Our readers know how I feel about vaccines.  These are not the vaccines that Benjamin Franklin advocated more than two hundred years ago.  These are not the vaccines that were created in the 50s and 60s.  These are chemical cocktails that challenge our children’s health and immune system.  They also challenge the health of adults as well.
The choice is yours, as parents whether to inoculate your children and at what age.  My only request is that you look at all of the data.  And, not blindly agree to vaccines because your pediatrician says it’s okay.  That’s what my pediatrician said when asked about trace amounts of mercury and aluminum in the booster shots.  If it was okay, then why six month later did his practice switch to vaccines with fewer trace  chemicals?
The only way your pediatrican will change is if you first educate yourself and then educate them by refusing to spending your money on poor quality drugs  – not just vaccines.
If you are looking for information, I highly recommend the column below written by Kurt Perkins DC on February 3, 2010.  We are reprinting it in its entirety with Dr Perkins permission.  This is the first non-fear based article on MMR vaccines.  This is his response to an article/attack in the British Medical Journal in January on Dr Andrew Wakefield.
MMR Perspective

By Kurt Perkins
http://drkurtrant.blogspot.com/2010/02/mmr-perspective.html
www.mychirorocks.com
All over the news there have been stories how Lancet, the British medical journal, has discredited and voided out the research done by Dr. Andrew Wakefield.  In the Lancet article, Wakefield made a mere SUGGESTION that there MAY be a connection between autism and the MMR vaccine, BUT further studies had to be performed, this was back in the late ‘90s.  That was it, and this was career suicide for him ever since.  To do further studies, he had to do his OWN research.  This is where the supposed ‘conflict of interest’ has come in the news.  A group paid him to do research.  In case you don’t know, it costs money to do research, so he got paid to work.  Read on as we discuss the conflict of interest perspective from the leading pro-vaccine front man.
I’ve waited a week to comment on this issue because I was waiting to see if Dr. Paul Offit was going to make an appearance and he, in fact, did this morning on CBS’s morning program (2/3/10).  I waited because Dr. Offit is the vaccine industries highest paid unofficial spokes person.  Dr. Profit Offit has earned close to $10 million in royalties from the Rotateq vaccine and stands to earn $13-$35 million over the life of the vaccine patents, the one he invented, as well as voted into the child’s mandatory vaccine schedule.
This is the same man that said a baby could tolerate 100,000 vaccines safely.  He also took home $29 million from the sale of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as part of a $182 million sale of its worldwide royalty interest in the Merck Rotateq vaccine to Royal Pharma.  The amount could be as high as $42 million, based on an analysis of current CHOP administrative policies.
Perspective on conflict of interest is always necessary, especially from a group such as the vaccine industry that has billions and billions of dollars to bury any contrary thought or notion that challenges their cash cow dogma.  Ask this question.  If everyone stopped getting the MMR vaccine, would Dr. Wakefield make any money from those decisions?  On the contrary, how much money would the vaccine industry lose if everyone stopped getting MMR?  The CDC states there were just over 4 million births in 2009.  That would be a huge loss to the vaccine industry if the MMRs were stopped.  Can you image a guaranteed 4 million new customers every year that would buy your product more than once?  Of course, the vaccine industry is going to nullify any accusation that vaccines cause harm.
Prior to the MMR vaccine being given at 12-15 months of age, a child could receive up to 25 doses of vaccines.  You can find the vaccine schedule on the CDC’s webpage.  What poisonous ingredients do those vaccines contain?  How would you like a healthy dose of mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, MSG, and anti-freeze.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the CDC’s page
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf
I’m going to propose that even if a child did not receive the MMR vaccine, autism rates would still sky rocket just like they have the past 20-30 years.  I also propose that mercury is not the only culprit.  Do some research and look at the symptoms of heavy metal toxicity, such as aluminum.  A lot of it sounds like autism type disorders to me.  When vaccines are developed, they are not tested if they cause problems, just if they supposedly can prevent a minor illness most often seen in a culture where sanitation, hygiene, and lack of nutrition are problems.  Not the case in the USA.
My final piece of perspective MMR PERSPECTIVE to challenge you is from the wellness paradigm.  In wellness, dis-ease happens from 2 manners, deficiency, or toxicity.  The human body is an eco-system.  We are animated earth.  There is nothing in the human body that is not Earth, unless man puts it in like mercury, formaldehyde, anti-freeze, or monkey kidney tissue.  For humans to thrive, we must eat, move, and think in a manner that is required for proper genetic expression.  Our cells desire to maintain balance and only become imbalanced when overtaken by deficiency or toxicity.  This is the basis of physiology, not a controversial topic at all.  In the case of vaccines, adding chemicals to the body to prevent minor illness has had a massive trade in overall health.  ‘Science’ will hang onto the notion that mercury does not cause autism, yet they are asking the wrong questions.
The correct question should be, ‘by adding chemicals and viruses to the human eco-system in a way that nature would never allow, will the eco-system flourish or get sick?’  If you look around, the answer is we get sick.  Just in kids, cancer, diabetes, auto-immune disorders, asthma, allergies, and AUTISM are at all time highs and getting worse.  But science will look at the fact that fewer kids get chicken pox or fewer cases of diarrhea and call that success.  It’s absurd and idiotic to say that’s a success when you see the trade off end result.  Are vaccines the only culprit?  Absolutely not, but from a human physiology/eco-system paradigm, vaccines will never move a cell towards balance which promotes growth and repair.  If you want more info regarding vaccines, there are many books.  I always recommend ‘The Sanctity of the Human Blood’ by Dr. Tim O’Shea.  Don’t worry, I get ZERO kick backs for recommending his book.  Another book, not so much a vaccine book but diving into the world of toxicity is called ‘Excitotoxins’ by Dr. Russell Blaylock.  A third book that is great is called, ‘The Virus and the Vaccine’ by Bookchin and Schumacher.  Again, I have no financial ties to these books, so it doesn’t matter to me if you read them or not.  What matters to me is that you get informed from sources that are not tied to the vaccine industry but are well referenced.
Remember that health is a choice, a whole choice and nothing but a choice.  BUT, those choices can only be made accurately if you ask the right questions.
Dr Perkin can be reached at 719.598.6955 or www.mychirorocks.com

