Experimenters injected mice with toxic chemicals to destroy insulin-producing cells, causing the animals to develop diabetes, and then force-fed them tea ingredients before killing them. In another experiment, mice were force-fed tea extracts and then had their leg muscles cut open before being decapitated. That’s not all—mice bred to suffer from brain damage and rapid aging were locked in dark chambers and given painful shocks to their extraordinarily sensitive feet before being killed. The list goes on—and the abuse will likely continue without your help.

Take a stand against Nestea’s CruelTEA by refusing to buy Nestea until its maker ends its deadly tea tests and pledge to drink only cruelty-free tea such as Arizona, Celestial Seasonings, Honest Tea, Lipton, Luzianne Tea, Snapple, Stash Tea, Tazo, Twinings, and many more. You can take a vital step for animals by taking action and telling Nestea to ditch the CruelTEA and to use modern, cruelty-free research methods instead, like those employed by other major tea companies around the world.

Thank you for your compassion for mice, rats, and all animals.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

“There are several things to be aware of … gangs and thieves are now
plotting different ways to get a person (mostly women) to stop their
vehicle and get out of the car.

“There is a gang initiation reported by the local Police Department
where gangs are placing a car seat by the road…with a fake baby in
it….waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check on the abandoned
baby.

“Note that the location of this car seat is usually beside a wooded or
grassy (field) area and the person — woman — will be dragged into the
woods, beaten and raped, and usually left for dead. If it’s a man,
they’re usually beaten and robbed and maybe left for dead, too.

DO NOT STOP FOR ANY REASON!!! DIAL 9-1-1 AND REPORT WHAT YOU SAW, BUT DON ‘T EVEN SLOW DOWN.

“IF YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT YOUR WINDSHIELD, DO
NOT STOP TO CHECK THE CAR, DO NOT OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY
WATER BECAUSE EGGS MIXED WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION UP TO 92.5%, AND YOU ARE THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE ROAD AND BECOME A VICTIM OF THESE CRIMINALS.

THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS, SO PLEASE INFORM YOUR FRIENDS
AND RELATIVES.

THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES AND THESE ARE UNSAVORY INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL
TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES TO GET WHAT THEY WANT.”

Please talk to your loved ones about this. This is a new tactic used. Please be safe.

Get started NOW — SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES
TO BE CAREFUL AND AWARE OF EVERYTHING AROUND THEM SO AS NOT TO BECOME A VICTIM.

The hormonal health of any woman depends upon the delicate dance of progesterone and estrogen. Estrogen is meant to be the predominant hormone in the first half of the menstrual cycle and progesterone the predominant one in the second half. However, for most women in the industrialized world this is not the case.

There are many causes of hormone imbalance, but at the base of the problem is something called Estrogen Dominance – which means there is too much estrogen and not enough progesterone present in the body. There are many symptoms that result from having low progesterone levels.

The common causes of hormonal imbalance and estrogen dominance include:
taking the pill,
taking HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy),
exposure to environmental poison,
eating non organic and estrogen pumped animal products,
stress in all its forms and
dangerous cosmetics.
WHAT YOU CAN DO

