Category Archives: Autism and Vaccination Choice

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Environmental Toxins and Health, Mercury Toxicity, Vaccinations

Review: What About Immunizations? Exposing the Vaccine Philosophy

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Review: What About Immunizations? Exposing the Vaccine Philosophy
by Cynthia Cournoyer (Pub. 2010, Better Books Publishing)

Many people spend more time researching what color paint to put on their walls, what brand of car to buy, or what vacation package they should choose compared to studying what issues surround vaccination policy and the possible dangers vaccinations pose to the health of their child. Many are not aware that the number of children suffering vaccine damage is escalating exponentially alongside the increase in the vaccination schedule. Most also do not consider that a vaccine will inject foreign DNA and toxins into their child’s body, which can play havoc on their sensitive immune system. Yet, while other medicines and products on the market are held accountable to safety standards, because of the “vaccine philosophy,” a term coined by the author, vaccines do not receive this same scrutiny and are believed safe and effective with the benefits outweighing the risks. It is this philosophy that promotes vaccines blindly and prevents honest inquiry into the possible harmful effects of vaccine policies.

Consequently when people are told by their doctors that they must follow the vaccination schedule, open disclosure of the risks is not forthcoming. Additionally, schools have become the check point of vaccination compliance, and unless the parent knows that they can sign a religious or philosophical exemption, that child will not be allowed to attend school. Therefore it has been entirely up to parents and independent researchers to do their own inquiry into vaccines. What About Immunizations? Exposing the Vaccine Philosophy is a thorough guide to the history, efficacy, research practices, policy protocol and political issues surrounding vaccines.

Fortunately, our society is questioning the entire medical paradigm. Cournoyer points to two opposing health approaches that will lead to completely different practices of health care. When Dr. Weston A. Price studied healthy populations worldwide, he found that their immunity to all disease was due to the nutrient-density of their diets. This is completely in line with the research of French physiologist, Claude Bernard who found that germs and disease would only proliferate if the immune system was weakened—that the general condition of the body was the underlying reason for disease. In conjunction, French biologist, Antoine Bechamp discovered that microorganisms are constantly developing into bacteria. If the tissue is healthy, they will provide life support for the cells. However, if the cells are weakened, they will produce diseased microorganisms, which may evolve into a pathogenic state. Likewise, Hannah Allen, author of Don’t Get Stuck: The Case Against Vaccinations and Injections, argued that diseased microbes are a product of the level of health of the host.

To the contrary, Louis Pasteur believed that germs caused the disease. Yet, on his deathbed, he admitted that “Bernard was right. The seed is nothing, the soil is everything.” Hannah Allen comments, “But like the third automobile, which was the proximate cause of the collision but proceeded on its way with impunity, Pasteur envisioned the truth in the 1880s and abandoned the germ theory, leaving the early immature and erroneous theory to be developed, fostered, and perpetuated by others, the ultimate irony. The mischief, medical misunderstanding and error continue to this day, and the price is incalculable.”

Cournoyer shows us how vaccines were developed in support of Pasteur’s principles. She points however to the poor track record they have had in preventing disease. First, the aspect that vaccines create true immunity to a disease has never been accurately proven. Historically, epidemics have come and gone naturally, often due to societal changes in sanitation and true herd immunity—immunity created over time, by large groups of people recovering from cases of the actual disease. This was true with diseases like small pox, polio and diphtheria. These diseases declined in unvaccinated populations as fast as in highly vaccinated countries. Yet, vaccines were given the credit. In fact, many diseases made a resurgence when the vaccine was implemented.

Vaccines were embraced because of the knowledge that having a moderate form of the disease would procure life-long immunity. However, this permanent kind of immunity and that from receiving a vaccination do not yield the same result. A vaccination injects a weakened form of the disease in the body to provoke an immune response. Thus, the reason why vaccines are reported to work is that they have the ability to raise antibody levels, and this is acknowledged as an indication of protection from the disease. Cournoyer counters this and explains that research proves that this type of immune response may give a false immunity and be permanently weakening the body’s immune system, especially considering the increase in the number of recommended vaccines. This is blatantly evident when you study vaccine efficacy records, which reveal that there is a proportion of people that become ill with diseases for which they have been vaccinated. Additionally there are more children who have chronic illness of all kinds than ever before in history. Given that vaccines challenge immune function, are we creating a population of children susceptible to lifelong illness?

The book further analyzes that we are vaccinating people for diseases for which there is little danger. In countries where there are fewer vaccines, there is no higher incidence of the diseases for which they do not vaccinate against.

Not only is vaccine efficacy dubious, today, the risk for vaccine damage has significantly increased. While more vaccines are added to the mandated schedule every year, reports of vaccine side effects and injury such as fever, rash, drowsiness, fretfulness, vomiting, persistent crying, pallor, coldness, hyporesponsiveness, malaise, convulsions, heart or kidney disorders, erythema, arthralgias, encephalitis or even death are becoming more frequent.

Encephalitis is the primary cause of autism and autism is affecting one in 105 children in our country today! Yet the FDA, medical authorities and the media attempts to convince us that vaccines have not played a role in this epidemic. Cournoyer states that “The primary cause of encephalitis in the United States and other industrialized countries is the childhood vaccination program. Sometimes studies will claim that a vaccine is safe because recipients are not subject to any more encephalitis than the general population. That statement is troubling because our general population is up to 100% vaccinated upon school entry. You cannot compare a vaccinated population with a vaccinated control group and hope to find scientific data.” One must ask, can any widespread medical intervention be considered for “the greater good” when the risk for injury is ever increasing and the track record of effectiveness so poor?

