angiEmedia

Dental treatments such as amalgam fillings and braces can induce toxic reactions in the human body. Mercury, a metal that is toxic to human and animal life even in small quantities, is the primary ingredient in dental amalgams, comprising about half of the content of the fillings. While amalgams are likely the biggest toxic metal risk you can find in dental care, metal allergies to components of stainless steel, particularly nickel, also cause some people to become ill. It’s important to avoid the use of dental amalgams and to be aware of the possible symptoms and sources of metal toxicity from other dental procedures.

If you are pregnant, nursing, or have children, for the safety and long-term health of your kids you must be particularly careful to avoid exposure to mercury and other toxic heavy metals. Dental amalgams account for the vast majority of mercury exposure in people who have them, estimated at two to three times the amount of mercury as all other dietary and environmental sources combined. Failure to get the dental amalgams out of your mouth and keep them from ever being put into your children’s mouths can result in your children developing a lifetime of medical problems that could have been avoided.

Read more…

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is an inexpensive and highly absorbable form of the amino acid cysteine which has numerous health benefits. Previously, I’ve written about several applications for NAC:

• As a preventive measure against the common cold and flu infections
  (see Preventive Measures for Swine Flu)
• Helping prevent liver damage from Tylenol
  (see Health Risks from Tylenol, Acetaminophen, and Paracetamol)
• Detoxifying the body of the mercury from dental fillings, predatory fish, and high fructose corn syrup (see High Fructose Corn Syrup is Dangerous for Many Reasons)
• Aid for mental health conditions such as OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and trichotillomania which is a surprisingly common compulsive behavior involving hair-pulling (see N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) Reduces Hair Pulling Compulsion and May Also Be Useful for OCD)

Furthermore, there is solid evidence that NAC helps boost the body’s levels of glutathione, one of the main antioxidants produced by the body. In particular, glutathione is critical to liver health. Many people suffer from elevated homocysteine levels, an amino acid that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Several studies indicate that NAC can significantly lower homocysteine levels. Finally, if you sometimes drink alcohol and get a hangover, you’ll be interested to know that NAC plus vitamin B1 (thiamine) may help the body reduce the severity of hangovers. There are many other lesser known uses for NAC. I’ll discuss more of these at the end of the article.

Available Forms of NAC

NAC is often sold in capsule form containing 600 mg per capsule, but the bulk powder form of the supplement can be much less expensive. NAC is also the primary ingredient in some pharmaceutical products including a product called Mucomyst that is used to treat mucus build-up by inhalation of a sterile liquid solution of NAC.

This article reviews the 1Fast400 N-Acetyl-Cysteine, NAC sold in bulk powder form. It is priced less than 1/2 the price of the 600 mg capsules from inexpensive reputable makers such as Puritan’s Pride and NOW Foods. Thus the bulk powder form of NAC is a good choice for people who use large quantities of it. Such people might include those with families with several people who use it for general health, immune system boosting, detoxification from mercury and heavy metals, and especially people who use it for mental health care applications similar to clinical testing being done with dosages of 2000 mg per day or more.
Read more…

Life Extension’s Mega EPA/DHA fish oil is on sale through September 14, 2009, at 65% off regular price. It is a very good quality fish oil supplement and also very well priced at $6.98 per bottle of 120 softgels. It is a double strength formulation with reduced cholesterol, meaning that it is equivalent of 240 typical fish oil softgels. As you may know, fish oil is well-reputed for managing blood lipid levels, particularly helping to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. What you may not know is that many common brands of fish oil supplements contain a considerable amount of cholesterol in each softgel. Mega EPA/DHA has twice the EPA and DHA (the primary beneficial Omega-3 fish oil compounds), half the calories, and 80% less cholesterol per softgel versus Costco’s Kirkland Signature Fish Oil Concentrate that is regularly priced at $9.69 (plus tax) for 400 regular strength softgels.

Life Extension Mega EPA/DHA Fish Oil is useful for improving your health in many ways. In addition to helping cut down unhealthy blood lipid levels (LDL cholesterol and triglycerides), it is also helpful for reducing the risk of depression, blood clots, inflammation disorders, heart attacks, and strokes. Fish oils containing significant quantities of DHA in particular are believed to improve brain and nervous system health.

While web-surfing today, I ran across a web site called Kidjacked created by Annette Hall, a former victim of child abuse at the hands of CPS. She and other authors on her site are attempting to educate the public about the atrocities committed by CPS across the United States. We as parents need to protect our children by educating them about the dangers of abusive government, how it can harm them, and what they may have to do to protect themselves from it.
Read more…

Autism is a set of child developmental delays and disabilities. It includes impaired social interaction and communications, delayed and impaired verbal and language skills, and focus on repetitive activities. Autism is just one of several related disorders in the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) classification. Asperger’s Syndrome is the second most common ASD illness after autism and generally differs from autism because language development is not affected as severely.