By Bonnie May, DC

It would never occur to me as a chiropractor for over 30 years that even today Medical doctors still hand parents medicines and neglect to explain potential side effects. The biggest reason is that drug companies have never done studies on kids. Of course not you would say, that is way too dangerous. Who’s kids would they use to try out drugs, watching for side effects? No one would be so silly to allow their own children to try out a new drug in the name of will this be a good drug or a bad drug? Is there really such a thing as a good drug? That is a pretty big question. Do drugs really save lives when it comes to children, and if so how? Is there a time that it is a good thing to give your child a drug, or as in modern time called a prescription? And how do you feel about the mere wording of drugs vs. chemicals. Would you say, my child is sick and I went to the doctor and got some chemicals to help?

First, let’s get one thing straight right now. There is no such thing as a drug without a side effect, period. So is it a question as to whether this condition your child may be suffering from is going to damage your child in the long run, or whether or not your child needs chemical intervention to save their life? When do chemicals save lives is a darn good question. But the top question of all is why is the child sick and what is causing the malady so we can look at the best way to help the child immediately and long term.

Let me tell you of some true stories that I personally have seen in my chiropractic practice of over 30 years.

Coughs are one of my favorites to work with, because they always respond favorably and quickly if the child gets adjusted(nerve flow improvement to lungs), uses nutritional

Right now at this very moment there are thousands of parents giving their children some form of medicine be it over the counter or prescribed by their medical physician in the hopes of helping their child “feel better” or improve the illness and sick condition that their child is experiencing. Most parents are following the Doctor’s advice with total confidence that they are doing the best possible thing that they can do right now to help their child get well as quickly as possible and hopefully as safe as possible. I would like to offer you some new ideas and and some sound advice and information that could very well change the way you, the parent, may be looking at this situation. I am a mother with a combined number of years treating my own 3 kids and now one new grandchild of over 75 years. I have been treating many thousands of kids in my Chiropractic practice of over 31 years. I am a Doctor of Chiropractic. I have studied children’s health and worked hands on with results that would blow your socks off, I promise you. Nutrition, body-mind connection, energy healing, stress, just to name a few of my studies. I wrote a book called, “First, Heal the Children” (www.drbonniemay.com). The book is more of what I am sharing with you here. What I want to do for you is to show you and really prove to you that your child is so innately able to heal themselves naturally, and that with new information at this new time of changing attitudes you can relax and feel confident about helping your child in a better way.

Don’t let fear rule you when your child is sick and don’t let the not knowing what is happening in your child’s body scare you into just following what the Medical professionals may suggest.

Let’s look at how health is just the natural state of being and how the kids may get sick and what you can do about it.

Causes of sickness: trauma, toxins, thoughts. Trauma to the body, via falls and bumps and jolts to name just a few, causes many times the spine to misalign, thus the term in Chiropractic, subluxation, happens, which interrupts the normal nerve flow. If the nervous system is unable to do what it is designed to do, that is to send every cell in the body a message on how to work, the system begins to break down so to speak and dys-function begins at the cellular level and works up to the organ function level. If the organs cannot do what they are designed to do, then the body can’t stay healthy. Many conditions begin this way. It could be digestive problems, pains in the body, immune problems to allow colds and flu to manifest, not sleeping well, irritability, and so many other forms of unnatural behavior.

Trauma from sports injuries, heavy back packs, kids pulling the chair out from under their friends in fun, running into the locker, falling on play ground, falling off the bike, slipping on snow, lifting too heavy objects, and on and on. Even birth trauma is a cause of spinal stress.

As a chiropractor, my job is to evaluate the kid’s spine to locate any subluxations and make corrections( the adjustment) to allow the nervous system to again work correctly and the body will heal itself automatically. It is like turning the water on to the garden again that is dying from dryness. It is like turning on the energy to the light in the room by flicking on a switch.

So that is my first point of recommendation, have your child checked chiropractically on a monthly basis to make sure nerve interference is not present. Subluxation left at bay for a long period of time can cause very severe health issues and medical doctors, esp. pediatricians are not trained to evaluate your child for this. You can find out more about this condition through the ICPA, International Chiropractic Pediatric Association by going to www.ICPA4kids .com.

Second, let’s look at toxins: very simply put, any thing that is not healthy for the children. Junk food, bad air, perfumes, nail polish, chemicals put in food to enhance flavor, chemicals put in their body like medications or unlawful drugs. Chemicals in soft drinks, coffee, and a really big toxin is the vaccines. But that is another topic to be discussed at another time. Many children are currently suffering because of long term negative effects of the immunizations that they have received. Such conditions as asthma, allergies, behavior problems, digestive conditions, nervous problems and more.

On the previous website that I mentioned you can find books and a great deal of information on this topic.

So to address my patients, I suggest that they use healthy natural organic food, cut out sugar, white flour, dairy, caffeine, and begin to help heal their child with nature’s best food, which directly helps build healthy cells immediately. Many kids with coughs get off dairy, get on some nutritional supplements that rebuild the lung tissue and never resort to the drugs that they have currently been using to no avail.

To be diligent when buying food for the family and stay away from prepackaged, chemically altered food is necessary. Just eat natural raw foods, and watch the health spring back quickly. Green raw vegetables flush out the toxins in the body and rebuild health. Drink the best clean water and get lots of rest.

