How Cell Phones May Cause Autism

Rates of autism, a disabling neurodevelopmental disorder, have increased nearly 60-fold since the late 1970s, with the most significant increases occurring in the past decade.

The cause of autism is unknown, although theories include such potential causes as:

* Genetic predisposition
* Inability to clear heavy metals
* Increased vulnerability to oxidative stress
* Environmental exposures including mercury preservatives in vaccines
* Trans-generational accumulation of toxic heavy metals

Now a groundbreaking new theory has been suggested by a study published in the Journal of the Australasian College of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine: electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from cell phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi devices and other similar wireless technologies as an accelerating factor in autism.

EMR May be the Missing Link

The study, which involved over five years of research on children with autism and other membrane sensitivity disorders, found that EMR negatively affects cell membranes, and allows heavy metal toxins, which are associated with autism, to build up in your body.

Meanwhile, the researchers pointed out that autism rates have increased concurrently along with the proliferation of cell phones and wireless use.

EMR, the researchers say, could impact autism by facilitating early onset of symptoms or by trapping heavy metals inside of nerve cells, which could accelerate the onset of symptoms of heavy metal toxicity and hinder therapeutic clearance of the toxins .

Speaking in reference to the huge rise in autism rates, Dr. George Carlo, the studys co-author, said, A rise of this magnitude must have a major environmental cause. Our data offer a reasonable mechanistic explanation for a connection between autism and wireless technology.

They also suggest that EMR from wireless devices works in conjunction with environmental and genetic factors to cause autism.

Primary researcher for this article is Tamara Mariea. Her clinic is called Internal Balance

New Research on How Sunshine Decreases Infections

A study of more than 2,000 women has found those with higher vitamin D levels showed fewer aging-related changes in their DNA, as well as lowered inflammatory responses.

A second study, examining almost 1,000 patients in West Africa, showed that low vitamin D levels are common among tuberculosis (TB) patients. Lack of vitamin D has been linked in previous studies to multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and other diseases.

Cells have built-in DNA clocks, known as telomeres. Measuring the length of these strands of DNA is one way of examining the aging process at a cellular level.

Women with higher levels of vitamin D are more likely to have longer telomeres, and vice versa. This means that people with higher levels of vitamin D may actually age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D.

No wonder vitamin D has a protective effect on so many diseases, ranging from MS and TB, to heart disease and cancer — it keeps your body young!

Sources:

* BBC News November 8, 2007
* American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(5), 1376-1383, November 2007
* American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(5), 1420-1425, November 2007
* American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(5), 1257-1258, November 2007

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

These latest studies confirm previous findings that vitamin D plays a vital role in preventing and treating tuberculosis, and increases your bodys capacity to ward off autoimmune diseases, and slow down physical aging.

Vitamin D deficiency is a growing epidemic across the world and is contributing to many chronic debilitating diseases , many of which conventional medicine insist need to be treated with vaccines and medication, rather than recommending proper sunlight exposure.

In the United States, the late winter vitamin D average is so low it falls within the category of serious deficiency.

The Connection Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Tuberculosis

Although nearly one third of the words population carries the mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, only about 0.2 percent of those infected with tuberculosis (TB) actually develop a clinically significant infection This is a very powerful indicator that something other than the bug itself is responsible for developing the disease.

Clearly vitamin D is a strong candidate for one of those factors. Several studies have appeared in the last decade, indicating that vitamin D is one of the major keys that dictate whether you will come down with the disease. These studies have all come to similar conclusions; vitamin D deficiency sets off the disease if you are a carrier of the bacteria.

One previous study was able to show an astonishing 100 percent resolution rate by treating TB patients with 10,000 units of vitamin D daily (compared with the 400 units usually advocated by conventional medicine).

How does this work?

Your white blood cells convert vitamin D into an active form, which helps form a protein that kills the tuberculosis bacteria. The presence of TB bacteria does not lower your vitamin D concentration, but rather the more severe your vitamin D deficiency is, the higher your risk of developing the active form of TB.

In the latest research referenced above (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(5), 1376-1383, November 2007), they studied this theory on patients in sub-Saharan Africa where the TB incidence is high.

