Do It Now : Personal Growth

Deadly Gardisil (HPV vaccine): Is it Worth the Risk???

I had not intended to write about this vaccine or any vaccine for a while, but I have learned that some people I know still do not know how risky Gardisil is, and on the advice of uninformed doctors or school officials, a few have already had their girls vaccinated! Yet the evidence against this widely promoted vaccine is mounting.

According to one of the developers of the Gardisil vaccine, Dr Diane Harper of Princeton University, the public needs to be better informed about potential serious side effects. 

Early last year, two girls died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) which they developed just months after receiving Gardisil.  Researchers at the ALS Centre at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center have linked these deaths to Gardisil.

In 2008, a conservative activist group, Judicial Watch, reported that over two dozen girls and women died that year after receiving Gardasil, bringing the reported deaths to 47. They also “documented 62 cases of Gardasil recipients who developed warts after receiving the vaccine.”  Hang on! Isn’t this  vaccine designed to prevent genital warts??

Dr. Harper points out that risk of death from the vaccine can’t be ignored.

What’s ironic, even tragic about the whole Gardisil fiasco is that the protective benefits don’t seem to outweigh the risks. Dr Harper says that, “The rate of serious adverse events on par with the death rate of cervical cancer. Gardasil has been associated with at least as many serious adverse events as there are deaths from cervical cancer developing each year.”

If you are a parent or a young woman who is considering this vaccine, please become informed of the risks, not only of death but of Lou Gherig’s disease, stroke and other reported side effects. Don’t rely on your doctor or the vaccine’s manufacturer to give you the facts. Millions of dollars are being made from this drug, and greed is a powerful motive for playing with the truth.  

“To date, 15,037 girls have officially reported adverse side effects from Gardasil to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). These adverse reactions include Guilliane-Barre syndrome, lupus, seizures, paralysis, blood clots and brain inflammation.

(Who in their right mind would sell or advocate a vaccine that puts children at risk?)

The Centres for Disease Control in the U.S.  acknowledge that 44 deaths following Gardasil shots have been reported, but Dr Harper says that this does not include one-third of total Gardisil death reports.

I suppose the only good news here is that the CDC has decided to stop compelling migrant girls and women to be vaccinated with Gardisil. How many of those who were required to take the shots have already been affected without knowing?  Oh, the crimes that governments and bureaucrats commit upon the innocent and uninformed!

Sources:

Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News, ‘Gardisil Researcher Speaks Out’, Available online at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/19/cbsnews_investigates/main5253431.shtml

Jon Barron, Jon Barron’s Natural Health Blog, ‘Gardasil Vaccine for Boys’, Available online at: http://www.jonbarron.org/blog/2009/09/gardasil-vaccine-for-boys.html

Gardisil-Talk.com,  ‘CDC Ending HPV Vaccine Requirements for Immigrants’, Nov 18 2009, Available at http://www.gardasil-talk.com/

The Untapped Powers of Vitamin D

For the last 6 months or so, after reading about Dr Weston Price's research on the enormous health benefits of naturally produced animal fats (from grass-fed, organically raised animals) and organ meats (including healthier gums and stronger teeth), I have been eating quality organic butter and/or liver almost daily. In addition to their other nutrients, these foods are particularly high in Vitamin D, and also in the Vit A needed for proper absorbtion of Vit D.

This year, for the first time in years, though I have been virtually surrounded by people with the flu, including a couple with the dreaded Swine Flu, and all kinds of colds, I have not been affected.

Mind you, I am over 60, and after undergoing chemotherapy a few years ago, I had very low immunity, so this apparent resistance to flu has come as a wonderful surprise.

