Genetically Modified Foods

According to the World Health Organization, Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) are "organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in such a way that does not occur naturally."¹ This technology is also referred to as "genetic engineering", "biotechnology" or "recombinant DNA technology" and consists of randomly inserting genetic fragments of DNA from one organism to another, usually from a different species. For example, an artificial combination of genes that includes a gene to produce the pesticide Cry1Ab protein (commonly known as Bt toxin), originally found in Bacillus thuringiensis, is inserted in to the DNA of corn randomly. Both the location of the transferred gene sequence in the corn DNA and the consequences of the insertion differ with each insertion. The plant cells that have taken up the inserted gene are then grown in a lab using tissue culture and/or nutrient medium that allows them to develop into plants that are used to grow GM food crops.²

Natural breeding processes have been safely utilized for the past several thousand years. In contrast, "GE crop technology abrogates natural reproductive processes, selection occurs at the single cell level, the procedure is highly mutagenic and routinely breeches genera barriers, and the technique has only been used commercially for 10 years."³

Despite these differences, safety assessment of GM foods has been based on the idea of "substantial equivalence" such that "if a new food is found to be substantially equivalent in composition and nutritional characteristics to an existing food, it can be regarded as safe as the conventional food."⁴ However, several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.

There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation as defined by Hill's Criteria in the areas of strength of association, consistency, specificity, biological gradient, and biological plausibility.⁵ The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.^{2,6,7,8,9,10,11}

Specificity of the association of GM foods and specific disease processes is also supported. Multiple animal studies show significant immune dysregulation, including upregulation of cytokines associated with asthma, allergy, and inflammation. ^6,11 Animal studies also show altered structure and function of the liver, including altered lipid and carbohydrate metabolism as well as cellular changes that could lead to accelerated aging and possibly lead to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ^7,8,10 Changes in the kidney, pancreas and spleen have also been documented. ^6,8,10 A recent 2008 study links GM corn with infertility, showing a significant decrease in offspring over time and significantly lower litter weight in mice fed GM corn.⁸ This study also found that over 400 genes were found to be expressed differently in the mice fed GM corn. These are genes known to control protein synthesis and modification, cell signaling, cholesterol synthesis, and insulin regulation. Studies also show intestinal damage in animals fed GM foods, including proliferative cell growth9 and disruption of the intestinal immune system.⁶

Regarding biological gradient, one study, done by Kroghsbo, et al., has shown that rats fed transgenic Bt rice trended to a dose related response for Bt specific IgA. ¹¹

Also, because of the mounting data, it is biologically plausible for Genetically Modified Foods to cause adverse health effects in humans.

In spite of this risk, the biotechnology industry claims that GM foods can feed the world through production of higher crop yields. However, a recent report by the Union of Concerned Scientists reviewed 12 academic studies and indicates otherwise: "The several thousand field trials over the last 20 years for genes aimed at increasing operational or intrinsic yield (of crops) indicate a significant undertaking. Yet none of these field trials have resulted in increased yield in commercialized major food/feed crops, with the exception of Bt corn."¹² However, it was further stated that this increase is largely due to traditional breeding improvements.

Therefore, because GM foods pose a serious health risk in the areas of toxicology, allergy and immune function, reproductive health, and metabolic, physiologic and genetic health and are without benefit, the AAEM believes that it is imperative to adopt the precautionary principle, which is one of the main regulatory tools of the European Union environmental and health policy and serves as a foundation for several international agreements.¹³ The most commonly used definition is from the 1992 Rio Declaration that states: "In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation."¹³

Another often used definition originated from an environmental meeting in the United States in 1998 stating: "When an activity raises threats to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. In this context, the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof (of the safety of the activity)."¹³

With the precautionary principle in mind, because GM foods have not been properly tested for human consumption, and because there is ample evidence of probable harm, the AAEM asks:

• Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.


• Physicians to consider the possible role of GM foods in the disease processes of the patients they treat and to document any changes in patient health when changing from GM food to non-GM food.


• Our members, the medical community, and the independent scientific community to gather case studies potentially related to GM food consumption and health effects, begin epidemiological research to investigate the role of GM foods on human health, and conduct safe methods of determining the effect of GM foods on human health.


• For a moratorium on GM food, implementation of immediate long term independent safety testing, and labeling of GM foods, which is necessary for the health and safety of consumers.