Many need to keep the kids home for longer periods of time and not send them back to school too soon. This brings me to the topic of stress. Stress comes in many ways. Peer problems, teachers and kids not getting along, overloading home work and projects, maybe, even bad cafeteria food is to be considered.

Third and lastly look at thoughts. Kids need so much love and nurturing and support to help them emotionally. Emotions affect us in every way when it comes to health. Just think about how you feel when you have fear, anger, resentment or disgust about things as they happen in your life. It’s even a bigger problem for the kids. They haven’t learned the coping skills that adults have. And they have great stress that can totally alter their immune systems and the way the human body functions. The body-mind connection has to be considered when kids are ill. Talk about what is happening in their lives and see how you can best support them. Give them massages and hot baths and use essential oils that help relax them. Be sure they get the nutritional support through vitamins, minerals, omegas, digestive enzymes and more. Call on the natural professionals that will help you pick the right products to help build the immune system, fight fevers, help rebuild tissues to help rebuild a normal strong body.

The human body is meant to be healthy. When it is not, you just have to back up a bit and look at where you haven’t followed what the system needs. Putting artificial chemicals into the body through prescriptions suppresses the normal expression of the body. It pushes the causative factor deeper. Using natural ways to heal will be your best bet and create long term good health.

I have seen all kinds of kids with many kinds of problems heal this natural way. Stomach aches, leg pains, asthma, allergies, headaches, bedwetting, skin conditions and so much more. There are natural ways to heal just about anything. Recently I went to the big book store and asked to be guided to the section on natural healing for children. The lady looked at me with dismay and said there isn’t one. There are no books for parents to turn to, to heal their kids naturally? There is not one book to be bought to help educate parents on ways to help keep their kids healthy naturally? Can that be possible? Millions of parents want to learn more, what are they to do? Do parents of young babies have to resort to Rx when the child has an ear infection? And are parents being told about the side effects of prescriptions and or vaccines? What a feeling of helplessness.

The side effects of natural methods are good health. The possible side effects of Rx can be life threatening. Start asking today, “Can I help my child in a safer way get back to health?”

Call me anytime, any day. I am here to help parents learn how to heal naturally. I will show you this nation will be stronger and our kids will be happier when we stop drugging our kids.

Please help me get this life altering information to everyone you know. Drugs are dangerous whether pushed or prescribed.

Dr. Bonnie May was voted 2007 Woman Chiropractor of the Year from the World Congress of Woman Chiropractors.

By Bonnie May, DC

Right now at this very moment there are thousands of parents giving their children some form of medicine be it over the counter or prescribed by their medical physician in the hopes of helping their child “feel better” or improve the illness and sick condition that their child is experiencing. Most parents are following the Doctor’s advice with total confidence that they are doing the best possible thing that they can do right now to help their child get well as quickly as possible and hopefully as safe as possible. I would like to offer you some new ideas and and some sound advice and information that could very well change the way you, the parent, may be looking at this situation. I am a mother with a combined number of years treating my own 3 kids and now one new grandchild of over 75 years. I have been treating many thousands of kids in my Chiropractic practice of over 31 years. I am a Doctor of Chiropractic. I have studied children’s health and worked hands on with results that would blow your socks off, I promise you. Nutrition, body-mind connection, energy healing, stress, just to name a few of my studies. I wrote a book called, “First, Heal the Children” that you can order off my website: www.drbonniemay.com. The book is more of what I am sharing with you here. What I want to do for you is to show you and really prove to you that your child is so innately able to heal themselves naturally, and that with new information at this new time of changing attitudes you can relax and feel confident about helping your child in a better way.

Don’t let fear rule you when your child is sick and don’t let the not knowing what is happening in your child’s body scare you into just following what the Medical professionals may suggest.

Let’s look at how health is just the natural state of being and how the kids may get sick and what you can do about it.

Causes of sickness: trauma, toxins, thoughts. Trauma to the body, via falls and bumps and jolts to name just a few, causes many times the spine to misalign, thus the term in Chiropractic, subluxation, happens, which interrupts the normal nerve flow. If the nervous system is unable to do what it is designed to do, that is to send every cell in the body a message on how to work, the system begins to break down so to speak and dys-function begins at the cellular level and works up to the organ function level. If the organs cannot do what they are designed to do, then the body can’t stay healthy. Many conditions begin this way. It could be digestive problems, pains in the body, immune problems to allow colds and flu to manifest, not sleeping well, irritability, and so many other forms of unnatural behavior.

Trauma from sports injuries, heavy back packs, kids pulling the chair out from under their friends in fun, running into the locker, falling on play ground, falling off the bike, slipping on snow, lifting too heavy objects, and on and on. Even birth trauma is a cause of spinal stress.

As a chiropractor, my job is to evaluate the kid’s spine to locate any subluxations and make corrections( the adjustment) to allow the nervous system to again work correctly and the body will heal itself automatically. It is like turning the water on to the garden again that is dying from dryness. It is like turning on the energy to the light in the room by flicking on a switch.

So that is my first point of recommendation, have your child checked chiropractically on a monthly basis to make sure nerve interference is not present. Subluxation left at bay for a long period of time can cause very severe health issues and medical doctors, esp. pediatricians are not trained to evaluate your child for this. You can find out more about this condition through the ICPA, International Chiropractic Pediatric Association by going to www.ICPA4kids .com.

Second, let’s look at toxins: very simply put, any thing that is not healthy for the children. Junk food, bad air, perfumes, nail polish, chemicals put in food to enhance flavor, chemicals put in their body like medications or unlawful drugs. Chemicals in soft drinks, coffee, and a really big toxin is the vaccines. But that is another topic to be discussed at another time. Many children are currently suffering because of long term negative effects of the immunizations that they have received. Such conditions as asthma, allergies, behavior problems, digestive conditions, nervous problems and more.