The vaccination policy in other countries has become quite disturbing and makes one question the real motives behind the push for the development of more vaccines. In July, 2011, the  Malawi Voice reported that a “group of families who took their children out of the country, to Mozambique, to avoid the free measles vaccine that was being distributed, were rounded up by police and vaccinated at gunpoint upon returning to the country.

“The vaccine safety/choice community has been hearing reports of this happening in Africa for more than a year now, but this is the first official story that I have heard thus far and thus been able to report. In this case the District Health Officer himself, Dr. Matchaya, freely admitted to the newspaper that this was done.

“According to Dr. Medison Matchaya District Health Officer for Nsanje, medics went to vaccinate the children in Nsanje under police escort.

“We were alerted that some children who were hiding in Mozambique were back in the country and we asked police to escort the health officials in order to vaccinate them and we have managed to vaccinate about 131 children,” said Matchaya.

Ginger Taylor, contributing author of the book Vaccine Epidemic commented on this story in her blog, Adventures in Autism, saying:

Wanna know the difference between my vaccine injured son and let’s say, a child in a small African village who suffers a vaccine encephalopathy? In our house we have doors with locks on them to keep him safe inside, and school systems that are legally obligated to serve him. Take a moment and imagine what it would be like to try to keep your neurologically impaired child alive in rural Africa for a month or two. Just watched a short documentary about a new neurological illness befalling children in one African village. Parents have to tie their children to the side of their homes with a rope to prevent them from walking away and dying. That is how they live their entire lives.

Cournoyer reports that vaccine policy is riddled with corruption and conflicts of interest. The vaccine program must therefore be brought to test by independent investigation.  By all indications, protecting health is not its true guiding principle.

The author persuades each person to carefully engage in the issues regarding vaccines. Parents are the most knowledgeable advocate for the health of their own children and must trust their instincts in knowing what is best. If vaccines are not proving to be the answer to preventing disease and may in fact be causing more harm than good, can we afford the repercussions of a society of severely ill people?

Harry Truman’s statement, “A nation is only as healthy as its children,” is a chilling prediction. We as a nation must heed this wisdom and prepare to make changes in our perception of what truly will build the health of our children.

It is time to look at strategies that have a track record of building health. It is therefore appropriate for the Germ Theory that has fostered vaccination development, to take a back seat. If we heed the wisdom of Dr. Weston A. Price, Claude Bernard, Antoine Bechamp and Hannah Allen, building the immune system with excellent nutrition can provide us with the underlying principles necessary for reestablishing the health of our society.

By Kathryne Pirtle

About Cynthia Cournoyer:

Newly revised and updated seventh edition, Cynthia has been writing about the vaccine controversy for nearly 30 years. This guide to the vaccination decision was released in December of 2010. It is available on Amazon and through her website, whataboutimmunizations.com

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Healing and Building Health with Nutrient-Dense Foods, Recipes for Traditional Foods

Chicken Tea and other Fun Nutrient-Dense Foods for Picky Eaters

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I manned the Weston A. Price Foundation booth at the Autism One Conference 2011 from May 26-29th. Over 2500 people from all over the world attended this year as the conference offered free admission. This was a blessing to families who are trying to find real answers for reversing autism. As I spoke to moms and dads, our message, as was the message of the entire conference–was one of great hope–that autism is a medical condition and can be reversed!! Yes–these children are “canaries in the mine” and are teaching us what must change. This IS, as is the mission of Autism One–GENERATION RESCUE! The uncontrolled greed that has shaped policy from the top down–is changing from the bottom up–from the inside-out–one person at a time. The truth will prevail.

Autism is most often now understood as being caused by an inflammation of the brain from a toxic overload from factors such as heavy metal toxicity (especially mercury), from the toxicity due to the huge increase in the numbers of vaccines that children receive, from other environmental toxins and from poor digestion, candida overgrowth and a weakened immune system. When the gut is damaged and inflamed, inflammatory chemicals can break down the blood-brain barrier and cause inflammation in the brain. Inflammation of the brain–also called encephalitis–can cause many of the symptoms of autism. Additionally, when the blood-brain barrier is damaged,  toxins that affect brain function can circulate more easily.

Nutrient-dense, easy-to-digest foods are proving to be one of the most powerful dietary partners in reversing autism. They have superior ability to heal the gut and inflammation, enable the body to detoxify, provide exceptional nutrition and therefore have the greatest ability to heal the brain. A colleague who helps to publish the Autism File Global magazine told me that she and her husband had spent $150,000 on treatments for their son, and it wasn’t until they focused on a diet of nutrient-dense foods that he recovered from autism!

However, many children with autism are very picky eaters. I heard that message over and over at the conference. In the book “Gut and Psychology Syndrome,” Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride discusses the necessity of introducing new foods very slowly and that changing a child’s eating habits IS challenging–but not impossible. Moms and dads ARE creative–“Where there is a will–there is a way!”

One of the most powerful gut and inflammation-healing foods to first incorporate is old-fashioned bone-broth. Bone broth can be made into soups, be used as a liquid for cooking vegetables, reduced as a delicious sauce over meats and can be a fantastic beverage. It was one of the primary foods I consumed in my own healing of a life-threatening digestive disorder, and have continued to eat daily for over 10 years. It is a food from which everyone can benefit.

For example, to incorporate bone broth, Ginger Taylor, a contributing author of the new book “Vaccine Epidemic,” told me that  her son loved tea parties! Now–who doesn’t love tea parties? So Ginger said she introduced bone broth by having a tea party with chicken tea–what fun! Now her son loves chicken tea! Most importantly, her son will begin to have the benefit of one of the most powerful foods for healing the gut and over time, every nutrient-dense food that replaces a nutrient-poor food will aid in recovery.