African Americans normally have significantly lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations than do whites, and have a statistically greater susceptibility to TB infection.

Not surprisingly, they found that mild vitamin D insufficiencies were far more prevalent in the TB group than severe deficiencies, which suggests that even small amounts of supplementation can be beneficial in reducing your chances of getting the active disease. Its also believed that your individual metabolism of vitamin D may play a role, but its still not known whether your vitamin D concentration influences your vitamin metabolism, or the other way around.

One of the other strong candidates that contributes to TB are emotional issues. I just finished a three-hour interview with Dr. David Holt on German New Medicine, which goes into this area far more deeply

How Vitamin D Can Help Prevent Inflammatory Diseases

The second study referenced above offers additional confirmation that proper sun exposure reduces your risk of developing inflammatory- and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes.

How?

Leukocyte telomeres are the ends of your chromosomes, which become shorter with each cell turnover. Cell turnover, in turn, is accelerated by oxidative stress.

Your leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a predictor for aging related diseases. As you age, your LTLs become shorter, but, if you suffer from chronic inflammation, your telomeres decrease in length much faster, because your bodys inflammatory response accelerates leukocyte turnover.

Your vitamin D concentrations also decrease with age, whereas your C-reactive protein (a mediator of inflammation) increases. This inverse double-whammy increases your overall risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The good news is that vitamin D is a potent inhibitor of your bodys inflammatory response, and by reducing inflammation, you diminish your turnover of leukocytes, effectively creating a positive chain reaction that can help protect you against a variety of diseases. In essence, it protects your body from the deterioration of aging.

This research found that subsets of leukocytes have receptors for the active form of vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin, or vitamin D3), which allows the vitamin to have a direct effect on these cells. This may explain the specific connection between vitamin D and autoimmune disease.

Dietary Impact on Autoimmune Diseases

The third study included in this article shows how your diet, in addition to vitamin D from sunlight exposure, affects your leukocytes, and hence your cellular aging and deterioration.

Specifically, high-fat diets, glucose (sugar), and mixed carbohydrates and fat were linked to chromosomal damage by activating your bodys inflammation response — quite likely from the creation of endotoxins in your gut.

Folks, its time to realize that everything in your body is inter-connected.

You cannot inflict damage in one area without causing problems in other systems, and Ive written extensively about the necessity to abstain from sugar and grains, and to get adequate sunlight exposure in order to optimize your health.

Following my nutrition plan automatically helps you reduce, or eliminate, these two non-essentials from your diet. Additionally, Ive revised and refined my basic recommendations for optimal health to ten easy basics. If you incorporate these recommendations into your life, your chances of maintaining vibrant health will be vastly increased.

Why?

Because its not about rocket science. Its about seeding the lay of your land , your body , with the basic stuff it needs. Your bodys intelligence will do the rest, rewarding you with optimal health, which includes freedom from disease.

What Other Health Impact Does Proper Sunlight Exposure Have?

Optimizing your vitamin D levels could also help you to prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancers.

Its protective effect against cancer works in several ways, including:

*
Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer)
*
Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells
*
Causing cells to become differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentiation)
*
Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous

Previous studies have found that more than one million people die every year from lack of sun exposure and subsequent vitamin D deficiency, so fear of the sun is really something that needs to be overcome.

All Vitamin D is NOT Created Equal

Although there are vitamin D supplements on the market, I do not recommend supplementing with oral vitamin D, as it is very easy to overdose. Instead, your safest bet is to get your vitamin D from natural sunlight exposure.

Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D is actually a steroid hormone precursor that is created by your body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. This is the active vitamin D, or vitamin D3 referred to above. Nearly all the prescription-based supplements are synthetic vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), which is FAR LESS effective.

I recommend getting your vitamin D level tested before beginning any kind of supplementation. Please bear in mind when you go for the test that there are TWO vitamin D tests: 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D. The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, as its a much better marker of overall vitamin D status.