So to address my patients, I suggest that they use healthy natural organic food, cut out sugar, white flour, dairy, caffeine, and begin to help heal their child with natures best food, which directly helps build healthy cells immediately. Many kids with coughs get off dairy, get on some nutritional supplements that rebuild the lung tissue and never resort to the drugs that they have currently been using to no avail.

To be diligent when buying food for the family and stay away from prepackaged, chemically altered food is necessary. Just eat natural raw foods, and watch the health spring back quickly. Green raw vegetables flush out the toxins in the body and rebuild health. Drink the best clean water and get lots of rest.

Many need to keep the kids home for longer periods of time and not send them back to school too soon. Which brings me to the topic of stress. Stress comes in many ways. Peer problems, teachers and kids not getting along, overloading home work and projects, maybe even bad cafeteria food is to be considered.

Third and lastly look at thoughts. Kids need so much love and nurturing and support to help them emotionally. Emotions effect us in every way when it comes to health. Just think about how you feel when you have fear, anger, resentment or disgust about things as they happen in your life. It’s even a bigger problem for the kids. They haven’t learned the coping skills that adults have. And they have great stress that can totally alter their immune systems and the way the human body functions. The body-mind connection has to be considered when kids are ill. Talk about what is happening in their lives and see how you can best support them. Give them massages and hot baths and use essential oils that help relax them. Be sure they get the nutritional support through vitamins, minerals, omegas, digestive enzymes and more. Call on the natural professionals that will help you pick the right products to help build the immune system, fight fevers, help rebuild tissues to help rebuild a normal strong body.

The human body is meant to be healthy. When it is not, you just have to back up a bit and look at where you haven’t followed what the system needs. Putting artificial chemicals into the body through prescriptions suppresses the normal expression of the body. It pushes the causative factor deeper. Using natural ways to heal will be your best bet and create long term good health.

I have seen all kinds of kids with many kinds of problems heal this natural way. Stomach aches, leg pains, asthma, allergies, headaches, bedwetting, skin conditions and so much more. There are natural ways to heal just about anything. Recently I went to the big book store and asked to be guided to the section on natural healing for children. The lady looked at me with dismay and said there isn’t one. There are no books for parents to turn to, to heal their kids naturally? There is not one book to be bought to help educate parents on ways to help keep their kids healthy naturally? Can that be possible? Millions of parents want to learn more, what are they to do? Do parents of young babies have to resort to Rx when the child has an ear infection? And are parents being told about the side effects of prescriptions and or vaccines? What a feeling of helplessness.

The side effects of natural methods are good health. The possible side effects of Rx can be life threatening. Start asking today,” Can I help my child in a safer way get back to health?”

Call me anytime, any day. I am here to help parents learn how to heal naturally. I will show you this nation will be stronger and our kids will be happier when we stop drugging our kids.

Please help me get this life altering information to everyone you know. Drugs are dangerous whether pushed or prescribed.

Dr. Bonnie May is the 2007 Woman Chiropractor of the Year, from the World Congress of Woman Chiropractors. She can be reached through her website, www.drbonniemay.com

For once I agree with the FDA. This is a warning that I received today about Keepsake Imaging which I had not read about before today.

It seems that expectant parents are adding the fetal video to their “baby”pictures. This video exposes the baby in utero to unnecessary radiation, unless the ob/gyn prescribes it. Pregnancy is one of those times that less (radiation) is better.

For more information, please click on the links at the bottom.

While ultrasonic fetal scanning is generally considered a safe medical procedure, the use of it for unapproved and unintended purposes raises concerns.

The use of ultrasound imaging devices for producing fetal keepsake videos is viewed as an unapproved use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors are not intended for over-the-counter (OTC) use. Both products are approved for use only with a prescription.

“Although there are no known risks of ultrasound imaging and heartbeat monitors, the radiation associated with them can produce effects on the body,” says Robert Phillips, Ph.D., a physicist with FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). “When ultrasound enters the body, it heats the tissues slightly. In some cases, it can also produce small pockets of gas in body fluids or tissues.”

Phillips says the long-term effects of tissue heating and of the formation of partial vacuums in a liquid by high-intensity sound waves (cavitation) are not known.

Using ultrasound equipment only through a prescription ensures that pregnant women will receive professional care that contributes to their health and to the health of their babies, and that ultrasound will be used when medically indicated.

Fetal Keepsake Videos: “Performing prenatal ultrasounds without medical oversight may put a mother and her unborn baby at risk,” says Phillips. “The bottom line is: Why take a chance with your baby’s health for the sake of a video?”

Fetal keepsake videos are viewed as a problem because there is no medical benefit derived from the exposure. Further, there is no control on how long a single imaging session will take or how many sessions will occur.

FDA is aware of entrepreneurs that are commercializing ultrasonic imaging of fetuses by making keepsake videos. In some cases, the ultrasound machine may be used for as long as an hour to get a video of the fetus.

Doppler Ultrasound Heartbeat Monitors: Similar concerns surround the OTC sale of Doppler ultrasound heartbeat monitors. These devices, which people use to listen to the heartbeat of a fetus, are currently marketed legally as “prescription devices” that should only be used by or under the supervision of a health care professional.

“When the product is purchased over the counter and used without prior consultation with a health care professional, there is no oversight of how the device is used and little or no medical benefit derived from the exposure,” Phillips says. “The number of sessions or the length of a session to which a fetus is exposed is uncontrolled, thus raising the potential for harm to the fetus.”

