Fight the flu with vitamin D supplements
Noah's Dove
Fight the flu with vitamin D supplements
By Dr. Patrick Massey | Columnist
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=332925
More from Dr. Patrick Massey
One of the most frequent concerns of my patients is what to do about
the flu, both seasonal and H1N1. Although the vaccines may be
effective in preventing or lessening flu infections, medical science
is showing that nature has provided us with some significant firepower
of our own.
H1N1 aside, the most active time for the flu is in the late fall,
winter and early spring. Researchers have wondered what happens to the
flu for the rest of the year. The answer may be related to sun
exposure and vitamin D - less in the winter and more in the summer.
Vitamin D is not a vitamin but a hormone. Starting in the skin, the
body is able to manufacture it from the combination of cholesterol and
sunshine. Research is demonstrating that vitamin D is needed for good
immune function. During the winter, sunshine fades, vitamin D levels
fall and the flu really kicks in. During the summer, with lots of sun,
vitamin D levels increase and the flu seems to disappear. Is there a
connection? The answer seems to be yes.
A 2007 study, published in the medical journal Epidemiology and
Infection, established that people who did not take vitamin D had 10
times greater risk of flu during the winter than in the summer.
Interestingly, the incidence of winter flu was not different from
summer flu for those who took vitamin D year round. In addition, those
who did not take vitamin D had a nine times greater risk of winter flu
than those who took vitamin D. It seems that vitamin D may be a good
way to prevent winter flu.
How can vitamin D reduce the incidence of flu? The answer may be that
vitamin D activates immune system-based proteins that kill the flu
virus. These are called antimicrobial peptides, or AMD. These proteins
kill a wide range of pathogens including bacteria, some viruses, fungi
and even some types of cancer cells. In the winter, low vitamin D
levels may result in meager AMD production - and an increased risk of
contracting the flu. In contrast, the summer sun results in more
robust vitamin D levels, encourages AMD production and may prevent the
flu. From my clinical perspective, though it's not definitive proof,
patients with high vitamin D levels seem to have fewer infections than
those with lower vitamin D levels.
The optimal level of vitamin D has not been determined. However,
current adult recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (400-800
IU per day) are probably too low for most people living in northern
Illinois. In the winter, the sun is not intense enough for the body to
generate any vitamin D and many people need at least 5,000 to 6,000 IU
of vitamin D per day. Usual dietary sources are inadequate and
supplementation is the only reasonable option. Vitamin D is generally
safe and toxicity is vanishingly rare. It is important to check blood
levels because it is the only way to know if you are taking enough
vitamin D.
There are many aspects to preventing the flu - vaccination, hand
washing, cleaning surfaces - and now, vitamin D.
• Patrick B. Massey, M.D., Ph.D is medical director for complementary
and alternative medicine for the Alexian Brothers Hospital Network.
AVOID FLU SHOTS, GET SOME SUN INSTEAD
http://wafreepress.org/article/091108health-miller.shtml
An MD explains why most doctors don’t get the seasonal vaccine
by Donald W. Miller, Jr, MD
We’re in the middle of another influenza season in the northern
temperate zone, and our government’s Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has again strongly urged Americans to get a flu shot.
Health officials will say that every winter 5–20 percent of the
population catches the flu, 200,000 people are hospitalized, and
36,000 people will die from it.
The CDC’s 15-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(ACIP) makes recommendations each year on who should be vaccinated.
Ten years ago, for the 1999–2000 season, the committee recommended
that people over age 65 and children with medical conditions have a
flu shot. Seventy-four million people were vaccinated.
Next season (2000–01), the committee lowered the age for universal
vaccination from 65 to 50 years old, adding 41 million people to the
list. For the 2002–03 season, the ACIP added healthy children 6 months
to 23 months old, and for 2004–05, children up to 5 years old. For the
2008–09 season the committee has advised that healthy children 6
months to 18 years old have a flu shot each year.
Its recommendation for influenza vaccination now covers 256 million
Americans – 84 percent of the US population. Only healthy people ages
19–49 not involved in some aspect of health care remain exempt.
Pharmaceutical companies have made 146 million influenza vaccines for
the US market this flu season.
Almost all the ACIP members who make these recommendations have
financial ties to the vaccine industry. The CDC therefore must grant
each member a conflict-of-interest waiver.
The CDC mounts a well-orchestrated campaign each season to generate
interest and demand for flu shots. Along with posters for the public,
flyers, and health care provider materials, it encourages doctors to
“recommend/urge flu shots.” Medical groups, nonmedical organizations
(like the YMCA), and the media trumpet CDC-released messages on
influenza, notably: “Flu kills 36,000 per year,” “This could be a bad/
serious flu year,” and “Flu vaccine is the best defense against flu.”