When you consider the average lifestyle of most women today, it is not hard to understand why insulin, estrogen and eicosanoids have become imbalanced, setting the stage for increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, PMS, arthritis and breast cancer. Here are my suggestions for keeping your blood sugar, eicosanoids and hormones in balance.
Eat at least three meals per day.
Many women skip breakfast or lunch, or even both, “saving” their calories for dinner. The problem with this approach is that the metabolic rate naturally peaks at noon and slows after that. So the food you eat at night is far more likely to be stored as fat. When you eat breakfast, your metabolism gets jump-started for the day. If you skip it, your metabolism will slow down into conservation mode and this can lead to weight gain.
Cut down on refined and high-glycemic index carbohydrates.
Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Whether certain foods with a high-glycemic index, such as baked potatoes or bananas, can be part of a healthy diet for you depends upon your unique metabolism. If you are a true carbohydrate addict, you need to find what foods are healthy for you. I find that eliminating refined carbohydrates, such as sugar, white rice, bread, alcohol, and foods made with white flour, such as muffins, bagels, pasta, pretzels and other snack foods, helps the body burn stored fat and keeps insulin and blood sugar levels normal.
Consume whole grains in moderation.
Even if you have eliminated refined grains, if you are a carbohydrate-sensitive person you may still have problems with whole wheat, whole rye, whole oat, or millet flour. Research shows that the degenerative diseases that currently plague Americans didn’t arrive on the scene until agriculture became widespread. In fact, the ancient Egyptians were fat and had dental disease associated with a grain-based diet.
Eat a wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruit daily.
You want to shoot for five servings per day. And remember, a serving is small, approximately four ounces, or a half-cup. Think color and you’ll be on the right path, because the deep pigments in these foods contain powerful antioxidants. Go for broccoli, green leafy vegetables, berries, red, yellow and green peppers, and tomatoes, and vary your choices through the seasons.
Eat healthy fats each day.
The low-fat diet fads of the past, which reached their peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, had women brainwashed into believing that fat was the enemy. In their attempt to eliminate saturated fat from their diets, many women eliminated all fat. I watched my patients complain of sallow skin, brittle hair and nails, susceptibility to infection, inability to concentrate, and weight gain despite their rigid diets. None of these women were getting enough healthy fat. Essential fatty acids, namely omega–3 and omega–6 fats, are needed to assist the body in many important functions, including those of the brain and nervous system. Good sources of EFAs include eggs, high-quality flax seeds, soybeans, walnuts, and cold water fish harvested from the wild. Again, the best way to obtain nutrients is in your food, but if your diet is lacking, high-quality EFA supplements are widely available.
Eat protein at each meal.
Eggs, fish, whey, dairy, or non-animal sources of protein, such as whole soybeans, tempeh or spirulina are all good choices. Beans contain protein, but also contain a considerable amount of carbohydrates. If you are a true carbohydrate addict and you are perimenopausal, beans may be too high in carbohydrates for you.
Protect your body with antioxidants.
Antioxidants combat cellular damage from free radicals, which are known to be a cause of chronic conditions such as heart disease, cataracts, macular degeneration, and cancer.1 Antioxidants are found in fresh fruits and vegetables, especially brightly colored ones. Food is the best source for antioxidants, but if you don’t always get enough in your diet, high-quality supplements can provide significant protection.

HEALING ALTERNATIVES

Here are the relative glycemic indexes of some common foods. This is simply a guide; these numbers do vary from study to study, with plant varieties, and food preparation methods. Use this chart to help balance high glycemic foods with low glycemic ones. Try eating smaller portions of high glycemic foods and add some protein and fat to your plate.

Glycemic Index Chart

Low Glycemic: broccoli, cherries, chickpeas, leafy vegetables, milk, pears, plums, black beans, soybeans, tomatoes, tomato soup, wild rice, yogurt.

Low to Moderate Glycemic: All-Bran, apples, garbanzo beans, ice cream, navy beans, oranges, peas, pinto beans, potato chips.

Moderate to High Glycemic: bananas, candy bars (most), potatoes, pita bread, oat bran, oat bread, raisins, carrots, brown rice, kidney beans.

High Glycemic: bagels, basmati rice, cakes, Cheerios, corn, corn flakes, pies, pretzels, durum wheat pasta, white bread.

RESOURCES

These are explained in more detail, along with a supplement program, in The Wisdom of Menopause, by Christiane Northrup, M.D.
The Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index by Jennie Brand–Miller, PhD; Thomas Wolever, M.D., Ph.D.; Kaye Foster-Powell; & Stephen Colagiuri, M.D.
The Midlife Miracle Diet by Adele Puhn, MS, CNS
Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell — After Pregnancy: Every Woman’s Guide to Shaping Up, Slimming Down, and Staying Sane After the Baby by Debra Waterhouse, MPH
Releasing Fat by Ray Strand , M.D.
The Schwarzbein Principle: The Truth About Weight Loss, Health and Aging by Diana Schwarzbein, M.D.