For More Information

Taking a Close Look at Ultrasound
www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/ultrasound032408.html

Fetal Keepsake Videos (FDA-CDRH)
www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/fetalvideos.html

FDA Cautions Against Ultrasound “Keepsake” Images
www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/104_images.html

OTC Cough and Cold Products: Not For Infants and Children Under 2 Years of Age, Questions and Answers for Consumers

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:23:00 -0600

This is a Q & A from the FDA. Vitesis common sense response is below.

Q. What is FDA recommending about use of over-the-counter cough and cold products for infants and children under 2 years of age?

A. FDA strongly recommends that over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products should not be used for infants and children under 2 years of age because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects could occur.

Q. What are these side effects?

A. There are a wide variety of serious adverse events reported with cough and cold products. They include death, convulsions, rapid heart rates, and decreased levels of consciousness.

Q. What ingredients may cause these effects, and what should I look for on the label to tell if these ingredients are present in an OTC product?

A: OTC cough and cold products include these ingredients: decongestants (for unclogging a stuffy nose), expectorants (for loosening mucus so that it can be coughed up), antihistamines (for sneezing and runny nose), and antitussives (for quieting coughs). The terms on the label include “nasal decongestants”, “cough suppressants”, “expectorants” and “antihistamines.”

Q. How did FDA arrive at its decision to issue these recommendations?

A. FDA’s recommendation is based on the review of reports the agency has received about serious side effects, as well as a review of information presented at a joint Nonprescription Drugs and Pediatric Advisory Committee meeting on Oct.18-19, 2007. FDA has determined that OTC cough and cold medicines, which treat symptoms and not the underlying condition, have not been shown to be safe or effective in infants and children under 2.

Comments anyone?

Why would anyone give a baby chemicals? Yes, OTC Cough & Cold Products are chemical. Read the ingredients.

Of course there will be “side effects”. A baby’s system isn’t up to ingesting anything so harsh, especially when their immunity is already compromised.

Running noses and coughs? My grandmother was a wise woman. She believed in the healing properties of steam (humidifiers); warm tea (chamomile), and, honey to coat the throat – if the child was old enough.

She also believed in plenty of fluids. While it used to be orange juice was “the fluid of choice”; these days, something less acidic, such as apple or grape juice keeps the pH more balanced. Make sure that there are no artificial colors or corn syrup in the juice. And, drinking water is still my favorite.

Take time to hold and snuggle your little one. Mom and dad’s full attention goes along way to make a little one feel better. Little ones don’t understand why they are sick, so they fuss. Parents who understand this and lovingly spend time with their little ones have quicker recovery. AND, if you give attention on a regular basis, little ones won’t associate being sick with FINALLY getting Mom & Dad’s attention.

Little ones are so smart. If the only time they get lots of attention and/or Mom takes time off from work is when they are sick. Guess what gets created? Lots of runny noses and hacky coughes!

Moral of the story: Little ones don’t need OTC drugs. They need Mom and Dad’s love and attention.

By Sherry Dell, Phd, CN

And the Thanksgiving pies. And the Christmas cookies and fudge and peanut brittle. Have you ever noticed how the fall cold and flu season arrives at the same time as Halloween? Ever wonder why?

Sugar suppresses the immune system. It does this primarily by acidifying the pH of the body. The acidification of body pH has a far reaching effect on many immunological functions (1). One way sugar suppresses immune function is by increasing the secretion of insulin. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas in order to reduce the level of sugar circulating in the blood stream. Too much sugar in the blood stream is very harmful, so this is a good thing. Once in a while. When insulin is secreted all day long, every day, it is not a good thing. Such is the case when we have pancakes and syrup for breakfast, a mid morning snack of brownie and latte, a lunch of white bread sandwich followed by cookies, a mid afternoon snack of soda pop and a dinner of pasta followed by dessert and caramel corn while watching television before bed. High insulin levels in the blood stream suppress human growth hormone levels produced by the pituitary gland. (High insulin levels have many, many negative consequences beyond this one, but we’ll save that discussion for another day). Growth hormone is a primary regulator of immune function.

Sugar has also been shown to slow phagocytosis significantly. (2, 3, 4) Phagocytosis is the process wherein a white blood cell surrounds an invading bacteria or other pathogen to destroy it. These studies have shown a dose of sugar to slow immune function up to 75% for up to 5 hours.

High sucrose and fructose (two specific forms of sugar) consumption in the diet has been associated with increased risk to breast cancer (5), which is, of course, another kind of immune deficiency disease.

A weakened immune system exposes us to all manner of illness. From colds and flus and all kinds of bacterial and viral infections to auto-immune dysfunction and cancer. The upshot: keep your immune system strong. Here is a list of the best immune strengthening foods:

• Vitamin C: guava, papaya, acerola cherries, red/green peppers, rose hips, broccoli, tomatoes, asparagus, strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, grapefruit, orange
• Vitamin E: all nuts, seeds, grains have vitamin E in their oils; safflower oil, wheat germ oil, spinach, asparagus, kale, cucumber, celery
• Garlic: fresh is best in fresh juice, for example, but cooked, roasted, pill form; all forms are good
• Carotenoids: carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, apricots, papaya, cantaloupe
• Bioflavonoids (Vitamin P): lemon, grapefruit, orange, lime, rose hips, apricot, cherries, grapes, black currants, plums, blackberries, papaya, green pepper, broccoli, tomatoes, buckwheat
• Selenium: brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, fish, brazil nuts, brown rice, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, swiss chard
• Zinc: oysters, beef, lamb, pork, herring, egg yolks, whole wheat/rye/oats, pecans, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, ginger root, mustard
• Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids: flax seed, flax oil, salmon, tuna, mackerel, cod, fish oil

In supplement form, a strong antioxidant formula should contain most of these nutrients (though Omega 3 essential fatty acid supplements should be in a separate pill). Antioxidant formulas that I might recommend for my clients (depending on their unique biochemical needs) include Pure Encapsulations brand Antioxidant Formula, Douglas Labs brand Basic Anti-Oxidant, Integrative Therapeutics brand Clinical Nutrients Antioxidant, or a multi vitamin/mineral supplement such as Metagenics brand Wellness Essentials or Deisgns for Health Brand Twice Daily Essential Packets, which include essential fats and other nutrients in individual packets.