Why I cherish my Vit D

Sinc e becoming aquainted with Weston Price’s research, I have come across lots of more recent research attesting to the importance of getting adequate Vit D (see my post ‘Vit D for heart health’ Dec 4 2009), including a book on how eating foods high in this vitamin can help prevent and cure tooth decay and gum disease (which was a major concern for dentist Weston Price), and a fine article by JJ Cannell, a former GP who has worked as a psychologist for over 10 years in a maximum security prison. I’ll let Dr. Cannell tell you himself how he came upon the enormous protective benefits of Vit D when in 2005 a flu epidemic swept through the prison where he worked:

“…About 12% of our patients were infected ….. However, as the epidemic progressed, I noticed something unusual. First, the ward below mine was infected, and then the ward on my right, left, and across the hall - but no patients on my ward became ill. My patients had intermingled with patients from infected wards before the quarantines. The nurses on my unit cross-covered on infected wards. Surely, my patients were exposed to the influenza A virus. How did my patients escape infection from what some think is the most infectious of all the respiratory viruses?.....If my patients were similar to the patients on all the adjoining wards, why didn't even one of my patients catch the flu?

“A short while later, a group of scientists from UCLA published a remarkable paper in the prestigious journal, Nature. The UCLA group confirmed two other recent studies, showing that a naturally occurring steroid hormone - a hormone most of us take for granted - was, in effect, a potent antibiotic. [This steroid hormone] increases the body's production of a remarkable class of proteins, called antimicrobial peptides….[which] directly and rapidly destroy the cell walls of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, including the influenza virus, and play a key role in keeping the lungs free of infection. The steroid hormone that showed these remarkable antibiotic properties was plain old vitamin D.

“All of the patients on my ward had been taking 2,000 units of vitamin D every day for several months or longer.”

 I should add that in my part of the world (Queensland Australia), we still get lots of sun in the  winter, and I spend many mornings and late afternoons outdoors. About 2 months ago, I stopped using sunscreens after becoming concerned about the toxins that might be entering my body, which means that most days - even in mid-winter - my skin is producing enough vitamin D.  Yes, I know the risk of skin cancer, so I do use a totally natural, organic sunscreen when exposed for long periods as on my son's boat, and I dislike hot midday sun anyway.  

If you are indoor most days, don’t get lots of direct sunlight on bare skin, or use sunscreens all the time, you probably don’t get enough Vit D. Fortified milk provides a tiny fraction of what you need, not nearly enough even if you drink gallons of it.

Read JJ Cannell’s article at:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/51913.php

It will open your eyes, and just might be the starting point for a healthier life for you and family. With that information, I intend never to get the flu again!

(This photo of my grandson Kody reminds me that we can often 'cure' infant jaundice by exposing the baby to sunlight).

Christmas in the Universe

If the star of Bethlehem was a sign of hope for a despairing world, then the universe is surely filled with messages of hope and love, if only we will see them.

 These stars are in the open cluster NGC 290, about 200,000 light-years distant in a neighboring galaxy called the Small Cloud of Magellan. 

 For whom do they shine? For you and me. 

 

 Fill your your heart and mind with

Peace, Love and Joy

and be a light to others

 

  Blessings,

              Tosca

(Image courtesy of NASA at http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html)

What Your Cat can Teach You about Food

You are (physiologically speaking) what you eat. It’s simple karma: You reap what you sow.

But you health (both physical and mental) is also a result of HOW you eat. How you eat makes an enormous difference.

I learned this secret at a silent retreat. Without much else to do at mealtimes but eat, I found myself paying attention to my food, and relishing it more than ever before. After the first day of silent meals, I found myself eating slower, wanting less, and feeling such a sense of appreciation for this lovely, nutritious food and what it was doing for me that eating almost became a spiritual experience.

That’s how cats eat. Take a few minutes to watch a cat eating…not the overstuffed cat whose owner is killing it with kindness, but the ordinary lean, healthy cat. Notice how delicately it eats, taking its time, picking and choosing what to eat. A cat pays attention to its food, savours it, makes every bite count. And when it is satisfied, it stops.

With dogs, on the other hand, it’s gulp, gulp, food’s gone. Before their hunger signals even have a chance to shout ‘enough!’ they’ve demolished everything in sight.

