With all the disclosures about funding received from the drug companies by “unbiased” research teams at major universities, it is not surprising that many of these studies have determined that a drug produced by the funding drug company is “beneficial” but none of them cure the actual cause. Of course, these studies also pointed out the serious side effects of most of these drugs, while also concluding that the drug manufactured by the drug company paying for the research was worth the risk.

However, there is still research being done into treating not the symptoms but the actual cause of illness or body malfunction. Often this research has been sponsored by the United Nations which is addressing problems in countries where the funds are not available to buy high-priced drugs that really only treat symptoms and cause many other side effects. Zinc deficiency has been investigated for many years, but as the need to find a cure for many conditions and symptoms is being demanded by more patients, many more studies are being done. In this newsletter we will discuss zinc and zinc deficiency. (more…)

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) — A new analysis of government data is the first to link low-level arsenic exposure, possibly from drinking water, with type 2 diabetes, researchers say.

The study’s limitations make more research necessary. And public water systems were on their way to meeting tougher U.S. arsenic standards as the data were collected.

Still, the analysis of 788 adults’ medical tests found a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of diabetes in people with low arsenic concentrations in their urine compared with people with even lower levels.

Research outside the United States has linked high levels of arsenic in drinking water with diabetes. It’s the link at low levels that’s new. (more…)

Sooner or later we had to talk about heavy metal exposure. And, no I’m not talking about a type of music. We’re all constantly being bombarded with exposures to heavy metals. I’ve mentioned before that I was ill for many years due to chemical poisoning. I now know that heavy metal exposure and overload was more than likely the root cause for the chemical sensitivity.

Even when someone is following a healthy eating program and doing consistent exercise, exposure to heavy metals can still wreak havoc in the body. At the time that I became ill, I made much of our food from “scratch,” including yogurt, bread, and even our ketchup. I was also very fit and enjoyed a number of activities such as running, long distance cycling, cross-country and downhill skiing, aerobics classes, and racquetball. My body still succumbed to the bizarre symptoms that toxicity causes. If you or someone you know is doing a lot of things right with regard to their health, yet they still do not feel well, heavy metal toxicity could be an issue.

The main heavy metals causing problems are mercury, cadmium, aluminum, lead, arsenic, and nickel. These toxic metals can cause or contribute to a long list of diseases. Toxic build-up due to chronic heavy metal exposure cause common symptoms such as fatigue, digestive distress with reduced ability to assimilate fats, aching joints, sleep difficulties, depression, impaired blood sugar regulation, and female reproductive problems such as menstrual difficulties, infertility, miscarriage, and symptoms associated with menopause. I know these symptoms are common to many, however if someone is working toward optimal health, yet is still plagued with some of these, heavy metal toxicity could be at the root.

Dr. Kaayla Daniel explains that “optimal nutrition is essential when dealing with heavy metal toxicity because if you are deficient in essential metals, your body will use toxic heavy metals as “stand-ins” instead. For example:

• Calcium is replaced by lead, which deposits primarily in bone, and disrupts the formation of red blood cells. Lead contributes to poor bone health such as osteopenia and osteoporosis.
• Zinc is replaced by cadmium, which tends to accumulate heavily in your kidneys. Cadmium overload is associated with peripheral neuropathy.
• Magnesium is replaced by aluminum, which, among other things, induces neurochemical changes and has been identified as a contributing factor to developing Alzheimer’s.
• Manganese is replaced by nickel, which is carcinogenic.”

from nutrition 777.com

BY DELTHIA RICKS - Newsday | delthia.ricks@newsday.com    July 11, 2008

For two years Christine Heeren has diligently taken her son to a Long Island physician for intravenous infusions of a compound she says not only “detoxifies” the boy, but erases many obvious signs of autism.

The treatment is called chelation therapy, infusions developed more than 70 years ago and used since to purge lead from the blood. Parents who blame their children’s autism on mercury from vaccines call the unapproved treatment a godsend.

Medical experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, say there is no scientific basis for a vaccine/autism link. Thimerosal, a mercury-based compound, once used as a preservative in childhood vaccines, was removed in 2001.

This week the head of the National Institute of Mental Health, said he’s considering a clinical study to determine whether the treatment has merit. Government researchers are under pressure to formally study chelation therapy because of anecdotal reports from parents like Heeren. For now, the analysis is on hold because of safety concerns. (more…)

Dr. Rashid Buttar will be interviewed on Healthy Talk Radio, on Sunday, July 6th at 4:00 PM.¬† The topic of the interview is the dangers posed by heavy metals in day to day life (in our foods, our dental fillings, etc…).¬†¬† The interviewer and host of the show is Dr. Julian Whitaker.

Healthy Talk Radio is a program that airs on stations thoughtout the country, or you may listen live online at the Healthy Talk Radio website.

Health News Out of Canada

Toxic chemicals: Consumers are the lab rats
William Marsden, The Gazette

Viviane Maraghi expected the blood tests to show she would have some chemical pollution in her body, but nothing like this.¬† After all, she viewed herself as “very environmentalist,” carefully monitoring what she ate and and the household products and items she purchased.

Nevertheless, lead, arsenic, mercury, PCBs, PBDEs (a flame retardant banned in Europe and eight U.S. states but still in use in Canada), plus an array of other chemicals that have been linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological diseases were all well represented in her bloodstream.

Her blood tested positive for 36 of 68 potentially toxic chemicals, many of which never actually leave the body, but continue to accumulate over time in tissues such as fat or bone.

They get there because they are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the products we use.¬† Over the last 50 years, from 70,000 to 100,000 different chemicals have been introduced into the world’s markets with about 1,500 new ones added each year. They are found mostly in industrial processes and consumer products such as cosmetics, cleaners, food, plastics and more recently the circuit boards that run our computer electronics. Even a seemingly innocuous polyvinyl chloride (PVC ) shower curtain contains up to 108 toxic chemicals - some of which have already been banned by some countries, but not in Canada.
(more…)