From Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-neuroscience-of-gut

I would like to put emphasis on the following line from this article.  This describes the importance of breast feeding immediately. 

"This suggests that there is a critical period in the development of the brain when the bacteria are influential."


Years ago, a color pigment called crystal violet (also known as crystal gentian) was widely used as a topical antiseptic. There are good reasons to believe that long-term exposure to artificial food coloring may affect intestinal bacteria in the same way crystal violet affected (killed) topical bacteria.


The following is from Wikipedia.  It describes colostrum and its effects on the newborn.  I think it goes very well with the article from Scientific American.


Newborns have very small digestive systems, and colostrum delivers its nutrients in a very concentrated low-volume form. It has a mild laxative effect, encouraging the passing of the baby's first stool, which is called meconium. This clears excess bilirubin, a waste product of dead red blood cells, which is produced in large quantities at birth due to blood volume reduction, from the infant's body and helps prevent jaundice. Colostrum is known to contain antibodies called immunoglobulins such as IgA, IgG, and IgM in mammals. IgA is absorbed through the intestinal epithelium, travels through the blood, and is secreted onto other Type 1 mucosal surfaces. These are the major components of the adaptive immune system. Other immune components of colostrum include the major components of the innate immune system, such as lactoferrin,^[4] lysozyme,^[5] lactoperoxidase,^[6] complement,^[7] and proline-rich polypeptides (PRP).^[8] A number of cytokines (small messenger peptides that control the functioning of the immune system) are found in colostrum as well,^[9] including interleukins,^[9] tumor necrosis factor,^[10] chemokines,^[11] and others. Colostrum also contains a number of growth factors, such as insulin-like growth factors I,^[12] and II,^[13] transforming growth factors alpha,^[14] beta 1 and beta 2,^[15][16] fibroblast growth factors,^[17] epidermal growth factor,^[18] granulocyte-macrophage-stimulating growth factor,^[19] platelet-derived growth factor,^[19] vascular endothelial growth factor,^[20] and colony-stimulating factor-1.^[21]
Colostrum is very rich in proteins, vitamin A, and sodium chloride, but contains lower amounts of carbohydrates, lipids, and potassium than normal milk. The most pertinent bioactive components in colostrum are growth factors and antimicrobial factors. The antibodies in colostrum provide passive immunity, while growth factors stimulate the development of the gut. They are passed to the neonate and provide the first protection against pathogens

About fluoride from Dr. Mercola

Everyone should become aware of what is being done to our food supply.  Eating fruits (minimally) and vegetables is a good thing and most people need to eat more.  Most people may not feel differently when they eat food that has been sprayed with chemicals, however, the patient population that I see are very sensitive for many different reasons and these toxins, even in small amounts, can not only make their symptoms worse, but can cause their symptoms all together.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/11/sulfuryl-fluoride-what-is-it-the-story-so-far.aspx?e_cid=20110811_DNL_art_1

Thank you Dr. Mercola

If you are unaware of Dr. Mercola's website, please take a moment and view it.  http://www.mercola.com/  Sign up for his free email newsletter also.  I have been on his mailing list since 2001 and I can tell you, I have learned quite a bit from it. It is the largest natural health website on the internet and is choke full of information about natural health care.  You can search his site for just about any health related topic there is; from cholesterol myths to artificial sweeteners to fluoride in our water supply.  He has done a huge service for mankind through this website and I highly recommend it.

Thank you Dr. Mercola

More on Aspartame

I could care less if the FDA takes aspartame off the market.  I just want the entire population to stop consuming it.  If you are unfamiliar with the true affects of aspartame use, please take ten minutes and watch this quick video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELgW4KBY-o4

Sunscreen info

This is a prime case of the fine print taketh away.

Make sure you read the labels of everything you put on your body.


Did you know there are chemicals used in sunscreens that absorb easily through your skin and...
Act like the female hormone estrogen, disrupting your body’s hormone balance;
Are linked to breast and skin cancers;
Injure your DNA;
Interfere with the production of thyroid hormones;
May contribute to male infertility

They’re called parabens, and you’ll find one or more of them in almost every sunscreen on the market.
Too much sun may be hard on your skin, but sunscreens are a case of “the cure may be worse than the disease.”  And for years you’ve been told to spread them all over your body...