The government promotes National Vaccination Week, which this past
year was December 8–14. This time, however, rather than uniformly
following the government’s “Seven-Step Recipe” for generating demand
for flu shots, the mainstream media has questioned their benefits.
The New York Times had an article in the September 2, 2008 issue
titled “Doubts Grow Over Flu Vaccine in Elderly,” which says, “The
influenza vaccine, which has been strongly recommended for people over
65 for more than four decades, is losing its reputation as an
effective way to ward off the virus in the elderly.
A growing number of immunologists and epidemiologists say the vaccine
probably does not work very well for people over 70, the group that
accounts for three-fourths of all flu deaths.” The article refers to a
study done by the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle on
3,500 people, age 65–94, to determine if flu vaccines are effective in
protecting older people against developing pneumonia (Lancet
2008;372:398–405).
The National Vital Statistics Reports compiled by the CDC show that
only 1,138 deaths a year occur due to influenza alone (257 in 2001,
727 in 2002, 1,792 in 2003, 1,100 in 2004, and 1,812 in 2005).
Bacterial pneumonia causes some 60,000 deaths each year, mainly in the
winter, when surveillance data show increased prevalence of the flu
virus. Using a mathematical (Poisson) regression model, officials
estimate that the flu virus triggers some of the wintertime deaths
from pneumonia, along with deaths in people with cardiovascular
disease and other chronic illnesses. More than 34,000 of those
“36,000” flu deaths are what officials estimate are “influenza-
associated” pneumonic and cardiovascular deaths, not deaths from the
flu.
The Group Health study reported in the New York Times and other
newspapers around the country found that flu shots do not protect
elderly people against developing pneumonia. Pneumonia occurs with
equal frequency in people over age 65 with or without a flu shot.
Earlier studies, biased by the “healthy-user effect,” over-estimated
the vaccine’s effect on pneumonia because they did not adjust for the
presence and severity of other diseases in unvaccinated people.
Group Health authors explain the health-user bias: “The study found
that people who were healthy and conscientious about staying well were
the most likely to get an annual flu shot. Those who are frail may
have trouble bathing or dressing on their own and are less likely to
get to their doctor’s office or a clinic to receive the vaccine. They
are also more likely to be closer to death.”
Other investigators question that there is a mortality benefit with
influenza vaccination. Vaccination coverage among the elderly
increased from 15% in 1980 to 65% now, but there has been no decrease
in deaths from influenza and pneumonia (Am J Respir Crit Care Med
2008;178:527–33). As one vaccine researcher puts it, “I think the
evidence base [for mortality benefits from flu shots] we have leaned
on is not valid” (Lancet Infect Dis 2007;7:658–66).
There is also a lack of evidence that young children benefit from flu
shots. A systematic review of 51 studies involving 260,000 children
age 6 to 23 months found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more
effective than a placebo (Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
2006;1:CD004879).
Randomized controlled trials are the most reliable way to determine
the efficacy and safety of a given treatment. No randomized trials
show that flu shots reduce mortality from influenza or flu-related
pneumonia. Some do show that the flu vaccine is somewhat effective in
preventing influenza. In one widely quoted study, 1838 volunteers age
60 and over were randomized to receive a flu shot or placebo (a shot
of saline).
The flu shot reduced the relative risk of contracting (serologically
confirmed, clinical) influenza by a seemingly impressive 50%. But the
incidence of influenza in the unvaccinated people in this study was
only 3%, compared to 2% in the vaccinated group (JAMA 1994;272:1661–
5). Flu shots reduced the absolute risk of contracting influenza by a
meager 1%. In other words, this study showed that for every 100 people
that have a flu shot only one will benefit from it – and all 100 risk
being harmed by the vaccine.
Another randomized trial by Zaman and coworkers published recently
(NEJM 2008;359: published online September 17, 2008, in print October
9) found that the incidence of influenza in infants whose mothers had
a flu shot during their pregnancy was 4% (6/159). The incidence of flu
in infants whose mothers did not have a flu shot was 10% (16/157).
In this study (done in Bangladesh and funded by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and others) flu shots reduced
the relative risk of influenza illness in infants by a seemingly
impressive 63%. But only 6 out of 100 infants benefited from the shot.
The other 94 received no benefit – 4 got influenza anyway – and all
are at risk from being harmed by the vaccine, particularly from the
mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde in it.
After officials select the three strains of flu virus that they think
are most likely to be circulating during the next winter season (they
picked the wrong ones last year, as is often the case), vaccine makers
grow the viruses in fertilized chicken eggs, with 500,000 eggs per day
(each examined by hand) for up to eight months. Formaldehyde is used
to inactivate the virus. It is a known cancer-causing agent. Aluminum
is added to promote an antibody response. It is a neurotoxin that may
play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. Other additives and adjuvants in
the flu vaccine include Triton X-100 (a detergent), Polysorbate 80,
carbolic acid, ethylene glycol (antifreeze), gelatin, and various
antibiotics – neomycin, streptomycin, and gentamicin – that can cause
allergic reactions in some people.
