the energy in the body during the recovery stage of the disease. Nadi Sodhana Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) is balancing, calming and reduces anxiety. Dirga Pranayama (three part breath) is calming, grounding and nurturing.
As eating disorders have a large mental component to them, the practice of meditation is very beneficial to cultivate a sense of control over life’s events and to reduce obsessive thoughts. A general meditation practice will be beneficial, but using an active and targeted meditation would be more effective. Practice any or all of the following based upon what calls you to be invoked within yourself: Inner Peace Meditation, Third Eye Meditation, Root Chakra Meditation or Prana Healing Meditation. If it becomes uncomfortable to practice with the eyes closed, have them slightly open with a soft downward gaze.
The most important aspect of healing from an eating disorder is the individual’s awareness and acceptance that there is a problem and the genuine desire for change. Unfortunately, the denial that there is a problem often does not change until the late stages of the disease when serious complications arise. Yoga’s inherent ability to promote self-awareness and self-acceptance can play a role in realizing the problem is within, although yoga is usually more readily embraced in the recovery stages of the disease.
Yoga is not a substitute for conventional medical treatment; please consult your medical professional before starting a yoga practice.
On our Membership Site: A complete list of yoga poses for Eating Disorders and a yoga therapy resource guide for Eatin
article189
Yoga for Tendonitis
Tendonitis is the inflammation or irritation of a tendon (the attachment of a muscle to bone). Excessive repetitive movements most often cause tendonitis, but it can also be caused by a minor impact on the affected area, or from a sudden more serious injury. The symptoms of tendonitis are: pain and stiffness, usually around a joint, which is aggravated by movement. Tendonitis is usually a temporary condition, but may become a recurrent or chronic problem. The healing of tendonitis occurs in two main stages, acute and subacute. Yoga supports the healing process in both stages by activating the body’s lymphatic system and by improving local circulation. Yoga is best used for healing in the subacute stage of tendonitis, as well as for preventing recurring bouts of tendonitis.
For acute tendonitis, rest the injured area for 4-6 days. Do not perform any movements that require strength, aggravate the injury, or produce any pain. Elevating the affected area during the inflammation stage helps to control any swelling thereby reducing the throbbing that often accompanies acute inflammation. Inversion poses will be very helpful to reduce inflammation by activating the lymphatic system, and will also provide elevation if the injury is located in the lower body. After the swelling has subsided (usually after the first 48 to 72 hours), very gentle and slow range of motion movements can be performed, but do not stretch the muscles that trigger the tendonitis pain.
The subacute stage of tendonitis follows and lasts between 1-3 weeks. Gentle stretching is the first step of rehabilitation. Stay focused on the breath and the sensations of the stretch, but do not stretch to the point of pain. The next step is to slowly and gently strengthen the muscles surrounding and attached to the injured tendon. Begin with slow, gentle non-weight bearing movements and gradually increase the amount of motion and number of repetitions. As symptoms resolve, gradually resume using weight-bearing movements. Strengthening the surrounding muscles restores full support to the effected joint and reduces the risk of recurrent tendonitis. An adequate warm-up before and correct posture during yoga is essential in this healing stage of tendonitis.
Once the acute and subacute stages of tendonitis or subsides, preventing recurrences is crucial to avoid developing a chronic condition. Developing conscious use of muscles, correct posture and good alignment as well as reducing repetitive movements are necessary. A regular yoga practice will address all these needs, as well as keep the tendons in good health. Care must be taken in yoga to not push or over stretch that can injure or irritate the tendons.
Tendonitis can sometimes recur with a return to physical activity, and prolonged bouts of this painful condition can lead to a thickening or rupture of the tendon. Thus, if the symptoms of tendonitis reappear, it is essential to return to following the movement guidelines for the acute stage.
A yoga practice should be used to supplement conventional therapy, not replace it. Talk to your doctor if your symptoms do
Tendonitis is the inflammation or irritation of a tendon (the attachment of a muscle to bone). Excessive repetitive movements most often cause tendonitis, but it can also be caused by a minor impact on the affected area, or from a sudden more serious injury. The symptoms of tendonitis are: pain and stiffness, usually around a joint, which is aggravated by movement. Tendonitis is usually a temporary condition, but may become a recurrent or chronic problem. The healing of tendonitis occurs in two main stages, acute and subacute. Yoga supports the healing process in both stages by activating the body’s lymphatic system and by improving local circulation. Yoga is best used for healing in the subacute stage of tendonitis, as well as for preventing recurring bouts of tendonitis.
For acute tendonitis, rest the injured area for 4-6 days. Do not perform any movements that require strength, aggravate the injury, or produce any pain. Elevating the affected area during the inflammation stage helps to control any swelling thereby reducing the throbbing that often accompanies acute inflammation. Inversion poses will be very helpful to reduce inflammation by activating the lymphatic system, and will also provide elevation if the injury is located in the lower body. After the swelling has subsided (usually after the first 48 to 72 hours), very gentle and slow range of motion movements can be performed, but do not stretch the muscles that trigger the tendonitis pain.
