The Truth About Fluoride Becoming More Widely Known

The Truth About Fluoride Becoming More Widely Known

March 30, 2014 | 116,276 views

10 Facts About Fluoride

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By Dr. Mercola

Fluoride is a poisonous substance added to many municipal water supplies across the US, Canada, and elsewhere without the permission of the residents. Is there a model that communities can follow to remove it from their water supply? The short answer to this question is yes.

Dr. Paul Connett, a chemist by training and director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), is recognized worldwide as a leader in the movement to eliminate fluoride from municipal water supplies, and I'm pleased to be working with him to achieve this goal.

He's been active in this area for decades, becoming an environmental activist shortly after joining St. Lawrence University in 1983. In 1985, he got involved with the Zero Waste movement, fighting incineration and promoting alternatives to waste burning.

Those earlier efforts recently culminated in the publication of the book, The Zero Waste Solution: Untrashing the Planet One Community at a Time.1 Then, in 1996, his wife alerted him to the problems of water fluoridation.

"I started to read what she'd given me, and I was embarrassed that I had fallen victim of this American brainwashing," he says. "The American message from the public health establishment is that everybody in the world says fluoridation is great.

They forgot the fact that most of the world does not fluoridate; 97 percent of Europe does not fluoridate, thank you very much. The other tactic has been to denigrate opponents of fluoridation – flat earth society, crazy people. And I apologize, because I fell victim to that."

Countering the Status Quo

The book, The Case Against Fluoride, was the culmination of years of joint investigation by Dr. Connett and James Beck, an MD, Ph.D. physicist from Calgary, and Spedding Micklem, who has a doctorate in biology from Oxford. In addition to a clear discussion about the toxic effects of fluoride, it contains 80 pages-worth of references to the scientific literature on fluoride.

The primary strategy that promoters of water fluoridation use is to establish that authorities say: "It's good; it's safe and effective," and that "people who oppose fluoridation are stupid, stupid, stupid." This strategy is basically aimed at keeping you from looking at the actual science.

"What the Fluoride Action Network has done, and done in spades, is we made the literature readily available – not just a little of it, but all of it," Dr. Connett says.

"Even material that is pro-fluoridation is accessible through our website. If anybody wants to check that out, go to our website, FluorideAlert.org. On the top right hand corner of the homepage, you'll see a button that says Researchers.

If you click on that, you'll get a menu of issues. In that menu, if you click on Health Effects Database, you get another menu of all the tissues that fluoride could interfere with. It's a tremendous database.

...My son is now going to archives around the country, digging up the information that's being suppressed. We now know that, for years, they've been suppressing information about the harm that fluoride causes.

The industry hid information that fluoride was damaging the workers of the aluminum, steel, and other industries, with the help of the Sloan-Kettering Institute and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research.

These institutes do research for industry, but only publish the results that are favorable to industry, and hide the results that were not favorable. And of course, what's sickening about all of this is that there was collusion between these people that were hiding the information and the US Public Health Service. The very service that they set up to protect your health was colluding with industry to suppress information."

Recent Victories

Since about 2009, about 130 communities have stopped water fluoridation. Canada has dropped from about 60 percent of the population drinking fluoridated water down to about 32-33 percent. Victories have also been logged in New Zealand and across the US. Four major developments in the last 13 to 14 months include:

• Last year's success in Portland, OR, where efforts to start water fluoridation were thwarted despite the pro-fluoride side spending about one million dollars to force the issue. They were even paying local associations $20,000 just to come out in support of fluoridation. Fortunately, their scheme didn't work, and Portland is now the largest city in the US that does not fluoridate its water
• Wichita, Kansas also won its battle against fluoridation last year, after getting 60 percent of the votes in the referendum, despite being considerably outspent by the fluoride proponents
• Queensland lifted the mandatory requirement for fluoridation, which opened the floodgates and led to 17 district councils stopping fluoridation (or deciding not to start). In total, this affects about 45 different towns
• The new minister of health in Israel announced that this year, she's lifting the mandatory fluoride requirement in Israel. Hopefully, this will lead to many communities ending their water fluoridation programs.

Each Victory is Paving the Way for More Successes Elsewhere

There are also exciting and highly creative developments going on in Ireland, where politicians are now trying to end fluoridation. Each victory adds to the arsenal of successful strategies that can help other communities to follow suit, even against formidable odds. As Dr. Connett explains:

"There's a tremendous generosity amongst the communities that are fighting fluoridation. The people in Wichita, after getting a victory, helped the people in Portland. Now the people in Portland are helping other communities. They are sharing the educational material that they used, and some of them are very creative.Clint Griess in California has a teleconference once a month, where people all over the world can join on the phone and hear these experiences.

 They hear from the activist in Portland, Wichita, and Canada – including my co-author, James Beck from Calgary. He was able to get it out of Calgary. That was 1.2 million people free of fluoridation. I think it's probably the Internet that will end fluoridation. They just cannot hide the information any longer."

It's worth remembering that if a product is really good, its benefits usually speak for themselves. You don't need to intimidate people into buying it or using it. You don't have to hide information relating to its effects. Such is not the case with fluoride, where every dirty tactic in the book has been and continues to be employed to keep it in use.

Curacao Takes on Fluoridation

At the time of this interview, Dr. Connett was in Curacao, an island in the Caribbean just north of South America with a population of about 140,000, where community leaders have formed a team to rid the island of fluoridation. Curacao was a Dutch colony at one point. The Netherlands began water fluoridation in the '60s, but stopped it in the '70s. Hans Moolenburgh, a doctor from Amsterdam, wrote a book about it, called Fluoride: The Freedom Fight . However, when fluoridation ended in the Netherlands, it was not stopped in Curacao.

"I said to them, 'This is something that we're doing to ourselves.' Many toxic threats are things that are inadvertent that are being done to us by other things, but in this case, this [is a] toxin we're giving to ourselves, and nowhere is that more bizarre than in Curacao," Dr. Connett says.

"When you're travelling from the airport to the hotel, you pass this huge [water treatment] plant. That plant is taking seawater, distilling it, pushing it through reverse osmosis to get pure drinking water, and then they dump hazardous waste from the phosphate fertilizer industry in it to fluoridate this water. I mean, is that Monty Python or what? It's as easy to stop this as turning off a tap. But to turn off that tap, you need the political will of the decision makers."

In this case, should the need arise, pro bono lawyers are also prepared to bring a lawsuit based on the premise that it's unconstitutional to force medicine on people without their informed consent. But before suing, most communities are best off going through the local political process to end water fluoridation. Here, there are no shortcuts. It requires education, organization, dedication, and perseverance.

Total Video Length: 40:08

Fluoridation Is Forced Medication Without Consent

What needs to be communicated to your local councilors is that, by and large, they (the councilors) are not medically educated. They know little about toxicology. What right do they have to play doctor to the whole community? The evidence that fluoride causes harm is growing. But before councilors get bogged down in trying to understand which side of the argument has the best or most accurate information, they need to answer the question of: do they have the right to do what a doctor is not permitted to do—i.e. to medicate people without their consent?