Source: www.drnorthrup.com/womenshealth…

Sources:

  Fox News May 4, 2011 

  Benzo.org.uk 

 

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Like many of you I am sure, I enjoyed listening to Fleetwood Mac in the 70s and it was quite a surprise to read Stevie Nick’s story.

It’s been repeatedly demonstrated that prescription drugs can, and frequently do, pose SERIOUS risks to your health. In this case, Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks ended up battling the devastating side effects of a drug she probably didn’t need in the first place, and it swallowed eight years of her life.

Although many fail to realize this, prescription drugs can be just as addictive as illegal drugs. In fact, in many cases there’s no difference between a street drug and a prescription drug. For example, hydrocodone, a prescription opiate, is synthetic heroin. It’s indistinguishable from any other heroine as far as your brain and body is concerned. So, if you’re hooked on hydrocodone, you are in fact a good-old-fashioned heroin addict.

Unfortunately, not a lot of attention is paid to prescription drug abuse. Still, nearly 20 percent of Americans admit to having used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, and three quarters of those may be abusing prescription drugs.

Insane Drug Use Statistics and the Danger of Polypharmacy

There’s no doubt that the US has been manipulated into a nation of drug users. In just a ten-year span, from 1992 to 2002, the number of prescriptions written increased by a whopping 61 percent. And in that same period, the number of prescriptions written for opiates increased by almost 400 percent.

According to the latest statistics from the Kaiser Health Foundation, the average American, aged 19 to 64, now takes more than 11 prescription drugs!

This brings up yet another problem, which is the exponentially increased health risk of mixing multiple drugs. The word ‘polypharmacy’means “many drugs,” and essentially refers to instances where an individual is taking too many drugs–either because more drugs are prescribed than clinically indicated, or when the sheer number of pills simply becomes a burden for the patient.

This situation used to be primarily a concern for the elderly, who generally take more medicines than younger folk—in the US, theaverage senior fills more than 31 prescriptions per year. But over the past several years, even children as young as three are increasingly being prescribed four or more drugs!

This is a significant problem, as the more drugs you mix together, the greater the chances of serious side effects. People (of all ages) taking psychiatric drugs appear to be particularly prone to polypharmacy, which is particularly disturbing since each and every one of these drugs are quite potent and potentially dangerous when taken all by itself.

The Incredible Cost of Polypharmacy

Prescription drug abuse and overuse not only wreak havoc on the health, well-being, and longevity of the American population, it also has a major impact on our health care system, and it’s NOT a beneficial one.

In fact, drug use accounts for tens of billions of dollars per year in health care costs. Let me explain—that’s tens of billions of dollars to treat the side effects of drug use, IN ADDITION TO the close to one TRILLION dollars those same drugs cost our health care system in the first place!

So the idea that “more and better drugs” are the answer to our nation’s failing health is “misguided” to say the least…

When the Treatment is Worse than the Original Problem

Sadly, there are literally millions of people who, like Stevie Nicks, suffer the ravaging side effects of drugs they didn’t need in the first place—drugs that were supposed to “help” them in some way, but in reality cause problems far worse than the original concern.

For example, knowing how hard it can be to quit drugs like heroin, it’s shocking to hear Nicks’ description of her ordeal in detoxing from Klonopin; an anti-anxiety medication:

“I went in for 47 days, and it made Betty Ford look like a cakewalk. My hair turned gray and my skin molted. I could hardly walk. You can detox off heroin in 12 days. Coke is just a mental detox. But tranquilizers—they are dangerous. I was terrified to leave, and I came away knowing that that would never happen to me again.”

It’s time to wake up from our collective slumber and cease to fall prey to this predatory type of “health care.”