The incidence of autism has been rapidly increasing in many places. Although there appears to be no single cause for this, nutritional modifications both for pregnant women and children have been found to exert significant improvements on outcomes both in terms of lowering rates of autism and helping children overcome some of the developmental and behavioral problems it causes.
Read more…

Statins are a now famous (or infamous, depending upon your viewpoint) class of medicine used widely in American medicine. While studies do show they help reduce total and LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol and triglyceride levels, there are serious side effects to these medicines. They can lead to lethargy, headaches, muscle weakness, confusion, memory loss, and other side effects. More ominously, a recent study of Crestor (a statin drug) showed an increase in type 2 diabetes rates for those using the drug versus the control group using a placebo.

High Cholesterol Just Small Part of Cardiovascular Health Risks

Many people have the mistaken impression that high cholesterol is the biggest risk to your cardiovascular health. This isn’t likely true. There are a large variety of risks that are likely to be even more significant than high cholesterol levels. Many of them are not commonly tested for by doctors. Too many in the medical establishment have bought into “big pharma” pushing of statin drugs as the ultimate solution as they inaccurately believe high total and LDL cholesterol are the exclusive risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. As cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael Ozner points out in his book The Great American Heart Hoax: Lifesaving Advice Your Doctor Should Tell You About Heart Disease Prevention (But Probably Never Will), many of the therapies and surgeries for cardiovascular disease that are common in the United States are probably unnecessary, raise health care expenses, and don’t really improve overall outcomes. Much better than surgeries would be to prevent cardiovascular disease in the first place. But there are many risks that must be managed.
Read more…

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is celebrating a big improvement in its public perception. This year, only 47 percent of the US residents recently polled think the agency is doing a poor job. That’s a marked improvement for the agency, down from 58 percent of those polled expressing a “poor” rating a year ago. The public’s poor perception of FDA is based upon facts that show the agency is incapable of performing its mission and is not aligned with public health and safety interests. Unfortunately, the declining public disapproval ratings of the FDA have more to do with the amazingly short-term memory of the American public and media which is bombarded with government scandals and crises (real or imagined) on a daily basis.
Read more…

Tylenol is a common over-the-counter painkiller used worldwide. It’s the name-brand version of generic acetaminophen (US name) or paracetamol (name outside of the US). Both generic names are taken from the full chemical name N-acetyl-para-aminophenol. It’s sometimes referred to as APAP. The drug appears both in tablets by itself as well as combined into many other solid and liquid medicines for colds, flus, fevers, and headaches. These include cough syrups and sleep aids. They are labelled and sold for children and adults.

Acetaminophen is also a common ingredient in many stronger painkillers. It is frequently mixed with stronger opioid painkillers such as codeine and hydrocodone. The hydrocodone and acetaminophen mix is generally called Vicodin.
Read more…

What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a widely used sweetener in the United States. As corn prices plummeted in the 1970s, HFCS was developed to make use of the corn crop in other products. It’s used in an increasingly wide variety of products in the last three decades, from soft drinks to baked goods. It is often one of the largest ingredients in sweet products, frequently taking the first to third place on the food products ingredients labels mandated in the United States.

You might think that such a widely used product with a 30+ year track record would be safe. The HFCS manufacturers in the United States have been running a campaign to convince the public that’s the case. You can take a look at the web-based portion of this campaign at HFCSfacts.com: You’re in for a Sweet Surprise.

HFCS May Be Implicated in the US Obesity and Diabetes Epidemics

The reality is that HFCS has for years been suspected to be involved in the epidemic rise of obesity and diabetes in the United States. Numerous studies have found indications that the increasing use of HFCS may correlate with the increase in obesity and diabetes over a similar period of time. Unsurprisingly, HFCS manufacturers refute this, claiming that there is no credible scientific evidence to support such conclusions.

HFCS is Often Contaminated with Mercury

However, much more alarming news about HFCS has been announced this month. Recent studies of samples of HFCS and food products containing it in the United States conducted via two studies found that between 31% and 45% of the samples contained mercury. Mercury is toxic in even small quantities. For years, there have been suspicions that mercury used in vaccines may be related to the rise in autism in the United States. But this mercury contamination issue is much bigger and affects common foods widespread throughout the nation’s food supply. Products tested from big-name manufacturers such as Minute Maid, Coca-Cola, Hershey’s, Quaker, Hunt’s, Manwich, Smucker’s, Kraft, Nutri-Grain, and Yoplait had detectable levels of mercury.

Read more…