"Keep it simple," Dr. Connett advises. "No, they do not have the right to force medication. To put a medicine in the drinking water defies many aspects of medicine. You can't control the dose. You can't control who gets it. It goes to everybody, including bottle-fed babies."

CDC statistics also show that African-Americans and Mexican-Americans are more susceptible to dental fluorosis, for whatever reason. Dental fluorosis is a clearly visible side effect of excessive fluoride exposure. But there are also many side effects you cannot see. One of the consequences of this mass-medication is dental fluorosis, which is present in 41 percent of 12- to 15-year-olds in the US, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.

• 8.6 percent of those children have it in the mild form, where up to 50 percent of the tooth enamel impacted
• 3.6 percent of them have moderate or severe dental fluorosis, where up to 100 percent of the enamel is affected

Why Are Community Leaders Rooting for Reducing Children's IQ?

At present, 37 studies out of 43 done in China, India, Iran, and Mexico show water fluoridation lowers IQ in children. Even the lowest level of fluoride assessed in these studies – 1.8 parts per million– lowered IQ.

"That gives you no margin of safety to protect all the kids in the United States, or any large population," Dr. Connett says. "One of the things a toxicologist has to do is to apply a margin of safety to protect everybody, because some kids are going to be at least 10 times more sensitive than other kids. Once you've got the level that has caused harm, you've got to apply safety factors of at least 10 or probably 100... [T]here's no way you could condone the drinking of fluoridated water against this harm of lowering your IQ. This is very serious."

A Harvard study evaluated 27 of these studies. Twenty-six of the 27 studies showed a statistically significant reduction in IQ of seven points. Dr. Connett notes that if you shift the IQ of an entire population downward by just five IQ points, you will have halved the number of geniuses in society, and you double the number of mentally handicapped. To lose half of your brightest individuals, and double the number of people who needs special services certainly has enormous social and economic ramifications for a country like the United States in the global economy.

Why Won't the EPA Do an Honest Job?

According to Dr. Connett, the entire issue of water fluoridation could be overturned in a day, figuratively speaking, if the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) division of water was to do an honest job.

"In 2006, the National Research Council (NRC) told the EPA water division, who paid for their review, 'Your safe drinking water standard and goal of 4 parts per million is not protective of health. You need to do a new risk assessment to establish a safe level.' They had a whole chapter on the brain. They included five of the IQ studies. We now have 37...

Now, if the EPA was to take the IQ studies, apply the standard techniques of risk assessment, margin of safety analysis, and determine a new safe maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), it would have to be zero, and it would end fluoridation tomorrow in the United States and almost certainly around the world. We are that close. But between us and that decision is a word called 'integrity,' or 'honesty'...

Don't give us a watered-down version designed to protect water fluoridation program, which is what they've hinted at a press conference in January 7, 2011. The deputy administrator of the EPA water division said, 'We need to protect children's teeth. We need to protect the water fluoridation program.' No! He needs to protect our health, our babies, our brains, and our intelligence."

More Information

There are so many resources out there now that pro-fluoride advocates are quickly running out of options besides name-calling and intimidation. Again, FAN has created a phenomenal database of available fluoride-related research, both pro and con, expanding even into fluoride sources other than water, such as pesticides and other chemicals. You can search the database by logging onto www.FluorideAlert.org, and selecting the Researchers button in the top right corner. You can also pick up a copy of Dr. Connett's book, The Case Against Fluoride. All of this now easily available research clearly shows that:

• Water fluoridation does not work to prevent cavities
• Fluoride works when topically applied only
• There are unacceptable risks involved in the practice of water fluoridation

For updates and news, join The Fluoride Action Network's Facebook page. Some countries have their own Facebook pages, such as Fluoride Action Network Australia and Fluoride Free New Zealand.

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Do You Exercise Enough to Protect Your Health?

Do You Exercise Enough to Protect Your Health?

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2014/03/28/exercise-flu-prevention.aspx?e_cid=20140328Z1_buy_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20140328Z1_buy&et_cid=DM42933&et_rid=468097940

By Dr. Mercola

Do you get at least 30 minutes’ worth of exercise three days a week? According to Gallup’s annual Well-Being survey,1, 2 most Americans fall short of this fitness goal.

Adults in Vermont are the most frequent exercisers. Here, a little over 65 percent of responders answered yes to this question. Hawaii is in second place, with just over 62 percent, followed by Montana and Alaska residents, where 60 percent say they get at least 30 minutes worth of exercise, three times a week.

Meanwhile, Delaware, West Virginia, Alabama, and New Jersey have the highest rates of couch potatoes. Here, only about 46-47 percent of adults get at least 1.5 hours of exercise each week.

I believe it’s virtually impossible to have optimal health without regular exercise—even if you eat properly.

A key health benefit of exercise is that it helps normalize your glucose, insulin, and leptin levels by optimizing insulin and leptin receptor sensitivity. This is a crucial factor for optimizing your overall health and preventing chronic disease, and may explain why exercise is such a potent preventive medicine.

Exercise as Preventive Medicine

Preventing obesity and diabetes, reducing stress, and lowering your blood pressure are among the most obvious boons. Maintaining a fitness regimen can also go a long way toward warding off a stroke. Inactivity can raise your risk for a stroke by as much as 20 percent, research shows,3 when compared to those who exercise at least four times a week. But the benefits certainly do not end there.

I’ve long promoted the concept that exercise can be viewed therapeutically similar to a “drug” that needs to be taken as prescribed, in appropriate doses. Now other scientists are now starting to recognize the truth of this analogy as well.

In fact, researchers recently suggested that exercise is "the best preventive drug" for many common ailments, from psychiatric disorders to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.4 According to Jordan Metzl, a sports-medicine physician at New York City's Hospital for Special Surgery and author of The Exercise Cure:

"Exercise is the best preventive drug we have, and everybody needs to take that medicine.”

In terms of “dosage,” it’s important to note the changes in recommendations that have taken place over the past few years. While conventional aerobic exercise was long considered the “gold standard” of a good workout, research has refuted such notions.

Instead, high-intensity interval training (which requires but a fraction of the time compared to conventional cardio) has been shown to be far more efficient and effective, compared to longer, slower cardio workouts.

Vigorous Exercise Is Excellent Preventive Medicine Against Cold and Flu

When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads. This includes (but is certainly not limited to) seasonal colds and influenza.

According to a recent Flu Survey5 by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, exercising vigorously for at least two and a half hours each week can reduce your chances of catching the flu.6 The survey suggests that 100 cases of flu per 1,000 people could be prevented each year this way.

Other studies have also shown that regular exercise will help prevent the common cold. In one such study,7 women who exercised regularly were found to have half the risk of colds of those who didn't work out. And the ability of moderate exercise to ward off colds seemed to grow the longer it was used. The enhanced immunity was strongest in the final quarter of the year-long exercise program, suggesting that it is important to stick with exercise long term to get the full effects.