Another mom told me her son loves meatballs. Well–you can hide a lot of nutrient-dense foods in meatballs. She makes them with beef from pastured cows,  pastured egg yolks and spices and now plans to add little bits of pastured liver to her recipe. She also will serve them with a sauce made with reduced bone broth.

Adding raw egg yolks from pastured chickens to smoothies made with coconut milk and fruit is another delicious way to add nutrient-density to your child’s diet. Served in fancy tea cups would make it even more fun.

Here is a great recipe for chicken bone broth.

BONE BROTH—CHICKEN

Large crock pot or stock pot

2 large organic-free-range chickens, preferably from pastured chickens, cut up in small pieces

4 chicken feet (optional)

filtered water

3T. vinegar

2 large onions—chopped (optional)

6 stalks of celery, chopped (optional)

6 carrots—sliced thin (optional)

4 cloves of garlic—diced (optional)

2 T. ginger—diced (optional)

Celtic sea salt to taste

Place chickens, vinegar, optional chicken feet, onions, celery and garlic in the stock or crock pot. Let chicken and vegetables come to a boil then turn to simmer. If using crock pot, no need to change temperature. When meat is done, take meat off bones and place bones and skin back in pot. Put meat in refrigerator and use later for making soup or in other recipes (ie. chicken salad). Continue to simmer bones, vegetables and broth for 8-12 hours. Strain the broth. Add Celtic sea salt to taste. Use broth for soups, sauces or as a beverage. Broth can be refrigerated or frozen for later use.  Reheat broth on stove —DO NOT MICROWAVE!!

As you find new ways to help your child heal, you will join a community that is working together to find real answers. Let nutrient-dense foods become your close ally in your path to recovery!

For more information on building health and healing with nutrient-dense foods see Performance without Pain and our e-book on healing acid reflux.

Best in health,

Kathryne Pirtle

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Mercury Toxicity, Personal Rights and Food Freedom, Vaccinations

Review: Vaccine Epidemic-How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten our Human Rights, Our Health, and our Children

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Edited by Louise Kuo Habakus, M.A. (Director, Center for Personal Rights) and
Mary Holland, J.D. (Research Scholar, NYU School of Law)
Skyhorse Publishing, 2011

As it is with most things—more is not always better. It has taken over 15 years of independent world-wide research by extremely concerned parents, doctors, scientists and lawyers to build an undeniable momentum commanding that the protective rubber stamp of approval on vaccine development, safety, mandates and policies be addressed. A book of acute gravity, Vaccine Epidemic, presents an urgent dialogue about the vaccine controversy. The opening dedication—To all who are asking the questions and all who are demanding the answers—summarizes widening public consciousness and mainstream concern regarding vaccine safety.

Through the voices of experts in ethics, law, science, medicine, business, and history, the book requires thoughtful attention and action. An exponential rise in children who are suffering serious vaccine damage will not be ignored, nor will the lack of appropriate medical and governmental action to thwart this trend. Vaccine Epidemic advocates an honest and thorough assessment of vaccination policy and vaccine safety.

Habakus and Holland examine these issues:

  • The human right to vaccination choice
  • The ethics and constitutionality of vaccination mandates
  • Personal narratives of parents, children and soldiers who have suffered vaccine injury
  • Vaccine safety science and evidence-based medicine
  • Corrupting conflicts of interest in the national vaccine program
  • What should parents do? A review of eight advice books on vaccines that span the gamut

The Case for Vaccination Choice

The recognition of intrinsic human rights has been a hallmark of democratic societies. Vaccine Epidemic eloquently clarifies vaccination choice as a fundamental human right. It reveals this in relationship to a wealth of international and national standards such as the Nuremberg Code, free and informed consent, medical autonomy, due process, the human rights revolution, and public health revolutions in sanitation, hygiene and antibiotics. It scrutinizes the far-reaching, inappropriate governmental vaccination policies whereby a child’s right to a free education is at risk as a consequence of partial or full non-compliance.

Herd immunity is at the root of vaccination mandates. However, the book exposes the many flaws in this unproven theory. Habakus states, “What is most troubling about the theory of herd immunity is that the original basis for its validity has nothing to do with vaccines. People observed a protective effect in the community when a sufficiently high number of individuals contracted the wild form of a disease and secured lifelong immunity…In the 1930s and 1940s, health officials began using ‘techniques of mass persuasion’ and ‘aggressive salesmanship’ to increase the public’s compliance in receiving vaccinations.” For herd immunity to dictate vaccination policy, the government must prove that unvaccinated individuals will harm those that are vaccinated.  This has never been demonstrated. Interestingly, the book brings to light the fact that a large portion of children who suffer from many childhood diseases were previously vaccinated against them!

Additionally, since the increase in the vaccination schedule and its corresponding rapid rise in children suffering vaccine damage, there has been a lack of justice, including an absence of due process and appropriate compensation for victims. A moral society would not allow a dubious public policy based on the flawed principle of “the greater good” to continue. Parents have the ultimate authority over their children’s medical interventions. Vaccination choice must prevail.

Narratives

The tragedies described in this book represent the wide-ranging effect of careless vaccine development and mandates. I attended the American Rally for Personal Rights at Grant Park in downtown Chicago in the spring of 2010, during the week of the Autism One conference. I was awestruck and absolutely grief-stricken by the many stories of vaccination damage I heard. Vaccine Epidemic is the outgrowth of that powerful rally. I knew that each incomprehensible story represented hundreds of thousands of children and thousands more yet to be harmed.