You are Responsible for Your Health

It’s unfortunate, but you, as a patient, carry the greatest burden when it comes to changing the current drug paradigm. I don’t think we’ll see doctors changing their prescribing ways anytime soon—it’s what they’re trained to do. In many cases, it’s ALL they do! So as a patient, you have to take responsibility for your health, and question the drugs prescribed to you.

• Do you really need that drug?
• Is it prescribed appropriately, or is it being prescribed for an off-label use?
• What are the side effects?
• Is it addictive?

These are but a few of the most common-sense questions you need to ask before you swallow any pill.

In the case of Stevie Nicks, the health problems she experienced were par the course for that drug. Klonopin (Clonazepam) is an anti-seizure, anti-anxiety medication that works by decreasing electrical activity in your brain. It’s in the same family of drugs as valium and xanax—well-known tranquilizers. (Ironically, it’s also used to treat acute catatonic states, when a person does not speak or move at all.)

Side effects include:

Drowsiness	Dizziness, unsteadiness, and problems with coordination	Difficulty thinking or remembering
Muscle or joint pain	Blurred vision	Changes in sex drive, reduced sexual function
Addiction	Fetal harm; birth defects	Changes in mental health, including thoughts of suicide

Withdrawal symptoms include new or worsening seizures, hallucinations, uncontrollable shaking and changes in behavior.

Prescription Drugs Cause More Deaths than Illegal Drugs

In addition to exorbitant health care costs for drugs and their subsequent side effects, the cost in terms of lives has also skyrocketed.

Opioid painkillers alone — opium-like drugs that include morphine and codeine — now claim more than 13,800 lives each year. This means prescription painkillers have surpassed both heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of fatal overdoses, despite the fact that the FDA increased the restrictions for consumer drug ads in 2005, especially for COX-2 painkillers like Celebrex and Bextra.

Additionally, more than 700,000 people visit U.S. emergency rooms each year as a result of adverse drug reactions. And, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adverse drug reactions from drugs that are properly prescribed and properly administered cause about 106,000 deaths per year, making prescription drugs the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S.

When you compare these statistics to the death toll from illegal drugs — which is about 10,000 per year — you can begin to see the magnitude of the problem the pharmaceutical industry is propagating.

A Very Real Side Effect: a 25 Percent Chance of Premature Death

Three years ago, an analysis of federal data by the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) offered up some truly shocking information. In the first quarter of 2008, fatalities from adverse drug reactions accounted for 23 percent of all adverse reaction reports!

If that’s not a wakeup call, I don’t know what is.

Naturally, some drugs are far riskier than others. Chantix, for example, accounts for more adverse reaction reports, including deaths, than the ten best-selling brand name drugs combined! It even out-harms the addictive troublemaker oxycodone, a potent pain medication.

The greatest travesty here though is that Chantix is actually intended for use in healthy people to help them quit smoking! If that’s not insane, I don’t know what is…

There are NO Absolutely Safe Drugs

A clear majority of people have been successfully brainwashed into thinking that FDA-approved drugs can safely and effectively treat every possible ailment under the sun. This is a tragedy of epic proportions. But it’s not too late to turn this madness around.

First and foremost, you must understand that even under the BEST circumstances — such as with a drug that has gone through unbiased, stringent, long-term testing – anything can happen when a drug is released into the uncontrolled environment of your individual body. It may interact badly with another drug you’re taking, or perhaps a food you eat causes an unforeseen reaction, or maybe your genetic makeup, metabolism or the state of your immune system will cause it to have an unpredictable impact.

Unfortunately, studies are frequently biased, results are skewed, and drugs are put on a fast-track to be approved long before anyone knows whether they’re safe. In essence, it’s all a gamble, and there are NO 100 percent safe drugs.

Should You Medicate or Not?

Ultimately, it’s your body, and the decision to medicate yourself for an ailment is yours alone.