Eat like a cat …eat less food more often, and enough to satisfy, but not leave you so full you  can’t move or think! And as you eat, appreciate all the good things this food is doing for you: nourishing your cells, keeping you healthy, and giving you heaps of energy.

('Cats' by Theophile Alexandre Steinlen)

Seeking that Inner Wisdom

It’s a puzzlement! We are told to listen to our hearts, our intuition, and the language of intuition is emotion. Yet our emotions so often lead us astray. Why is it so hard to get to the truth within us?

The problem is that we are out of touch with our core feelings, the ones that arise from deep within our wiser selves. Instead, what we receive emotionally has worked itself through many layers of belief, expectation, social conditioning and learned attitudes. It's like trying to hear someone through several thick walls. The message comes through all distorted.

You might feel love, but through your filters of mistrust, resentment, unworthiness or fear, you might consciously register only suspicion. You might feel anger (a perfectly justified emotion in some instances), yet by the time it passes through your belief that anger is wrong, your belief in blame and judgement, your fear or sense of helplessness, you may consciously register only hurt and resentment.

The same with your feelings about yourself and your life. You often have to dig a little deeper to ask yourself what you're really feeling.

Let's say you're basically a positive person, but lately, feeling dissatisfied with your life. You might tell yourself that you have a good life, a happy life, a loving family and all that comes with it. 'I'm just going bored" you might tell yourself, or "My health hasn't been too good, so I'm that's why I feel this way." You may be right. But the feeling of dissatisfaction persists and grows stronger.

You start looking deeper. "Why do I feel this way? What's wrong with me?" You begin to pay attention to your life, your relationships, your daily routines...your thoughts. Then one day, you realise that this IS NOT the life you want to live. Your life doesn't satisfy you. It feels too small for you. You know that you could do so much more.

Yes, it takes effort to dig deeper, to peel away the layers of thought, belief and expectation that are hiding the truth. Personal growth and spiritual development require effort. But the effort is well-rewarded. With the insights you gain, you can begin to recognise your power to choose, to affect change and live a fulfilled life.    

('I am half-sick of shadows, said lady of Shallot', by John William Waterhouse. From: www.johnwilliamwaterhouse.net)

 The sad lady wasted away pining for Sir Lancelot. If she had looked within, she might have discovered a deeper source of happiness and contentment rather than waiting for happiness to come to her. Maybe she would have recognised that her longing arose from utter boredom and done something about it!

there is Never a better time than Now

It only takes three things to transform you and your life, but you need all three. They are:

Motivation – Think about what you want to achieve, change or improve in your life, and why. Imagine how it would be to feel truly content, fulfilled and in control of your life, and let yourself really want such a life. Desire is powerful energy.

Ideals  - Goals affect your actions: what you will do in life. Ideals determine how you will live your life: they are your guiding stars. Choose your highest ideals. These could be truthfulness, kindness, love, or people on whom you want to model your life. Write your three highest ideals down, and refer to them frequently.

Action - Take concrete steps, no matter how small, towards your ideals, then just keep doing. Even if your steps turn out to be the wrong action, you have learned something.

Not every action is active. Even sitting quietly for fifteen minutes to empty your mind of noisy thoughts is an action, and one that can be enormously beneficial. Every action you take towards your highest ideals advances your spiritual growth and peace of mind.

So why wait any longer?

The only time you can achieve anything is NOW…the moment you are in.

If you wait for the 'right time' to come, it never will.

But if you start taking action NOW, many right moments will come to you.

 

 (Image: John Muir in Yosemite Valley, Handtinted by Bennett Hall. From www.virginimages.com)

Natural Sources of Vitamin D for Healthy Heart and Bones

I am not a fan of fortified foods, and prefer to get my nutrients naturally.