Intense Exercise Is Key, But Do It Properly to Avoid Risks

Several recent studies have indicated that conventional cardio, especially endurance exercises such as marathon running can pose significant risks to your heart. It can result in acute volume overload, inflammation, thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle and arteries, arterial calcification, arrhythmias, and potentially sudden cardiac arrest and stroke—the very things you’re trying to avoid by exercising.

Ideally, to get the most benefits from your exercise, you need to push your body hard enough for a challenge while allowing adequate time for recovery and repair.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is with HIIT, or high intensity interval training, which consists of short bursts of high-intensity exercise, which is a core part of my Peak Fitness program. HIIT maximizes your secretion of human growth hormone (HGH), optimizes your metabolism, and helps regulate your insulin and blood sugar.

And nothing beats it in terms of efficiency. You can complete an entire Peak Fitness workout in 20 minutes or less. For detailed instructions and a demonstration, please see my previous article, High Intensity Interval Training 101.

Intermittent Movement Is Also Important for Health, as Is Walking with Good Posture

Unfortunately, many fail to get sufficient amounts of exercise. Worse yet, a majority of people may still endanger their health simply by sitting too much. Compelling evidence actually suggests that even if you exercise regularly, prolonged sitting is itself a risk factor for chronic disease and reduced lifespan.

I personally use XNote timer that can be downloaded for free. I go to the more section at the bottom and click on Always on top so the application doesn't get buried as i work on my computer. I then click on timer and set the timer to 15 minutes. I then click start and when the timer goes off no annoying alarm is set Just a flashing which is easily send and reminds you to stand up.

Overall, federal data suggest only 21 percent of American adults meet the government recommendation to engage in two and half hours’ worth of aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise each week, so there’s clearly a lot of room for improvement. Ideally though, you’ll want to exercise regularly AND frequently interrupt your sitting in order to optimize your health and longevity. For more information about the importance of “intermittent exercise,” or interrupting your sitting at regular intervals throughout your day, please see my previous article “Sitting Kills, Moving Heals.”

Another overlooked factor that can make a significant difference in your health is simple walking—especially if you walk properly, with good posture. Walking has been found to have significant health benefits, including the reduction of severe attacks associated with lung disease, and walking correctly will undoubtedly add to such benefits. I recently published details on daily walking benefits, which included instructions by “primal posture” expert Esther Gokhale. If you missed it, please see “How to Optimize Your Benefits from Walking.”

New Science Reveals How We Become, and Stay, Flexible

Speaking of posture, reduced flexibility, which tends to occur with age and inactivity, can create body movements and posture habits that significantly alter and reduce your mobility. Poor posture and chronic pain is a common outgrowth of poor flexibility. Besides stretching techniques such as active isolated stretches (AIS), yoga is one form of exercise that can make a significant difference in this area.

A recent article in the journal Cell8 discusses the discovery of a new form of “mechanical memory” that adjusts the elasticity of your muscles, based on how they’ve been stretched previously. The key lies in a chemical reaction that occurs in your muscles, which increases the elasticity of certain muscle proteins. As explained by Medical News Today:9

“Crucially, this reaction targets molecules that have been exposed to a stretching force. This finding changes our understanding of how muscles respond to stretching... ‘We discovered an effective way of tuning muscle elasticity,’ says Pallav Kosuri, one of the lead authors. ‘We first observed the effect on a molecular level, and then tested it all the way up to human tissue.’"

At the heart of this process is a protein called titin, which acts as a mechanical computer, providing the appropriate elastic output to every single muscle throughout your entire body, your heart included. When you use your muscles, such as during yoga or exercise, oxidation levels increase, which in turn affects titin. This protein appears to be particularly prone to oxidation, and when you stretch a muscle, titin becomes increasingly sensitive to this oxidation. One common form of oxidation is called glutathionylation. When a muscle experiences a stretching force, folded bundles of titin are exposed, which enables glutathionylation, and locks the titin bundles in this unfolded state. This in turn reduces the stiffness of titin, producing greater muscle elasticity. Furthermore, as explained in the featured article:10

“In the absence of oxidation, mechanical force can only generate transient changes in elasticity, lasting a few seconds at most. However, the effect of a mechanical force in combination with glutathionylation was much more persistent - the stiffness of the titin molecules could only be reset by reversing the oxidation.

Putting these pieces together can explain why the combination of exercising and stretching leads to long-lasting yet reversible increases in flexibility. Exercising facilitates oxidation reactions, but it is stretching that primes the muscle for oxidation. Once oxidation reactions occur, they lock the muscle proteins in an unfolded state and cause sustained increases in their elasticity. The muscle goes back to normal when the muscle cells naturally remove the oxidation, a process that can take several hours.”

According to one of the researchers, yoga poses such as downward-facing dog effectively unfolds titin, enabling the processes that makes titin “remember” that it needs to remain locked in the unfolded position, which tells the muscle to remain soft and flexible.

Aim for a Well-Rounded Fitness Program

While high intensity interval exercises are safer, and accomplish greater benefits in a fraction of the time compared to slow, endurance-type exercises like jogging, I do not recommend limiting yourself to that alone. Restricting yourself to simple walking will also be insufficient for most people, even though it has its merits. Ideally you’ll want to strive for a varied and well-rounded fitness program that incorporates other types of exercise as well, including “intermittent exercise” during work hours to counteract the ill effects of prolonged sitting. I recommend incorporating the following types of exercise into your program in order to truly optimize your results:

1. Avoid Sitting for More Than 15 Minutes. I usually set a timer for 15 minutes while sitting, and then stand up and do one legged squats, jump squats or lunges when the timer goes off. The key is that you need to be moving all day long, even in non-exercise, or as I now like to call them, intermittent movement activities.
2. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): This is when you alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods.
3. Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen, and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability.
4. Stretching: My favorite type of stretching is active isolated stretches developed by Aaron Mattes. With Active Isolated Stretching, you hold each stretch for only two seconds, which works with your body's natural physiological makeup to improve circulation and increase the elasticity of muscle joints. This technique also allows your body to repair itself and prepare for daily activity. You can also use devices like the Power Plate to help you stretch.
5. Strength Training: Rounding out your exercise program with a one-set strength training routine will ensure that you're really optimizing the possible health benefits of a regular exercise program. You can also "up" the intensity by slowing it down. For more information about using super slow weight training as a form of high intensity interval exercise, please see my interview with Dr. Doug McGuff.

Turmeric Produces 'Remarkable' Recovery in Alzheimer's Patients

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Turmeric Produces 'Remarkable' Recovery in Alzheimer's Patients

Posted on: Monday, June 10th 2013 at 9:00 am

Written By: Sayer Ji, Founder

Alzheimer's Care Search alzheimerslocator.com/Alzheimers Find Memory Care in Your Area. Local Advisors - Free Referrals.

