Day: 09/04/2016

Fish Are Dying By The Millions All Over The Planet

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fish

Over the past month we have seen a series of extremely alarming mass death incidents all over the planet.

Why are millions upon millions of dead sea creatures suddenly washing up on beaches all over the world?  It is certainly not unusual for fish and other inhabitants of our oceans to die.  This happens all the time.  But over the past month we have seen a series of extremely alarming mass death incidents all over the planet.  As you will see below, many of these mass death incidents have involved more than 30 tons of fish.  In places such as Chile and Vietnam, it has already gotten to the level where it has started to become a major national crisis. People see their coastlines absolutely buried in dead sea creatures, and they are starting to freak out.

Compared to other countries, Chile is almost all coast, and that geographical fluke means that the country is known for its beautiful beaches. But that reputation may be on the wane thanks to a new sight on Chilean shores: dead animals. Lots of them. Heaps of them, in fact. As Giovanna Fleitas reports for the Agence France-Presse, the South American country’s beaches are covered with piles of dead sea creatures—and scientists are trying to figure out why.

Tales of dead animals washing up on shore are relatively common; after all, the ocean has a weird way of depositing its dead on shore. But Chile’s problem is getting slightly out of hand. As Fleitas writes, recent months have not been kind to the Chilean coast, which has played host to washed-up carcasses of over 300 whales, 8,000 tons of sardines, and nearly 12 percent of the country’s annual salmon catch, to name a few.

Authorities in Chile are scrambling to come up with a reason for why this is happening, but nobody appears to be quite sure what is causing this tsunami of death.

In Vietnam, things are even worse. At this point, so many dead fish and clams have been washing up along the coast that soldiers have been deployed to bury them…

Millions of fish have washed up dead along a 125-kilometre stretch of the Vietnamese coast in one of the communist country’s worst environmental disasters.

Soldiers have been deployed to bury tonnes of fish, clams and the occasional whale that began dying in early April along the north-central coast, including some popular tourist beaches.

Vietnamese officials facing growing anger over the disaster have not announced the official cause of the deaths, which have affected the livelihoods of tens of thousands of families.

Elsewhere in Asia, there have been similar incidents. For example, CNN is reporting that one lake in southern China is currently dealing with 35 tons of dead fish…

At least 35 tons of dead fish appeared in a lake in southern China, leaving residents stunned.

The piles of fish washed up in a lake in Hainan province on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.

Residents expressed concerns on pollution, but local authorities said the fish died as a result of salinity change.

On the other side of the world, similar incidents have also happened in major lakes.  Here is one example from Bolivia…

Thousands of dead fish have washed up onto the shores of a lake in Bolivia.

Just before they died, some of the fish had just hatched from their eggs in lake Alalay, in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba.

No one yet knows the number of dead fish, but they have stockpiled five cubic metres (177 cubic feet) so far, so it’s possible there is over a tonne of dead fish in the lake.

And here is an example from Brazil…

More than 200 tons of dead fish were removed from the Furnas Lake on Sunday (1st) in Alfenas (MG). According to the Military Police of the Environment, both fish raised in ponds, networks and those who are released, all of the tilapia species in the lake were affected. The damage to the psicultores is estimated at around R $ 900 thousand.

Just within the last month, 40 tons of fish died in India, 65 tons of fish died in Cambodia, 70 tons of fish died in Colombia, and millions of fish “suddenly died” in Indonesia.

So why is this happening?

I don’t know.

Could it be possible that these mass deaths are somehow related to the alarming earth changes that we see happening all around us?

Without a doubt, we have seen a dramatic rise in seismic activity during the early portions of 2016.  There has been a series of very destructive earthquakes around the world in recent months, and once dormant volcanoes are coming to life all over the globe with distressing regularity.

Of course humanity has done much to destroy the planet as well, and we continue to deal with the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  I do think that it is very interesting to note that most of these mass fish deaths have happened in nations that border the Pacific Ocean.

I am certainly not claiming to have an answer for why so many fish are dying.  All I know is that millions upon millions of dead fish are washing up on shores all over the globe, and people are really starting to freak out about this.