Two-thirds of the vaccines made for the 2008–09 flu season, 100
million of them, contain full-dose thimerosal, an organomercury
compound, which is 49% mercury by weight. (The remaining 50 million
vaccines contain either “no” or “trace” amounts of thimerosal.) It is
used to disinfect the vaccine. Each one of these 100 million flu shots
contain 25 micrograms of mercury, a mercury content that is 50,000
part per billion, 250 times more than the Environmental Protection
Agency’s safety limit. Mercury is a neurotoxin, which has a toxicity
level 1,000 times that of lead.
There is some evidence that flu shots cause Alzheimer’s disease. This
most likely is a result of combining mercury with aluminum and
formaldehyde, which renders them much more toxic together through a
synergistic effect. One investigator has reported that people who
received the flu vaccine each year for three to five years had a ten-
fold greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease than people who
did not have any flu shots (Int J Clin Invest 2005;1:1–4).
The brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease display three pathologic
hallmarks characteristic of nanomolar doses of mercury: neurofibillary
tangles, amyloid plaques, and phosphorylation of tau protein.
Mercury in vaccines has also been implicated as a cause of autism.
Vaccine makers have now removed thimerosal from all childhood
vaccines, except flu shots. For more on this subject see my article
“Mercury on the Mind,” (www.wafreepress.org/72/mercuryOnTheMind.htm)
with its recommended reading list, and Evidence of Harm: Mercury in
Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy by David
Kirby.
Three serious, acknowledged adverse reactions to the flu vaccine are
joint inflammation and arthritis, anaphylactic shock (and other life-
threatening allergic reactions), and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Guillain-
Barré syndrome (GBS) is a paralytic autoimmune disease that fells
people several weeks after their flu shot. One woman with post-
vaccination GBS writes:
“I had a flu shot in November, and by December I became weak and
continued to get weaker until I collapsed and was taken to the
hospital… I was helpless, totally paralyzed with Guillain-Barré
syndrome… I was in ICU for three weeks and then transferred to a
rehabilitation center. Three months later I was released to come home
because I could ambulate approximately 100 feet with a walker. I
continued rehabilitation as an outpatient for the next three months
until I could walk with hand crutches. Today, I need a cane. I was not
forewarned of any possible hazard when they gave me the flu shot.”
Another woman, diagnosed with GBS after a flu shot, spent 16 months in
the hospital paralyzed on a ventilator and life support. After several
subsequent multi-month hospitalizations she writes:
“On my last visit to my neurologist I was able to walk about 6 feet
holding his hand, not much but it took years to be able to do that. I
scratch my head when I hear them promoting flu shots… Most people that
I come into contact with – in the hospital and out (nurses, doctors,
and regular people) – after hearing my story, feel that it is better
to chance the flu and not get the shot.” (from Vaccine Safety Manual
for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners: Guide to
Immunizations Risks and Protection by Neil Miller [no relation to this
author], pages 84–86.)
The package inserts that come with the flu vaccine note that GBS is a
potential complication, and that there are one to two cases of GBS per
million vaccinated persons. But there were ten times that many cases
of GBS in 1976 with the flu vaccine used that year. Taking a flu shot
is essentially the same as buying a lottery ticket for acquiring GBS.
Perhaps that’s why seventy percent of doctors do not get a flu shot.
Not the temperature, but the sun
Flu virus exists in people year-round, and new strains seed a
population during the “off-season.” In the northern and southern
temperate zones, flu epidemics occur in the cold part of the year,
October–March and April–September respectively. Flu epidemics occur in
the tropics during the rainy season.
Explanations for why flu epidemics occur in the winter when it is cold
– people being indoors in close contact, drier air dehydrating mucus
and preventing the body from expelling virus particles, the virus
lingering longer on exposed surfaces, like doorknobs, with colder
temperatures – do not explain why flu epidemics occur in the tropics.
Something that can explain why flu epidemics also occur both in warm
and cold climates is this: During a flu epidemic, wherever it may be,
the atmosphere blocks ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the Sun. In
the temperate zones above latitude 35 degrees North and South, the sun
is at a low enough angle in the winter that the ozone layer in the
atmosphere absorbs and blocks the short-wavelength (280–315
nanometers) UVB rays. In the tropics during the wet season, thick rain
clouds block UVB rays.
Skin contains a cholesterol derivative, 7-dehydrocholesterol. UVB
radiation on skin breaks open one of the carbon rings in this molecule
to form vitamin D. Vitamin D regulates the expression of more than
1,000 genes throughout the body, including genes in macrophages, cells
in the immune system that attack and destroy viruses. Vitamin D
switches on genes in macrophages to produce peptides, which are both
antibiotic and antiviral: they destroy both bacteria and viruses.