Turmeric has been used in India for over 5,000 years, which is likely why still today both rural and urban populations have some of the lowest prevalence rates of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the world. A recent study on patients with AD found that less than a gram of turmeric daily, taken for three months, resulted in 'remarkable improvements.'

Alzheimer's Disease: A Disturbingly Common Modern Rite of Passage

A diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), sadly, has become a rite of passage in so-called developed countries.  AD is considered the most common form of dementia, which is defined as a serious loss of cognitive function in previously unimpaired persons, beyond what is expected from normal aging.

A 2006 study estimated that 26 million people throughout the world suffer from this condition, and that by 2050, the prevalence will quadruple, by which time 1 in 85 persons worldwide will be afflicted with the disease.[1]

Given the global extent of the problem, interest in safe and effective preventive and therapeutic interventions within the conventional medical and alternative professions alike are growing.

Unfortunately, conventional drug-based approaches amount to declaring chemical war upon the problem, a mistake which we have documented elsewhere, and which can result in serious neurological harm, as evidenced by the fact that this drug class carries an alarmingly high risk for seizures, according to World Health Organization post-marketing surveillance statistics.[i][2]

What the general public is therefore growing most responsive to is using time-tested, safe, natural and otherwise more effective therapies that rely on foods, spices and familiar culinary ingredients.

Remarkable Recoveries Reported after Administration of Turmeric

Late last year, a remarkable study was published in the journal Ayu titiled "Effects of turmeric on Alzheimer's disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia." [ii]  Researchers described three patients with Alzheimer's disease whose behavioral symptoms were "improved remarkably" as a result of consuming 764 milligram of turmeric (curcumin 100 mg/day) for 12 weeks. According to the study:

"All three patients exhibited irritability, agitation, anxiety, and apathy, two patients suffer from urinary incontinence and wonderings. They were prescribed turmeric powder capsules and started recovering from these symptoms without any adverse reaction in the clinical symptom and laboratory data."

After only 3 months of treatment, both the patients' symptoms and the burden on their caregivers were significantly decreased.

The report describes the improvements thusly:

"In one case, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was up five points, from 12/30 to 17/30. In the other two cases, no significant change was seen in the MMSE; however, they came to recognize their family within 1 year treatment. All cases have been taking turmeric for more than 1 year, re-exacerbation of BPSD was not seen."

This study illustrates just how powerful a simple natural intervention using a time-tested culinary herb can be.  Given that turmeric has been used medicinally and as a culinary ingredient for over 5,000 years in Indian culture, even attaining the status of a 'Golden Goddess,' we should not be surprised at this result. Indeed, epidemiological studies of Indian populations reveal that they have a remarkably lower prevalence of Alzheimer's disease relative to Western nations, [3] and this is true for both rural and more "Westernized" urban areas of India.[4]

Could turmeric be a major reason for this?

Turmeric's Anti-Alzheimer's Properties.

The GreenMedInfo.com database now contains a broad range of published studies on the value of turmeric, and its primary polyphenol curcumin (which gives it its golden hue), for Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment.*

While there are 114 studies on our Turmeric research page indicating turmeric has a neuroprotective set of physiological actions, [5] 30 of these studies are directly connected to turmeric's anti-Alzheimer's disease properties.**

Two of these studies are particularly promising, as they reveal that curcumin is capable of enhancing the clearance of the pathological amyloid–beta plaque in Alzheimer's disease patients,[6] and that in combination with vitamin D3 the neurorestorative process is further enhanced.[7] Additional preclinical research indicates curcumin (and its analogs) has inhibitory and protective effects against Alzheimer's disease associated β-amyloid proteins.[8] [9] [10]

Other documented Anti-Alzheimer's mechanisms include:

• Anti-inflammatory: Curcumin has been found to play a protective role against β-amyloid protein associated inflammation.[11]
• Anti-oxidative: Curcumin may reduce damage via antioxidant properties.[12]
• Anti-cytotoxic: Curcumin appears to protect against the cell-damaging effects of β-amyloid proteins.[13] [14]
• Anti-amyloidogenic: Turmeric contains a variety of compounds (curcumin, tetrahydrocurcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin) which may strike to the root pathological cause of Alzheimer's disease by preventing β-amyloid protein formation.[15] [16] [17] [18]
• Neurorestorative: Curcuminoids appear to rescue long-term potentiation (an indication of functional memory) impaired by amyloid peptide, and may reverse physiological damage by restoring distorted neurites and disrupting existing plaques. [19] [20]
• Metal-chelating properties: Curcumin has a higher binding affinity for iron and copper rather than zinc, which may contribute to its protective effect in Alzheimer's disease, as iron-mediated damage may play a pathological role.[21] [22]

Just The Tip of the Medicine Spice Cabinet

The modern kitchen pantry contains a broad range of anti-Alzheimer's disease items, which plenty of science now confirms. Our Alzheimer's research page contains research on 97 natural substances of interest. Top on the list, of course, is curcumin. Others include:

• Coconut Oil: This remarkable substance contains approximately 66% medium chain triglycerides by weight, and is capable of improving symptoms of cognitive decline in those suffering from dementia by increasing brain-boosing ketone bodies, and perhaps more remarkably, within only one dose, and within only two hours.[23]
• Cocoa: A 2009 study found that cocoa procyanidins may protect against lipid peroxidation associated with neuronal cell death in a manner relevant to Alzheimer's disease.[24]
• Sage: A 2003 study found that sage extract has therapeutic value in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.[25]
• Folic acid: While most of the positive research on this B vitamin has been performed on the semi-synthetic version, which may have unintended, adverse health effects,  the ideal source for this B vitamin is foliage, i.e. green leafy vegetables, as only foods provide folate. Also, the entire B group of vitamins, especially including the homocysteine-modulating B6 and B12,[26] may have the most value in Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment. 
• Resveratrol: this compound is mainly found in the Western diet in grapes, wine, peanuts and chocolate. There are 16 articles on our website indicating it has anti-Alzheimer's properties.[27]

Other potent natural therapies include:

• Gingko biloba: is one of the few herbs proven to be at least as effective as the pharmaceutical drug Aricept in treating and improving symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.[28] [29]
• Melissa offinalis: this herb, also known as Lemon Balm, has been found to have therapeutic effect in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.[30]
• Saffron: this herb compares favorably to the drug donepezil in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.[31]

As always, the important thing to remember is that it is our diet and environmental exposures that largely determine our risk of accelerated brain aging and associated dementia. Prevention is an infinitely better strategy, especially considering many of the therapeutic items mentioned above can be used in foods as spices.  Try incorporating small, high-quality culinary doses of spices like turmeric into your dietary pattern, remembering that 'adding it to taste,' in a way that is truly enjoyable, may be the ultimate standard for determining what a 'healthy dose' is for you.