We live in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable, and major disasters seem to be getting more frequent and more intense.  Just look at what is happening up in Alberta right now.

I believe that we are entering the “perfect storm” that myself and so many others have been warning about for so long.

Or could it be possible that I am just being overly dramatic

What does excessive sweat mean? It can be a sign

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With the dog days of summer in full swing, there are no two ways about it: it’s hot outside, and that means people sweat. Still, as gross as sweat can be, it’s actually a vital part of our lives. The 2.6 million sweat glands in the human body work hard to get us to chill out, but most people don’t know that sweating can also be an indicator of several health-related issues.

Here are the main ways that sweat can be trying to tell you something important about your body!

1. You’re stressed.

 

As it turns out, stress sweat comes from entirely different glands than heat sweat! Not only that: stress sweat is actually called apocrine sweat, and it’s thicker and smellier than normal sweat. So if you start to feel the heat, it might be time to relax a little.

2. You could be pregnant…or in menopause.

Shifting hormones in your body can cause your endocrine system to go haywire. This means that your body can get sweaty and hot out of nowhere. These hot flashes can be a sign of pregnancy or menopause.

3. You’re dehydrated.

 

If your sweat is stinging your eyes or leaving residue on your skin, it could be a sign of dehydration. You should drink more water to balance out the salty sweat.

4. You’re nearing heatstroke.

 

Sweat is designed to hep you cool down and avoid heatstroke, but if you suddenly stopsweating and feel nauseous…watch out! This could mean that your body is exhausted and its resources have been allocated to reactions other than sweat. If this happens, find help, water, and shade ASAP.

5. You have hyperhidrosis.

 

Hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes excess sweating. It’s characterized by parts of the body sweating even after activity has stopped, and it’s particularly focused in the palms, feet, and head.

6. You need to change your diet.

 

This is for those who find themselves smelling a weird, fishy odor when they sweat a lot. It could be a sign that your body is having trouble breaking down trimethylamine, and you may want to talk to your doctor about changing your diet.

7. You might have a serious medical emergency.

 

Sweating, particularly when not doing strenuous activity, could be a sign of heart issues. If this is happening to you, you may want to see your doctor.

Who knew that sweat could tell you so much about your body? With how hot it is outside these days, it’s as important as ever to stay informed and be safe!

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Interstellar was right. Falling into a black hole is not the end, says Stephen Hawking.

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“If you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up, there’s a way out,” Stephen Hawking told the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm

An artist's impression of a supermassive black hole at the centre of a distant quasar

An artist’s impression of a supermassive black hole at the centre of a distant quasar

Interstellar was right. Falling into a black hole is not the end, professor Stephen Hawking has claimed.

Although physicists had assumed that all matter must be destroyed by the huge gravitational forces of a black hole, Hawking told delegates in Sweden that it could escape and even pop into another dimension.

The theory solves the ‘information paradox’ which has puzzled scientists for decades. While quantum mechanics says that nothing can ever be destroyed, general relativity says it must be.

However under Hawking’s new theory, anything that is sucked into a black hole is effectively trapped at the event horizon – the sphere surrounding the hole from which it was thought that nothing can escape.

And he claims that anything which fell in could re-emerge back into our universe, or a parallel one, through Hawking radiation – protons which manage to escape from the black hole because of quantum fluctuations.

“If you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up, there’s a way out,” Hawking told an audience held at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm

In the film Interstellar, Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, plunges into the black hole Gargantura. As Cooper’s ship breaks apart in the force, he evacuates and ends up in a Tesseract – a four dimensional cube. He eventually makes it out of the black hole.

The blac hole Gargantua from the film Interstellar

The black hole Gargantua from the film Interstellar

Black holes are stars that have collapsed under their own gravity, producing such extreme forces that even light can’t escape.

But Hawking claims that information never makes it inside the black hole in the first place and instead is ‘translated’ into a kind of hologram which sits in the event horizon.

“I propose that the information is stored not in the interior of the black hole as one might expect, but on its boundary, the event horizon,” said Prof Hawking

“The idea is the super translations are a hologram of the ingoing particles,” he said. “Thus they contain all the information that would otherwise be lost.”

