Year: 2008

The FDA and the sugar and artificial sweetener lobbies have fought hard to keep us from using and being able to buy stevia. Now, they have approved a Cargill product for general use! Wow! Cargill’s “Truvia” went on sale yesterday in New York, is available on-line, and their site says it will be generally available in the Fall of 2008! This looks promising! Truvia is a combination of stevia and erythritol, another sweetener derived from natural sources. Erythritol is produced by a natural process, and is also found in fruits like grapes and pears. Cargill is billing their product as “Nature’s Perfect Sweetness.” Having watched the battle over stevia use, and having used it myself for a very long time, I am looking forward to general availability of a nature sugar alternative for sweetening my tea in restaurants!

Truvia Product Web Site

A blurb from the web site about Truvia: “It’s time to feel good about sweet. And Truvia, a natural sweetener is something to feel good about. It starts with stevia, renowned for its sweet taste. But that’s only the beginning. The stevia plant that Truvia, natural sweetener originates from has been used in South America for sweetening foods and beverages for more than 200 years. And though stevia has been commonly used to sweeten foods, it often contains a bitter aftertaste. The difference with Truvia, is the key part of the stevia plant, which is rebiana. By taking the best-tasting part of the stevia plant, rebiana gives Truvia a brand-new way to enjoy life’s every day moments. Nature has never tasted so sweet. Stevia leaves were discovered centuries ago by the native people of South America and used to flavor hot drinks. But it isn’t just South America. Stevia, and products derived from stevia, is used all over the world, including the United States, Japan and parts of Europe. And with Truvia, you’ll get all of that, zero calories and a clean, pure taste to match. Now that’s universal sweetness.”

As a settlement in a lawsuit, the FDA has reluctantly admitted to common sense. Mercury is a neurotoxin, therefore mercury in fillings can be hazardous. True, they only admit it for babies and expectant mothers… but you have to wonder… what about everyone else?

A Victory for Health — FDA Forced to Admit That Mercury Fillings are Hazardous

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally admitted that metal dental fillings containing mercury can cause health problems in pregnant women, children and fetuses. As part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by several consumer advocacy groups, the FDA agreed to alert consumers about the potential risks on its Web site and to issue a more specific rule next year for fillings that contain mercury. The FDA’s Web site now states that: ‘Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses.’ Charles Brown, a lawyer for advocacy group Consumers for Dental Choice, said the agency’s move represented an about-face. According to Brown, ‘Gone, gone, gone are all of FDA’s claims that no science exists that amalgam is unsafe … The impact of the re-writing of its position on amalgam can hardly be understated. FDA’s website will no longer be cited by the American Dental Association in public hearings.'”

In the old TV show, “Get Smart!” there was a line that Maxwell Smart used a lot, “Would you believe…” usually followed by crazier and crazier examples of things to distract someone. Well, you WON’T believe this one!

Imagine a big pharma company that decides to study the numerous health benefits of Vitamin B6. B6 is important to expectant mothers, and to anyone that desires healthy blood cell function, and it’s also important in over 100 enzymatic reactions involving protein metabolism. So… they study the vitamin and chemically produce their own “super-B6” pharmaceutical version of B6 and call it “MC-1.” Now, they are petitioning the FDA to stop the sale of regular B6, because it is “adulterated” since natural B6 contains their drug… MC-1. I kid you not!

So, I can see Max saying, “Would you believe that the natural B6 contains our drug? No? Then would you believe…” This is crazy! And would be funny if it weren’t for the fact that we may continue to lose our rights to buy a natural vitamin because of this crazy reasoning! Read the story via this link, and see what I mean…

Health Freedom Warning: Drug Company Seeks to Outlaw Vitamin B6 to Protect Pharma Profits

“(NaturalNews) Big Pharma is constantly finding new ways to destroy the natural supplements market, in much the same way that the American Medical Association once sought to destroy the chiropractic industry (for which it was later found guilty of conspiracy in U.S. courts, by the way). The latest attack against vitamins comes from an FDA petition filed by Medicure Pharma, Inc., which has astonishingly asked the FDA to ban the sale of Vitamin B6! Vitamin B6, of course, is a naturally-occurring nutrient found in numerous vegetables, nuts and whole grains. Its natural form is called pyridoxal 5′-phosphate or P5P for short. It’s an essential nutrient for expectant mothers, growing children and anyone who wishes to be healthy. It’s absolutely crucial for healthy blood cell function, and it’s used in over 100 enzymatic reactions involving protein metabolism. So why would a pharmaceutical company petition the FDA to outlaw the sale of this essential nutrient? It’s simple: Because Big Pharma wants to market its own form of Vitamin B6 and call it a ‘drug.’ Medicure Pharma, Inc., has been studying the clinical effects of Vitamin B6 (which they call ‘MC-1’) on humans. This is part of a process for receiving FDA approval on MC-1 as a ‘drug,’ and then marketing this drug through the conventional medical system (and selling it at markups that can reach 500,000% over the cost of the actual ingredients)…