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Sayer Ji is the founder of GreenMedInfo.com, an author, researcher, lecturer, and an advisory board member of the National Health Federation. Google Plus Profile. His writings have been published and referenced widely in print and online, including, Truthout, Mercola.com, New York Times online, The Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, New York Times  and The Well Being Journal.

He founded Greenmedinfo.com in 2008 in order to provide the world an open access, evidence-based resource supporting natural and integrative modalities. It is widely recognized as the most widely referenced health resource of its kind.

Notes:

*This statement is not meant to be used to prevent, diagnosis, treat, or cure a disease; rather, it is a statement of fact: the research indexed on our database indicates it

**Our professional database users are empowered to employ the 'Advanced Database Options' listed on the top of the Turmeric research page and after clicking the function "Sort Quick Summaries by Title Alphabetically" under  "Available Sorting Options" they can quickly retrieve an alphabetical list of all 613 diseases relevant to the Turmeric research, and then choosing the "Focus" articles selection to the right of the "Alzheimer's disease" heading to see only the 30 study abstracts relevant to the topic.

Resources

[1] Ron Brookmeyer, Elizabeth Johnson, Kathryn Ziegler-Graham, H Michael Arrighi. Forecasting the global burden of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2007 Jul ;3(3):186-91. PMID: 19595937

[2] Nozomi Hishikawa, Yoriko Takahashi, Yoshinobu Amakusa, Yuhei Tanno, Yoshitake Tuji, Hisayoshi Niwa, Nobuyuki Murakami, U K Krishna. Effects of turmeric on Alzheimer's disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Ayu. 2012 Oct ;33(4):499-504. PMID: 23723666

[3] V Chandra, R Pandav, H H Dodge, J M Johnston, S H Belle, S T DeKosky, M Ganguli. Incidence of Alzheimer's disease in a rural community in India: the Indo-US study. Neurology. 2001 Sep 25 ;57(6):985-9. PMID: 11571321

[4] GreenMedInfo.com, Declaring Chemical Warfare Against Alzheimer's.

[5] GreenMedInfo.com, Turmeric's Neuroprotective Properties (114 study abstracts)

[6] Laura Zhang, Milan Fiala, John Cashman, James Sayre, Araceli Espinosa, Michelle Mahanian, Justin Zaghi, Vladimir Badmaev, Michael C Graves, George Bernard, Mark Rosenthal. Curcuminoids enhance amyloid-beta uptake by macrophages of Alzheimer's disease patients. J Alzheimers Dis. 2006 Sep;10(1):1-7. PMID: 16988474

[7] Ava Masoumi, Ben Goldenson, Senait Ghirmai, Hripsime Avagyan, Justin Zaghi, Ken Abel, Xueying Zheng, Araceli Espinosa-Jeffrey, Michelle Mahanian, Phillip T Liu, Martin Hewison, Matthew Mizwickie, John Cashman, Milan Fiala. 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 interacts with curcuminoids to stimulate amyloid-beta clearance by macrophages of Alzheimer's disease patients. J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 Jul;17(3):703-17. PMID: 19433889

[8] Hongying Liu, Zhong Li, Donghai Qiu, Qiong Gu, Qingfeng Lei, Li Mao. The inhibitory effects of different curcuminoids onβ-amyloid protein, β-amyloid precursor protein and β-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 in swAPP HEK293 cells. Int Dent J. 1996 Feb;46(1):22-34. PMID: 20727383

[9] Shilpa Mishra, Mamata Mishra, Pankaj Seth, Shiv Kumar Sharma. Tetrahydrocurcumin confers protection against amyloidβ-induced toxicity. Neuroreport. 2010 Nov 24. Epub 2010 Nov 24. PMID: 21116204

[10] Xiao-Yan Qin, Yong Cheng, Long-Chuan Yu. Potential protection of curcumin against intracellular amyloid beta-induced toxicity in cultured rat prefrontal cortical neurons. Neurosci Lett. 2010 Aug 9;480(1):21-4. PMID: 20638958

[11] Hong-Mei Wang, Yan-Xin Zhao, Shi Zhang, Gui-Dong Liu, Wen-Yan Kang, Hui-Dong Tang, Jian-Qing Ding, Sheng-Di Chen. PPARgamma agonist curcumin reduces the amyloid-beta-stimulated inflammatory responses in primary astrocytes. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;20(4):1189-99. PMID: 20413894

[12] G P Lim, T Chu, F Yang, W Beech, S A Frautschy, G M Cole. The curry spice curcumin reduces oxidative damage and amyloid pathology in an Alzheimer transgenic mouse. J Neurosci. 2001 Nov 1;21(21):8370-7. PMID: 11606625

[13] Xiao-Yan Qin, Yong Cheng, Long-Chuan Yu. Potential protection of curcumin against intracellular amyloid beta-induced toxicity in cultured rat prefrontal cortical neurons. Neurosci Lett. 2010 Aug 9;480(1):21-4. PMID: 20638958

[14] D S Kim, S Y Park, J K Kim. Curcuminoids from Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae) that protect PC12 rat pheochromocytoma and normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells from betaA(1-42) insult. Neurosci Lett. 2001 Apr 27;303(1):57-61. PMID: 11297823

[15] R Douglas Shytle, Paula C Bickford, Kavon Rezai-zadeh, L Hou, Jin Zeng, Jun Tan, Paul R Sanberg, Cyndy D Sanberg, Bill Roschek, Ryan C Fink, Randall S Alberte. Optimized turmeric extracts have potent anti-amyloidogenic effects. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2009 Dec;6(6):564-71. PMID: 19715544

[16] Fusheng Yang, Giselle P Lim, Aynun N Begum, Oliver J Ubeda, Mychica R Simmons, Surendra S Ambegaokar, Pingping P Chen, Rakez Kayed, Charles G Glabe, Sally A Frautschy, Gregory M Cole. Curcumin inhibits formation of amyloid beta oligomers and fibrils, binds plaques, and reduces amyloid in vivo. Neurochem Int. 2009 Mar-Apr;54(3-4):199-204. Epub 2008 Nov 30. PMID: 15590663

[17] Can Zhang, Andrew Browne, Daniel Child, Rudolph E Tanzi. Curcumin decreases amyloid-beta peptide levels by attenuating the maturation of amyloid-beta precursor protein. Gastroenterology. 2006 Jan;130(1):120-6. PMID: 20622013

[18] Ranjit K Giri, Vikram Rajagopal, Vijay K Kalra. Curcumin, the active constituent of turmeric, inhibits amyloid peptide-induced cytochemokine gene expression and CCR5-mediated chemotaxis of THP-1 monocytes by modulating early growth response-1 transcription factor. J Neurochem. 2004 Dec;91(5):1199-210. PMID: 15569263

[19] Touqeer Ahmed, Anwarul-Hassan Gilani, Narges Hosseinmardi, Saeed Semnanian, Syed Ather Enam, Yaghoub Fathollahi. Curcuminoids rescue long-term potentiation impaired by amyloid peptide in rat hippocampal slices. Synapse. 2010 Oct 20. Epub 2010 Oct 20. PMID: 20963814