However, I urge you to research any drug your doctor prescribes before you take it. Do not just take your doctor’s word for its safety. Most physicians have little information to offer you aside from what they’ve been told by their drug reps.

Make sure you are aware of the potential side effects of the drug, read the package insert, and remember that even if it lists a side effect as rare, it can still happen to you.

Then decide whether the potential benefits truly outweigh the potential risks.

Also remember that a large number of drugs are vastly over-prescribed and unnecessary. They’re frequently referred to as “blockbuster drugs.” If several people you know are on it, it’s a dead giveaway that it’s probably being over-prescribed, which means you should be even more cautious—not less!

Redefine the Word “Health”

What does “health” mean to you? Does your idea of being healthy include taking a dozen medications or more?

I certainly hope not…

If you make drugs a last option instead of a first choice, you will have taken a major step in the right direction.

“Health” does NOT equate to “suppressing symptoms of disease.” Rather, true health means having a body that actually functions as it should… And the only way to get there is by addressing the root causes of any symptoms of disease you may have—not covering them up with a drug.

The “problem” with this mindset, however, is that the medical- and pharmaceutical industries can’t make any money  through this strategy. If you get rid of the underlying cause of a disease, you effectively cure it and all symptoms go away. If you have no symptoms, there’s no reason to take medications to suppress those symptoms.

This may sound obvious to some, but believe me, many people still don’t “get” this.

They take drugs in the belief that they’re doing something beneficial to their health when in fact there’s not a single drug on the market that is designed to cure anything. The only thing a drug can do is address a particular symptom or set of symptoms. And, if you don’t address the root cause, your problem never goes away!

This is how you get stuck in the mindless never ending loop of polypharmacy.

Basic Health Strategies that Can Address a Large Number of Health Problems

There are many health conditions that can be prevented or effectively treated with lifestyle changes alone, yet if you go to a typical doctor, you’ll walk out with one or more prescriptions. Examples of health problems that typically don’t require drug intervention include:

• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Insomnia

I realize it may require a massive shift in thinking to realize that your body can heal itself, and that drugs typically only hinder the process. But I can’t stress enough the importance of this most basic principle:

Disease can only be resolved by addressing its root cause.

What many people fail to realize is that it is possible to maintain optimal health by simply avoiding unnecessary drugs and by understanding the fundamentals of good nutrition and exercise.

Remember you can Take Control of Your Health by:

• Eliminating fructose and most grains
• Eating unprocessed, high-quality foods, organic if possible, right for your nutritional type
• Eating your food as close to raw as possible
• Consuming enough omega-3 fats
• Exercising regularly

Sources:

  Fox News May 4, 2011 

  Benzo.org.uk 

 

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Like many of you I am sure, I enjoyed listening to Fleetwood Mac in the 70s and it was quite a surprise to read Stevie Nick’s story.

It’s been repeatedly demonstrated that prescription drugs can, and frequently do, pose SERIOUS risks to your health. In this case, Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks ended up battling the devastating side effects of a drug she probably didn’t need in the first place, and it swallowed eight years of her life.

Although many fail to realize this, prescription drugs can be just as addictive as illegal drugs. In fact, in many cases there’s no difference between a street drug and a prescription drug. For example, hydrocodone, a prescription opiate, is synthetic heroin. It’s indistinguishable from any other heroine as far as your brain and body is concerned. So, if you’re hooked on hydrocodone, you are in fact a good-old-fashioned heroin addict.

Unfortunately, not a lot of attention is paid to prescription drug abuse. Still, nearly 20 percent of Americans admit to having used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, and three quarters of those may be abusing prescription drugs.

Insane Drug Use Statistics and the Danger of Polypharmacy

There’s no doubt that the US has been manipulated into a nation of drug users. In just a ten-year span, from 1992 to 2002, the number of prescriptions written increased by a whopping 61 percent. And in that same period, the number of prescriptions written for opiates increased by almost 400 percent.