Now back to the Halloween candy. I would be remiss if I didn’t at least try to give you some ideas for non-immune-system-depleting treats for all the little goblins in your world. Sadly, just this morning I heard a newscaster recommend parents throw away any home made items their children received while trick or treating. Nonetheless, for your own children and the children of friends and family, home made treats are always the healthiest and tastiest.
Consider these kinds of simple, healthier treats:

• Juice boxes
• Individual sized fruit cups
• Cheese and cracker packages
• Snack size zip lock bags of mixed nuts, seeds, dried fruit
• Snack size boxes of raisins or other dried fruits
• Fresh fruit pieces wrapped in colored saran wrap or colored foil

Lastly, here are two recipes for healthier sweets; healthier because they have less sugar and or better quality sweeteners or in the case of the brownies, they also have a good source of protein.

(1) Lardner A. The effects of extracellular pH on immune function. Journal of Leukcyte Biology. 2001;69:522-530.
(2) Sanchez A, Reeser JL, Lau HS, et al. Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1973;26:1180”–4.
(3) Ringsdorf WM, Cheraskin E, Ramsay RR. Sucrose, neutrophilic phagocytosis and resistance to disease. Dent Survey 1976;52(12):46.
(4) Nutter RL, Gridley DS, Kettering JD, et al. Modification of a transplantable colon tumor and immune responses in mice fed different sources of protein, fat and carbohydrate. Cancer Letters 1983;18(1):49”–62.
(5) Romieu I, Lazcano-Ponce L, Sanchez-Zamorano, LM, Willet W, Hernandez-Avila M. Carbohydrates and the risk of breast cancer among Mexican women. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 2004;13, 1283-1289.

By Sherry Dell
September 2008 Newsletter

Recent research suggests that more than half the US population is now allergic to at least one common allergen. (1) These allergens include such foods as wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar, corn, and peanuts, and such non-foods as dust mites, ragweed, and grass.

Why are we all so allergic?

In adults, allergy-related problems to non-foods are commonly listed as various kinds of upper respiratory discomfort such as sneezing, itchy eyes, running nose, post nasal drip, etc.; symptoms of food allergies are generally thought of as some kind of digestive impairment such as stomach upset or diarrhea. I would also include fatigue, general toxicity, hypersensitivity to prescription drugs, scents, and the environment in general as allergy-related symptoms. In children, allergy symptoms might also include chronic infections, weakened immunity, acute otitis media (AOM which is inflammation of the middle ear), and attention deficit-type behavior problems. In fact, when interviewing adults with allergy symptoms, I routinely question them regarding their own childhood health experiences and almost always learn that they also had some number of chronic ear infections, colds, bronchitis, asthma, and/or plenty of antibiotic prescriptions.

This is no coincidence. The chain of events that results in adult allergies (and ultimately in even more serious immunity & toxicity problems) begins very early in life. The symptom picture generally changes from childhood to adulthood. The ear infections, asthma, and the inability to focus of childhood turn into the seasonal allergies, celiac disease, diabetes, depression/anxiety, or chronic fatigue of adulthood. But the root causes remain the same.

A bit like the chicken or the egg problem, it is difficult to point to a starting point for this cascade of symptoms, but let’s start at birth. A recent review of 52 studies found that the introduction of certain foods to infants increases the risk of food allergies, as well as diabetes and celiac disease. (2) The American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and UNICEF all recommend exclusive breast feeding for at least 6 months, followed by gradual introduction of solid foods in the second half of the first year and continued breast feeding for 12 months and beyond. This means that children who are introduced to formulas and then solid foods too early in life are very likely to put an increased burden on their immune system. The way this works is that a food that enters the human body before the digestive system has developed adequately to process and assimilate it becomes a kind of “foreign invader” that the immune system must react to. Remember, we’re talking about a wee, tiny body and a wee, tiny immune system. It doesn’t take much of a dose or very long for a food that is being seen by the body as an allergen-foreign-invader to begin to burden and tire the immune system. So a daily dose of cow’s milk formula or really any kind of formula is all it takes, and voila, an allergy is born. You can see this on the faces of even very young children by the dark circles under their eyes.

On to the egg and the chicken again. Adult women are exposed to various elements in modern living that, in turn, are passed on to their babies. This may happen during pregnancy and/or breast feeding. For example, as adults we are all exposed to an ever-increasing number of environmental pollutants and toxins. Pesticides. Industrial waste. Pharmaceuticals in the water supply and in the food chain. Preservatives. Some of these chemicals are harmful to our immune systems. It is speculated that the “toxin-soup” effect of combinations of chemicals might simply overtax our immune systems, making them much more susceptible to allergy.

Another way the adult immune system is taxed is via the many processed foods that are made from the same small list of ingredients (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar, corn). As we eat these same foods over and over day after day, they too can become a kind of “foreign invader” that stimulates the immune system. In other words, the sheer repetitive nature of our diets can become an immune stressor that over time makes our immune systems weaker and again, more susceptible to allergy.

High fructose corn syrup is added to many, many processed foods. If you have a sweet tooth and like to eat cookies or scones or breakfast cereal or have a Starbuck’s latte, chances are you’re eating some high fructose corn syrup every day. Because fructose is a highly reactive molecule that can change the chemical structure of proteins when they are heated in its presence, it is thought that these altered proteins can be much more allergenic than proteins that haven’t been changed molecularly in this way.