[20] M Garcia-Alloza, L A Borrelli, A Rozkalne, B T Hyman, B J Bacskai. Curcumin labels amyloid pathology in vivo, disrupts existing plaques, and partially restores distorted neurites in an Alzheimer mouse model. J Neurochem. 2007 Aug;102(4):1095-104. Epub 2007 Apr 30. PMID: 17472706

[21] Larry Baum, Alex Ng. Curcumin interaction with copper and iron suggests one possible mechanism of action in Alzheimer's disease animal models. J Alzheimers Dis. 2004 Aug;6(4):367-77; discussion 443-9. PMID: 15345806

[22] Silvia Mandel, Tamar Amit, Orit Bar-Am, Moussa B H Youdim. Iron dysregulation in Alzheimer's disease: multimodal brain permeable iron chelating drugs, possessing neuroprotective-neurorescue and amyloid precursor protein-processing regulatory activities as therapeutic agents. Prog Neurobiol. 2007 Aug;82(6):348-60. Epub 2007 Jun 19. PMID: 17659826

[23] Mark A Reger, Samuel T Henderson, Cathy Hale, Brenna Cholerton, Laura D Baker, G S Watson, Karen Hyde, Darla Chapman, Suzanne Craft. Effects of beta-hydroxybutyrate on cognition in memory-impaired adults. Neurobiol Aging. 2004 Mar;25(3):311-4. PMID: 15123336

[24] Eun Sun Cho, Young Jin Jang, Nam Joo Kang, Mun Kyung Hwang, Yong Taek Kim, Ki Won Lee, Hyong Joo Lee. Cocoa procyanidins attenuate 4-hydroxynonenal-induced apoptosis of PC12 cells by directly inhibiting mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 activity. Free Radic Biol Med. 2009 May 15;46(10):1319-27. Epub 2009 Feb 25. PMID: 19248828

[25] S Akhondzadeh, M Noroozian, M Mohammadi, S Ohadinia, A H Jamshidi, M Khani. Salvia officinalis extract in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a double blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2003 Feb;28(1):53-9. PMID: 12605619

[26] Celeste A de Jager, Abderrahim Oulhaj, Robin Jacoby, Helga Refsum, A David Smith. Cognitive and clinical outcomes of homocysteine-lowering B-vitamin treatment in mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2011 Jul 21. Epub 2011 Jul 21. PMID: 21780182

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[28] S Yancheva, R Ihl, G Nikolova, P Panayotov, S Schlaefke, R Hoerr,. Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761(R), donepezil or both combined in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease with neuropsychiatric features: a randomised, double-blind, exploratory trial. Aging Ment Health. 2009 Mar;13(2):183-90. PMID: 19347685

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[30] S Akhondzadeh, M Noroozian, M Mohammadi, S Ohadinia, A H Jamshidi, M Khani. Melissa officinalis extract in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;74(7):863-6. PMID: 12810768

[31] Shahin Akhondzadeh, Mehdi Shafiee Sabet, Mohammad Hossein Harirchian, Mansoreh Togha, Hamed Cheraghmakani, Soodeh Razeghi, Seyyed Shamssedin Hejazi, Mohammad Hossein Yousefi, Roozbeh Alimardani, Amirhossein Jamshidi, Shams-Ali Rezazadeh, Aboulghasem Yousefi, Farhad Zare, Atbin Moradi, Ardalan Vossoughi. A 22-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind controlled trial of Crocus sativus in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 Jan;207(4):637-43. Epub 2009 Oct 20. PMID: 19838862

Vitamin K stops cancer tumor growth

Vitamin K stops cancer tumor growth

Vitamin K stops cancer tumor growth

Wed. Mar. 26, 2014 by Jonathan Landsman 

(NaturalHealth365) Vitamin K has remarkable anti-cancer effects. This newly identified mechanism of vitamin K shows that vitamin K has an uncanny ability to combat cancer at multiple stages.

Researchers have shown the distinct ways that vitamin K2 stops the proliferation of cancer cells. These studies confirm the healthiest way to curtail malignancies is through diet and supplementation.

Can a vitamin really block cancer cell growth?

Vitamin k is a group name for a number of related compounds. Each one serves an essential purpose in the prevention of cancer. Vitamin K1 and K2 are the two natural forms of the vitamin – which can target cancer at multiple stages of development.

The anti-tumor action of vitamin K has been under investigation since 1947. But, only recently, has it been discovered that different forms of vitamin K actually stop the creation of cancer cells. Vitamin K affects the tumors by modifying growth factors and receptor molecules – which make cells less able to stimulate tumor growth and progression.

The cell cycle becomes frozen and is not able to create any further cells. It also creates programmed cell death through distinctive mechanisms. One of the most unique methods is called “oncosis” – which is a form of stress-activated ischemic cell demise – and tumor cells are particularly vulnerable to this process.

Tumors can rapidly outgrow their blood supplies, their high metabolism means they use up oxygen rapidly, which makes them especially vulnerable to oxidant stress – much more so than the healthier tissues around them. Vitamin K targets tumor cells for destruction by stimulating oxidative stress – without toxicity to healthy tissues.

Persistent stress often leads to chronic cell injury and eventually the demise of the cell via oncosis. This is another way to get rid of cancer cells besides getting them to commit suicide, which is known as apoptosis.

Another unique mechanism of vitamin K, demonstrated recently in bile duct cancers and leukemia, is autophagy, in which cancer cells essentially eat themselves by releasing their own digestive enzymes internally. By still another mechanism, vitamin C and K in combination contribute to cancer cell death by autoschizis, whereby cells simply split open, spilling their contents.

By the way, if you’re looking for the highest quality, vitamin C powder – learn more about ‘UltraFINE Vitamin C’ offered at the NaturalHealth365 Store.

Plus, in case you’re wondering about the science, a study from Uruguay demonstrated that serum markers in a group of prostate cancer patients indicated tumor cell destruction following supplementation with vitamin C and K. Then, there is this other study the “European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition” involving over 24,000 participants from the ages of 35 to 64, all who were free of cancer when enrolled in the study.

The participants were tracked for cancer incidence and mortality for an average of 10 years. Part of the study tracked their vitamin K1 and K2 dietary intake over these years and compared it to cancer incidence and mortality. Can you guess what happened?

What was found was that vitamin K2, was associated with a lower risk of getting cancer and succumbing to it. The benefit of vitamin K2 intake was revealed with a dramatic reduction in lung and prostate cancer among the individuals in the study.

At the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, researchers have found that people who have higher intakes of vitamin K have a lower risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In this study, vitamin K1 (found mostly in leafy greens) showed a preventative value in reducing cancer risk.

Those who had the highest levels of vitamin K1 from diet and/or supplements had a 45% less risk for developing this form of lymphoma. In addition, researchers in Japan discovered that vitamin K2 may play a role in preventing the type of liver cancer caused by viral cirrhosis.