Hawking also believes that radiation leaving the black hole can pick up some of the information stored at the event horizon and carry it back out. However it is unlikely to be in the same state in which it entered.

“The information about ingoing particles is returned, but in a chaotic and useless form,” he said. “This information paradox. For all practical purposes, the information is lost.

“The message of this lecture is that black holes ain’t as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once thought. Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly come out in another universe.”

Hawking and colleagues are expected to publish a paper on the work next month.

“He is saying that the information is there twice already from the very beginning, so it’s never destroyed in the black hole to begin with,” Sabine Hossenfelder of the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Stockholm told New Scientist. “At least that’s what I understood.”

New Alzheimer’s drug trial clears toxic brain proteins and slows memory loss.

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A new drug trial for Alzheimer’s patients has just been completed, and researchers are calling the results the most promising yet in the fight against the disease.

The drug targets amyloid deposits – toxic proteins linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s – and after just 12 months, patients on the highest dose had no detectable signs of these deposits.

Not only that, but for the 20 early-stage Alzheimer’s patients who took the highest dose of the drug for more than six months, there were indications that their cognitive decline and memory loss had been slowed down.

“This is the best news we’ve had in my 25 years of doing Alzheimer’s research, and it brings hope to patients and families affected by the disease,” one of the researchers, neurologist Stephen Salloway from Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, told Nature.

“Compared to other studies published in the past, the effect size of this drug is unprecedented,” another of the team, Roger Nitsch from Zurich University, Switzerland, told The Independent.

Before we go into the details, let’s be clear that this is just one trial with a small number of participants, and “cautiously optimistic” is the name of the game here.

Nothing is confirmed until the results are replicated in a much longer trial with a larger and more diverse sample set, so while we can be excited about the incredible potential of this drug, we need to wait for follow-up trials.

So with that in mind, here’s what happened.

The team recruited 165 participants who had been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease to test the efficacy of a drug based on an antibodycalled aducanumab.

Aducanumab has been shown to naturally occur in people who age without experiencing significant cognitive decline, so the researchers decided to see what would happen if they injected high doses of the antibody into people with early-stage Alzheimer’s.

It’s not clear how this antibody works, but the team announced at a recent conference that it appears to target amyloid deposits in the brain, but not in the bloodstream.

“The hypothesis suggests antibodies that attack amyloid in the bloodstream get sidetracked and never make it into the brain,” Karen Weintraub explains over at Scientific American. “By focusing on brain amyloid, aducanumab seems to be able to cross into the brain to reach its target.”

The 165 participants were split into different groups, and some received the aducanumab drug in different doses, and one group of 40 received a placebo.

Of the 103 patients who were given the drug once a month for up to 54 weeks, they all experienced a reduction in the amount of amyloid deposits in their brains. And the researchers found that the higher the dose, the more deposits were cleared from the brain.

In the group of 21 patients who received the highest dose, no detectable signs of amyloid deposits remained in their brains after a year.

amyloid-plaques-aducanumab

The red represents amyloid-beta plaques. 

Similar results were reported in a pre-trial mouse study, which saw mouse brains cleared of amyloid deposits after aducanumab treatment.

“This drug had a more profound effect in reversing amyloid-plaque burden than we have seen to date,” Alzheimer’s researcher Eric Reiman from the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, who is not involved in the study, told Erika Check Hayden at Nature.

“That is a very striking and encouraging finding and a major advance.”

No one’s entirely sure what causes Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s thought to result from a buildup of two types of lesions in the brain: amyloid deposits – or ‘plaques’ – and neurofibrillary tangles.

Amyloid deposits sit between the neurons as dense clusters of beta-amyloid molecules – a sticky type of protein that easily clumps together – and neurofibrillary tangles are caused by defective tau proteins that clump up into a thick, insoluble mass inside the neurons.

This causes disruptions to the transportation of essential nutrients around the brain, which is thought to bring on the cognitive decline and memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Over the years, the roles of amyloid deposits and neurofibrillary tangles in the onset of Alzheimer’s have been debated, because it’s not yet clear if one causes the other, or if one has a greater overall effect.