Frequency of antibiotic use also plays a role in overall immune function in both children and adults. Antibiotics, of course, are used to kill bacteria. This is a good thing when there are pathogenic, harmful bacteria present that are causing illness. However, antibiotics are not “smart” enough to distinguish between the “bad” bacteria and the “good” bacteria. The human gastro-intestinal tract has various strains of beneficial bacteria that play a critical role in overall immune function. Taking antibiotics kills these beneficial bacteria as well as the harmful bacteria. Over time and repeated doses of antibiotics, particularly in children, the immune system can become stressed and weakened, and more susceptible to allergy. One recent study (3) found that asthma was significantly more likely to develop in children who had received antibiotics in the fist year of life. Interestingly, another study (4) found that children with middle ear infections recovered equally well whether antibiotics were prescribed or withheld. And another study (5) found that osteopathic manipulation, in place of surgery, resulted in significantly fewer episode of middle ear infection in children age 6 months to 6 years.

As the years pass, impaired immune function begins to have an impact on the body’s ability to eliminate toxins. In a particularly nasty cycle, as the body becomes more toxic, the immune system becomes even more susceptible to allergy. But we’ll save the topic of toxicity for its own article another day.

What is clear is that as some or several of these experiences begin to effect a child, their immune system begins to be weakened. Depending on their genetic gifts or lack of gifts, the day dawns when allergy or other symptoms begin to appear, indicating that the stressors are getting the upper hand on their little immune systems.

The good news is that the sooner a parent (or an individual in adulthood) begins to see what has happened to their immune function, the sooner they can begin to reduce and eliminate these stressors. In children, I have often seen a few days’ worth of the elimination of dairy or wheat greatly reduce or even eliminate all manner of symptoms of allergy. In adults, the same strategy may be equally important. And both children and adults can also benefit from an increased variety of foods, the replacement of beneficial bacteria, and the elimination of high fructose corn syrup. Adults may also benefit from liver cleansing and support through the use of medical foods, guided detoxification programs, and other nutritional supplements as needed. If you’re an adult who suffers with the kinds of symptoms discussed here, find a holistic health practitioner who can guide you.

By Jennifer Aguilar

For parents and children alike, September is a month of transition. It is the month where the unstructured, carefree days of summer give way to the structured schedules of school and after school activities. One of the biggest challenges in accommodating this transition is adjusting to sensible sleep schedules and staying focused for a long period of time. This is where aromatherapy can be helpful for parents and children.

A critical step, in making the transition from summer break to school, is getting to sleep at a decent hour so parents and children can be well rested. This is often difficult when parents and children are accustomed retiring at a late hour. Luckily, aromatherapy offers several options. Evening applications of essential oils such as lavender, tangerine, and ylang ylang promote feelings of calm and relaxation.

Fewer things ruin a day more than a rough morning. Unfortunately, waking at an early hour is often challenging for children and stressful for the parents that need to feed them and get them to school. Luckily, aromatherapy can be very helpful in waking up in a positive state of mind. Essential oils of grapefruit, lemon, and coriander not only have invigorating and uplifting properties, but they promote feelings of joy. Thus, children and parents starting their day awakened, and in a positive state of mind, often have more productive and less stressful days. Furthermore, handling unexpected setbacks throughout the day is often easier.

For parents that bring their work home, and their children who have after school activities and homework, aromatherapy is also useful for maintaining mental stamina. Though the essential oils used for awakening are uplifting and refreshing, essential oils such as ginger, nutmeg and peppermint are energizing, and invigorating. Thus, they are perfect for staying focused and in combating mental fatigue.

The uses of essential oils are numerous. They can be used in evening or morning bathing rituals, added to vaporizers, diffusers or mists. They can also be applied, a few drops at a time, directly onto clothing, linens or pajamas. Some can be applied directly to the skin as needed. Another technique is to apply several drops of essential oil to a cotton ball, tissue or handkerchief directly inhaling the item. Regardless of what oils to use and how they are used, it is important use them according to the manufacturers instructions. Many essential oils are very gentle when applied directly to the skin while others require a carrier oil such as jojoba, or almond oil.

There are many aromatherapy products available on the market. To get their benefits, one must be an educated consumer.

• Look for products that are packaged in dark blue or amber containers. Essential oils are unstable and degrade readily when exposed to oxygen and ultraviolet light, thus clear containers cannot be used for any product containing essential oils. If a product is packaged in a clear container, the product’s aroma is likely a synthetic fragrance and not a true essential oil from a plant, thus, you are not going to get the full benefits of aromatherapy.
  Get into the habit of being a label reader. Look for real essential oils on the label and, if you are buying a bath and body product, make sure that the product is botanically based. Avoid products that have ingredients such as synthetic fragrances, petroleum derived ingredients, such as mineral oil, or animal by-products such as collagen, and hydrolyzed animal protein. Not only do these ingredients not benefit the skin, many of these ingredients can clog pores and cause adverse reactions.

For those not inclined to experiment with different essential oils, numerous health food stores and direct distributors offer essential oil blends, mists and bath and body preparations. The Aromassentials line of mists and bath and body products by Arbonne International combine real essential oils in a botanically based, vegan product. Available, are mists, soaking salts, sea salt scrubs, massage oil, shower gel and body lotion in three user friendly aromatic blends: Unwind, for relaxing; Awaken, for starting the day refreshed, happy and ready to go; and Reactivate for rejuvenation. Also, many communities have clubs and organizations that offer advice on aromatherapy for optimal health as well as www.Meetup.com.

Jennifer Aguilar is an Independent Consultant with Arbonne International. She can be reached at NaturalSwissBeauties@myarbonne.com.

