Big Oil Has Been Lying To Us For DECADES

Why would I, in my blog which is focused on natural health alternatives, be talking about the lies of Big Oil? 

Well, part of it is because I began my career as an attorney with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Division of Air Pollution Control, back in the early days of the EPA’s formation. But the bigger reason is the devastating impact these lies have had on our environment, and in turn, our health.

A recent two-year Senate investigation uncovered decades of deception. The report details how Big Oil used "denial, disinformation, and doublespeak" to protect their profits, all while knowing full well the environmental damage their products were causing.

The story goes back to 1959, when nuclear scientist Edward Teller warned the American Petroleum Institute that CO2 emissions from burning oil would melt ice caps and raise sea levels. Sounds eerily familiar, right? 

By 1979, Exxon’s own scientists confirmed that continued fossil fuel consumption would trigger climate change by 2029. And here we are—Hurricane Helene and countless other climate disasters are just the tip of the melting iceberg.

Instead of taking steps to mitigate this looming crisis, Big Oil doubled down by lobbying lawmakers and spreading doubt about the science of climate change. 

And if that wasn’t enough, they even lied about plastics, claiming they were recyclable when they knew most of them weren’t. California is now suing ExxonMobil for deceiving the public about plastic recycling. 

Hopefully, this lawsuit will open the floodgates for more actions against Big Oil—our planet’s health and our own depends on it.
(Reported NRDC newsletter, October 2024)

Fighting Cancer With A Drug and Exercise

You probably won’t think that moderate to vigorous exercise would be a tool in the fight against cancer. Well, it turns out you’d be wrong. There’s a new way of looking at exercise combined with drug therapy and how combining the two can fight cancer.

There’s an antibody therapy using a drug called rituximab The drug is used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The researchers decided to combine this with exercise and got some amazing results.

The way rituximab works is it attaches itself to a specific protein on the surface of a cancer cell. Natural killer cells in the body are then able to recognize the drug attached to the cancer cell so that the body’s killer cells can attack and destroy the cancer cell.

So…what if I told you this increased the number of natural killer cells by an amazing 254 percent. You read that right – 254% and it occurs right after the patient has simply finished doing 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise!

There is a secondary benefit that occurs from doing this kind of exercising. It turns out that the number of cancer cells present in blood samples increased immediately after exercising. Since cancer cells attempt to hide in the body so drugs can’t get them, this resulted in the natural killer cells being able to find and destroy more of the cancer cells.

The bottom-line result is that the rituximab was twice as effective at killing cancer cells. A great Win/Win for fighting cancer.

While I tend to attempt to keep drug use to a minimum, if you are diagnosed with this disease, lace up you running shoes and run, run, run!
(Reported Bottom Line Health, September 2024)

Free Breakfasts and Lunches for School Kids Has a Negative Side

Having free breakfasts and lunches for school kids sounds like a great idea. Its aim is to make sure that the kids can have the ability to study and learn in school by not being hungry. I’m all for this and it sounds like a great idea.

However, there’s a negative underside to this worthwhile program and that’s what’s in the foods.

By that I mean that these foods are loaded with toxins such as glyphosate, heavy metals and PFAS (these are the forever chemicals). 

These toxins have been linked to cancer, neurological damage, and liver disease just to give you a sample of what can go wrong from consuming these foods.

Recently a number of environmental and health groups met with the Environmental Protection Agency to urge the regulators to take immediate action to protect our children from these toxins in their food. 

The groups presented scientific evidence on how the amount of glyphosate and other toxins are damaging the bones, metabolism and immune systems of children while these toxins are also poisoning the soil that they are grown on.

While glyphosate is the most widely used weed killer (think Round-Up), there is another use very few people are aware of that puts this toxin right into our food supply. 

What I’m referring to is that this toxin is actually sprayed on crops just before they are harvested to make them dry out more evenly. This means when the plants are harvested, they have a high concentration of glyphosates that goes right into a child’s breakfast or lunch meal. 

So, how bad is it?

Recent tests of these foods found that adding up all the contaminants in the food resulted in a toxicity level that was 6,203 times higher than the EPAs own limits for drinking water. Read that again – over 6,000 times higher!

So…your kids may be better off drinking water than eating foods. Unfortunately, they can’t do that and stay healthy, so this is where organic foods come into play. If the EPA doesn’t regulate and eliminate this level of toxicity, having your school go organic will provide more protection to the health of your kids.
(Reported anh-usa.org) 

Can We Trust The Science When Drug Companies Get Sued So Much?

Because of COVID 19 we have heard the expression over and over again to trust the science. It’s a great slogan and it’s been enforced against doctors who raised questions about treatments by losing their license to practice medicine.