Where can I get vitamin K?

Just as a reminder, vitamin K exists in two natural forms ‘vitamin K1’ and ‘vitamin K2’. Vitamin K1 is found in fresh vegetables such as broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, okra, asparagus, prunes, avocado and other leafy green vegetables. Vitamin K2 is found in meat, dairy, and natto – a Japanese soy product.

Obviously, you won’t hear much from your conventionally-trained doctor about how to treat or prevent cancer – nutritionally. But, the fact remains, most people do not get sufficient vitamin K from their diet. Yet, it’s one of the most important nutrients to consume for optimal health.

Hopefully, after reading this article, you have the motivation to eat more (organic) green leafy vegetables like, kale and collard greens – along with cruciferous vegetables – as an effective way to prevent cancer. Remember, we are what we eat. Eat to live and enjoy your life.

Looking for natural health solutions? Sign up now – for our free, weekly show featuring the greatest minds in natural health and science plus free gifts!

About the author: Jonathan Landsman is the host of NaturalHealth365.com, the NaturalNews Talk Hour – a free, weekly health show and the NaturalNews Inner Circle – a monthly subscription to the brightest minds in natural health and healing.

Reaching hundreds of thousands of people, worldwide, as a personal health consultant, writer and radio talk show host – Jonathan has been educating the public on the health benefits of an organic (non-GMO) diet along with high-quality supplementation and healthy lifestyle habits including exercise and meditation.

References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18374196
http://nutristart.com/more-benefits-of-vitamin-k2-part-2
http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/vitamin-k-necessary-to-stop-cancer/page-2
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/03/31/us-vitamin-k-idUSTRE62U4VO20100331

- See more at: http://www.naturalhealth365.com/cancer_treatments/0946_vitamin_k.html#sthash.QSECbrQ9.dpuf

The Benefits of Medical Cannabis

The Benefits of Medical Cannabis

March 09, 2014 | 264,698 views

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By Dr. Mercola

Marijuana has been legalized in a number of US states; 20 states have legalized cannabis for medical purposes; two states—Colorado and Washington state—also permit recreational use. Certain forms of cannabis are actually very potent medicine, with few or no psychoactive effects.

In California, medical marijuana has been legal for 18 years. Dr. Allan Frankel, a board-certified internist in California, has treated patients with medical cannabis for the past seven years.

By and large, cannabis is highly favored by people across the US. According to Dr. Frankel, 85-95 percent of Americans are in favor of medical cannabis, and 58-59 percent are in favor of legalizing marijuana.

The federal government, meanwhile, wants to get rid of all medical use of marijuana, which of course begs the question: Why? According to Dr. Frankel, the answer is simple. "They want it. This is a huge market," he says.

And yes, medical cannabis is clearly competition to the pharmaceutical industry, as the cannabis plant can take the place of a wide variety of synthetic drugs, especially for mood and anxiety disorders. The last thing they want is a therapy that's going to take away from their bottom line.

Cannabis as Medicine

Dr. Frankel initially learned about medical cannabis through glaucoma trials and cancer work performed at UCLA in the 70s and early 80s.

"I've always seen it as a medicine," he says. "Eventually, I got interested in it. I thought my tool box was getting too small for typical issues with patients related to anxiety, pain, or the common issues where we just had inadequate medications.

I saw the cannabinoid future was something that was bright. Seven years ago, I kind of picked up my formal white coat and sprayed a little green on it..."

Green Bridge Medical is his professional corporation where he sees patients, performs research, and provides physician and patient education and outreach. For all its benefits, using cannabis in lieu of other medicines has many challenges.

"It's a complicated process, as a physician in particular, working inside the medical system, to work outside the medical system to make these dose-consistent extracts available."

Many may find the idea of medical cannabis abhorrent or somehow "wrong," as we've been indoctrinated to view marijuana as a dangerous gateway drug that will lead you down a path of illicit drug use.

Many fail to realize that prescription drugs actually have FAR greater potential to turn you into "a junkie." Legal drug addiction is also taking lives in record numbers. In the UK, one million people are addicted to over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription painkillers and tranquilizers.

That's significantly more than the number addicted to illegal drugs.1 In the US, there were four times more deaths among women from prescription painkiller overdose than for cocaine and heroin deaths combined in 2010.2

Pharmaceuticals in general are among the leading causes of death in the US, and some medicines have killed tens of thousands of individuals. The painkiller Vioxx is one classic example, which killed over 60,000 before being pulled off the market.

The diabetes drug Avandia is another, and most recently, a study estimated that in a five-year span, some 800,000 people in Europe were killed from inappropriate use of beta-blockers in non-cardiac surgery patients. Deaths attributed to cannabis barely registers in comparison.

"I think that any intervention, regardless of how benign (I would say in my 35 years of medical experience, cannabis should be considered a benign substance overall), there are potential uses and abuses," Dr. Frankel says.

"For me, we're just talking about the real solid indications. The issue of abuse and neglect is there, but I think it's relatively small. I think the claim that it is a gateway drug has been pretty soundly proven not to be correct.

Even if cannabis to some extent is a gateway drug (which I do not believe it is), even if it is, it should be legalized to protect the gateway [drug] issue, because legalization opens up communication."

What's the Difference Between Medical and Non-Medical Marijuana?

According to Dr. Frankel, cannabis has been cultivated in Northern Europe since before the last Ice Age. Even back then, there were two very distinct groups of strains. One is cannabis; the other is hemp. There's plenty of confusion about the similarities and differences between these two plants. While they are subspecies of the same plant species, they look very different, and are extremely different in ways that really matter when it comes to medicinal use.

The thing they have in common is that they both contain cannabidiol (CBD), which has medicinal properties. The amount of CBD however, differs greatly between the two. Dosing, therefore, is dramatically different where you to try to use hemp in lieu of cannabis, as the latter, cannabis, is up to 100-fold more potent. Another difference that appears to matter in terms of its usefulness as medicine relates to differing terpene profiles. Hemp contains very little of these valuable medicinal compounds.

Lastly, there's the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana; it's the molecule that makes you feel "stoned." (While cannabidiol (CBD) also has certain psychoactive properties, it does NOT produce a high.) By legal definition, hemp cannot have more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in it. So to summarize:

• Hemp has less value for medicinal uses, as it only contains about four percent CBD and lacks many of the medicinal terpenes and flavonoids. It also contains less than 0.3 percent THC, which means it cannot produce a high or get you stoned. However, for many disease processes, THC is very much indicated and required. So, for many disease processes, CBD alone has much less value.
• Cannabis is potent medicine courtesy of high amounts (about 10-20 percent) of CBD, critical levels of medicinal terpenes, and flavanoids, as well as THC in varying ratios for various diseases. The higher the THC, the more pronounced its psychoactive effects

How Marijuana Got a Bad Rap

"What happened in the '60s and '70s was that due to desires for psychedelia, the changes in the war in Vietnam, and the war on drugs with Nixon, the types of strains that were available and the demand for psychedelia changed. Before we knew it, CBD—due to a lack of 'stoniness'—was bred out of the plant," Dr. Frankel explains.