The subacute stage of tendonitis follows and lasts between 1-3 weeks. Gentle stretching is the first step of rehabilitation. Stay focused on the breath and the sensations of the stretch, but do not stretch to the point of pain. The next step is to slowly and gently strengthen the muscles surrounding and attached to the injured tendon. Begin with slow, gentle non-weight bearing movements and gradually increase the amount of motion and number of repetitions. As symptoms resolve, gradually resume using weight-bearing movements. Strengthening the surrounding muscles restores full support to the effected joint and reduces the risk of recurrent tendonitis. An adequate warm-up before and correct posture during yoga is essential in this healing stage of tendonitis.
Once the acute and subacute stages of tendonitis or subsides, preventing recurrences is crucial to avoid developing a chronic condition. Developing conscious use of muscles, correct posture and good alignment as well as reducing repetitive movements are necessary. A regular yoga practice will address all these needs, as well as keep the tendons in good health. Care must be taken in yoga to not push or over stretch that can injure or irritate the tendons.
Tendonitis can sometimes recur with a return to physical activity, and prolonged bouts of this painful condition can lead to a thickening or rupture of the tendon. Thus, if the symptoms of tendonitis reappear, it is essential to return to following the movement guidelines for the acute stage.
A yoga practice should be used to supplement conventional therapy, not replace it. Talk to your doctor if your symptoms do
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Moksha and Maya
Liberation is not a place; it does not exist in the heavens, the earth or the spirit-world. Freedom has no space, no time, no location; it can only exist in the now, in the present moment. Moksha (liberation, freedom) is the state of non-ego, where the “me” vanishes and one stands free from all desires, actions and consequences in a total state of oneness. We are bound to this material world through attachment, desire, and the inability to see or experience the oneness of all life. Maya (illusion) is both the psychological separation between ego and the universe and the psychological filter that colors all of our experience. Maya is our memories, conceptions, judgments, and biases that present a distorted sense of reality. These impressions of past experiences become superimposed or projected on current experiences creating a false reality. Maya reinforces the ego, strengthens attachment, and defines our individual “story” that defines who we are and our relationship to the external world.
To achive moksha, maya must be cast off, anava (ego) must be dissolved, and both our attachments to pleasure and our aversions to discomfort must be severed. Moksha arises spontaneously when we become completely absorbed in the sensation of an experience without thought. This “taste” of total absorption is common yet fleeting. Through the practice of yoga, we seek to create the tools to consciously and willfully "pierce the veil" of maya and see the transcendent nature of reality. These tools include selfless work (karma yoga), self-dissolving love (bhakti yoga), absolute discernment (jnana yoga), and meditative immersion (raja yoga).
The most fundamental tool yoga gives us to create moksha is conscious awareness. Through the use of awareness we can slowly begin to see our projections, desires, attachments and judgments for what they are. Once these distorting factors become conscious, they are able to dissolve and unblock the way to a direct experience of reality. When we become liberated from the illusionary world of maya we are able to be in yoga: the union of the inner self (Atman) with the oneness of all life (Brahman).
Liberation is not a place; it does not exist in the heavens, the earth or the spirit-world. Freedom has no space, no time, no location; it can only exist in the now, in the present moment. Moksha (liberation, freedom) is the state of non-ego, where the “me” vanishes and one stands free from all desires, actions and consequences in a total state of oneness. We are bound to this material world through attachment, desire, and the inability to see or experience the oneness of all life. Maya (illusion) is both the psychological separation between ego and the universe and the psychological filter that colors all of our experience. Maya is our memories, conceptions, judgments, and biases that present a distorted sense of reality. These impressions of past experiences become superimposed or projected on current experiences creating a false reality. Maya reinforces the ego, strengthens attachment, and defines our individual “story” that defines who we are and our relationship to the external world.
To achive moksha, maya must be cast off, anava (ego) must be dissolved, and both our attachments to pleasure and our aversions to discomfort must be severed. Moksha arises spontaneously when we become completely absorbed in the sensation of an experience without thought. This “taste” of total absorption is common yet fleeting. Through the practice of yoga, we seek to create the tools to consciously and willfully "pierce the veil" of maya and see the transcendent nature of reality. These tools include selfless work (karma yoga), self-dissolving love (bhakti yoga), absolute discernment (jnana yoga), and meditative immersion (raja yoga).
The most fundamental tool yoga gives us to create moksha is conscious awareness. Through the use of awareness we can slowly begin to see our projections, desires, attachments and judgments for what they are. Once these distorting factors become conscious, they are able to dissolve and unblock the way to a direct experience of reality. When we become liberated from the illusionary world of maya we are able to be in yoga: the union of the inner self (Atman) with the oneness of all life (Brahman).
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