A group called Public Citizen looked behind the scenes to discover all the lawsuits that have occurred again big pharma and settlement numbers are hugh!

Over the last 3 decades, the drug companies have been found guilty or settled cases forcing them to pay $62 billion in penalties for illegal practices. You read that right…$62 with a B.

According to Public Citizen this number only reflects a portion of the wrongdoings. 

Of the 545 violations and cases where charges were alleged the figures broke down this way:

39% were for price fixing and 36% were for unlawful promotions.

So which companies paid out the most in these settlements? How about:
Purdue ($8.9 billion)
Johnson & Johnson ($8.4 billion)
GlaxoSmithKline ($7.9 billion)
and Pfizer ($4.7 billion).

What this report doesn’t consider is the harm to individuals who rely on these drugs as something that’s going to help them. BTW, I’m not even going into the side effects in this blog which can harm or kill you! Just watch the tv commercials where they play happy music and scenes you’ve been watching are serene and heart touching while they list the side-effects.

So, this is an enormous amount of money that the drug companies are paying out. The question is why do they continue to do it?

The answer is simple. The industry wound up with profits being reported by Public Citizen during the 19-year period ending in 2018 of (can I get a drum roll!) $1.9 trillion dollars. That’s right – it’s TRILLIONS of dollars!

All these penalties are viewed simply as the cost of doing business. Anyone wanting to trade billions of dollars to make 1.9 trillion dollars? In addition, these penalties are only on the drugs that the companies were caught doing wrongs.

So, I think there’s a simple answer to all of this. The State and Federal attorneys generals need to be arresting and prosecuting the top executives in these companies. All you need is several of the Presidents and Vice Presidents to go to jail to wake the industry up that the TRILLIONS has some real consequences to them!
(Reported Public Citizen News, July/August 2024)

A Link Between Our Diets and the Rise of Autism

So, how bad is autism today? If you look at the 1960s and 70s, the number of cases of autism was just 2 to 4 cases for every 10,000 children (that’s right - 10,000 children). Today, the number is incredible! It’s grown to an alarming 1 in 36 children.

These numbers say that we’re in the middle of an epidemic and it may be solvable. There may be hope from a groundbreaking study that has uncovered a potential link between diet and autism. 

This link is connected to PUFAs in our diet. PUFA stands for polyunsaturated fatty acids. 

So, what are PUFAs? They are a type of fat found in many foods from vegetable seed oils, certain seeds and nuts, and animal meat where the animal was fed a high-PUFA diet. In the 60s and 70s linolic acid (LA) made up less than 2% of total daily caloric intake. Now, they account for over 25% of total calories.

Tied into this, chickens that are now raised in confinement barns are the highest source of LA consumption in the country. So, the idea of eating commercial chicken raised because it’s better for you may be false! 

Some of the other impacts of PUFAs include interfering with thyroid hormone utilization, affecting gut health and contributing to inflammation and metabolic issues in a child’s body.

It’s the presence of these metabolic byproducts of PUFAs breaking down being found in the umbilical cord fluid that was linked by the researchers to the severity of the child’s autism.

This is the first study to find these byproducts in women’s umbilical cords. 

The addition of vegetable oils in processed foods and in cooking have increased the consumption of PUFAs and linoleic acid (LA) in the form of omega-6 PUFAs, which is abundant in vegetable oils. 

The researchers went even further and found that it’s a specific PUFA in the umbilical cord called diHETrE that’s one of the main problems. 

The researchers also found that elevated levels in the umbilical cord were linked to higher ADHA scores during the person’s childhood as well as cognitive impairments in the children.

The damage goes even further if the woman decides to breast feed her child. If she’s consuming a large amount of PUFAs they will wind up in her breast milk. As a matter of fact, the researchers found that 2 or 3 days of moving to a higher level of PUFAs in the diet increased the amount in the mother’s breast milk from 8 to 10% to 42%!

What can a mother do? She can switch to a diet that uses fat sources that are richer in saturated fats which means that they are lower in PUFAs. Also, limit vegetable oils in the diet and processed foods, as well as nuts and seeds.

You can find some companies that specialize in creating low PUFA eggs, port, beef, cheese and dairy products. Two are Angel Acres Egg Co and Nourish Cooperative.

So…even if you’re not pregnant or you’re a man, look at reducing the PUFAs as much as you can.

(Reported Mercola.com, August 20, 2024)

 

What If Teens Went Smartphone-Free for a Month?