As a result of growers breeding out the all-important CBD, marijuana became known primarily as a plant that gets you high. Its original medicinal properties and uses largely fell by the wayside. Things are changing however.

"Five years ago, California Physicians, and other groups around the world, didn't really know if we would find CBD-rich strains anymore, but we have. Now there's many different varieties of it. We keep bringing back new CBD rich strains every month or two. These plants genes' haven't seen the light of day for God knows how long."

CBD is currently a Schedule 1 controlled substance, which means:

• The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse
• The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the US
• There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision

There's no doubt that CBD needs to be rescheduled, as each of these three points are blatantly wrong. Dr. Frankel actually thinks cannabis should be de-scheduled altogether, as a plant really does not belong on any schedule of a controlled substance.

"How could we have a plant on a schedule? What if it's an all-THC plant? What if it's an all-CBD? What if we find some other psychoactivity? If you take the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) and look at every product, none of them looks like a plant to me. This is the only plant, and it's not just one medicine. One entry with one data ID or MDI cannot be applied for cannabis. For example, we're actually right now making different medicines with cannabis plants based upon harvest time.

As the plants mature, the flowers get darker and darker. There's a traditional time when you're just supposed to pick them. Of course, what we've done is we picked them at different times in large amounts, ground them all together so we can get very representative samples, and see what happens in the last few weeks of flowering. The medicine changes a lot in the last three weeks. You can make more sedating medicine by letting it just stay on the vine three weeks longer. Even how long you let it grow makes it a very different medicine, a noticeably different medicine," he says.

Who's a Good Candidate for Medical Cannabis?

In his medical practice, Dr. Frankel treats a wide variety of patients with medical cannabis, which has become his specialty. Despite the many claims of cannabis performing miracles, he's reluctant to think of it as a cure for anything. Occasionally, however, patients will experience very dramatic results. For example, he has seen tumors virtually disappear in some patients using no other therapy except taking 40 to 60 milligrams of cannabinoids a day. The most common thing he sees in cancer patients, however, are tumors shrinking, or a metastasis disappearing. Sometimes tumors will shrink or vanish, only to reemerge in other areas, months later, and then shrink or vanish again... Other common ailments being treated with cannabis include:

• Mood disorders
• Pain disorders
• Degenerative neurological disorders such as dystonia
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson's disease
• PTSD
• Seizure Disorders

He recounts how two dystonia patients with severe myofascial spasms were able to return to normal life after taking two milligrams of whole-plant CBD three times a day for a little more than one week. This is quite astounding, considering each of them had spent more than a decade undergoing neurosurgeries and taking multiple medications.

Dr. Frankel is very focused on trying to develop accurate dose-consistent medicine. The Patient Access Centers he consults with create a diverse collection of dose-consistent oral-buccal sprays. He also believes it's very important to open up and start talking about dosing—what works, what doesn't. It is his belief that some patients, in large part due to lack of education about the medicine, may be taking 10, or even 100 times higher dosage than is really needed to treat their ailment. Unfortunately, many doctors in this still highly controversial field are afraid to recommend dosages, for fear of the repercussions.

"There's this false notion (I think I can very safely say it's false) that doctors cannot recommend dosage because of this federal [law against] aiding and abetting with cannabis. It's not true. It's just not true," he says. "There are no [cannabis] medications that we dose by body weight. We now have about 120 kids with seizure disorder, and if you look at the surveys, across the board, the average dose is 37 milligrams [of whole-plant CBD] per day, and there's no relationship with body size."

How Can You Obtain Medical Cannabis?

In states where medicinal marijuana is legal, such as California, you can join a collective, which is a legal entity consisting of a group of patients that can grow and share cannabis medicines with each other. By signing up as a member, you gain the right to grow and share your medicine. Dr. Frankel explains:

"A patient or a human being 18 and over or with a parent's consent in California can get a medical cannabis card recommendation letter if they or any physician or doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) agree. It doesn't have to be for any specific condition. In other states, it's very, specified. In California, there are 12 conditions listed, but then it says 'or any condition agreed upon by the doctor and patient,' which kind of opens it up quite a bit."

[With your medical cannabis card], you have the authority to go to whatever collective you want and pretty much select what medicine you want. Now, that is exactly what the good, the bad, and the ugly is. I love free choice, but we need free choice with education. There's virtually zero education going on in the collectives. I mean, there are random places here and there that make an effort but it's really minimal."

When cannabis is inhaled, smoked, or vaporized, its effects are rapid and short-lasting. Orally, it's the most unpredictable and delayed. When ingesting it, it can take up to two hours to take effect, but if dosed appropriately, you can achieve once-a-day dosing with an edible medicine.

When smoked, as little as 10 mg of CBD acts as a major appetite suppressor. CBD is also an excellent painkiller, particularly for tooth pain when the cannabis oil is applied sublingually or directly onto the tooth. Cannabis oil can also help heal sunburn overnight. CBD is also very effective for anxiety disorders. Just a couple of milligrams of whole-plant CBD can effectively subdue anxiety without causing any kind of mental deficiency or high.

In fact, to determine how much THC in an oral dose would be required to get high, they made liquid edibles with 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg of THC. The lowest dose, 5mg, did not produce a high. The upper two—10 and 20 mg—did. Taking 50-100 mg of oral THC could get you into serious trouble. Paranoia is the most common side effect. Overdosing can also produce nausea and vomiting.

The Power of Raw Cannabis

The video below features some of the top researchers on the healing effects of Cannabis in its raw form. The leaves can be eaten in a salad or juiced.

More Information

A British pharmaceutical company called GW Pharmaceuticals has a cannabis product that is distributed in Canada and five other countries. It's a 1:1 CBD-THC whole plant extract. "It's a very good medicine," Dr. Frankel says. "But it's expensive. That's the problem with pharmaceutical [companies]." Dr. Frankel also consults with various states that are interested in growing medicinal CBD, i.e. cannabis with a high CBD content and hemp-level (extremely low) THC. He even gives the CBD seeds away. "I make the offer: if any governor in the 50 states wants, absolutely free – as long as I can do it legally – any of these high-ratio CBD strains, I can make it happen. No cost," he says.

"This is one of the important points I'd to emphasize: I think we're going to find ultimately that CBD is a nutritional supplement for everybody. I think we were all using [cannabis] 100 years ago... I think then, if they had hemp for food, there was CBD in it. Again, I wasn't there, but my guess is that everybody had CBD in their diet up until 100 years ago or so. CBD appears in some of the newest data to help protect your DNA epigenetic layer. That's important stuff for all of the toxins that we have in our environment. I think we have more toxins now, and we're missing one of the major protectants that we used to use for this. That's a double whammy."

•