Normal 25-hydroxyvitamin D lab values are 20-56 ng/ml (50-140 nmol/l). However, this range is far too broad to be ideal. In fact, your vitamin D level should never be below 32 ng/ml, and any levels below 20 ng/ml are considered serious deficiency states. Instead, the OPTIMAL value youre looking for is 50-55 ng/ml (115-128 nmol/l).

For more in-depth information about sunlights vital role in maintaining optimal health, I recommend reading my special report on the topic. Also keep an eye out for my forthcoming book, Dark Deception, which is slated for publication in 2008.

It will take an in-depth look at all of the various issues relating to sunscreen, cancer, vitamin D, and sunlight — and expose why the conventional wisdom to stay out of the sun is dead wrong.

The link has pictures, these plants are beautiful!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/11/29/eight-of-the-world-s-most-unusual-plants.aspx

Raw Milk is Catching On in the UK

In the UK, demand for raw, unpasteurized milk is growing as increasing numbers of people spread the word about its health benefits and rich, refreshing flavor.

The Food Standards Agency maintains that raw milk can contain illness-causing pathogens, but that hasnt stopped its fans from traveling miles to purchase a liter. In England and Wales, raw milk sales are restricted to farmers markets and farm shops, and must contain a label warning of the risk.

Much of the increase in popularity has stemmed from anecdotal reports about raw milks healthy properties, which may:

* Strengthen your immune system
* Improve digestion
* Combat arthritis and arterial stiffening

Further, because raw milk is not pasteurized, it is loaded with beneficial gut bacteria and digestive enzymes. Pastuerizing milk, on the other hand, destroys much of the nutrition in milk, according to raw milk proponents. Other beneficial properties of raw milk include:

* It contains 10 percent more B vitamins and 25 percent more vitamin C than regular milk.
* Its rich in CLA, a superfat that promotes weight loss and may fight cancer.
* It contains the enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose. Because of this, people who are lactose-intolerant can enjoy raw milk.
* It contains more omega-3 fats, and theyre not corrupted by heat treatment.

Although opponents say the risk of drinking raw milk is great, farmers point out that raw milk is made to a strict standard, and that their cows are healthier than those on commercial farms.

Think about it: healthier cows mean healthier milk, says Celia Haynes, a farmer who specializes in unpasteurized milk and cream.

Sources:

* Belfast Telegraph November 6, 2007

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:
Its estimated that about half a million people in the United States regularly drink raw milk. Unfortunately, many of you who belong to this group must purchase your milk on underground black markets as though youre a criminal!

In the UK, getting raw milk is decidedly easier, as its available at farmers markets and farm shops. It is excellent news that people all over the world are clamoring for this healthy beverage!

I think that, in the United States, soon the tides will be turning over raw milk, for good or for bad.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in another misguided and unhealthy move, recently moved to ban some raw-milk cheese. And in California, one of the only states in the United States that legally sells raw milk, raw milk must now — for the first time — conform to strict limits for coliform bacteria that could actually make the milk less healthy, according to a new state law, AB1735.

On a positive note, Ron Paul (R-Texas) recently introduced a bill to authorize the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products.

Why are so many people clamoring for raw milk?

* Raw milk still contains all of the valuable enzymes that are destroyed during pasteurization. Without them, milk is very difficult to digest. So if you have lactose intolerance, it will simply disappear once you start consuming raw dairy products.

* Raw milk is an outstanding source of healthy, good bacteria and micronutrients, including lactobacillus, acidophilus, and vitamins, which are virtually eliminated by the pasteurization process of commercial milk. It is an outstanding nutrient to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in your intestine.

* Raw milk still contains natural butterfat, which is homogenized or removed in commercial milk. Without butterfat, the body cannot absorb and utilize the vitamins and minerals in the water fraction of the milk. Butterfat is also the best source of preformed vitamin A, and contains re-arranged acids with strong anti-carcinogenic properties.

* Raw milk does not contain synthetic vitamin D, which is known to be toxic to the liver, yet is still added to most commercial milk.

* Raw milk contains healthy cholesterol.

Not to mention the fact that raw milk is truly delicious rich and creamy, and surprisingly refreshing.

Join the Campaign for Raw Milk

There are several ways you can help protect your (and others’) right to buy raw milk in California.