Vitamin D also expresses genes that stop macrophages from overreacting
to an infection and releasing too many inflammatory agents – cytokines
– that can damage infected tissue. Cytokines were a factor in the 1918–
19 Spanish flu pandemic that killed 500,000 Americans. Young healthy
adults would wake up in the morning feeling well, then start drowning
in their own inflammation as the day wore on. They would be dead by
midnight, as happened to my 22-year-old grandmother and my wife’s 24-
year-old grandmother.
Autopsies showed complete destruction of the epithelial cells lining
the respiratory tract resulting, researchers now know, from a
macrophage-induced severe inflammatory reaction to the virus. In a
terribly misguided way, these victims’ own immune system attacked and
killed them, not the virus, something in future pandemics vitamin D,
in appropriate doses, can prevent.
A creditable hypothesis that explains the seasonal nature of flu is
that influenza is a vitamin D deficiency disease. Cannell and
colleagues offer this hypothesis in “Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin
D” (Epidemiol Infect 2006;134:1129–40). They quote Hippocrates (circa
400 B.C.), who said, “Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly
should proceed thus: in the first place to consider the seasons of the
year.”
Vitamin D levels in the blood fall to their lowest point during flu
seasons. Unable to be protected by the body’s own antibiotics
(antimicrobial peptides) that this gene-expresser engineers, a person
with a low vitamin D blood level is more vulnerable to contracting
colds, influenza, and other respiratory infections.
Studies show that children with rickets, a vitamin D-deficient
skeletal disorder, suffer from frequent respiratory infections; and
children exposed to sunlight are less likely to get a cold. Given
vitamin D’s wide-ranging effects on gene expression, other studies
show that people diagnosed with cancer in the summer have an improved
survival compared with those diagnosed in the winter (Int J Cancer
2006;119:1530–36).
A growing body of evidence indicates that rickets in children and
osteomalacia in adults (both a softening of bones due to defective
bone mineralization) are just the tip of a vitamin-deficiency
iceberg.
Tuberculosis and various autoimmune diseases, such as multiple
sclerosis, lupus, and type I diabetes have a causal association with
low vitamin D blood levels. Vitamin D deficiency plays a causal role
in hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure,
peripheral vascular disease, and stroke. It is also a risk factor for
metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes, chronic fatigue, seasonal
affective disorder, depression, cataracts, infertility, and
osteoporosis.
At the bottom of the vitamin D iceberg lies cancer. There is good
evidence that vitamin D deficiency is a causal factor in some 15
different common cancers. (NEJM 2007;357:266–81.)
The increased number of deaths that occur in winter, largely from
pneumonia and cardiovascular diseases, are much more likely due to
vitamin D deficiency than to an increased prevalence of serologically-
positive influenza virus (which also results from vitamin D
deficiency).
Experts reckon that an optimum blood level of vitamin D is 4,000 to
5,000 IU (international units) a day, about ten times the US
government’s recommended daily allowance.
A light-skinned person will synthesize 20,000 IU of vitamin D in 20
minutes sunbathing on a tropical beach, at which point vitamin D
synthesis shuts down for the day (it takes a dark-skinned person 6 to
10 times longer to make this amount).
Human breast milk does not contain vitamin D, since, from an
evolutionary standpoint, our African ancestors’ infants, reared near
the equator, could readily synthesize the nutrient from sunlight on
their skin. Food contains very little vitamin D. The highest natural
concentrations are in wild salmon, mackerel, sardines, and cod liver
oil, but even a typical daily dose of cod liver oil supplement
contains only about 400 IU. Federal regulations now require that some
foods, like milk, be fortified with vitamin D. But one would have to
drink 200 glasses of milk to obtain the amount of vitamin D a light-
skinned person can make in 20 minutes sunbathing.
The majority of Americans are vitamin D deficient. Cheap vitamin D
supplements (D3 is regarded by many nutritionists as better than D2)
provide the only way most of us can maintain a good year-round vitamin
D blood level. That requires taking 4–5,000 IU of vitamin D a day.
Taking vitamin D in these doses is safe, far safer than a flu shot
with all the bad chemicals it contains. Concerns about vitamin D
toxicity are overblown. One can take a 10,000 IU vitamin D supplement
on a daily basis without any adverse effects. In healthy persons,
toxicity is only reached with long-term consumption of more than
40,000 IU a day (Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:694–97).
If you’re interested, check your vitamin D (25-hydroxy D) blood level.
People with granulomatous diseases like sarcoidosis should also check
their blood level of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active form.