(This statement was reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine on May 8, 2009.)

Submitted by Amy Dean, D.O. and Jennifer Armstrong, M.D.

The Power of the Mind on Health

It has been estimated by several researchers that the human mind has an affect, either positively or negatively, on over 80% of our health issues. This is in keeping with the Bible's statement in Proverbs 23:7 that says, "For as he thinks in his heart so is he." Dr. Caroline Leaf in her book "WHO SWITCHED OFF MY BRAIN says, "Research shows that around 87% of illnesses can be attributed to our thought life and approximately 13% to diet, genetics and environment. Studies conclusively link more chronic diseases (also known as lifestyle diseases) to an epidemic of toxic emotions in our culture." This is so prevalent that when doing research on various medicines and treatments, the researchers have to take into account the placebo effect and do double blind studies to overcome the mind of the participants. If they believe a certain medicine or treatment will help them it does in about 33% of the time, regardless if it is genuine or not.
So the mind is powerful and can be harnessed to help in the recovery of sickness and disease; or it can to detrimental to recovery. How do we make it helpful? 1) Keeping a positive attitude, 2) Regularly affirming mentally to yourself and out loud that you expect to recover from this condition, 3) Reading devotional books and testimonies of others who have had similar recoveries, 4) Reading promises of Scripture that promise healing and health, 5) Removing from your diet and lifestyle things that promote sickness and disease, 6) Deal with stress, 7) Get plenty of rest, sleep and relaxation, 8) Laugh a lot. Remember he who laughs, lasts and lasts and lasts!

THE PLACE OF MEDICINE

No medicine has ever cured anyone of anything! Neither has supplements such as vitamins and minerals. When God created man He put within his body the ability to handle food and from it to sustain life. Medicines, vitamins, and minerals merely aid the body in doing what it is designed to do. For example: if a person breaks a bone and goes to the emergency room, all they do is set the bone and the body will heal itself. If a person has a tumor, the surgeon will take it out and then the body will heal itself. No medicine, surgery, vitamin or mineral ever heals anything. The body heals itself when given the material that it was designed to have.
Feed the body real food, give it plenty of good water, sunshine, and exercise while controlling the attitudes and thought life, and you will experience life in abundance!

FOOD COMBINATIONS

I am seeing more and more people in the last few months who are having lots of digestive issues. They often complain of pain, cramps, diarrhea etc. after eating. In talking with them I find that most of their problems occur after eating animal protein with starchy vegetables. The reason why this causes pain is that the digestive enzymes for starchy vegetables and animal proteins are different. When eaten together the enzymes cancel each other out and hence the pain, bloating etc. For example: do not eat steak and potatoes or rice at the same meal. Do not eat a hamburger with the bun or chicken and rice at the same meal.
Non starchy vegetables can be eaten with animal protein with no problem because there is no conflict between the digestive enzymes. You can eat starchy vegetables with non starchy vegetables or non starchy vegetables with animal proteins, just no starchy veggies with animal proteins.
Something as simple as combining the foods correctly brings great results in the G.I. tract.

SUPPLEMENTATION

We make up with supplements what is deficient in our food. It is always best to get the nutrients we need from the food we eat. But that is not always possible, in which case we need to take good whole food supplements.
Not all supplements are equal. Take supplements that are low heat processed that have all the surrounding vitamins, minerals and nutrients as they are found in creation. Many of supplement makers use isolates (taken from various plants etc.) and stitch them together. When this happens they are not as effective. They are cheaper to the consumer but many times are not worth what it costs. Those that come from whole foods are more expensive but are well worth the price paid.
Another thing to remember is don't take vitamins and minerals indiscriminately. You need to know which ones your body needs. Remember this: if it can help you, it can also hurt you if misused.
Have tests run by a Naturopathic or Homeopathic doctor to see which ones you need. These tests will show deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, water and PH levels as well as some allergies and toxins.
When the deficiencies are corrected, many times the symptoms will go away. When the body is being feed what it needs it quits speaking to us through pain and other symptoms.