Contributing author Michael Belkin, a leading investment strategist and former director of the Hepatitis B Vaccine Project of the National Vaccine Information Center explains, “If you doubt the existence of adverse reactions to vaccines, you must first examine with your own eyes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), which is available and searchable online at www.medalerts.org As of November 17, 2010, VAERS listed 352,650 reports of vaccine adverse events. Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner David Kessler wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association, that ‘only 1% of serious adverse events are reported to the FDA.’ ” Belkin’s daughter died at five weeks of age after hepatitis B vaccination.  As of March 11, 2011, the tally has risen to 361,519, acknowledged to represent only 1 to 10% of actual adverse events associated with vaccination.

The story is repeated over and over—a healthy child is born, and after receiving recommended vaccinations which start on the day of birth, that child is never the same—is stricken with autism—or maybe dead. Those who recover are very fortunate, as many cannot overcome the effects of vaccine-induced encephalitis—brain inflammation—despite a comprehensive array of holistic therapies. Most terrifying are the stories of hopeless parents who take their child’s life along with their own—those who can no longer carry the overwhelming and isolating burden of the care of their beloved.

Contributing author Amy Pingel’s haunting chronicle of her teenage daughter’s descent from perfect health to breathing through a trach and eating from a tube is a result of a severe reaction to the “Gardasil” vaccine. Her saga represents the pervasive acceleration to develop more vaccines for older children and adults—vaccines that are pressured and innocently advertised through medical practitioners and the media as a “must have.” Yet—there is little disclosure of the true risks.

Contributing author Air Force captain Richard Rovet, RN (USAF ret) implores that the enormous risks our servicemen take to defend our country should not include being used as guinea pigs for vaccine experimentation. Yet, this is what is happening to our military personnel. In the Gulf War, more servicemen and service woman were damaged from the experimental vaccines than from the war itself. Why was this allowed?  This needs to be brought out to the public.

The truth about vaccines must be widely understood.

The Topics in Debate

Vaccine Epidemic exposes problematic issues about vaccine policy. A rigorous public challenge of these troubling practices must continue.

  • Why have pharmaceutical companies recently focused on expanding the vaccine market?
  • Why are so many vaccines given a quick stamp of approval from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and recommended to virtually all children?
  • Why are the government and media allowed to exhibit bias and a lack of accountability for problems in the vaccine safety and policy?
  • Why is forced vaccination for foster children allowed in the U.S.?  When parents decline vaccination, how can they be charged with “medical neglect” and risk the forced removal of their children?
  • Why aren’t vaccine ingredients and dangers clearly and openly disclosed?
  • While doctors are sworn to adhere to the Hippocrates oath, “Do no harm,” why is it admissible for problems with vaccine safety to be ignored by the majority of today’s medical practitioners?
  • Why has independent, peer-reviewed research showing the problems with vaccine safety been ignored and systematically suppressed?

Finally, the book moves us to action as vaccination choice is at risk in our country. “The American Academy of Pediatrics and its spokespeople are suggesting the abolition of philosophical and religious exemption rights. They have a lot of influential support behind them—the pharmaceutical industry, public health, government and media. We are in crisis. You can expect more federally recommended vaccines to be added to the schedule…more vaccines of unproven safety to reach the market…more efforts to dismiss vaccine injury…Unless we change course, these projections will likely become reality.”

Things you can do now:

  • Take a stand—sign the petition supporting vaccination choice at www.centerforpersonalrights.org
  • Stay informed—join the Center’s mailing list
  • Reach out—share and recommend the book, which is available on Amazon as a physical book and at amazon as a Kindle download.   More information is available at www.vaccineepidemic.com
  • Attend an event, and offer to sponsor one in your community.
  • Donate to support the work of the Center for Personal Rights, a non-profit organization dedicated to defending the human right of vaccination choice.

Health freedom is an inalienable right. Whether it is food freedom or vaccination choice—it is one and the same issue. Just as we seek higher quality in our food choices, we are demanding honesty and choice in all public policies that can affect our health. We must stand together and demand what is ours already—nothing less will do, for ourselves and our children.

Review by Kathryne Pirtle

This article will be published in the July, 2011 edition of the Wise Traditions Journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation. To receive the journal, go to www.westonaprice.org

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Environmental Toxins and Health, Healing and Building Health with Nutrient-Dense Foods, Mercury Toxicity

Age of Autism–A Critically Important Book

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The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine and a Man-Made Epidemic

Dan Olmstead and Mark Blaxell
(Pub.2010, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press)

The Age of Autism is perhaps the most important new book written about the roots of a catastrophic health pandemic affecting our children. Autism is screaming to be understood. We cannot fathom the repercussions of increasing percentages of autism in our children…What will happen to these children? We have no time to waste in finding real solutions.

You can continue reading  my review of this critically important book by following the link below:
Age of Autism–Book Review

For more information on healing and building health with nutrient-dense foods and seminars on this subject, see Performance without Pain and The Healing Diet for Acid Reflux Disease

Best in Health,

Kathryne Pirtle

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Vaccinations

The Truth about Vaccines

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When you can get your vaccines at the grocery store–it should raise huge red flags for every person. These are statements made by MDs about serious problems with vaccines. Think twice.