Doctors in India and Canada give people a once-yearly injection of
600,000 IU of vitamin D (MJA 2005;183:10–12). That would be better,
and safer, than having a flu shot. Daily, weekly, or monthly vitamin D
tablets work just as well. For more on this subject see my article
“Vitamin D in a New Light” (www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller25.html)
and visit Dr. Cannell’s Vitamin D Council website
(www.vitamindcouncil.org).
Investigators have completed one double-blind, randomized, placebo-
controlled trial that shows vitamin D prevents colds and influenza
significantly better than a placebo pill (Epidemiol Infection
2007;135:1095–6). A large multi-center randomized trial conducted over
multiple flu seasons comparing vitamin D to a flu shot can show
conclusively which is better, and safer. But given the financial
stakes underpinning flu shots, and the unpatentable nature of vitamin
D, who will fund it?
In the meantime, considering what is most likely to be the outcome of
such a trial, if it is ever conducted, I avoid flu shots and take
vitamin D instead.
Other things you can do to prevent the flu
Avoid sugar. It suppresses immunity. Avoid Omega-6 vegetable oils
(corn, safflower, sunflower, peanut, canola, and soybean oil).
Americans consume 50 times more of these oils than are necessary for
good health. In this amount they are powerful immune suppressants.
Take a well-balanced multivitamin/mineral capsule on a daily basis.
Eat garlic. Manage stress. Exercise. Get enough rest. And wash your
hands. Viruses spread most often from touching contaminated objects,
like doorknobs, phones, shared computer keyboards, and shaking hands.
One caveat: what doctors diagnose as “influenza” is often an influenza-
like illness caused by a respiratory virus other than the flu.
Serologic tests are necessary to prove that one’s respiratory illness
is actually caused by the flu virus.
Honest truth
> The optimal level of vitamin D has not been determined. However,
> current adult recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (400-800
> IU per day) are probably too low for most people living in northern
> Illinois. In the winter, the sun is not intense enough for the body to
> generate any vitamin D and many people need at least 5,000 to 6,000 IU
> of vitamin D per day. Usual dietary sources are inadequate and
> supplementation is the only reasonable option. Vitamin D is generally
> safe and toxicity is vanishingly rare. It is important to check blood
> levels because it is the only way to know if you are taking enough
> vitamin D.
Interesting article, eating sardines and tuna helps too.
--
嚙踝蕭Of all the extreme fanaticism which plays havoc in man嚙踝蕭s nature, there is
not one as irrational as anti-Semitism. 嚙皺 If the Jews are rich [these
fanatics] are victims of theft. If they are poor, they are victims of
ridicule. If they take sides in a war, it is because they wish to take
advantage from the spilling of non-Jewish blood. If they espouse peace, it
is because they are scared by their natures or traitors. If the Jew dwells
in a foreign land he is persecuted and expelled. If he wishes to return to
his own land, he is prevented from doing so.嚙踝蕭
Lloyd George
Noah's Dove
on the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the 1300's. One noted
doctor
caught the disease himself and later treated himself by ingesting
plants of the onion family. He recovered from the plague. Onions,
leeks and garlic have been used as medicinal plants for thousands of
years. Following are some other examples of treating flu and many
infectious diseases with relatives of the onion family and and a look
at their antibacterial and antiviral properties. Many people
concerned
about the swine flu vaccine side effects and dangers are looking for
alternative treatments and natural preventives. The onion family may
offer that alternative.
Onions?? wow...who woulda evah think of it
Posted October 26th, 2009 by billyjack1958
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/112214
My husband and I have been battling a horrible flu...he since last
Wed
and me since Sat. I got this email yesterday and promptly put onions
everywhere. The one by my bed is turning black in places and I feel
better today. He ran fevers for almost 3 days while I, thus far, only
ran one yesterday for a few hours. I think it is working and so I
thought I would pass it along here.
In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor
that
visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.
Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.
The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone
was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing
that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled
onion
in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back
then).
T he doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the
onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and
when he did this, he did find germs in the onion. It obviously
absorbed the disease vector, therefore, keeping the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that
several
years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so
were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls
With onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff
got
sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls
around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your
office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and
see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.
If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the
better.
If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case..
Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on
onions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who
regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied
with this most interesting experience about onions:
Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmers story...
but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was
very ill...I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an
onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an
empty jar...placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It
said
the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough
it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel
better.
Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed
around the room saved many from the black plague years ago.
They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.
As a side note, sage brush is also supposed to have some anti-viral/
antiseptic properties. I know our llamas, especially the new mamas,
seem to think that rolling in it and rubbing their faces in it, is
definitely the right thing to do. So, I am hanging sage bundles
around
too....doubly nice cuz I love the smell of it :)
output
7 Things You Did Not Know about Onion and
Garlichttp://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/garlic-and-...
1.Onion has been cultivated for at least 7,000 years. The species may
have originated in Central Asia or Iran, and was first cultivated in
the Middle East. Garlic may have originated in southwestern Asia and
was cultivated 5,000 years ago in the Middle East.