I get all the vitamin D (and loads of other nutrients) that I need for my heart and bones from:

- lots of sunlight on lots of exposed skin (early in the day and late afternoon. Where I live, it's sunny most of the time, even in winter! And no, artificial tanning booths are not a source of vit D). Sunlight can meet all your vit D needs, if you get a lot of it (safely, of course

- butter from pasture-fed, organically raised cows (butter from pasture-fed cows has very different qualities to butter from grain-fed animals. I use organic butter from Denmark, but am looking for a reliable local source)

- cod liver oil (Yes, it tastes yucky, but it's an excellent source of vit D, much better than fish oil. Choose naturally high-vitamin brands like Green Pastures, or my favourite, Blue Ice High-Vitamin Fermented Cod Liver Oil)

(Nothing can keep Beau and his mummy indoors except lightning!)

- oily fish (my favourite is wild salmon, when I can find it)

- egg yolks from grass-fed chickens (I get mine from a woman at a local farmers market because she has photos of her chooks ranging all over her yard, and they look very content).

(Chickens from http://www.family-security-through-frugal-living.com/chicken-breeds.html)

These foods have the added benefit of being naturally rich in vit A, which is depleted by even low intake of vit D. This way, you get a healthy balance of these nutrients with no risk of overdosing). They're also high in omega 3 essential fatty acids, another great heart protector that also keeps your skin healthy.

Notice how I advocate eating more like your grandparents or great grandparents ate? Maybe that's why heart disease (now a major killer) was so rare back then!

This post is under Copyright © to Tosca Zraikat, 2009. You are welcome to use it on the condition that you reference this blogsite as your source. The author can be contacted at doitnow@dodo.com.au

Vitamin D for Heart Health: New Research

Another reason to spend more time in the sun (safely, of course).

On Aug 11 2009, I explained that vitamin D deficiency is a major cause of falls and fractures in the elderly. Lack of sufficient vitamin D also results in osteoporosis, even in children. 

Now, recent research reveals that low levels of vitamin D also increase our risk of heart disease, even in people who have never had heart problems before.

Researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Centre in Salt Lake City studied over 27,000 people over 50 years of age, with no previous cardiovascular disease. They found that those with very low levels of Vit D were two times as likely to experience heart failure, 45% more likely to develop coronary heart disease, and 78% more at risk of stroke than those with normal levels of Vit D.

Now that's something to think about.

One of the study authors, epidemiologist Dr Heidi May, said that even moderately low levels of vit D increased risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure and death in 50 years olds and older. Yet Vit D deficiency is easily treated.

(Research presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Conference, Orlando, FL, November 16, 2009)

(Dark skinned people are at higher risk of low vit D levels. But my outdoorsy son and his little girl get loads of sunlight )

So if you are at all concerned about your cardiovascular health, or you don't spend time in the sun or expose a lot of your bare skin to sunlight, or always wear sunscreen, talk to your health practitioner about your vitamin D levels, and how to ensure you get enough.

I'll talk about natural sources of vitamin D tomorrow.

This post is under Copyright © to Tosca Zraikat, 2009. You are welcome to use it on the condition that you reference this blogsite as your source. The author can be contacted at doitnow@dodo.com.au

Art in Paradise

Last week, a local art gallery held a solo show of my youngest daughter's most recent paintings. Of course, I was busting with pride. I don't have photos, so I stole a couple from her website. 

Here's a pic she used as a header on her website. You only see half of the paintings...a taste of what's to come

the gallery with guests. Imagine the lovely blue ocean just metres from the far window. We locals know we live in paradise.

You can see her works on the website at:http://www.natasha-zraikat-portrait-art.com

Who’s In Charge Here: Your Antidepressants or You?

Thousands of people believe that they cannot function without their prescription medications for depression, attention deficit disorder, insomnia and other psychological problems’. But is that always true?

In 2006, the Vice-President of the Swedish Psychiatric Association admitted that many patients actually get worse on antidepressants, with increased anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, hostility and mania, as well as deepening depression. And that’s while they’re still on medications. Psychological drugs can also leave us with devastating post-drug effects, something I learned for myself many years ago.