But this new trial suggests that if you can get rid of the amyloid deposits, you have a chance at stalling the progression of the disease. The researchers report that they saw slower cognitive declines in 91 patients treated with the drug.

“Aducanumab also showed positive effects on clinical symptoms,” Nitsch explained in a press statement. “While patients in the placebo group exhibited significant cognitive decline, cognitive ability remained distinctly more stable in patients receiving the antibody.”

The results are definitely exciting, but it’s time to replicate them in a larger group of patients. The team is now recruiting another 2,700 patients from 20 different countries to participate in a new 18-month trial, the results of which are expected in 2020.

“These results are the most detailed and promising that we’ve seen for a drug that aims to modify the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease,” James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, who was not involved in the study, told Ian Johnston at The Independent. 

“No existing treatments for Alzheimer’s directly interfere with the disease process – and so a drug that actually slows the progress of the disease by clearing amyloid would be a significant step.”

 CDC Quarantine Committee Working To Force Vaccinate All Americans

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I am currently reading the Federal Register article on the CDC’s proposed measures for “Control of Communicable Diseases.”

This is REAL.

If you remember the movie, “Contagion,” the CDC’s power grab reads like the script.
Detainment, imprisonment (indefinite), forced medical examinations, forced treatment, forced vaccination…
for MEASLES.

CDC-quarantine-vaccines

The CDC is lumping MEASLES in with Ebola.

If you have seen the outrage over Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand during the national anthem, and you don’t think he has reason to protest the actions of the United States, you need to read this article. The United States government is rapidly surpassing Hitler in their oppressive and illegal use of force against citizens who refuse to inject themselves or their children with experimental vaccines that have never been tested for carcinogenic or mutagenic effects, or for impairment of fertility.

Our government is so financially invested in vaccines that they are passing rules and regulations to take away your BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS to say NO to forced vaccination – for what is a mild, childhood infection, and for which the death rate in the United States had decreased nearly 100% BEFORE the vaccine was even invented.

If this regulation passes, entire cities could be under forced quarantine and citizens lined up and vaccinated under government force – whenever there is a case of suspected measles identified. That means this will be happening routinely – and especially at the beginning of every school year when recently vaccinated children are spreading measles to their classmates.

Melissa Sfura has put out a very important ACTION ALERT – which I fully support and hope you will attend to.

This is NOT A JOKE.

If you value your liberty and the principles on which the United States was founded, you had better get active NOW and work to protect them.

***ACTION ALERT HIGH PRIORITY***

Alright, so the CDC wants to Round up citizens and force vaccinate them without medical testing, just because they think they can. See the proposed regulation here:
http://www.regulations.gov/document?D=CDC-2016-0068-0001

Next, submit your public comment by October 14, 2016 (CDC Rally day, interestingly enough) here: http://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=CDC-2016-0068-0001

After that, you need to contact YOUR representatives. Find them here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Let the CDC Quarantine Oversight Committee know how you feel. Find them here: https://energycommerce.house.gov/about-ec

Finally, join us at the CDC in Atlanta on October 14th to fight for truth and transparency. More details here: http://tinyurl.com/rally-Oct-14

Read more. URL:https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/08/15/2016-18103/control-of-communicable-diseases#h-32

For Optimal Health, Mind Your Oral Microbiome and Avoid Fluoride, Harsh Mouth Rinses and Amalgam Fillings

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While often overlooked, your dental health can have a significant impact on your overall health. It’s difficult to achieve high-level physical health if your oral health is ignored.

Dr.Gerry Curatola, founder of Rejuvenation Dentistry, has over 30 years’ experience in biological dentistry. As Curatola notes, your mouth is your “gateway to total body wellness.” Indeed, thousands of studies have linked oral disease to systemic disease.

Inflammation is known to be a disease-causing force leading to most chronic illness, and gum disease and other oral diseases produce chronic low-grade inflammation that can have a deleterious effect on every major organ system in your body.

Oral disease can therefore contribute to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, just to name a few. Advanced gum disease can raise your risk of a fatal heart attack up to 10 times. And, according to Curatola, if you get a heart attack related to gum disease, 9 times out of 10 it will be fatal.