2.To impede the stored onion and garlic to sprout, you have to burn
the small roots of the bulb on a flame and keep them in aerated
places.
3.Onions have more sugar than apples! That's why sauces with onion
are
sweet. But the active chemicals that give the onion scent hide their
sweetness. Onions are also rich in vitamins B6, B1 and B9.
4.Onions make you cry because when sliced, the cells release enzymes
that break down sulfur compounds which generate sulfenic acids -
unstable chemicals that turn into a volatile gas reaching the eyes
through air. To decrease the likelihood of tears, onions can be
chilled for 30 minutes prior to cutting in the refrigerator or in
cold
water. If the root end of the vegetable remains attached, this too
reduces the level of tear-provoking gases.
Onions are used for long against common cold, heart disease, diabetes
and osteoporosis, improving also circulation and high blood pressure,
and impeding blood clotting. In many areas, onions are used for
curing
blisters and boils. In Malta, wounds caused by sea urchin are treated
by tying half of a baked onion to the damaged area overnight.
The heart protective effect of the onion is due to flavonoids,
specifically quercetin, also encountered in tea, apples and
red wine. Quercetin is broken down in the body, and the resulting
chemicals impede chronic inflammation that causes the thickening of
the arteries. Inflammatory processes are effectively stopped by the
chemicals coming from 100-200g of ingested onions.
Recently, a Japanese team has found that onion boosts our memory!
Subjects experiencing memory loss reported improved recall abilities,
after ingesting lightly cooked pieces of onion. An anti-oxidant
chemical in onions seems to attach to the toxins in the brain,
helping
in eliminating them. The sulfur containing chemical is turned on when
onions are slightly heated in a pan, but overcooking can damage the
chemical's memory-boosting qualities.
The same active chemical is also encountered in other relatives of
the
onion, like garlic and leek.
5.Garlic is rich in manganese, phosphorous, selenium, calcium,
potassium, iron and copper, and also in vitamins B1, B6 and C. Garlic
contains sugar too, and this is more evident in cooked garlic.
6.Garlic has the same heart protective effect, reducing blood
pressure, thinning the blood, preventing clots, and lowering bad
cholesterol. These garlic chemicals (polysulfides) make the blood
vessels release hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which relaxes them and
thereby
lowers the blood pressure. Selenium and manganese are involved in
heart protection.
The same anti-inflammatory effect like in onion makes garlic
effective
against cold, flu and asthma. Garlic and onion are bacteria slayers.
They can even destroy the bacterium H.pylori in the stomach, involved
in the development of stomach cancer. Researches made on garlic
revealed a few servings weekly decrease the risk of colon cancer.
Researches found that garlic can even combat three diabetes
complications: nephropathy, retinopathy and neuropathy. Allicin, a
sulfur compound in garlic, even prevents weight gain.
You maybe won't dare to ingest garlic before a date, but ancient
Greeks and the Egyptians regarded it as an aphrodisiac. And for good
reason: improved blood circulation goes to that point. Some say
garlic
fights acnea and hair loss. Anyway, maybe you will be sexier, too!
7.You may not know, but besides the taste for blood, mosquitoes have
another point in common with Dracula: they hate garlic. Eating a lot
of garlic will keep mosquitoes away. On the windowsill, you can plant
species like peppermint, garlic, or ginger. Insects won't dare enter
your home.
Garlic and Its Medicinal Properties
Garlic has been used for its medicinal properties since ages. It was
widely used in ancient Egypt. It is an extensively used herbal
medicine.
Garlic in its natural form contains an antibiotic called allicin. It
also contains sulfides. Garlic is said to fight against certain types
of cancers.
Garlic can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure. It can also
fight plaque formation in the arteries. It also helps to prevent
atherosclerosis.
Garlic is used in the treatment of asthma. It is said to reduce the
intensity of attacks. As garlic has pungent smell and bad odor, the
best way to consume garlic would be to cut the garlic cloves into
pieces and swallow it like tablets. Consuming garlic like this, you
can escape from the foul smelling breath.
Garlic can prevent the formation of blood clots and reduce the
chances
of a stroke. Garlic is also used as a mild antibiotic, and an
antibacterial agent.
Fresh garlic can be used as an anti-fungal herb. Garlic has been used
to fight the some of the most dangerous bacteria that is resistant to
antibiotics.
Only fresh raw garlic has antibacterial and antiviral properties.
Garlic when cooked loses most of its properties. Garlic extracts as
they are not fresh also tend to lose their medicinal value.
Garlic has been used as preventive and cure for colds, cough and
asthma for ages. Garlic is also said to boost metabolism. Consuming
garlic has very little side effects.
Topical application of garlic is also prevalent, as garlic has
antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.