EXERCISE

Research indicates that over 45 million adults in the United States are overweight. In the Commonwealth of Kentucky over 63% are overweight, and 33% of those are obese! You are considered overweight if you weigh 10 pounds more that you should or have a Body Mass Index greater than 27; and are obese if you weight 30 pounds more than you should with a BMI over 30. One is considered to be morbidly obese if he weights 75 pounds more that he should.
Exercise helps the flow of oxygen to the cells, organs and tissues of the body. Exercise moves the lymph through the lymph system. Exercise strengthens the muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons in the body. Without proper exercise the body loses its tone and strength, gains excess weight, and will deteriorate very quickly. Without sufficient exercise cells become weak, toxins accumulate, arteries clog, and heart, lungs and other internal organs begin to die.
There are two basic types of exercise that everyone needs, aerobic and resistance. Aerobic is anything that helps to increase the intake of oxygen. Walking, jogging, swimming, singing or doing deep breathing are some examples of this. Resistance exercise is any type that requires the muscles to expend more energy than normal. Going against the force of gravity is the resistance that causes the muscles to grow and be strengthened. You can do isotonic exercises in a doorway by pushing out and up against the door frame or pushing against a wall. You can do isometric exercises sitting in a chair by grasping hands and trying to pull them apart.
To exercise does not require a large outlay of money. You can use what you have in your house. For resistance exercises begin with a can of vegetables, or jug of water. Walk around your yard or street. Run in place. The main thing is to begin doing something! A resolution to exercise more is useless if not implemented!

AIR WE BREATHE

The air we breathe is composed of approximately 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. The first and most important need a child has when it is born is oxygen. That need remains the same for the rest of his life. It has been said that we can live without food for about 40 days, and without water for 4 days and without oxygen for 4 minutes.
The air we breathe needs to be pure, free of pollution. In our world today the air is often polluted with chemicals. The air in our homes is polluted by the chemicals we use to clean or the chemicals in the carpet and materials that have been used to construct the house.
The air we breathe has several functions in the body, among them is energy. The more oxygen available to your cells, the more energy you will have. Yawning is a mechanism that the body uses to self-regulate the intake of oxygen for sleep or upon waking up in the morning.
Deep breathing brings in copious amounts of oxygen and allows the body to release stress. The oxygen brought in by deep breathing helps the heart and other vital organs regulate themselves.
Without sufficient oxygen a person will have foggy thinking, weakness, and tiredness, and if the lungs are not functioning properly, eventually carbon dioxide poisoning.
So get to it! Exercise, walk, jog get the oxygen flowing!

WATER AND MORE WATER

Approximately 70% of the body is water therefore we know that it has many uses in the body. It helps to dilute the toxins and to flush them out of the system. It helps to down regulate high blood pressure. It helps purify the skin. Along with fiber it helps to regulate bowel movements. One can only live a few days without it.

Most Americans are dehydrated! I have had many people tell me that they do not like water. It often times shows in the wrinkling of the skin or constipation. How much water should you be drinking? Take your weight and divide it by two and drink that many ounces of water per day. I encourage people to drink distilled water which has a PH value of 7 which is neutral. If one is very acidic then you might want to add some minerals to it to raise the PH value into the alkaline level.

Water does a body good! Drink it throughout the day and stay healthy!

LIVING FOOD

What is living food? It is vegetables and fruit that have life in them. They may be cooked with low heat or raw, but they have not had the life destroyed. Vitamins, minerals, fats and amino acids are intact in living food. Living food gives the body what it needs to sustain life and enables it to fight off disease.
Living foods are complete foods. They contain carbohydrates, protein, water, fiber and enzymes also. All of these are in balance and in the right proportions that a body needs. Because they are complete foods, our bodies need to eat less to be satisfied.
Living foods are more alkaline than dead foods. The body must keep the blood's PH at 7.365 or as close to it as possible. If we eat foods that are acidic our body has to buffer that acid by taking alkaline substances, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium or sodium from other parts of the body to keep the PH of the blood where it needs to be. All food leaves either an acid or alkaline ash effect in the body. Just like burning wood leaves an ash behind, so does the metabolizing of food. The ash left in the body has an acid or alkaline effect on the organs and systems of the body. Raising the PH level of your body will assist your immune system in fighting off bacteria, viruses, fungi, and degenerative illnesses. All meats leave an acid ash in the body! All vegetables leave an alkaline ash while some fruits leave an acid ash and some leave an alkaline ash.
The solution for pollution is dilution! Drink lots of water to flush the acid ash out of your body. Take your body weight, divide it by two and drink that many ounces of water per day. More about this in an upcoming post.