“The decline in infectious diseases in developed countries had nothing to do with vaccinations, but with the decline in poverty and hunger.” –Dr. Gerhard Buchwald, MD

“Crib death” was so infrequent in the pre-vaccination era that it was not even mentioned in the statistics, but it started to climb in the 1950s with the spread of mass vaccination against diseases of childhood. –Harris L. Coulter, PhD

“It is pathetic and ludicrous to say we ever vanquished smallpox with vaccines, when only 10% of the population was ever vaccinated.” – Dr. Glen Dettman

“Up to 90% of the total decline in the death rate of children between 1860-1965 because of whooping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and measles occurred before the introduction of immunizations and antibiotics.” —Dr. Archie Kalokerinos, MD

“I think that no person would permit anybody to get close to them with an inoculation if they would really know how they are made, what they carry, what has been lied to them about them and what the real percent of danger is of contracting such a disease which is minimal.”—Dr. Eva Snead

“The greatest threat of childhood diseases lies in the dangerous and ineffectual efforts made to prevent them through mass immunization…. There is no convincing scientific evidence that mass inoculations can be credited with eliminating any childhood disease.” –Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, MD

“Official data shows that large scale vaccination has failed to obtain any significant improvement of the diseases against which they were supposed to provide protection” – Dr. Sabin, developer of Polio vaccine.

“There is a great deal of evidence to prove that immunization of children does more harm than good.” – Dr. J. Anthony Morris (formerly Chief Vaccine Control Officer at the US Federal Drug Admin.) 

“My suspicion, which is shared by others in my profession, is that the nearly 10,000 SIDS deaths that occur in the United States each year are related to one or more of the vaccines that are routinely given children. The pertussis vaccine is the most likely villain, but it could also be one or more of the others.” –Dr. Mendelsohn, MD

“The medical authorities keep lying. Vaccination has been a disaster on the immune system. It actually causes a lot of illnesses. We are changing our genetic code through vaccination.” –Guylaine Lanctot M.D., author of the best-seller ‘Medical Mafia’

” You can’t vaccinate believing that your children are protected and then feel that your children are not protected because somehow, some non-vaccinated child is carrying some secret organism that no one else is carrying. It just doesn’t make any sense.” –Dr. Larry Palevsky, board-certified pediatrician

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Personal Rights and Food Freedom, Sustainable Farming, Health, Soil and Environment, USDA Dietary Guidelines, Nutrient Deficiencies and Degenerative Illness

Powerful Words from Gandhi–How to Turn Anger into Effective Action

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Wise words from Gandhi teach us that the best use of our anger towards the injustices we see or experience is to be actively involved in creating solutions to the problem and practice non-violent resistance. This principle can be applied to anything in our lives. It takes great insight and self-control to use our energy in this way.

I have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power that can move the world.
– Mahatma Gandhi

From Eknath Easwaran’s Thought for the Day

Mahatma Gandhi provides a perfect example of how anger can be harnessed. As a young, unknown, brown-skinned lawyer traveling in South Africa on business, he was roughly thrown from the train because he refused to surrender his first-class ticket and move to the third-class compartment. He spent a cold, sleepless night on the railway platform.

Later, he said this was the turning point of his life: for on that night, full of anger because of this personal injustice, as well as the countless injustices suffered by so many others every day in South Africa, he resolved not to rest until he had set those injustices right. On that night he conquered his anger and vowed to resist injustice, not by violence or retaliation, but through the loving power of nonviolent resistance, which elevates the consciousness of both oppressed and oppressor.

We may never be called on to liberate a people or lead a vast nation, but Gandhi’s example can apply in a small way in our own lives, when we decide to return good will for ill will, love for hatred, in the innumerable little acts of daily life.

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Mercury Toxicity, Personal Rights and Food Freedom

The Canary in the Mine–The Autism One Conference and the American Rally for Personal Rights

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Chicago was the central think tank and activism center of the world for autism and vaccination choice last week during the Autism One Conference and the American Rally for Personal Rights. The Autism One conference and the American Rally for Personal Rights were strategically connected into one week as they partnered to create a massive exchange of solutions to our most serious health issues—damage to the human body through toxic overload. Continue the article at: http://hartkeisonline.com/2010/06/02/autism-one-conference-and-the-american-rally-for-personal-rights/#more-6548

Best in Health,

Kathryne Pirtle

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Healing and Building Health with Nutrient-Dense Foods, Vaccinations

Vaccines–the track record may surprise you!

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The media entices people into thinking that using vaccines protects people from many serious illnesses. What is reported in the media about vaccines and what has historically occurred with vaccines is quite different. But the actual track record may surprise you. In fact, from the beginning of their use, there was never clear evidence that the vaccines were alleviating the diseases for which they were created.

When we look at both polio and small pox we will see the evidence for prevention through vaccine is very questionable. The death records from about a ten year span before both polio and small pox show that the numbers of people dying from these two diseases went down significantly. And when the vaccine was introduced with polio, the amount of people who contracted polio went up!! With small pox, the disease had also already gone down significantly before the vaccine was produced and the person who developed the vaccine reported years later that it was a failure! Measles was yet another illness that had declined by 98% between 1915 and 1958 just before the vaccine was introduced.

The other very serious problem with vaccines is that they have many toxic ingredients. Many of them still many still have thimerosal–which contains mercury. The adult flu vaccine still has this ingredient unless you ask for a “thimerosal-free” dose. Mercury in very small doses is extremely toxic. In fact, after a three hour exposure, mercury causes cell membrane damage and death in only “very tiny ” amounts. In many of today’s vaccines, aluminum–also toxic–is replacing mercury. It depletes minerals, targets the myelin tissue, can cause fatigue, numbness, paralysis etc.

With so many vaccines being developed today, there has never been a scientific study (double-blind, controlled) proving their efficacy! Yet, we are told that our children need to receive a record amount of vaccines throughout childhood! This is very disturbing. Luckily, many people are “going against the grain” and the entire Autism community has clear guidelines against vaccines for the health of children.

The following are websites to give you more information:
www.thinktwice.com
www.uninformedconsent.org
www.safeminds.org
www.opednews.com
www.thimerosal-news.com

In the worldwide studies of 14 healthy cultures, Dr. Weston A. Price found that immunity to all disease was clearly through a nutrient-dense diet. He saw that “All disease is caused from malnourishment.” For more information about healing and building optimal health with traditional, nutrient-dense foods see www.perfromancewithoutpain.com.