Garlic can also be used as a mosquito repellent. Cut garlic into half
and keep it in a room. It will drive away the mosquitoes.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/n97bp0t343nb8jqa/
Although garlic has been used for its medicinal properties for
thousands of years, investigations into its mode of action are
relatively recent. Garlic has a wide spectrum of actions; not only is
it antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiprotozoal, but it
also
has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular and immune systems.
Resurgence in the use of natural herbal alternatives has brought the
use of medicinal plants to the forefront of pharmacological
investigations, and many new drugs are being discovered.
http://quanta-gaia.org/reviews/books/powerOfGarlic.html
"The Healing Power of Garlic"
By Paul Bergner
Published by Prima Publishing
ISBN 0-7615-0098-7
Reviewed by Michael Kisor
Garlic is nature's wonder drug. Its medicinal value has been
understood by herbalists for at least 2000 years. While modern
research is confirming this ancient tradition, don't expect to hear
much about it from the pharmaceutical companies or their puppets:
allopathic doctors (i.e. "conventional medical doctors"). Garlic
cannot be patented and exploited as such. They will attempt to find
an
"active ingredient," derive a drug from it, and patent and promote
that. Vitamin and supplement companies, on the other hand, are
extolling some of the virtues of garlic and promoting their
"deodorized" products. But these products are not nearly as effective
as raw garlic. Once again, the best source for proper nutrition comes
from food itself.
Garlic contains hundreds of minerals and nutrients. It is very likely
that no one ingredient is the "active ingredient." It is very likely
that garlic's effectiveness and safety comes from these ingredients
working together in concert. And if any particular ingredient should
be found more potent than the others, and that ingredient were
isolated and made into a medicine, it will probably have powerful
negative side effects like virtually every other drug in use today.
The Healing Power of Garlic discusses the historical uses of
garlic,
current research findings, and how to prepare and apply it for
various
ailments. Garlic has powerful antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal
characteristics. Garlic is as effective as many modern antibiotics,
without the dangerous side effects. What's more, garlic is an
antiviral. Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses. In fact, in
all of modern pharmacology, there are no effective antiviral drugs.
This has important implications for AIDS patients, and in preventing
colds and flu's. Included in this book is a recipe for garlic nose
drops, which in animal studies have proved to be 100% effective in
preventing influenza. Considering the danger of allopathic flu
inoculations, of which one of the side-effects can include death,
this
is welcome news.
Then there are these words from Dr. Herbert Pierson, of the United
States National Cancer Institute:
Garlic is a veritable pharmacopeia. That's why garlic has been found
in every medical book of every culture ever. For thousands of years,
garlic had been used for the treatment and preventcon of disease. So
there has to be something there.
The Healing Power of Garlic is a valuable book and one which is
well
worth having on your bookshelf. I heartly recommend this book.
Blurb from the back cover of The Healing Power of Garlic:
Healing traditions have recognized garlic as a natural "wonder drug"
for thousands of years. Now medical research indicates garlic may
prevent and even reverse high blood pressure, heart disease, and
cancer, as well as a host of other serious health problems. In fact,
a
recent head-to-head comparison proved garlic just as effective as the
leading cholesterol-reducing drug in lowering cholesterol levels.
This comprehensive handbook describes exactly how to use garlic as a
versatile, powerful, and effective medicine for a tremendous variety
of common illnesses. The simple treatments described in this book can
help you:
Prevent cancer
Lower your cholesterol level
Reverse high blood pressure
Boost your immune system
Overcome fatigue
Resist colds and flus
Prepare healing garlic oil, ear drops, poultices, syrups, ointments,
and other garlic treatments
Paul Bergner is editor of Medical Herbalism and Clinical Nutrition
Update, and a faculty member at the Rocky Mountain Center for
Botanical Studies in Boulder, Colorado.
Author's Introduction to The Healing Power of Garlic:
Is garlic a spice or a medicine? Is it therapeutic for the major
diseases of our times? Scientists posed these two questions,
respectively, in the titles of articles appearing in research
journals
in 1988. Most of us know of garlic as a favorite seasoning in salad
dressings and as a staple of French, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern,
Indian, and Chinese cooking. But garlic is also a medicine, an
unusually powerful and versatile one, that has been used since the
dawn of medicine.
From epidemiological studies of cancer in China and Italy to clinical
trials in high blood pressure and high cholesterol in the United
States, Europe, and Japan, garlic has come under intense scientific
scrutiny in the last ten years as a potential "wonder drug." Much of
this research has investigated the effects of garlic in
cardiovascular
disease. This priority of research is probably inspired by the
prominence of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and
stroke, the leading causes of death in the industrialized world.