Dead Food

We do not get energy from all foods, we only get energy from the foods that have energy in them. Certain man made foods, such as creme puffs and donuts, have no energy in them. They are items that have had chemicals thrown together and have no life in them. Or if genuine food is cooked at too high heat for too long it kills it, many of the nutrients in the food are dead and you get very little, if anything, from the food. A good example of this is pasteurized milk. Milk is pasteurized at 145 degrees to kill all the pathogens in it. It also destroys the vitamins, such as vitamin D, and proteins in it. As a result many people have allergic reactions to the protein casein, and the milk companies have to add back vitamin D and other ingredients.
Sometimes real food is destroyed by the preservatives and other chemicals that have been added. Most food from a fast food restaurant is dead food. French fries, hamburgers, hotdogs, pretzels and ice cream are all dead.
Dead foods to avoid: refined sugar, table salt, white flour, alcohol, soft drinks, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, genetically modified foods and irradiated foods.
What can I eat? Real food such as vegetables and fruits. More about these next time.

VITAMIN D ANYONE?

If adults and adolescents regularly avoid sunlight exposure, research indicates a necessity to supplement with at least 5,000 I.U. of vitamin D3 daily. To obtain this amount from milk one would need to consume 50 glasses. With a multivitamin more than 10 tablets would be necessary. Neither is advisable. The skin produces approximately 10,000 I.U. in response 20-30 minutes of summer sun exposure - 50 times more than the US government's recommendation of 200 I.U. per day!
There are 3 ways for adults to ensure adequate levels of vitamin D:

• regularly receive midday sun exposure in the late spring, summer, and early fall, exposing as much of the skin as possible (being careful to never burn).
  
• regular use of a sun bed (avoiding sunburn) during the colder months.
• take 5,000 I.U. per day for 2-3 months, then obtain a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. Adjust your dosage so that blood levels are between 50-80 ng/ml. year round.

John Jacob Cannell MD Executive Director VITAMIN D COUNCIL

Suppressing the Immune System

Many prescription drugs suppress the immune system. The reason they do is to allow them to work like they are designed to work. Our bodies recognize what is natural from what is synthetic. Natural substances will be accepted by the body with little or no resistance. Synthetic substances are recognized as foreign and the immune system will fight against it. So when a synthetic medicine or food is taken in, the body does what it can to keep that substance from doing harm. The pharmaceutical companies know this so they put things in their medicines to suppress the immune system. In affect, they are trying to counter what the body does on its' own. Your best bet is to eat natural, unprocessed foods that the body will recognize and accept. And to take supplements, and medicines that are from whole food, natural substances.

TEN STEPS TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

Approximately 30 years ago our youngest son, who was about 18 months old, was extremely hyper. Nothing we did seemed to help. A friend told us of a bio-chemist who was doing nutritional assessments who might be able to help us. He tested our son and found that he was acting this way because of refined sugars, food colorings, dyes and cow milk. We took him off these things and within three weeks we had a new son!

Below I have given 10 things we can do to improve our health. All of them affect our diet and are affected by our diet.

1. Exercise - Necessary for optimal health.

• Without exercise, cells loose their pliability, become weak, and toxins accumulate.
• Without exercise, lymph is hindered in its removal of toxins and its work of fighting disease.
• Without exercise, bones lose density.
• We should exercise 30 minutes daily or 1 hour every other day with the time divided between aerobic and resistance.

2. Water - 70% of our body is water. It helps to stabilize our body's temperature, dilutes toxins.

• Helps neutralize acids and flushes waste from the body.
• Hydrates the skin from within.
• We need to take our weight, divide it by two and drink that many ounces per day.

3. Sunlight - we need 10-15 minutes per day of sunlight on as much exposed skin as possible. Or take, for adults, 5000 I.U. per day of vitamin D3.

• Sunlight helps to lower blood pressure.
• Helps lower blood sugar.
• Balances production of hormones especially vitamin D.

4. Breathing - oxygen is the difference between life and death. We can live over 40 days without food, over 4 days without water but only 4 minutes without oxygen.