According to the latest statistics from the Kaiser Health Foundation, the average American, aged 19 to 64, now takes more than 11 prescription drugs!

This brings up yet another problem, which is the exponentially increased health risk of mixing multiple drugs. The word ‘polypharmacy’means “many drugs,” and essentially refers to instances where an individual is taking too many drugs–either because more drugs are prescribed than clinically indicated, or when the sheer number of pills simply becomes a burden for the patient.

This situation used to be primarily a concern for the elderly, who generally take more medicines than younger folk—in the US, theaverage senior fills more than 31 prescriptions per year. But over the past several years, even children as young as three are increasingly being prescribed four or more drugs!

This is a significant problem, as the more drugs you mix together, the greater the chances of serious side effects. People (of all ages) taking psychiatric drugs appear to be particularly prone to polypharmacy, which is particularly disturbing since each and every one of these drugs are quite potent and potentially dangerous when taken all by itself.

The Incredible Cost of Polypharmacy

Prescription drug abuse and overuse not only wreak havoc on the health, well-being, and longevity of the American population, it also has a major impact on our health care system, and it’s NOT a beneficial one.

In fact, drug use accounts for tens of billions of dollars per year in health care costs. Let me explain—that’s tens of billions of dollars to treat the side effects of drug use, IN ADDITION TO the close to one TRILLION dollars those same drugs cost our health care system in the first place!

So the idea that “more and better drugs” are the answer to our nation’s failing health is “misguided” to say the least…

When the Treatment is Worse than the Original Problem

Sadly, there are literally millions of people who, like Stevie Nicks, suffer the ravaging side effects of drugs they didn’t need in the first place—drugs that were supposed to “help” them in some way, but in reality cause problems far worse than the original concern.

For example, knowing how hard it can be to quit drugs like heroin, it’s shocking to hear Nicks’ description of her ordeal in detoxing from Klonopin; an anti-anxiety medication:

“I went in for 47 days, and it made Betty Ford look like a cakewalk. My hair turned gray and my skin molted. I could hardly walk. You can detox off heroin in 12 days. Coke is just a mental detox. But tranquilizers—they are dangerous. I was terrified to leave, and I came away knowing that that would never happen to me again.”

It’s time to wake up from our collective slumber and cease to fall prey to this predatory type of “health care.”

You are Responsible for Your Health

It’s unfortunate, but you, as a patient, carry the greatest burden when it comes to changing the current drug paradigm. I don’t think we’ll see doctors changing their prescribing ways anytime soon—it’s what they’re trained to do. In many cases, it’s ALL they do! So as a patient, you have to take responsibility for your health, and question the drugs prescribed to you.

• Do you really need that drug?
• Is it prescribed appropriately, or is it being prescribed for an off-label use?
• What are the side effects?
• Is it addictive?

These are but a few of the most common-sense questions you need to ask before you swallow any pill.

In the case of Stevie Nicks, the health problems she experienced were par the course for that drug. Klonopin (Clonazepam) is an anti-seizure, anti-anxiety medication that works by decreasing electrical activity in your brain. It’s in the same family of drugs as valium and xanax—well-known tranquilizers. (Ironically, it’s also used to treat acute catatonic states, when a person does not speak or move at all.)

Side effects include:

Drowsiness	Dizziness, unsteadiness, and problems with coordination	Difficulty thinking or remembering
Muscle or joint pain	Blurred vision	Changes in sex drive, reduced sexual function
Addiction	Fetal harm; birth defects	Changes in mental health, including thoughts of suicide

Withdrawal symptoms include new or worsening seizures, hallucinations, uncontrollable shaking and changes in behavior.

Prescription Drugs Cause More Deaths than Illegal Drugs

In addition to exorbitant health care costs for drugs and their subsequent side effects, the cost in terms of lives has also skyrocketed.

Opioid painkillers alone — opium-like drugs that include morphine and codeine — now claim more than 13,800 lives each year. This means prescription painkillers have surpassed both heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of fatal overdoses, despite the fact that the FDA increased the restrictions for consumer drug ads in 2005, especially for COX-2 painkillers like Celebrex and Bextra.