The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (www.ftcldf.org) is the official non-profit organization handling the legal defense and consumer revolt against AB1735. They are a legal 501 (C)(4) organization connected to the Weston A. Price Foundation, and they need to raise $35,000 to defend your access to raw milk.

Remember, whether you live in California or not, this bill will set a precedent that may eventually eliminate raw milk everywhere.

To donate, and secure raw milk for your future, go to www.organicpastures.com and click on the legal defense fund link on the home page.

You can also call or write, and voice your opinion!

* Assembly Agriculture Committee chair Nicole Parra (916) 319-2030

* Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, www.gov.ca.gov

Call (916) 445-2841, or fax your letter to (916) 445-4633, asking the governor to stop enforcement of AB1735, and to spearhead the elimination of the law completely. Make sure you sign your letter and supply your address to show that you are a resident of California.

* California Department of Food and Agriculture, Animal Health and Food Safety Services, Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch (916) 654-0773

Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods

Crops genetically modified to have reduced susceptibility to pests are promoted as a solution to low food yields in developing countries. The motive of these promoters is profit, not altruism.

Monsanto, one of the largest developers of genetically modified crops, has developed a grain that gives an improved crop and is sterile, so instead of keeping back some seeds for the next year’s sowing, farmers must return to the supplier for more.

In view of this unbridled commercial approach to genetic modification, it is perhaps not surprising that companies have paid little evident attention to the potential hazards to health of genetically modified foods.

But it is astounding that the US Food and Drug Administration has not changed their stance on genetically modified food adopted in 1992. They announced in January this year, “FDA has not found it necessary to conduct comprehensive scientific reviews of foods derived from bioengineered plants . . . consistent with its 1992 policy.”

The policy is that genetically modified crops will receive the same consideration for potential health risks as any other new crop plant. This stance is taken despite good reasons to believe that specific risks may exist.

For instance, antibiotic-resistance genes are used in some genetically modified plants as a marker of genetic transformation. Despite repeated assurances that the resistance genes cannot spread from the plant, many commentators believe this could happen.

Of greater concern is the effect of the genetic modification itself on the food. Potatoes have been engineered with a gene from the snowdrop to produce an agglutinin which may reduce susceptibility to insects.

In April last year, a scientist, Arpad Pusztai, from the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, UK, unwisely announced on television that experiments had shown intestinal changes in rats caused by eating genetically engineered potatoes.

He said he would not eat such modified foods himself and that it was “very, very unfair to use our fellow citizens as guineapigs.”

A storm of publicity overtook Pusztai. He was removed from his job, a sacrifice that did not quell public alarm in the UK or in Europe.

Last week (May 22, p1769 ) the Royal Society had reviewed what it could of Pusztai and colleagues’ evidence and found it flawed, a gesture of breathtaking impertinence to the Rowett Institute scientists who should be judged only on the full and final publication of their work.

The British Medical Association called for a moratorium on planting genetically modified crops. The UK Government, in accordance with national tradition, vacillated. Finally, on May 21, the Government came out with proposals for research into possible health risks of genetically modified foods.

Shoppers across Europe had already voted with their feet. By the end of the first week in May, seven European supermarket chains had announced they would not sell genetically modified foods.

Three large food multinationals, Unilever, Nestlé, and Cadburys-Schweppes followed suit. The Supreme Court in India has upheld a ban on testing genetically modified crops.

Activists in India have set fire to fields of crops suspected of being used for testing. The population of the USA, where up to 60% of processed foods have genetically modified ingredients, seem, as yet, unconcerned.

The issue of genetically modified foods has been badly mishandled by everyone involved. Governments should never have allowed these products into the food chain without insisting on rigorous testing for effects on health.

The companies should have paid greater attention to the possible risks to health and of the public’s perception of this risk; they are now paying the price of this neglect.

And scientists involved in research into the risks of genetically modified foods should have published the results in the scientific press, not through the popular media; their colleagues, meanwhile, should also have avoided passing judgments on the issue without the full facts before them.

The Lancet Volume 353 29 May 1999

Dr. Mercola’s Comment:

It seems clear that these are foods you will want to avoid.