THE CURSE OF THE CANOLA CLOUD…

It’s Spring - that time of the year when the cropping fields of the Bellarine Peninsula are filled with golden flowers. The sides of the roads are also increasingly covered with similar looking golden weeds. As a local health care professional, it’s also the time of the year when patients arrive with a dreaded seasonal affliction – sneezing; runny nose and eyes; itching, hot, red and painful eyes; constricted airways; painful and congested sinuses. My observation over the last few years has been that this malady is increasing in severity, prevalence, and sudden dramatic onset. And my observation is that this seems to coincide with the arrival of a fine yellow dust that covers car bonnets and windscreens, and even internal household surfaces.

But I’m not alone: According to a study of 25 residents in a small Scottish village over a two-year period investigated respiratory symptom reporting in the presence or absence of oilseed rape. Symptom reporting in the year when oilseed rape virtually surrounded the village, varied during the growing season of the crop and was at its highest coincident with peak flowering. At the same period of the following year when the crop was absent, symptom reporting was significantly lower. The symptoms which correlated most strongly with peak oilseed rape flowering were sneezing, cough, headache, eye irritation and the total of these and other symptoms… (Evidence that oilseed rape (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera) causes respiratory illness in rural dwellers. Scott Med J. 1995 Jun; 40(3): 74-6. Parratt D, Macfarlane Smith WH, Thomson G, Cameron LA, Butcher RD.)

Other studies have confirmed the allergenic potential of the canola pollen, being similar but distinct to many common allergies to grasses. The two most dangerous times from this crop are probably at the height of flowering, and then upon harvesting when massive amounts of pollen are released into the airstreams.

So here’s the question – Are the residents of the Bellarine peninsula who are significantly impaired by this proven allergen, supposed to suffer in silence, while the acreage covered by this cash crop increases each year, and encircles each township with seemingly closer proximity, and as vacant fields and grasslands appear to be invaded and filled by what amount to an introduced weed?

And perhaps an even larger issue – Overseas, GM Canola crops now outnumber hybrid Canola species. In the early days of Canola farming in Canada (hence the change of the name from an unacceptable “Rapeseed” to Canola), the plants were hybridized to remove erucic acid which had question marks over its toxic potential, and also gave the resultant oil a green tinge and unpleasant taste. More recently though, Canola has been used as a pioneer of GM cropping, to further remove the unwelcome components of the resulting products and to increase the resilience of the plant. As Victoria will eventually bow to federal pressure to remove its’ blockage of GM crops being planted, there is no doubt that Canola will be one of the first crops to convert to GM, and hence areas surrounded by Canola will also be amongst the first to be surrounded by even more controversial plants and pollens.

The primary product from Canola is the oil, which is widely accepted due to its high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, making it a better health and nutrition option. But one need only to spend ten minutes on Google to discover that there is hot debate about which oils are the best. Canola has had some bad press; Olive Oil is seen as too expensive for some; and while Flaxseed is really healthy, its’ smell and taste is not popular.

So how do you decide which oil to use?

Canola is popular among cooks because of its ability to handle high temperatures, and because it has minimal taste and color (due to either its high level of hybridization or its’ GM). Olive oil is more popular for low-heat cooking and in salads due to its’ distinctive and popular flavor and color. Flaxseed tends to be used more as a dietary supplement.

Butter and margarine are less popular now due to the presence of saturated and/or trans-fatty acids: My usual advice is to choose oils/fats that are in the form you would like them to be inside your body – That is – LIQUID.

Some other factors you may want to factor into your decisions as to which oil is for you?

1) How was the oil extracted? Oils like Canola are usually extracted by a chemical process which MAY leave behind some potentially toxic residues. Most people who prefer Olive Oil do so when it has been cold-pressed.

2) How has the Oil been processed? That is – Has anything else been added to increase the shelf life, temperature stability, color or flavor.

My conclusions? I personally look for oil which is grown from non-GM crops, which has been cold-pressed and has not been processed – you can find both Canola and Olive Oils with these specifications if you read the labels carefully. But buyer beware, canola oil products are exempt from having to state if they are manufactured from GM crops, so if you choose to avoid GM, you will have to look for products which clearly state that they ARE GM-free.

And what about all those fields of yellow? I’d rather see groves of shady green Olive trees myself!

