Home birth vs: The Business of Being Born...

By ERIN CARLSON AP Writer Jun. 17, 2008 http://www.wral.com

NEW YORK — Ricki Lake is firing back at physicians groups that have singled her out for bringing attention to at-home childbirth.

The 39-year-old former talk-show host is named in a recent statement by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that says the home is not the safest setting for having a baby (The AMA resolves in the statement to support state legislation "that helps ensure safe deliveries and healthy babies by acknowledging that the safest setting" is a hospital, connected birthing center or other approved facility.). In her film "The Business of Being Born," a documentary about the maternity care system that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival...

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/news.htm

At their annual meeting over the weekend, the American Medical Association voted on two Resolutions that seek to prevent home births and to increase MD control over midwives (click here ama-assn.org to read Resolutions 205 and 239).

News outlets including the AP quickly picked up this story yesterday as it hit TMZ, E!, USA Today, Daily News, FOX, and Ricki will be featured on Good Morning America this weekend as well. (If you Google "Ricki Lake, AMA" you will see the bloggers are all over this!)

Filmmakers Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake teamed up with journalist and Pushed author Jennifer Block to pen the following response for the Huffington Post and also submitted a seperate Op-ed to the Washington Post this morning:

DOCS TO WOMEN: PAY NO ATTENTION TO RICKI LAKE'S HOME BIRTH
The other trouble with the American MDs is that they seem to have lost all respect for women's civil rights, indeed for the U.S. Constitution – the right to privacy, to bodily integrity, and the right of every adult to determine her own health care. The "father knows best" legislation they are promoting could indeed be used to criminally prosecute women who choose home birth, say, by equating it with child abuse.

Coffee drinking not harmful and may help against heart disease

Drinking copious amounts of coffee is not harmful to your health, and particularly if you're a woman, may actually protect you from heart disease, new research suggests.

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid studied the effects of coffee consumption on 41, 736 men and 86, 214 women over 18-year and 24-year periods respectively.

They discovered that women who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 25 per cent lower risk of death from heart disease during the study's followup period (1980 to 2004) than non-coffee drinkers. They also had an 18 per cent lower risk of dying from an illness other than cancer or heart disease during followup.

Women who drank five to seven cups of coffee per week had a seven per cent lower risk of death from all causes than non-drinkers.

In men, researchers saw non-statistically significant benefits and no downsides to drinking two to three cups of coffee, or five to seven cups of coffee daily.

The study is published Tuesday in The Annals of Internal Medicine.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/06/16/coffee-habitsstudy.html
http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/2007/08/science_vault_coffee_as_a_cure.php

“Where There Is No Doctor” Free PDF book

http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download_wtnd.php

Health care is not only everyone’s right, but everyone’s responsibility.

Informed self-care should be the main goal of any health program or activity.

• Ordinary people provided with clear, simple information can prevent and treat most common health problems in their own homes—earlier, cheaper, and often better than can doctors.
• Medical knowledge should not be the guarded secret of a select few, but should be freely shared by everyone.
• People with little formal education can be trusted as much as those with a lot. And they are just as smart.
• Basic health care should not be delivered, but encouraged.

Some of the book’s instructions may not apply, or are invalid such as any referral to Sodium Fluoride as being good for the teeth. However, the bulk of the material is valuable, so please use common sense when figuring out how to apply the health-care methods proposed in this book.

Again, and I cannot emphasize strongly enough; we need to be prepared, and we need to start now. Stocking up on food and supplies is only a temporary fix. When the food and supplies run out, we need to know how to replace them. Learning how to grow your own food and take care of basic medical needs are necessary survival skills that we will all need to develop or simply go without. • http://survivingthemiddleclasscrash

Natural infection fighter works better...