In 1994, scientists reviewing a collection of previous clinical
trials
of garlic concluded that it lowers both cholesterol and blood
pressure, two important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Notably, normal dietary amounts of garlic did this without any side
effects more serious than a garlic odor in a small percentage of
participants. Conventional drugs for these diseases cause side
effects
such as dry mouth, insomnia, drowsiness, depression, and impotence.
In
a head-to-head trial comparing garlic against the cholesterol-
lowering
drug bezafibrate, garlic was just as effective. This is good news for
the 25 percent of men and women aged twenty-five to fifty-nine in the
United States who have high cholesterol levels.
Scientists have also recently investigated the possibility that
garlic
can prevent or treat some kinds of cancer. As early as 1981,
scientists noted that populations in China eating more garlic had
less
incidence of stomach cancer than those eating less garlic. By 1985,
researchers experimenting with constituents of garlic had identified
mechanisms that could inhibit tumors. One focus of research has been
the sulfur-containing compounds in garlic -- the very compounds
responsible for the odor of garlic coming from the skin of people who
eat a lot of it. By 1994, the lower cancer rates among garlic eaters
in China were found to also hold true in Italy and in Iowa.
Scientists
have now found evidence for the cancer-preventing effects of garlic
from such population research, from research on isolated cancer
cells,
and from animal research. Cancer is the second leading cause of death
in the United States, and this research suggests that garlic may help
prevent stomach, bladder, breast, colon, and esophageal cancers.
So it seems that the answer to the questions posed by the scientists
in 1988 is "yes." Garlic is indeed a medicine and it is a preventive
for the major diseases of our times. But so far, we've only been
talking about prevention. What about treatment? Garlic has been used
since the dawn of written history in medicine, and its main uses have
remained virtually unchanged, meaning they have been verified by one
generation after another. In contemporary systems of traditional
medicine, such as Chinese medicine...modern naturopathic medicine,
British herbalism, and others, garlic remains in use as a therapeutic
agent. In 1993 and 1994, in my Medical Herbalism journal, I ran a
survey of contemporary herbalists in North America to find out what
herbs they used most often. Garlic ranked seventh out of the top
fifty
herbs mentioned. Note that this is not based on sales of garlic but
the actual prescription of it as a medicine by clinical
professionals,
including naturopathic physicians... and a variety of lay herbalists.
A summary of these uses shows that garlic is like a medicine chest in
itself:
Respiratory conditions: Cold, flu, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia,
tuberculosis
Digestive disorders: Stomach ulcer, diarrhea, amoebic dysentery,
worms, parasites
Cardiovascular disease: Atherosclerosis, post-heart attack therapy,
post-stroke therapy, claudication
Skin problems: Acne, boils, eczema, fungal infections, insect bites
and stings
Many of these uses come from the antibiotic and immune-stimulating
effects of garlic constituents (historically, garlic was found useful
even for prevention of the bubonic plague, the dreaded Black Death!).
Garlic can treat or prevent many diseases caused by infection by
bacteria, viruses, molds, or parasites.
There is a big push by the media to governments due the swine flu
outbreak to get vaccinated, however many doctors and medical
researchers are warning about the side effects and dangers of
unproven
swine flu vaccine. Please watch the following video.
Are vaccines today more dangerous, in some cases, than the diseases?
Has something gone wrong with the system or the companies making
them?
Filmed at the 4th International Public Conference on Vaccinations
(sponsored by the Nat'l Vaccine Information Center) in October, 2009,
listen to what these health professionals have to say!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1K74Tnrrok
On Nov 2, 6:00 pm, Honest truth <Honest_tr...@Wisdom.net> wrote:
> On Mon, 2 Nov 2009 17:45:49 -0800 (PST), Noah's Dove wrote:
> > The optimal level of vitamin D has not been determined. However,
> > current adult recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (400-800
> > IU per day) are probably too low for most people living in northern
> > Illinois. In the winter, the sun is not intense enough for the body to
> > generate any vitamin D and many people need at least 5,000 to 6,000 IU
> > of vitamin D per day. Usual dietary sources are inadequate and
> > supplementation is the only reasonable option. Vitamin D is generally
> > safe and toxicity is vanishingly rare. It is important to check blood
> > levels because it is the only way to know if you are taking enough
> > vitamin D.
>
> Interesting article, eating sardines and tuna helps too.
>
> --
> “Of all the extreme fanaticism which plays havoc in man’s nature, there is
> not one as irrational as anti-Semitism. … If the Jews are rich [these
> fanatics] are victims of theft. If they are poor, they are victims of
> ridicule. If they take sides in a war, it is because they wish to take
> advantage from the spilling of non-Jewish blood. If they espouse peace, it
> is because they are scared by their natures or traitors. If the Jew dwells
> in a foreign land he is persecuted and expelled. If he wishes to return to
> his own land, he is prevented from doing so.”
>
> Lloyd George