There’s also a 700 percent higher incidence of type 2 diabetes among those with gum disease, courtesy of the inflammatory effects of unbalanced microflora in your mouth.

Caring for Your Oral Microbiome

When the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease enter into your circulatory system it causes your liver to release C-reactive proteins, which have inflammatory effects on your entire circulatory system. So a major part of oral health is attending to your oral microbiome.

Achieving oral health is really about promoting balance among the bacteria in your mouth. Interestingly, probiotics do not work in the oral cavity, so it’s not as simple as adding beneficial bacteria to your mouth. Instead, as an initial step, you need to cease killing microbes in your mouth. Curatola explains:

“Pathogens are now being recognized as resident microbes that are out of balance … [T]he same bacteria that keep us alive can have a pathogenic expression when disturbed.

I have been tooting the horn about getting out of the ‘pesticide business.’ I’m also speaking about natural pesticides. Not just triclosan, clorhexidin and those synthetic types, but also tea tree oil, tulsi oil, oregano oil and other antimicrobial oils that … have a potent disturbing effect on the oral microbiome.

In the mouth, you don’t want to have a ‘scorched earth policy,’ nuking all bacteria and hoping the good bugs come back … [G]ood bugs basically have a harder chance of setting up a healthy-balanced microbiome when you disturb them, denature them, or dehydrate them with alcohol-based products.”

Avoid Mouthwashes and Fluoridated Toothpaste

So, as your first step, stop using antibacterial mouthwashes and rinses. Instead, consider taking nutrients that support gum and oral health. Two important ones are vitamin C and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Bleeding gums is often a sign of CoQ10 deficiency.

There are also a number of homeopathic tissue salts that can be beneficial for oral health, including silica, calcarea fluorica (calcium fluoride), calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate.

Calcium fluoride should not be confused with the chemical formulation of sodium fluoride found in toothpaste, which is toxic and carries a poison warning.

Fluoride not only harms your microbiome; it also has many other detrimental health effects. In fact, fluoride over-exposure from toothpaste, fluoridated water and other sources, has led to a virtual epidemic of fluoride damage.

At present, 4 out of 10 adolescents in the U.S. have fluoride-damaged teeth — a condition known as dental fluorosis.

Many assume that use of fluoridated toothpaste and water is an issue that relates to your dental health alone. But according to a 500-page scientific review,1 fluoride is an endocrine disruptor that can affect your bones, brain, thyroid gland, pineal gland and even your blood sugar levels.

At least 34 human studies and 100 animal studies have also linked fluoride to brain damage,2 including lower IQ in children, and studies have shown that fluoride toxicity can lead to a wide variety of health problem.

The Dangers of Mercury Amalgam

Aside from fluoride and antibacterial agents, mercury is another dental-related substance that can wreak havoc with your health.

In the video above, Dr. Oz interviews Curatola about the dangers of “silver fillings” which, despite their name, contain mostly mercury, a well-known neurotoxin and dangerous environmental pollutant. About 50 percent of the amalgam filling is mercury; the remainder is a mixture of copper, tin, silver and zinc.

Mercury amalgam is defended by its apologists for the bizarre reason that it has been used in dentistry for over 150 years. Being a pre-Civil War remedy is not something to brag about! Medicine long ago stopped other pre-Civil War harmful practices, such as bleeding patients and giving them a bottle of mercury to drink.

Amalgams have been linked to a long list of health problems, including fatigue, memory loss, tremors, problems with motor coordination, inability to concentrate, migraines, mood swings, anxiety and autoimmune problems.

Norway, Denmark and Sweden have all banned mercury amalgam, citing health and environmental hazards. So why is amalgam still being used by half of all dentists in the U.S.? The answer is: because it’s inexpensive and easy to use, which boosts the profits of dentists’ who can make more per chair per day using mercury fillings.

Is Your Insurance Company Still Operating in the Dark Ages?

Many dental insurance companies also do not cover 100 percent of non-amalgam restoration work, which keeps the allure of amalgam alive. For example, some insurance policies only pay for amalgam in molar teeth; if you want composite, you have to pay out-of-pocket. A consumer penalty exist for those who exercise their right to have mercury-free fillings in their molars.