Click Here To See This Article At Sight Magazine...

Click Here To Find Out More About My Super Healthy Manual For Improving Your Health And Immune System...

WHY DO WE NEED FLUORIDE ADDED TO OUR WATER SUPPLY?

Why do we need fluoride in every single ml of water supplied to our community when the only target organ for this synthetic additive is the teeth of a segment of the population? Not every single ml of water supplied to our households is ingested, and not every single ml of water that we ingest will benefit the health of our teeth (IF we have them or IF we even need additional assistance with dental health). Has the ecological impact of introducing truck loads of fluoride into the water supply been studied in terms of all the other parts of the local environment that will receive this additive?

Research has been conducted in Geelong which showed that topical therapy was more effective than water fluoridation (Economic Evaluation of Dental Sealant and Fluoride mouth rinsing program in Two Non-Fluoridated Regions of Victoria. June, 1996. Crowley S, MSc, MBA, Morgan M, BDS, PhD, Wright C, BDS, PhD.) In the study those in a fluoridated region had 1.1 less dental caries than those in the non-fluoridated region, and when topical therapy was applied the gain was 1.22 less dental caries – 11% more effective by my calculations.

Which raises another point – why do we have to expose every man, woman, child, infant, fetus, dog and plant to this stuff when the net gain is one less decayed tooth per person? Sounds like pretty poor efficacy to me. Maybe if the truck loads of processed sugar finding their way into our food and beverage supply chain and school canteens were reduced the net dental health gains would be noticeably superior?

Increasing the entire populations’ exposure to fluoride must increase the rates of fluorosis – is the government also setting aside a public-funded trust to compensate all those who suffer from what will be yet another iatrogenic illness?

REPORTS OF MEDICATION INJURIES HAVE DOUBLED

Study shows painkillers, immune-system drugs account for most serious ills.

Reports of deaths or injuries related to drug treatments more than doubled between 1998 and 2005 in the United States, with painkillers and immune-system boosters accounting for most, according to researchers.

“This study shows that substantially growing numbers of patients are experiencing serious injuries from drug therapy,” they wrote in a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. “This growing toll of serious injury shows that the existing system is not adequately protecting patients and underscores the importance of recent reports urging far-reaching legislative, policy and institutional changes,” they added.

The study found 467,809 such occurrences during the period studied, with annual reports growing from 34,966 at the start to 89,842 at the end. The number of deaths due to drugs jumped from 5,519 to 15,107 during the study period. “The overall relative increase was four times faster than the growth in total U.S. outpatient prescriptions, which grew in the same period from 2.7 billion to 3.8 billion,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers estimated that a growing population and more intensive use of drug therapy might account for a quarter of the increase.

An additional 15 percent of the increase appears to involve newer biotech drugs such as interferons, which help the body’s immune system attack viruses, bacteria and other invaders.

“Among the most frequently reported drugs associated with fatal events, we observed a disproportionate contribution of pain medications and drugs that modify the immune system,” they added...

Click Here To Read More At MSNBC...

HIDDEN NAMES FOR MSG

Foods always contain MSG when these words are on the label:

MSG Monosodium glutamate, Monopotassium glutamate, Glutamate Gelatin, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP), Autolyzed Plant Protein, Calcium Caseinate, Textured Protein, Yeast Extract, Yeast food or nutrient, Glutamic Acid, Sodium Caseinate, Autolyzed Yeast...

Click Here To Read More At The MSG Myth...

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT: HOW DRUG REPS MAKE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE DOCTORS

In 2000, pharmaceutical companies spent more than 15.7 billion dollars on promoting prescription drugs in the United States. More than 4.8 billion dollars was spent on detailing, the one-on-one promotion of drugs to doctors by pharmaceutical sales representatives, commonly called drug reps. The average sales force expenditure for pharmaceutical companies is $875 million annually.

Unlike the door-to-door vendors of cosmetics and vacuum cleaners, drug reps do not sell their product directly to buyers. Consumers pay for prescription drugs, but physicians control access. Drug reps increase drug sales by influencing physicians, and they do so with finely titrated doses of friendship. This article, which grew out of conversations between a former drug rep (SA) and a physician who researches pharmaceutical marketing (AFB), reveals the strategies used by reps to manipulate physician prescribing...

Click Here To Read The Full Article At Plos Medicine...