 In my early twenties, I developed severe, stress-related eczema on my hands, and was put on what were then called ‘tranquilizers’ for almost a year while my hands were treated with ultraviolet light.

As my hands started to heal, I stopped the medication, against my doctor’s recommendations. Well! Was I in for a shock? Like a tightly sprung wire, I bounded from emotion to emotion, jumping wildly from sudden tears to unstoppable chattering to mental deadness, and was in constant motion. I cleaned my small apartment several times over in one night, slept about 4 hours a night, ran around the block in the evenings, and at work, shuffled and re-shuffled papers until I had no idea where anything was. I could go from nasty to sweet to depressed or dense-as-a-doorbell within minutes, and worst of all, I had absolutely no control over what was happening.

Fortunately, I had the good sense to recognise that my body-mind was simply releasing a year’s worth of repressed, numbed feelings and emotional responses, so I was not afraid.  And I did not take any more tranquilizers. I knew that I had to allow my body to clear out the effects of the drug, and find its own balance once again, which it eventually did.  

I had (and still have) friends, however, who did not share my faith in the body’s own wisdom, and who truly believed that they needed their prescribed drugs. So when they tried to reduce the dosage or stop altogether, they soon felt so bad that they ended up on their meds again, and often, on an even higher dose than before. These friends were not only biochemically addicted to their medications, and experiencing the inevitable withdrawal symptoms, but they were also emotionally addicted, and convinced that they could not cope without their medications. So they went back on medications which they believed had helped them in the past, and would do so again.

Now I do know some people really need their medications, but for most, they are not as helpful as you might think. After reviewing clinical trials on antidepressants, the U.K. University of Hull concluded that only severely depressed patients showed any improvement; for other patients, the results were the same whether they were given anti-depressant drugs or placebos.

In other words, the patients’ belief in the medication had the same effects as the real medication. This healing response due to a person’s belief that they are taking an effective medicine is called the placebo effect, and it’s one of the most under-rated medical discoveries of all time.

 Among the most commonly prescribed drugs are sleep medications. But Dr Raj Persaud writes in his book, ‘Staying Sane’ : “Almost all of these drug in the end themselves become causes of sleeplessness, as withdrawal from these often addictive drugs makes it difficult to get a good night’s sleep without them”. Since the withdrawal begins approximately 24 hours after you take the drug, your sleeplessness the following night is most likely due to withdrawal symptoms rather than to insomnia.

Yet once a person has come to rely on anti-depressants, even the thought of being without them can trigger panic. One day after stopping her medications, a friend sat in my front yard in tears, believing that she was falling apart …. But what I saw was extreme fear. She was afraid because she believed that her depression was all powerful and that she was helpless before it.

What my friend was actually experiencing were the emotional effects of biochemical withdrawal, and for the first time in ages, she was experiencing the raw emotions that had been previously numbed and covered up by medications.  And it was frightening.

Yes, she needed help at this time, but not, in my opinion, from medications. These had turned her from a woman who had been depressed due to some very bad life experiences and relationships to a woman who now defined herself as A Depressive, and felt unable to cope with the normal ups and downs and changes of life. I knew her well enough to know that she was, and is much stronger than that. But she could not see it. Sometimes, we feel so utterly helpless when we hit rock bottom that we lose all faith in ourselves.

Whether my friend went back onto medications of not, what she really needed was help reviewing her life to define which strategies had worked for her, and which had not worked and should be discarded. She needed help learning to eat the kinds of foods that support nerve and mental health, help to improve gut health, and to get started on regular exercise. She needed help to stop focusing on her issues and problems, to be herself rather than trying to please everyone, and to develop a more positive, accepting, patient attitude to herself and others, She needed help to come up with stress-relief and mood-changing strategies that she could and would use.

Yes, my friend could also probably benefit from a little extra support from Bach flower remedies, meditation, deep relaxation, chakra realignment and other gentle therapies, but with the understanding that true healing comes from within.