This is really unacceptable, considering the massive costs of amalgam, including (1) to human health, (2) to the environment, (3) to our food supply and the added mercury, (4) to dental workers breathing the mercury-laden air and (5) to consumers who incur future dental bills from amalgam’s destructive nature, in contrast to the minimally-invasive and tooth-friendly alternatives.

Also, while amalgam is very strong, capable of withstanding decades’ worth of wear and tear in your mouth, it actually makes your tooth weaker. A greater amount of healthy tooth material must be drilled out in order to place amalgam, compared to when using modern composite materials.  Amalgam-filled teeth are therefore weaker and more prone to cracking, which necessitates additional restoration work. Composite materials tend to have the opposite effect, helping to maintain and even strengthen tooth integrity.

Take Action — Make Mercury-Free Dentistry a Reality for All

During Mercury-Free Dentistry Week, August 21 through 28, I will match your donations dollar-for-dollar to Consumers for Dental Choice, up to $100,000. Consumers for Dental Choice is a small, effective organization with the sole mission of making mercury-free dentistry a reality in North America and around the world, and they’ve been working to protect your right to choose mercury-free dentistry for the past 20 years.

How Much Amalgam Is Too Much?

We now know that amalgam fillings release mercury vapors every time it’s stimulated, such as when you’re eating or brushing your teeth. The question that remains to be answered is: How much amalgam poses a definitive health threat? Is it dangerous to have one filling? Or is the risk negligible until you reach a certain number of fillings?

We still do not have a definitive answer to this. However, we do know that mercury is a potent immune suppressant and that it is extremely toxic to your central nervous system (CNS). Hence, if you experience immune or CNS symptoms and have amalgams in your mouth, your amalgams could potentially be a contributing factor. Ditto if you have any of the classic signs of mercury toxicity, which include:

  • Tremors
  • Memory loss
  • Inability to concentrate
  • Motor coordination problems

A typical amalgam filling contains about 750 to 1,000 mg of mercury.4 This is nearly 500,000 times more mercury than is present in contaminated sea food. Eating mercury-tainted seafood can expose you to about 2.3 mcg,5 and that alone was enough for scientists to call for a worldwide warning6 back in 2006.

Tests suggest a single amalgam filling may release as much as 15 micrograms (mcg) of mercury per day. In the video above, Dr. Oz brushes a set of molded teeth with a row of amalgam fillings in a sealed container equipped with a mercury measuring device and, within seconds, 61 mcg of mercury is released!

These mercury vapors can easily pass through your cell membranes and cross your blood-brain barrier into your central nervous system, where they can cause serious psychological, neurological and immunological problems. According to an extensive scientific review7 about mercury and children’s health, there really is NO known safe level of exposure for mercury. So any dentist who tells you that mercury exposure from amalgam is “minimal” or “inconsequential” is doing you a reprehensible disservice.

Should You Have Your Amalgams Removed?

The answer to that really depends on your general health and the number, age and condition of your amalgam fillings. As a general guideline, Curatola recommends talking to a qualified biological dentist about removing your amalgam fillings if you:

  • Have eight or more mercury filings
  • Grind your teeth
  • Eat acidic food regularly
  • Drink soda regularly

All of these factors increase the amount of mercury vapor being released from your amalgam fillings, raising your risk of experiencing problems related to mercury toxicity.

However, it’s important to realize that amalgam removal can pose a serious health threat in and of itself, if done without the proper safety precautions. For this reason, it’s important to find a qualified biological dentist who is trained in safe amalgam removal. It would also be wise to take steps to boost your immune function prior to removal to help with the detoxification process.

When amalgams are removed, a large amount of mercury is released. If the proper precautions aren’t taken, your body can be suddenly flooded with a massive dose of mercury, which can lead to acute kidney problems. I experienced this myself more than 25 years ago when I had my amalgams removed by a non-biological dentist.