Researchers have found a natural substance that's comparable to powerful antibiotics in killing germs, including staph. It's even comparable to the powerful, expensive, and toxic antibiotic vancomycin. Doctors typically reserve this drug for methicillin resistance. — Not only is this drug as powerful as antibiotics, it can do something antibiotics can't do. In addition to killing bacteria, it also can kill Candida and intestinal parasites. http://www.secondopinionnewsletter.com/

What is this amazing natural antibiotic?
It's the inexpensive and common oil of oregano!
----
You can grow oregano in your own garden and then use it for your spice needs or your health care needs. For example in order to cure an upset stomach just put some oregano in boiling water, let it settle for a few minutes. Then drink it and you will feel much better!

http://www.oiloforegano.org/
http://www.gaiaherbs.com/product.php?id=26

Educating Instead of Medicating

http://curezone.com/
"Let your foods be your medicine,
and your medicines be your food." Hippocrates

12 Herbs that Act Like Medicines

by veg-head @ 28 May 2008 http://www.off-grid.net/2008/05/28/12-herbs-that-act-like-medicines/

Here are some common foods that do double duty as effective herbal treatments with impressive health benefits. Fits in nicely with the organic gardening tips and recipes in the book, Grow Your Own Pharmacy.

1. Turmeric. Ever treated a head cold with a hot Indian meal? Turmeric is one of the best healing herbs available. It contains the anti-inflammatory curcumin, which may function in the same way as some pharmaceutical arthritis drugs.

The next time your joints are aching, researchers recommend a daily serving of 400 mg each day.

2. Ginger. Many people around the world use ginger as a mild pain reliever.

Ginger may also be an effective means of controlling ovarian cancer cells, according to a 2006 study by the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

3. Cinnamon. Diabetics could decrease their blood sugar by up to 10% just by taking a cinnamon extract daily. A study found that cinnamon may help to lower cholesterol as well.

Since cinnamon can be toxic when taken in very large quantities (much more than you would probably be able to eat at once), experts recommend that you use a cinnamon extract rather than actual cinnamon.

4. Garlic. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that high doses of garlic lead to low instances of several types of cancers.

Garlic is useful against bacteria, even those that are resistant to antibiotics. It has antifungal and antiviral properties and may even help to lower cholesterol and prevent strokes.

5. Rosemary. If you have to choose just one herb to help you avoid several different types of cancer, rosemary may be it. Rosemary can actually help to prevent carcinogens that you ingest from binding with your DNA. This can help to prevent the formation of tumors and the eventual development of cancer.

6. Honey. Honey is commonly used as a digestion aid and to soothe sore tummies and throats. The hydrating qualities of honey are well-known all around the world, and desert travelers have been known to carry honey and water to quench their thirst on long treks.

Honey helps to soothe the pain of a burn while limiting inflammation and retarding infection.

7. Chili Peppers. Hot peppers are an amazing food that can help you treat any number of common conditions. At home, you can eat them to to clear up a congested head and as a natural pain reliever.

An exciting and often-publicized use for chili peppers is as a metabolism boost. Adding chili peppers to your meals can help you burn more calories, and it is believed that chili peppers can even help you feel fuller after a meal.

8. Olive Oil. This delicious and exotic-tasting oil may help to save your life some day. With regular modest consumption, olive oil can help stop plaque from forming in arteries, thus reducing your risk of heart attacks.

9. Onions and related plants are also a hugely effective treatment for lung disorders such as pneumonia and chronic bronchitis. They have outstanding anti-inflammatory properties and can be used as antibiotics and antivirals.

10. Lemon. Lemon has a multitude of medicinal uses and has been a prized part of the medicinal kitchen for many generations. It is a general clarifier and purifier, and can be taken to cleanse the body of impurities. It has also been used to treat headaches, arthritis, and pneumonia.

Although it seems counterintuitive (or just plain painful), applying lemon juice to cuts and scrapes is great for preventing infections. The natural antiseptic properties of lemon juice will keep infections at bay and can even reduce the appearance of bruises.

11. Cloves. Clove oil is used by many cultures as a natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory. It is used in many modern toothache remedies to dull the pain and swelling.

12. Horseradish. Like its relative mustard, horseradish is a fantastic tool for fighting digestive disorders. It can be used to treat constipation. It is also a great immune system booster, giving the liver increased power to filter out harmful substances from foods.

WILDCRAFT! An Herbal Adventure Game...