Additionally, more than 700,000 people visit U.S. emergency rooms each year as a result of adverse drug reactions. And, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adverse drug reactions from drugs that are properly prescribed and properly administered cause about 106,000 deaths per year, making prescription drugs the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S.

When you compare these statistics to the death toll from illegal drugs — which is about 10,000 per year — you can begin to see the magnitude of the problem the pharmaceutical industry is propagating.

A Very Real Side Effect: a 25 Percent Chance of Premature Death

Three years ago, an analysis of federal data by the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) offered up some truly shocking information. In the first quarter of 2008, fatalities from adverse drug reactions accounted for 23 percent of all adverse reaction reports!

If that’s not a wakeup call, I don’t know what is.

Naturally, some drugs are far riskier than others. Chantix, for example, accounts for more adverse reaction reports, including deaths, than the ten best-selling brand name drugs combined! It even out-harms the addictive troublemaker oxycodone, a potent pain medication.

The greatest travesty here though is that Chantix is actually intended for use in healthy people to help them quit smoking! If that’s not insane, I don’t know what is…

There are NO Absolutely Safe Drugs

A clear majority of people have been successfully brainwashed into thinking that FDA-approved drugs can safely and effectively treat every possible ailment under the sun. This is a tragedy of epic proportions. But it’s not too late to turn this madness around.

First and foremost, you must understand that even under the BEST circumstances — such as with a drug that has gone through unbiased, stringent, long-term testing – anything can happen when a drug is released into the uncontrolled environment of your individual body. It may interact badly with another drug you’re taking, or perhaps a food you eat causes an unforeseen reaction, or maybe your genetic makeup, metabolism or the state of your immune system will cause it to have an unpredictable impact.

Unfortunately, studies are frequently biased, results are skewed, and drugs are put on a fast-track to be approved long before anyone knows whether they’re safe. In essence, it’s all a gamble, and there are NO 100 percent safe drugs.

Should You Medicate or Not?

Ultimately, it’s your body, and the decision to medicate yourself for an ailment is yours alone.

However, I urge you to research any drug your doctor prescribes before you take it. Do not just take your doctor’s word for its safety. Most physicians have little information to offer you aside from what they’ve been told by their drug reps.

Make sure you are aware of the potential side effects of the drug, read the package insert, and remember that even if it lists a side effect as rare, it can still happen to you.

Then decide whether the potential benefits truly outweigh the potential risks.

Also remember that a large number of drugs are vastly over-prescribed and unnecessary. They’re frequently referred to as “blockbuster drugs.” If several people you know are on it, it’s a dead giveaway that it’s probably being over-prescribed, which means you should be even more cautious—not less!

Redefine the Word “Health”

What does “health” mean to you? Does your idea of being healthy include taking a dozen medications or more?

I certainly hope not…

If you make drugs a last option instead of a first choice, you will have taken a major step in the right direction.

“Health” does NOT equate to “suppressing symptoms of disease.” Rather, true health means having a body that actually functions as it should… And the only way to get there is by addressing the root causes of any symptoms of disease you may have—not covering them up with a drug.

The “problem” with this mindset, however, is that the medical- and pharmaceutical industries can’t make any money  through this strategy. If you get rid of the underlying cause of a disease, you effectively cure it and all symptoms go away. If you have no symptoms, there’s no reason to take medications to suppress those symptoms.

This may sound obvious to some, but believe me, many people still don’t “get” this.

They take drugs in the belief that they’re doing something beneficial to their health when in fact there’s not a single drug on the market that is designed to cure anything. The only thing a drug can do is address a particular symptom or set of symptoms. And, if you don’t address the root cause, your problem never goes away!

This is how you get stuck in the mindless never ending loop of polypharmacy.