Best in Health,

Kathryne Pirtle

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Healing and Building Health with Nutrient-Dense Foods

Protection from Swine Flu by Building Natural Immunity with Nutrient-Dense, Traditional Foods

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With all the dire warnings, where is the message about building natural immunity?

You are all aware of the dire warnings about swine flu, the outbreak that started in the Mexican village of La Gloria and which local residents blame on infection and/or toxins coming from local confinement hog operations.

The internet is abuzz with warnings bordering on hysteria (conventional media) to a variety of conspiracy theories, and even to allegations that the pandemic is a government fabrication designed to sell stockpiles of anti-viral medications.

Conventional medical advice ranges from wearing face masks to taking the anti-viral drug called tamiflu (which can have many serious side effects, see http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21087&name=TAMIFLU.)

It is interesting to note that not once in all the media broadcasts have we heard any mention of building natural immunity.

NATURAL IMMUNITY
Fortunately, we do not have to sit back and listen to the news about swine flu feeling helpless and anxious.  We can be proactive by simply nourishing ourselves and our families.

Vitamins A and D in cod liver oil offer strong protection against infection of all types, as well as against environmental toxins.

Vitamin C is important-either from vitamin C-rich foods like sauerkraut, or from one of the natural vitamin C supplements recommended in our Shopping Guide.

Healthy gut flora provide 85 percent of our protection against disease.  Be sure to consume healthy lacto-fermented foods and beverages every day and avoid the foods that disrupt gut flora, especially refined carbohydrates.

Bone broth plays a double role of supporting the immune system and helping the body detoxify.

My book, Performance without Pain, offers a clear plan on how to build health and immunity with nutrient-dense foods. See www.performancewithoutpain.com.

COCONUT OIL

We are grateful to Beth Beisel, registered dietitian and WAPF member for reminding us about the protective factors in coconut oil. Swine flu is a lipid coated virus (http://www.pnas.org/content/98/5/2115.full.pdf+html), and thus is inactivated by sufficient amounts of monolaurin. (Our bodies convert lauric acid, found in coconut oil, to monolaurin.)

According to our own Dr. Mary Enig, two to three tablespoons of coconut oil per day appears to be an adequate dosage to fight infection, even from virulent antibiotic-resistant organisms such as MSRA.

There are lots of ways to get coconut oil into the diet: stir coconut oil in some tea; make macaroons; replace some of the butter in baking with coconut oil; and use it in cooking/sautéing. Mary’s oil blend (see below) is a good way to incorporate coconut oil in cooking and salad dressings.

MARY’S OIL BLEND
1/3 melted coconut oil
1/3 sesame oil – expeller pressed
1/3 100% olive oil

Combine oils, store in a tight container, in an area free from sunlight, and use in cooking or on salads.

COCONUT SMOOTHIE
Beth has shared this great smoothie recipe with us.

1 banana
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pomegranate/blueberry juice
1/2 cup natural yogurt or kefir, preferably homemade from raw milk
1/2 can coconut milk

Whirl in blender and drink to your health!

Autism and Vaccination Choice, Children's Health, Digestive Disorders and Healing Diet, Healing and Building Health with Nutrient-Dense Foods, Mood Disorders and Diet

Autism and Poor Mental Health– “Gut and Psychology Syndrome”

2 Comments

Review

Gut and Psychology Syndrome:
Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, A.D.D., A.D.H.D., Dyslexia, Depression and Schizophrenia
By Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, MMed(nuerology), MmedSci(nutrition)
(Published by Medinform, 2004)

Just as Dr. Weston A. Price was baffled by the amount of chronic illness in his patients and sought to identify the parameters that could foster such a trend, so too does Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride advance our understanding of the underlying factors present in a growing percentage of people who are suffering from brain disorders and mental illness. The latest estimates are that 1 in 150 children is diagnosed for autism alone and 1 in 94 boys is on the autistic spectrum. She states that although genetics is often given as an explanation for brain disorders such as autism and ADD/ADHD and psychiatric illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, genetics could never cause an exponential increase in health or developmental problems—because genetics work much more slowly. As a parent of a child diagnosed with learning disabilities, Dr. Campbell-McBride has boldly sought to identify elements common to people with brain disorders and mental illness and craft an effective approach to improving their condition. When genetics is no longer used as a “scapegoat” for health problems, then and only then will accurate knowledge and solutions be found.

Through studying the health of hundreds of patients with autism, learning disabilities, psychiatric illness and other problems, Dr. Campbell-McBride discovered that in all cases these children and adults had digestive problems, often of a severe nature. Through her research, she has determined that there is a distinct correlation between unhealthy intestinal flora, poor digestion and toxicity from chemicals created by undigested foods that can severely affect brain chemistry. She coins this as “Gut and Psychology Syndrome,” or GAPS.

But if a child develops problems such as autism or ADD/ADHD at an early age, how can that child have already developed poor digestion? This is where Dr. Campbell-McBride so brilliantly defines that the probable source is familial and generational, which moves past genetic theory. Just as Dr. Price ascertained that without adequate nutrition, each generation would produce less healthy children—so Dr. Campbell-McBride postulates that poor intestinal flora and digestion is being passed down from one generation to the next. When a child is born it acquires the flora of the mother during the passage through the birth canal. If the mother has a history of antibiotic or contraceptive use and poor digestive health, her flora will likely be far less than healthy. If she does not breast-feed her baby, the gut flora of the child will be further compromised. The infant will often develop digestive problems such as colic, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, feeding difficulties, intestinal damage and malnourishment very early in life and is typically afflicted by a host of allergies. The child usually has frequent ear infections that are treated with many rounds of antibiotics, which only make the situation worse.