A cooperative board game that teaches edible
& medicinal plants.

http://www.learningherbs.com/wildcraft.html

Wildcraft! is great family fun. Gather up the kids, bring out the board game, and learn about medicinal and edible plants in the most fun way imaginable. This is wonderfully cooperative game where everyone is a winner and everyone learns something about plants!
–Rosemary Gladstar, Author of many, many herbal books

Wildcraft! teaches you 25 important edible and medicinal plants and their uses in mostly first aid situations. (Wildcrafting is the harvesting of wild plants). It also teaches team work, for you will rely on each other’s knowledge of plants and good fortune to make it to the Huckleberry Patch and safely back to Grandma’s.

Wildcraft! is a great introduction to the world of edible and medicinal herbs for children of ALL ages. It’s a beautifully illustrated, nature based, cooperative game created in the tradition of the classic board games.

Ginger, Lemon, Honey Tea

GINGER (Zingiber officinale) possesses strong antibacterial activity against several food bourse pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella, it is the choice herb for treating colds and flus, it reduces and eliminates diarrhea, relieves pain, stimulates immune activity, reduces inflammation, has clinical uses for burns, and has been found effective in the treatment of cataracts, heart disease, migraines, stroke, bursitis, fatigue, coughs, fever, kidney stones, sciatica, tendonitis, viral infections, indigestion, and dizziness….

What about the lemon and the honey?
Well, lemon is quite a powerful plant. For now, I’ll tell you that it is high in vitamin C and contains antioxidants, natural compounds that help protect us from the harmful effects of free radicals. They cause cell damage and can impair your immune system. There’s lots more to lemon, but that’s pretty handy information, isn’t it!?!?!

Honey is a botanical medicine. Were the bees not the original herbalists? Honey is basically the nectar of plant flowers. They contain the essence of the wilds plants that it is gathered from. Honey is so useful that we are using it for three of our lesson days. For now, we are using it for it’s immune enhancing qualities including the fact that it fights bacteria and viruses.

We’ll make this ginger tea recipe.
http://www.youtube.com/

• Boil 3 cups of water in a saucepan.
• While that’s happening, grate (preferred) or thinly slice up a two-inch piece of ginger root.
• When the water comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer.
• Add the ginger.
• Let it simmer for 15 minutes.
• Turn it off and add the juice of half a lemon.
• Add 2 big tablespoons of honey and mix it all up.
• Strain the tea into a cup and enjoy.

When you need more, heat it back up and strain more out. Leaving the ginger in allows it to get even stronger.

This is the tea I make when I feel a cold coming on. It is also the tea I make when I have the cold. Not only does it actually help me fight the cold, it also provides relief. It also tastes great. Source & more... http://www.learningherbs.com/ginger_tea_recipe.html

Dr. Hull ~ Always Listen To Your Liver...

Your liver is the largest internal organ in your body and it houses more blood than your heart. A threat to the health of your liver typically means a threat to your overall health.

The liver performs a wide variety of vital life functions, and is its own complex system. At this very moment, your liver is converting nutrients from your diet into forms your body can utilize and store for future use. It is regulating the composition of your blood by providing a doorway to your bloodstream. It removes toxins and waste from your blood at the same time it releases nutrients into your blood. What an organ!

Modern living can overload your liver, and that's an understatement! Chemical pollutants in the environment and chemicals pollutants in your FOOD, poor dietary habits, pesticides, artificial hormones in both medications and in processed meats, and stress all affect the liver. This can result in a poorly functioning and highly congested liver, which in turn results in fatigue, loss of appetite, skin problems, blood problems like high cholesterol, and a weakened immune system.

So, be good to your liver. Eat whole foods, drink lots of pure water and liquids that do not have man-made chemicals added, and supplement your diet with key nutrients (such as Dong Quai, calcium D-glucarate, and dandelion) that aid liver health.

Taking care of your liver can regenerate liver tissue, protect your liver from free radical damage, reduce liver congestion, which supports other organs directly linked to the liver, and improves your immune function.

Amino acids are very important in neutralizing toxins in the liver, and they are important in the detoxification process, too. They have been found to reduce toxins to harmless substances and assist in their removal from the body. Some amino acids are key components in the formation of bile acids, which are required for the removal of toxins, fats, and metabolites. Don't forget that amino acids should be consumed in a group, specifically a minimum of eight, and are found in meats, dairy, nuts and lentils.