Basic Health Strategies that Can Address a Large Number of Health Problems

There are many health conditions that can be prevented or effectively treated with lifestyle changes alone, yet if you go to a typical doctor, you’ll walk out with one or more prescriptions. Examples of health problems that typically don’t require drug intervention include:

• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Insomnia

I realize it may require a massive shift in thinking to realize that your body can heal itself, and that drugs typically only hinder the process. But I can’t stress enough the importance of this most basic principle:

Disease can only be resolved by addressing its root cause.

What many people fail to realize is that it is possible to maintain optimal health by simply avoiding unnecessary drugs and by understanding the fundamentals of good nutrition and exercise.

Remember you can Take Control of Your Health by:

• Eliminating fructose and most grains
• Eating unprocessed, high-quality foods, organic if possible, right for your nutritional type
• Eating your food as close to raw as possible
• Consuming enough omega-3 fats
• Exercising regularly

Monday, May 02, 2011 by: M.K. Tyler

(NaturalNews)  Is it true that those who suffer from Multiple sclerosis (MS) just need a little sun? Researchers at the University of Oxford seem to think so. In 2006, a study by theJournal of the American Medical Associationsuggested higher levels of vitamin D might decrease overall risk of developing MS. Now researchers at the University of Oxford are backing that study with further evidence while also suggesting a link between lack of sunlight and how the body responds when faced with an infection. Theresearchconcludes that MS is caused by several factors working in combination but clearly correlates to a lack of vitamin D.

Is it really as simple as soaking up some rays?

While the phenomenon ofvitamin D deficiencyis seen all over the world, countries in the northern hemisphere have been linked to significantly higher rates of MS. Scotland, for example, has one of the largest populations of MS sufferers, while thediseaseis “virtually unknown” in Africa. Even in sunny areas of the globe, it’s not uncommon for people to become vitamin D deficient during the winter, as the sun’s rays aren’t often high enough to penetrate atmospheric layers.

The research put forth by the University of Oxford suggests that, while those who already have MS may not benefit exponentially simply by increasing levels of vitamin D, getting moresuncould be an effective preventative measure against developing the disease and managing symptoms.

More importantly, MS sufferers may be able to boost immunity to other conditions with an increase in vitamin D. A recent study byAnticancer Researchaffirms that typical adults need much more than thedaily dosagerecommended by the U.S. Government. According to that research, 4,000-8,000 IUs of vitamin D every day could not only help prevent MS but also several types of cancer and Type 1 diabetes.

Thehealthcare industry, of course, won’t promote anaturaland safe preventative measure for degenerative diseases. Instead, people are warned about the dangers of UVexposureand the risks of vitamin toxicity. With vitamin D deficiency afflicting 90% of the U.S.population, however, it may be time to get a tan. Here are some interestingfactsabout the relationship between vitamin D and health:

1. It’s free. Five to thirty minutes of sunlight a couple of times a week is usually sufficient for helping thebodycreate enough vitamin D
2. Getting enough vitamin D from food is virtually impossible
3. Sunscreens may block the body’s ability to generate vitamin D
4.Vitamin Dis essential for the absorption of calcium in the body
5. Those who live further from the equator generally require longer periods ofsun exposureto generate enough vitamin D
6. A lack of vitamin D can affect bone strength. One theory suggests that women who are deficient in vitamin D can suffer from contracting pelvises, which can result in the death of babies during labor
7. Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed quickly. It takes months for the body to increase and regulate vitamin D levels. This is why short periods of sun exposure are not onlysafebut also necessary for the synthesis of this important substance

For those with MS, increased sun exposure may be an easy and safe preventative measure against further cognitive and physical degeneration. As a direct threat to the medical establishment, however, it remains to be seen whether furthergovernmentwarnings and regulations about vitamin D will eventually ban people from sun bathing.

Sources for thisarticleinclude

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13…
http://health.usnews.com/usnews/hea…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2…

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032244_multiple_sclerosis_vitamin_D_deficiency.html#ixzz1LDpgkmYE

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