Imagine a world where teenagers can’t use their smartphones for an entire month. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, right? The idea might seem radical, but a British journalist, Decca Aitkenhead, put it to the test with his teenage sons and eight of their friends. The experiment was more than just a digital detox—it included a two-day unsupervised camping trip away from their parents. What did they discover? The results were surprising.

The Unexpected Benefits of Going Smartphone-Free

Initially, the teens struggled with the lack of constant connectivity. Many were anxious about missing out on social media, notifications, and digital entertainment. However, as the days went by, they started to experience unforeseen benefits.

A Shift in Perspective

One of the most profound observations was the teens' newfound resilience and joy. With smartphones out of the picture, they had to navigate the world differently, leading to personal growth and a deeper appreciation for real-world interactions. One participant even reflected, “You’ll never say on your deathbed, ‘I wish I’d spent more time on my phone.’”

The Impact on Mental Health

The timing of this experiment is crucial. Rates of anxiety and depression among Gen Z have surged since smartphones and social media became ubiquitous in the early 2010s. Researcher Jonathan Haidt notes that this era has fundamentally reshaped childhood, impacting self-concept and social skills. Increased self-harm, suicide attempts, and feelings of loneliness among teens highlight the need for solutions.

The Experiment Details

During the experiment, teens were allowed only one hour of smartphone use per day, restricted to calls and texts. Boys typically used their phones for Snapchat, Spotify, and sports videos, while girls spent more time on social media platforms. The latter had a more significant negative impact on mental health and self-image.

The camping trip without their phones was a test of independence. Researchers noted that the teens’ competencies appeared to advance by about two years in just 36 hours, marking a significant development in a short period. Many struggled with free play and self-sufficiency but ultimately found the experience enriching.

Insights and Recommendations

The experiment’s outcomes led researchers to several key recommendations for managing smartphone use among teens:

1. No Smartphones Before High School: Allow flip phones or basic cell phones instead.

2. Delay Social Media: No accounts until age 16.

3. Phone-Free Schools: Implement restricted or zero use during school hours.

4. Encourage Independence: Foster free play and responsibility.

Researchers also suggest involving multiple families in similar experiments to normalize the experience and reduce feelings of isolation. Starting with gradual changes, like a day or two without smartphones, can be a good way to ease into a more balanced digital life.

Time to Reevaluate?

The experiment highlights a critical opportunity: reevaluating our relationship with technology and its impact on our youth. It may be time to consider these changes and prioritize a healthier, more balanced lifestyle for our teens.

For more insights into this topic, visit  www.theanxiousgeneration.com.
(Reported by Childrens Health Defense)

Protecting Yourself From The Pollution From All The Forest Fires

 Around the United States and Canada, forest fires are burning. They are creating blankets of smoke which can lead to burning lungs and all kinds of other damage to our bodies.

Researchers have been looking at the particulate matter coming off of these wildfires. They have labeled it PM2.5 and have been reporting on all the damage it can do to us because it’s able to penetrate deep into a person’s lungs. 

This exposure can lead to all kinds of health problems, such as:

* Increase in heart attacks

* Increase in strokes

*Alzheimer's disease

So how can you protect yourself? While you want to stay indoors as much as you can, these PM2.5 particles can get into our homes, so we are exposed to it. 

There’s an environmental group, Earth Justice, which has come up with a hack that you can do yourself to protect you in your house. 

So, the first thing you’ll need to do is buy one or more box fans depending on how large your house is. Next, you’ll need to buy the kind of furnace filter that you use to protect your furnace or air conditioner. You can just measure the dimensions of the box fan and go to a hardware store and purchase a filter that will cover the back of the box fan. It will probably be a 20”x20”x1” furnace filter. You also want to get one that is labeled MERV 13 or FPR 10.

A MERV 13 filter is pleated and can trap at least 85% of particles that are 1.0 micron or larger, and at least 50% of particles in the 0.3–1.0 micron range. It can also remove some viruses and bacteria. 

FPR 10 is a rating on the Home Depot's Air Filter Performance Rating (FPR) system, which indicates that an air filter can capture household dust, lint, dust mites, pollen, pet dander, bacteria, mold spores, smoke, smog, microscopic allergens, and virus carriers. FPR ratings range from 4–10, with higher numbers indicating better filtration. This means that the FPR 10 is the top of the line for filtration.

You’ll also need to buy duct tape if you don’t have it (you can use a couple of bungee cords instead) because you’ll need to tape the filter (or you can use your bungee cords) to the back of the box fan.

Place the box fan in an unobstructed area and turn it on!

You’ll also want to keep your doors closed as much so you can keep new smoke from getting into your home.
(Reported Earthjustice, earthjustice.org)