Category — Articles - Health Politics

Example of a Medical Myth

I find it useful to unravel the deceptions in the medical world, one small example at a time, to get glimpses of how the mechanism works.

In general, allopathic drugs are given to counteract a process that is determined to be either harmful or causing discomfort. Symptoms are to be eradicated, and treatment is aimed at this level. The assumption is that if you get rid of the symptom, you’ve gotten rid of the problem.

Let’s look at the way the drugs work. Antacids are a good example. Too much acid? Take a chemical to counteract that. Either interfere with the mechanism that produces stomach acid, or simply neutralize the acid with an alkaline substance.

Here’s an analogy to help illustrate what this approach is actually doing:

Say you are heating your house in the winter. You produce all this good heat that is very useful to you. But at some point you notice that your windows are not sealed properly. Now the heat is leaking out, and all the good heat is actually causing a problem to certain delicate bushes on the other side of the windows.

What do you do? Allopathic medicine would ask, what is your symptom? The delicate bushes are getting too much heat. What should we do about that? Well, we have two options. Either we can turn off the heat in the house! Or, we can bring some cold air into the house to neutralize the heat as soon as it is produced.

Now, because of certain indoctrinated beliefs about how medical things work and what I should expect as a patient, I consider these two options as perfectly valid. I’m even glad to have two options rather than just one. [Read more →]

Deconstructing Medical “News”
By Karen Robinson

I sometimes watch the health segment on the TV show 20/20, for “practice”. Last night a
piece was aired urging us to get a blood test for C-Reactive Protein (CRP) to detect inflammation which could be predictive of heart attack.

Dr. Tim Johnson concluded the piece with the kind of assurance we’re relieved to hear, that now that we know that inflammation is involved, and we have this CRP test, heart attacks may soon be a thing of the past.

(There are many clear methods of addressing the underlying issues of heart disease, but not by the road he’s suggesting which is paved with dangerous “statin” drugs.)

The piece began innocently enough by discussing how inflammation in the arterial walls can cause unstable plaques that can rupture. The woman shown as an example did not have high cholesterol, so it seemed as though the story might not be related to cholesterol.. But wait..

When it turned out that her CRP test result was high, indicating an inflammatory response, the doctor first put her on a low-fat diet. (We’ll get to that in a minute).

But naturally that can’t be the end of the story. The piece went on to report that for most people, dietary measures alone won’t be enough to bring CRP levels down, but guess what can– that’s right, “statin” drugs, the good old expensive cholesterol-lowering drugs are now being prescribed for people with inflammatory conditions. Now there will hardly be anyone left who doesn’t “need” these expensive drugs. Ahem.

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No to Fluoridation
Thanks to Sam Burcher for supplying this article:

ISIS Press Release 07/01/05 (January 7, 2005)

No to Fluoridation

The “mass medication” of UK’s drinking water with a listed poison will cost London’s health authorities alone more than £21 million. Sam Burcher reports

Fluoridation for all

Fluoridation was introduced into the UK in the 1960s when areas in and around Birmingham and Newcastle were fluoridated, along with the Republic of Ireland, making up 11% of the UK population. The Government has now decided to introduce fluoride into public water supplies throughout Britain, with target areas of Inner London, North-West England and Northern Ireland, with the aim of reducing tooth decay among children in “deprived” areas.

Under the Water Act 2003, water providers will be obliged to add fluoride to their supplies. According to a letter from health minister Hazel Blears and environment minister Elliott Morley to the deputy PM John Prescott, “those who remain adamantly opposed would be able to use water filters that remove fluoride or buy bottled drinking water”.

Campaigners opposed to fluoride include the National Pure Water Association (NPWA), The Green Network and The Green Party. Green Party spokesperson Martyn Shrewsbury says, “The general trend in the world is against fluoridation.” He pointed out that the risk of tooth decay in fluoridated Gateshead and non-fluoridated Liverpool is the same.

Dental disease increases six-fold by fluoridation

The American Journal of Diseases of Children states: “With few exceptions the biochemistry of fluorine (fluoride) emphasizes its toxic features. The production of endemic dental fluorosis in human beings by drinking water is an outstanding example of the toxic effect of the excessive intake of the element.” Dental fluorosis is fluoride poisoning that causes hypomineralization (irregular calcification) and a disorder of ameloblasts (enamel forming cells) that mottle, weaken and discolour childrens’ teeth. In 2000, the Newcastle NHS Trust reported dental fluorosis in 54% of children aged 8-9 years compared to 24% of 8-9 year olds in non-fluoridated Northumberland.

The 1ppm (part per million) level of fluoride in UK water supplies deemed “safe” by government is 100 times higher than normally found in mothers milk. Prof Paul Connett, a leading authority on fluoride, spoke out at the Science, Medicine and The Law conference in London last week. He said, “There are no benefits only risks for infants ingesting heightened levels of fluoride at such an early age, [when] susceptibility to toxins are particularly high.”

In 1999, Baroness Hayman responded in a Written Answer for the Government, “We accept that dental fluorosis is a manifestation of systemic toxicity.” Despite this sanction, the Government have backtracked on the safety of fluoride, supported by the British Dental Association, which states that fluoride is a positive step towards narrowing the health inequalities that currently exist.

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