• Oxygen supply and quality affects the brain, all cells, and disease. Disease cannot live in an aerobic environment.

5. Rest - During sleep the body is repairing itself.

• It rids itself of toxins during sleep.
• Circulates minerals, vitamins and hormones.
• Produces human growth hormone that maintains and repairs muscles.

6. Stress - Depletes energy.

• Creates hormonal imbalance.
• Induces the over production of cortisol and adrenaline.
• Left un-dealt with, stress is a door opener to disease via acidosis.

7. Attitude of Gratitude - We are composed of three parts. They are: spirit, soul and body. To be grateful is an expression of the human soul and spirit which will positively affect the body.

8. Benevolence to others. A giving attitude is good for the body.

9. Cleansing -

• Lungs - largest internal elimination organ. Approximately 12,000 quarts of air per day are exchanged by the lungs.
• Skin - the largest organ in the body. It eliminates more toxins than the bowels each day. Anti-perspirants block the elimination of toxins through the skin. Exercise helps stimulate the release of toxins through the skin.
• Gastro-intestinal tract - kidneys and bowel. We need one bowel movement per meal per day.
• Eyes - gravel or matter in the corners of the eye are really waste products coming out.
• Ear - ear wax is a waste product coming out.
• Nose - mucus is waste coming out.
• Throat - more waste coming out.

10. Living foods - dead foods.

• Dead foods are preserved, processed and refined foods. Examples: sugars, table salt, flour, stimulants, artifical foods and most cooked foods.
• Living foods are fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits are the greatest source of vitamins while vegetables are the greatest source of minerals.
• Living foods are complete foods containing proteins, carbohydrates, fats, water, fiber and enzymes.
• Living foods are naturally more alkaline. Flesh foods and processed foods are acidic.
• Cooking foods above 107 degrees causes the nutrients to die. The higher the heat and the longer the food is cooked more of it dies.
• You only get energy from the food you eat if it has any in it!
• In 1900 the average adult in American ate 5 pounds of sugar annually. Today it is approximately 170 pounds!
• Each of us need 25 - 30 grams of protein per day. Most who eat the Standard American Diet get about 150 grams per day. If you eat only fruits and vegetables you will get all the protein you need.
• Many allergies and cholesterol problems are controlled by the diet.
• Each of us need about 25 grams of fiber per day. Raw vegetables are the best source of it. One teaspoon equals about 20 grams.
• Meat has not fiber! Four ounces of meat equals about 28 grams of protein.
• We need to build up the immune system. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and if necessary supplement with Vitamins A, C, E & D3.
• Sweeten things with maple syrup, honey, stevia or dates.

FOODS THAT RAISE WHITE BLOOD COUNT

A lot of people who take chemo find that it suppresses their immune system. Often their white blood count is so low they can not continue on the chemo. Below are some things you can do to raise the white blood count.

• Eat lots of colorful veggies up to 8-9 servings a day, such as spinach, carrots & broccoli.
• Garlic
• Yogurt - if you are not allergic to milk.
• Various fruits such as melons & oranges.
• Zinc - 50 mg. per day.
• Good multi-vitamin - you may need to add additional vitamin C & vitamin E.
• Fish oil.
• Brown rice.
• Sunflower seeds.

These should be added to the diet along with dealing with the stress you are under.

LIVER AND GALLBLADDER CLEANSE

• Eat only fruits & non-starchy vegetables for one day.
• Drink 32 ounces of fresh apple juice spaced out throughout the day. It counts as part of your water requirement for the day. If not fresh, then use frozen.
• Use 3 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses in 8 ounces of hot distilled water. Do this about 1 1/2 hours before going to bed.
• Drink 6 ounces of extra virgin olive oil mixed with 4 ounces of fresh lemon juice and 4 ounces of orange juice right before going to bed.
• Turn out the light and lie on your right side for one hour.

This flush can be repeated each day for up to 3 consecutive days.

What will happen when you do the flush?
About 2 -3 hours after going to bed you will probably have to have a bowel movement. This should happen about 2 or 3 times in the first 12 hours. The stools may be dark and very smelly. If they are, this is good. If not, continue on the flush for the second and third days.

UPCOMING POSTS

The next several posts will deal with health related issues. I plan to post a number of things that one can do to improve their health by diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. So, visit often and see what you can do with very little effort and expense.