Biological dentistry views your teeth and gums as an integrated part of your body, and any medical treatments performed take this into account. Biological dentists are well aware of the dangers involved with toxic materials such as amalgams. Some of the steps that need to be taken to keep you (and your dentist) safe during amalgam removal include:

Providing you with an alternative air source and instructing you not to breathe through your mouth Putting a rubber dam in your mouth so you don’t swallow or inhale any toxins, and using a high-volume evacuator near the tooth at all times to evacuate the mercury vapor
Using a cold-water spray to minimize mercury vapors Washing your mouth out immediately after the fillings have been removed (the dentist should also change gloves after the removal)
Immediately cleaning your protective wear and face once the fillings are removed Using room air purifiers

What Is Cupping, and What Can It Do for You?

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Olympic swimming fans everywhere are talking about cupping these days: a discussion brought on by Michael Phelps’ and Cody Miller’s purple-dotted shoulders.1Olympic gymnast Alex Naddour has also been seen sporting the hickey-like marks, and many other world-class athletes admit to using cupping.

Story at-a-glance

  • Cupping is an ancient medical treatment; its Chinese roots date back to 300 or 400 A.D. Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures also have ancient records of the practice
  • In cupping, suction cups of varying sizes are attached to the body. The suction draws stagnant blood to the surface of the skin and improves blood circulation through the tissues, which can speed healing
  • Research has found cupping may benefit conditions such as chronic neck and shoulder pain, arthritis of the knee, herpes zoster, facial paralysis and cervical spondylosis

According to Reuters,2 sales of cupping therapy equipment rose by 20 percent in the three days following Phelps’ big win.

The International Cupping Therapy Association also reported a “50 percent increase of healthcare practitioners seeking out their cupping certificates” during that same timeframe. Acupuncture physicians have also reported an increase in inquiries about the treatment.3

What Is Cupping?

Cupping is an ancient medical treatment; its Chinese roots date back to 300 or 400 A.D. Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures also have ancient records of the practice.

Cupping is still regularly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Chinese hospitals and elsewhere. Suction cups of varying sizes are attached to the body, and the suction draws blood to the surface of the skin. Hence, the bruise-like marks.

The treatment is said to improve blood circulation, thereby speeding up healing, reducing pain and easing muscle soreness. According to Dr. Houman Danesh, a pain management specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, cupping helps “jumpstart the body’s natural healing process.”

Phelps and Naddour both swear by the treatment. At a recent press conference, Phelps said he gets cupping done before most meets,4 and Naddour told USA Today5 that cupping has been a “secret … that keeps me healthy. It’s been better than any money I’ve spent on anything else.”

Does Cupping Work for Pain?

While some media outlets have derided the athletes for promoting quackery, studies tend to support its use. For example, a 2014 review6 of 16 studies done on cupping suggests it can indeed be beneficial for pain. According to the authors:

“Cupping combined with acupuncture was superior to acupuncture alone on post-treatment pain intensity … Results from other single studies showed significant benefit of cupping compared with conventional drugs or usual care …

This review suggests a potential positive short-term effect of cupping therapy on reducing pain intensity compared with no treatment, heat therapy, usual care or conventional drugs.”

Cupping May Offer Relief for Many Painful Conditions

A study7 published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine earlier this year found cupping significantly reduced chronic neck and shoulder pain, compared to no intervention.

In the cupping group, the intensity of the neck pain was reduced from a severity score of 9.7 to 3.6. Among controls, pain was reduced from 9.7 to 9.5. The study also evaluated measurable physical effects, including changes in skin surface temperature and blood pressure.

Both measurements showed statistically significant improvements among those who received cupping. An earlier study8 comparing cupping to progressive muscle relaxation found both treatments provided similar pain relief for patients with chronic neck pain after 12 weeks.

However, those who received cupping did report significantly greater “wellbeing” and higher pressure pain thresholds compared to those who practiced progressive muscle relaxation. Research9 published in 2012 also reported beneficial results on patients with arthritic knee pain.

A meta-analysis10 of 550 studies published in PLOS One that same year found cupping “is of potential benefit for pain conditions, herpes zoster, cough and dyspnea.” According to the authors:

“Meta-analysis showed cupping therapy combined with other TCM treatments was significantly superior to other treatments alone in increasing the number of cured patients with herpes zoster, facial paralysis, acne and cervical spondylosis. No serious adverse effects were reported in the trials.”