Here are the other chemicals, that I am aware of that are in sunscreen, to avoid.
Para amino benzoic acid
Octyl salicyclate
Avobenzone
Oxybenzone
Padimate O
Dioxybenzone
Phenylbenzimidazole
Homosalate
Sulisobenzone
Menthyl anthranilate
Trolamine salicyclate
Octocrylene

Here are two links for good quality sunscreen without any harmful chemicals in them.
http://shop.mercola.com/images/product_images/sunscreen-30_large.jpg
http://www.3rdrocksunblock.com/

About salt intake

Salt is to the adrenal gland like iron is to the blood and iodine is to the thyroid.  We need salt for our adrenal glands which supply adrenaline and help our body adapt to stress.  In today's world, salt is automatically thought to increase your blood pressure and ultimately be bad for you.   However, salt avoidance can be harmful also.  For example, if you get dizzy when you stand up or move around quickly you might be low on salt.  I have seen many people's blood pressure actually go down when they increase their salt intake.  Do not use regular white table salt though.  Not only is it refined, but it has aluminum in it as an anti-caking agent.  Aluminum is implicated in Alzheimer's disease.  Only use real sea salt.  The best salt I have found is Himalayan sea salt.  It is unrefined and it tastes better also.  If you're outside sweating a lot, you should add a little salt to all that water you are (or should be) drinking. 

When reading this, do NOT automatically think if you have high blood pressure, that increasing your salt intake will lower it.  There are many different reasons for high blood pressure; liver, kidney, adrenal, etc.  This is why it is important to get an accurate diagnosis first.  If you have questions, send me an email or contact your natural health care physician.

Robyn O'brien on food additives

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixyrCNVVGA

If you have a few minutes or so, watch this video.  It's very worthwhile.

Surfing Bulldog

In my opinion, if you are not having fun, do something else.

This made me chuckle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=cqxTUxzOceE&feature=youtube_gdata_plaJ

Vaccine Info

You can't have a blog like this and not have anything about vaccines on it.

Dr. Clarence S. Gonstead made this statement: "Vaccines did not clean up the country, clean living did."

There is no such thing as a "safe" vaccine and no vaccine ever prevented, ameliorated or cured any disease.
All of the major "epidemic" diseases were just about on their way out long before any serious vaccinations took place and even then the percentages of those vaccinated were minuscule at best. 

Dr. Jonas Salk, the developer of the first polio vaccine, has stated that the polio vaccine was "the principle if not the sole cause of the polio cases reported since 1961.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Hw-Q23S_s

Expecting a Baby?   Did you know…?

Hospitals routinely give newborns a hepatitis B injection shortly after birth. This vaccine contains brain and nerve damaging ingredients, including aluminum hydroxide. (Aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer’s.)  After many vaccinated newborns died and thousands suffered serious side effects, including seizures and permanent brain damage, the dangers of the hepatitis B vaccine were brought to the public’s attention by ABC’s 20/20 in 1999.  Since 1991, the hepatitis B vaccine has been responsible for, over 25,000 adverse reactions including hundreds of deaths, according to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has called for a mandatory hepatitis B vaccination for children, pending independent scientific research.  AAPS says the risk of a serious reaction to the hepatitis B vaccine is 100 times greater than the risk of the disease–which is usually transmitted through blood, shared needles and “multiple sex partners.”

( Sounds like something newborns are really susceptible to (wink, wink))

The germ theory is just that, a theory.  Saying that germs cause disease is like saying flies cause manure piles.  Just because they are there, does not mean that they caused it.  Bacteria change form and are not the cause of, but the result of disease.   Healthy people do not "get" sick, sick people "get" sick.  If the germ theory were anything more than a theory, nurses and general physicians would be the sickest people on the planet.  We have somewhere around 7 pounds of bacteria in our digestive tract.  Bacteria feed on dead and decaying material and the sooner we learn to live with bacterial balance, the healthier we will be.

Let's define a few words

First of all, let's define the word "health".

Dorland's medical dictionary defines the word health as, "A state of complete physical, chemical, and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".  Our current medical system has very little to do with actual "health" care.  It is more sickness care.

Second, let's define the word "cure".

1. a means of healing or restoring to health; remedy.

2. a method or course of remedial treatment, as for disease.

3. successful remedial treatment; restoration to health.

The third definition of cure has the word "successful" in it.  Let's define the word success.
Dictionary.com defines success as, "the accomplishment of an aim or purpose".

Success, in my opinion, is a very subjective word.  It is different for every single person.  My definition evolves from day to day.

Discovering what success means to you might take a while, it might be a long process and the answer might not come to you immediately. However, the result of your search will be more than worth it.

One more thought, Gandhi was was dirt poor, but he freed the entire country of India.