Is Pedialyte® Really Safe or Not?
www.janethull.com (Reprinted with permission)

There are concerns about giving Pedialyte to a sick child because Pedialyte contains artificial sweeteners. Heads up for the concerned parent and guardian.

As of July 2000, all Pedialyte products, including flavored and freezer pops, exchanged the sugar-free chemical aspartame for the new kid on the block, sucralose found in Splenda®. Pedialyte now also contains the chemical sweetener acesulfame-K, plus artificial colors and artificial flavors.

Note: If you are concerned about your child’s consumption of aspartame, please check the ingredient listing on the product’s label to ensure you do not have the old Pedialyte formulation containing aspartame.

Needless to say, these chemical sugar substitutes can be harmful to a healthy human body, so the magnified, harmful effects they can have on a sick child under stress from a high fever, diarrhea and vomiting can make illness worse. Remember the story in my book Sweet Poison http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-case-histories.html of four-year old Katrina Carradine? Unknowingly, her mother had been giving her daughter vitamins with aspartame, and the child suffered over six-weeks in a coma. Today at 15 years of age, Katrina has never fully recovered mentally from the harmful effects of aspartame and diet sweeteners.

Bottom-line, and to be on the safe-side, children do not need to be exposed to diet chemical sweeteners under any circumstances; through medications, in foods, drinks, gums, candies, or flavored waters. And there are over 10,000 products your children are exposed to that contain aspartame, sucralose and other chemical sweeteners on the market today – many not labeled as sugar-free.

Pedialyte is a combination of systemic carbohydrates and electrolytes, also labeled as oral rehydration salts, ORS-bicarbonates, and ORS-citrates. A carbohydrate and electrolytes combination is used to restore dehydration and the loss of too much water from the body occurring with severe diarrhea, particularly in babies and young children. Although this OTC medicine does not immediately stop diarrhea, it replaces water in the body, and replenishes important body salts, known as electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium. These electrolytes are typically lost from the body through diarrhea, and they prevent more serious problems occurring as a result of dehydration and high body temperatures. Some carbohydrate and electrolyte solutions may also be used after surgery when food intake has been stopped, or for the elderly with deficient diets.

Pedialyte is available without a prescription; however, your primary doctor may have special instructions on the proper use and dose for you or your child.

Some common brand names in the U.S. are: (all registered trademarked items)

• Infalyte
• Kao Lectrolyte
• Naturalyte
• Oralyte
• Pedialyte
• Pedialyte Freezer Pops
• Rehydralyte
• Resol

In Canada:

• Lytren
• Gastrolyte
• Pedialyte
• Rapolyte

Try this recipe for homemade Pedialyte to have available in case of unexpected illness:

1 quart purified or natural spring water
2-4 teaspoons raw, unprocessed sugar, or 1-2 teaspoons of powdered fruit sugar (fructose)
1 teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

Boil water, add sugar (or fructose) and salt. Stir. Let cool.
Refrigerate what you do not use, but do not keep for more than 48 hours; make a new batch. Safe for pets, particularly puppies and rabbits.

By Stephanie Kimlicko, MA, CN

Your son prefers sleeping an extra fifteen minutes than getting up to eat breakfast; your daughter claims she’s not hungry when she wakes up; maybe your weight-conscious teenager thinks she can save calories if she doesn’t eat until lunchtime; or there’s just no time to make breakfast in the morning. Whatever the reason, skipping breakfast is never a good idea.

During sleep, your metabolism ”– your body’s ability to convert food into energy – is at rest. When you get out of bed and start moving around, your body’s energy requirements start increasing, but since you haven’t eaten anything in approximately 10-12 hours, your body cannot produce energy, and your metabolism remains slow.

Just like you can’t trust your car to go very far on an empty tank, you cannot expect your body to function optimally on an empty stomach. The main risk of forcing the body to run on low energy is hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. For a school-aged child, this means slow thinking processes and reactions, difficulties concentrating, as well as mental and physical fatigue.

While eating breakfast is crucial for your child to be alert when he gets to his morning classes, what he eats strongly affects how long he can sustain this energy. A breakfast that is high in sugar or refined carbohydrates and low in protein (e.g. cold cereals with milk and a glass of orange juice) will cause a quick surge of energy for a short period of time. Within one to two hours, your child is then likely to experience a sudden drop of blood sugar (reactive hypoglycemia), which is responsible for the mid-morning crash and impaired cognitive function described above.

To sustain energy throughout an entire school day, it is important to choose low-sugar, high-fiber carbohydrates combined with a good source of protein. Examples include: eggs with whole-grain toast and pear slices; plain yoghurt or cottage cheese with pineapple chunks and pecans; a bean & cheese burrito; or natural peanut butter spread on whole-grain bread with sliced strawberries on top. If your child cannot imagine breakfast without cold cereals, find a brand that contains no more than 5g of sugar per serving and serve it with sunflower seeds or walnuts for extra protein.

If your child is not hungry when he wakes up, suggest that he eat at least a piece of fruit, a hard-boiled egg, or half a slice of bread with nut butter on top to get his metabolism going. Also give him an apple, a cheese stick, and/or some nuts to pack as a mid-morning snack.

If lack of time is an issue, offer a drinkable breakfast: blend plain, whole milk yoghurt or a milk alternative with fresh or frozen fruit, nut butter and/or half a scoop of whey protein powder. Experiment with other ingredients by adding half a banana, carob powder, wheat germ, or even 100% pure apple juice, but try to stay away from sweetened foods such as vanilla yoghurt or jelly.

And whenever your child complains of being too tired to eat, remind him that eating a wholesome, well-balanced breakfast will give him more energy than sleeping fifteen minutes longer and running to school on an empty stomach!