Poor bacterial flora and digestion are at the heart of serious health problems. When children are born with intestinal bacterial imbalances or “gut dysbiosis” they tend to have a compromised immune system and are prone to illness. Dr. Campbell-McBride states that often the intestinal tract of children who have autism is caked with hard fecal material. This terrible condition of course would lead to enormous and serious health consequences. She brings to light the profound statements of Hippocrates (460-370 BC) that, ”All diseases begin in the gut,” and of the father of modern psychiatry, French psychiatrist Phillipe Pinel (1745-1828), that “The primary seat of insanity is the region of the stomach and intestines.”

But what exactly happens in the gut that can upset brain chemistry? Dr. Campbell-McBride provides us with a magnificent explanation of the cascade of events that can occur when digestion is not supported by a healthy gut flora. A child or adult who eats a diet that is high in difficult-to-digest carbohydrates such as grains and processed foods, will continue to encourage the underlying condition of gut dysbiosis. Dr. Campbell-McBride states that people with damaged flora will even crave the very foods that support the survival of the unhealthy bacteria often to the exclusion and refusal of others.

Where most research on poor digestion focuses on unhealthy intestinal flora, Dr. Campbell-McBride’s work uniquely points to many problems with gut flora actually beginning with an unnatural growth of the fungus, Candida Albicans, in the stomach when it is not producing enough acid. She discusses that this overgrowth interferes with the first step of digestion by causing the stomach to produce inadequate amounts of the hydrochloric acid necessary to break proteins into “peptides” before entering the small intestine. For instance, under normal circumstances, the gluteomorphine and casomorphine proteins in wheat and milk are broken down in the stomach in the presence of proper amounts of stomach acid. However, with less stomach acid, these foods in fact begin to ferment in the stomach and are not broken down into peptides before passing into the small intestine. Besides causing an inadequate digestion of foods, the pressure of the gas created from this fermentation can lead to acid reflux, esophageal problems and even hiatal hernias, which are some of the most common digestive problems that people experience.

When insufficiently digested food enters the small intestines without adequate stomach acid, the pancreas in turn does not get the signal to release adequate pancreatic juices. Because people with GAPS lack healthy bacterial flora, they also lack production of enzymes called “peptidases.” These enzymes normally are produced by the enterocytes on the microvilli of the small intestine and will further break down proteins and carbohydrates into usable nutrients. With poor flora, the mucosal lining of the intestinal tract also becomes damaged and “leaky gut syndrome” develops. Therefore, the undigested casomorphine and gluteomorphine proteins, which resemble the chemical structure of opiates like heroin and morphine, are absorbed into the bloodstream unchanged and can cause severe interference with brain and immune system function. Dr. Campbell-McBride states that “There has been a considerable amount of research in this area in patients with autism, schizophrenia, ADHD, psychosis, depression and autoimmunity, who show high levels of casomorphines and gluteomorphines in their bodies, which means that their gut wall is in no fit state to complete appropriate digestion of these substances.”

Undigested carbohydrates, poor digestion and candida overgrowth in turn result in the production of the chemicals ethanol and acetaldehyde, which have profound consequences on brain chemistry and development. With these chemicals, a person can technically be considered “drunk” after a meal of carbohydrates even though they consumed no alcohol. We all know that alcohol is extremely toxic, especially to a developing fetus or a child. Besides reduced stomach acid and pancreatic enzymes, the following are some of the effects of a prolonged presence of alcohol from an overgrowth of candida in the body: damage and inflammation to the gut lining and resulting malabsorption; nutrient deficiencies; stress to the immune system; liver damage; accumulation of toxins, old neurotransmitters and hormones that can cause abnormal behavior; brain damage that can lead to lack of self control, impaired coordination and speech development, aggression, mental retardation, loss of memory and stupor; peripheral nerve damage; muscle tissue damage and weakness; metabolic alteration of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids and pancreatic degeneration.

Dr. Campbell-McBride reveals that there are many other toxins and bacteria created by poor digestion that are routinely found in stool samples of patients with GAPS. Of particular importance are those of the Bacteriods and Clostridia Family. These bacterium are present in all of us but kept under control when a healthy bacterial flora is in place. The Bacteriods are almost always found in infected tissues of the digestive tract, mouth, and gums, lungs, urinary tact, blood, heart valves and in diseased teeth, etc. Members of the Clostridia Family are also usually present in the stools of people with schizophrenia, psychosis, severe depression and those with other muscle, neurological and psychiatric conditions. Although many Clostridium species are normally found in the healthy gut, when gut dysbiosis in present, these bacterium may cause problems. If, for instance, the bacterium that causes tetanus, Clostridium tetani, which generally lives in check in a healthy gut, begins to thrive with gut dysbiosis; the toxins from this bacterium can infiltrate the tissues of the body. Some of the symptoms of the presence of a low exposure to the tetanus infection are sensitivity to light and noises and abnormalities of muscle function, i.e. the extensor muscles and flexor muscles may not function properly. Thus, children and adults with autism may exhibit the behavior of walking on tiptoes and stretching their muscles unusually in self-stimulation.

She also discloses some of the troubles with many countries’ vaccination programs. Where vaccinations in the past may have protected our children from a host of serious diseases, today, a young child with unhealthy gut flora and resulting digestive and immune system problems, receiving vaccinations for multiple diseases such as the MMR and DPT vaccine, may not produce an expected reaction to the vaccine. The vaccinations tend to put an enormous strain on the immune system. She therefore suggests a very cautious use of single vaccinations for a limited number of diseases, given to the child only when their digestive health is improved.