Many herbs promote liver health, such as chicory root, yarrow flower, and senna extract. These herbs suppress oxidative degradation and enhance detoxifying enzymes.

The natural compound calcium D-glucarate, found in many fruits and vegetables, has been shown to support the liver's natural detoxification mechanism called glucuronidation. This detoxification tool removes various carcinogens from the liver such as hormones, xenobiotics, the toxins in diet sweeteners, and fat-soluble toxins. When the liver is overly exposed to these types of toxins, a dangerous enzyme called beta-glucuronidase forms in the body, and this reverses the glucuronidation process and releases toxins (carcinogens) back into the bloodstream. Calcium D- glucarate has been shown to inhibit beta-glucuronidase activity.

The dandelion has long been recognized as a liver tonic because it promotes detoxification and reduces liver congestion. It relieves stagnation from hepatitis, jaundice, and gallstones by stimulating the output of bile.

Dong Quai strengthens the liver by improving oxygen utilization. It has been shown to increase the activity of enzymes in the liver and to protect it from damage from pain relievers such as Tylenol®.

Lecithin has the ability to make fatty substances more water-soluble, and this helps the liver process fats by efficiently transporting them in and out of the liver. The liver's cell membranes are composed of lecithin, and these membranes regulate the passage of nutrients in and out. Not only does this enhance resistance to infections, but it also assists in the elimination of cholesterol and other blood fats.

Milk thistle is the most researched herb used for liver health. Acting as an antioxidant, silymarin, the flavonoid found in milk thistle, protects the liver from damage by increasing the synthesis of amino acids and the rate of liver regeneration.

Slippery Elm produces a protective lining for inflamed and ulcerated mucosal surfaces common in people who suffer from toxic livers and from abnormal bile production, gastritis, and stomach ulcers.

Zinc deficiency has been connected to liver disease. Enzymes in the liver necessary for the metabolism of alcohol are dependent on zinc. Zinc has also been shown to reduce levels of immunoregulatory protein associated with inflammatory reactions in the liver.

Supplementing with these various vitamins, minerals and herbs (Livertone) can enhance liver function. I recommend removing all food chemicals from your diet, particularly the diet sweeteners and many food preservatives, and this can quickly relieve stress on your liver. Limit your alcohol consumption, and make sure to eat a balanced daily diet with ample protein. Eat meals made at home more than you eat out, eat smaller portions of food more often throughout the day, and avoid eating a large meal after 6:00 PM.

This is the best way to be good to your liver, and when it needs a nutrient adjustment, believe me - it'll let your know. And when it does, always listen to your liver!

http://www.janethull.com/newsletter/0608/always_listen_to_your_liver.php

Two EXCELLENT Natural Health Websites/eMail Newsletters...

If you wish to stay informed and be Health Wise, these two websites are fantastic. They cover both the dark-side of Pharma/Meds (news/warnings/laws, etc.) and Natural cures (I think the word "cure" is illegal according to the FDA), food news and both websites have a sign-up area for a weekly eMail newsletter. You don't get spammed and the newsletters contain about 5 snips with links to the full story. Both Dr. Mercola and "The Health Ranger" are prolific at keeping up with Natural Foods, Health Understanding and "Alternatives."

Both newsletters are FREE (Natural News sends out more eMails per-month, but is SUPERB!).

Note: With CODEX and other Global "laws" being passed, it is very WISE to save as PDF or print out any and all articles you are interested in. There will be a time when Natural Health (herbs, foods, knowledge) will become illegal and only "allowed" by PHARMA MDs. My guess is by 2010 (when CODEX is finalized (December 2009) even herbs will be labeled "Medicine" and will not be allowed to sold as a cure for even a headache. Create a Health Book of your own (3 ring binder)... get it while you can. After 2010, health freedom will cost an arm and a leg.

Note 2: I don't have economic connections with these websites, I subscribe to their newsletters to stay informed and learn. Simply, mainstream news only promotes MediQuackery and mainstream "Health Care" is really Health Can't survive.

http://www.naturalnews.com/





http://www.mercola.com/

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