Cupping Therapy 101

This video may not be available in all countries.

Myofascial decompression therapy is the name given to the cupping treatment among athletic trainers. In the video above, you can see Phelps getting the cups placed along his back using a hand-held air pump that extracts the air from the cup once it’s placed on the skin.

TCM practitioners will typically use glass cups. Oil is first applied to the skin to prevent excessive friction and pain as the flesh is sucked into the cup. When using glass cups, the vacuum is created by lighting a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol and holding it inside the cup.

The fire burns out the oxygen inside the cup, so when the flame is removed and the cup placed on the skin, the resulting vacuum creates suction. If the suction is too strong, you can ease it by gently pressing a finger near the rim of the cup, letting in a little bit of air.

The cups can be left in place or slowly moved around, the latter of which is referred to as cupping massage; the effect being similar to that of a deep tissue massage. Cups are typically left on for three to five minutes. The resulting welts will typically vanish in a couple of days, much like a regular bruise.

Cupping May Influence Your Innate Immune Response

Leonid Kalichman, Ph.D., a senior lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, has written more than 150 papers on physiotherapy and rheumatology. He believes that by causing localized inflammation, cupping helps trigger cytokine production that modulate your immune system response.11

In a recent review paper on cupping research, published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Kalichman and his co-author Efgeni Rozenfeld note that:12

“Mechanically, cupping increases blood circulation, whereas physiologically it activates the immune system and stimulates the mechanosensitive fibers, thus leading to a reduction in pain.

There is initial scientific evidence that dry cupping is able to reduce musculoskeletal pain. Since cupping is an inexpensive, noninvasive and low-risk (if performed by a trained practitioner) therapeutic modality, we believe that it should be included in the arsenal of musculoskeletal medicine.”

Anecdotal Reports

While more research may help explain the exact mechanisms behind cupping’s healing power, many patients are satisfied knowing it works for them — regardless of the how or why. As noted by Jessica MacLean, acting director of the International Cupping Therapy Association:13

“When people get the treatment and they recover really fast, they don’t care about the scientific evidence — they just care that it works.”

The following anecdotal success story was reported by Desert News Utah:14

“It works for 33-year-old Maria, who was at Master Lu’s … for acupuncture and cupping therapy for several herniated discs in her lower back. She said she’s tried many options, but the pain gets so bad at times, she can’t move. ‘As soon as I had it done, it was immediate relief,’ she said. ‘I never went back to anything else.’

Maria … injured her back lifting and moving a lot of boxes. She said that in addition to immediate and long-lasting pain relief, the acupuncture and cupping procedure is ‘relaxing’ to go through. She will have about three appointments within the week and then not need to return ntil pain flares up again from overuse, Lu said.”

Are You Ready to Try Cupping?

Cupping is easy to do and vacuum sets can be purchased online for as little as $30. However, I would strongly recommend going to a trained TCM practitioner. Licensed doctors of TCM have a minimum of 3,000 hours of training and know how to perform cupping safely and effectively.

Care to avoid excessive suction must be taken when treating certain areas of the body. While your back and thighs can safely handle heavy suction, it could be risky to cup certain areas of your neck, for example, unless you know what you’re doing.

Cupping is also not done on your head or face, so if you have a headache, you would typically treat your neck, shoulder and/or back muscles; the cups would NOT be placed on the temples or forehead. Cupping is also contraindicated for certain serious health conditions.

So, could cupping work for you? You’ll simply have to try it before writing it off. Studies and anecdotal evidence suggest cupping can be a helpful adjunct to other therapies for pain. In some cases it may even work as a stand-alone treatment, although this is not the norm. The good news is, if it works, you’ll notice a difference. And if it doesn’t, no harm will come to you.

The procedure itself is typically painless (provided excessive suction is not used), and the bruises — which indicate that stagnant blood has been drawn from the tissue to the surface — will typically disappear within days. If blood stagnation is not an issue, you will not experience any bruising at all.

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