What then are the solutions to helping turn poor digestion into that which can help a person thrive. Dr. Campbell-McBride outlines a nutrient-dense dietary plan that is totally void of grains and at first, dairy, and provides high quality, organically grown meats, poultry, fish, nuts, eggs—especially raw egg yolks, cooked, non-starchy vegetables and fresh fruit with bone-broth soups, traditionally fermented foods, and ample traditional fats. She suggests supplements of cod liver, fish oil, digestive enzymes, a stomach acid supplement called Betaine HCL with added Pepsin and a non-enteric coated probiotic (minimum of 8 billion cultures per gram) to rid the stomach of bacterial growth and help develop healthy intestinal flora. Through a grain, sugar and dairy-free diet, the focus will be on removing foods that either feed the candida overgrowth, cause morphine-like peptides or an allergic response. She advises replacing the grains that most children crave with breads and crackers made from nut flours. After the gut flora is improved, she recommends adding homemade yogurt gradually to the diet and eventually cheeses. Once the stomach acid is normalized, a healthy gut flora is developed, nutrient rich foods take the place of depleted foods, the intestinal tract heals and digestion is repaired, both mental and physical health improvements are sure to follow.

She advises that the earlier these dietary changes are made, the more likely the success. She realizes, however, the difficulties that parents have with making changes to the diet of a young child and thoughtfully provides a method of encouraging new foods with a reward structure in place. She does not cover the challenges of changing the diet of an adolescent or adult, but we feel her information can aid both health practitioners and parents, friends and caregivers in understanding the necessity of helping their patients and loved ones to incorporate as much of this nutritional plan as is possible—certainly, the effort is well-worthwhile. It would seem, however, that the best time to implement Dr. Campbell-McBride’s recommendations is when the child is very young. This would minimize the damage induced by the neurotoxins that are produced by the dysbiotic flora. This would also minimize the psychosocial consequences of the abnormal behavior that accompany the neurotoxic affects on the brain.

Dr. Campbell-McBride makes another important point about the modern, commonly held belief that a gluten-free, casein-free dietary approach will help people with autism. She has found that most people do not improve with this diet because the gluten-free foods on the market are really just another form of nutrient-deficient junk food that foster the growth of candida and contribute to poor digestion. She states that this is also often true for people with Celiac disease. She sites research that even attributes the development of Celiac disease not to genetics as much as to an overgrowth of Candida. In fact she discusses that the best treatment for Celiac, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and other digestive disorders is a grain-free diet that was developed more than 60 years ago called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, by the renowned American pediatrician, Dr. Sidney Haas. She has used many of the principles of this diet to develop her own program.

While Dr. Campbell-McBride suggests problems with milk, she does not discuss the difference between pasteurized commercial or organic milk and raw milk from grass-fed cows. Within the Weston Price Foundation research, there are abundant examples of the benefits of raw milk in improving the function of people with autism, learning disabilities and mental illness. The pasteurization of milk alters its proteins, making them difficult to digest and of course destroys the enzymes. It seems prudent, therefore, to differentiate the use of raw milk and explore its possible benefits in her plan. Additionally, recommending the use of nuts that have been soaked in sea salt and dehydrated, thereby increasing their digestibility and nutrient availability could enhance her suggestion of replacing grains with nuts and recipes made with nut flours.

After the thorough discussion of her nutritional plan, the book contains a wonderful section of recipes followed by details of important supplements. At the end of the book, she outlines a significant natural approach to treating ear infections and constipation. She also again stresses the need to move away from finding answers to difficult problems with human health by merely turning to genetics.

Through the study of the principles that Dr. Campbell-McBride provides, alternative medicine practitioners, who frequently encounter patients that are plagued with allergies, may want to re-evaluate their approach to treatment. Food allergies are a source of constant stress to a patient’s immune system. Not only do they manifest as dyspepsia, abdominal pain and altered bowel function but they can also result in a variety of non-local symptoms such as headaches, joint pain and eczema, to name a few. In light of Dr. Campbell-McBride’s approach, a thorough review of a patients history and symptoms may lead a conscientious practitioner down a frequently traveled path that has it trailhead nestled between the cardiac and pyloric sphincters.

Although Dr. Campbell-McBride’s pivotal work focuses on the correlation between the often-severe digestive disorders and the development of brain disorders, learning disabilities and mental illness, we must not underestimate that these same digestive disorders are at the heart of the exponential increase of degenerative illness in our country. If we observe the amount and kind of medications that we as a nation consume, we will coincidently find that most of the top 10 prescriptions written in the US correlate to gut and psychological disorders—two were for ulcers and acid reflux, two were for depression, one was for schizophrenia, two for high cholesterol, one for sexual dysfunction, one for anemia and one for chronic pain. It appears that we need a paradigm shift when looking at the cause and treatment of what is ailing us as a nation and that Dr. Campbell-McBride has suggested a starting point.

The disturbing, far-reaching consequences of the mass-consumption of foods produced by the industrial farming industry and inaccurate dietary trends are affecting the health of our entire population. Besides the knowledge that we have gained on the nutritional requirements of optimal health and the nutritional causes of degenerative conditions from Dr. Price’s work, Dr. Campbell-McBride’s thorough discourse detailing the effects of faulty digestion on brain function and chemistry can serve as a template for the further exploration and explanation of the source of a multitude of diseases that plague our modern culture.

Reviewed by Kathryne Pirtle and Dr. John Turner, DC, CCSP, DIBCN
Co-authors, with Sally Fallon, of Performance without Pain

For more informationabout the book and seminars on this subject, see www.performancewithoutpain.com.