So what’s the logic behind banning Vitamin B6? It’s simple: Medicare Pharma wants the FDA to declare Vitamin B6 to be “adulterated” because it contains a drug. Which drug does it contain? Well, MC-1, of course! Do you see the circular reasoning here? Vitamin B6 is a naturally-occurring vitamin, but if a drug company gets FDA approval on Vitamin B6 (with a different name), then that very same drug company can petition the FDA to ban Vitamin B6, claiming it contains their drug! I know this sounds incredibly stupid. And it is. But it isn’t unprecedented. In fact, the very same thing happened with red yeast rice. A few years ago, drug companies discovered that red yeast rice (a natural supplement) contained powerful, natural compounds that balance cholesterol levels. These compounds are called lovastatins (sound familiar?) Drug companies ripped off the lovastatin molecules from red yeast rice, then patented them. Once they achieved FDA approval for their ‘statin drugs,’ it was easy to file a petition requesting the outlawing of red yeast rice, claiming the supplement was ‘adulterated’ with drugs! Which drugs? Statin drugs, of course — the very same drugs that were isolated from red yeast rice in the first place! This is why the FDA has been on a terror campaign to outlaw red yeast rice supplements. They’ve sent warning letters to online retailers and threatened numerous companies with legal action. The point of all this is to eliminate red yeast rice from the marketplace because it competes with statin drugs. And it’s the exact same strategy now being following by Medicure Pharma in its attempt to get the FDA to ban Vitamin B6.”

You’ve seen the commercials with Sally Field for “Boniva.” Well, add to the long list of side effects the possibility of severe muscle and joint pain!

Osteoporosis Drugs Found to Cause Severe Pain in Muscles, Joints and Bones

“(NaturalNews) The FDA has issued a new warning that a popular class of osteoporosis drugs may lead to severe, chronic and even permanent pain in muscles, joints and bones. The agency has known of this risk from the drug class known as bisphosphonates since their approval, and prescribing instructions for doctors warn of the possibility of severe pain. But according to the FDA, many doctors do not appear to be aware that the drugs may be linked to severe pain in their patients. The bisphosphonate drug family includes Merck’s Fosamax; Roche and Glaxo SmithKline’s Boniva; Novartis’ Aredia, Zometa and Reclast (marketed as Aclasta outside the United States); Procter & Gamble’s Didronel; Sanofi-Aventis’ Skelid; and Actonel, sold by Procter & Gamble and Sanofi-Aventis. Oral or injected bisphosphonates are prescribed in order to increase bone mass in osteoporosis patients in order to reduce the risk of fractures. But according to the recent FDA warning, patients may develop severe pain ‘within days, months or years after starting a bisphosphonate.’ In some cases, the pain is so intense that interferes with day-to-day activities, requiring some patients to use a walking cane just to get around.”

This is a message that is being passed around the Internet via e-mail. It has a lot of good info!

“God’s Pharmacy!!! Amazing!

A sliced carrot looks like the human eye, the pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye…and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function, and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, bok choy, rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. (NOTE: This is natural sodium… not just “salt”… my addition. – Dr. Bill) If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, avocados and pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? …. It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm cells to overcome male sterility.

Sweet potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, oranges, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today’s research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.”

So, what do you think? Interesting how these foods that actually look like body components, relate to them! It is also worth noting that health is supported by eating the right foods… naturally, without chemicals, additives, and processing. Natural food… natural health!

I find it amazing that so many simple extracts of natural foods are so powerful in protecting against diseases that have been ravaging mankind! Natural is best!

Olive Extract Protects Against Neurodegenerative Disorders

“(NaturalNews) An extract derived from olives may provide protection against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to a study published in the ‘Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.’ Researchers examined the effect of an antioxidant chemical known as hydroxytyrosol, which has previously been shown to be connected to the health benefits of olive oil, such as LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol reduction and cancer prevention. In one test, the researchers added oxidative stressors to the brain cells of mice in a laboratory setting. These stressors, such as iron ions and a nitric oxide donor, are damaging to cells because of their oxidizing effects. For some of the cells, researchers also added an olive extract rich in hydroxytyrosol. Among the cells to which only the stressors were added, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was reduced by 40 percent. In the cells treated with olive extract, ATP was only reduced by 15 percent. This effect was achieved at hydroxytyrosol concentrations as low as 0.01 milligrams per milliliter. ATP is a primary energy source for cells, transporting chemical energy for internal cell metabolism.”