Category: Chemicals

List Of Approved But Maybe Harmful Food Additives And Their Numbers

Some Food Additives , such as Riboflavin and Ascorbid acid, can have a beneficial effect on the health. These things are food components.

However, many chemicals added to our food, such as preservatives, colourings and flavourings,  are extremely harmful.  Some are proven carcinogens, while some are suspected of causing things like high blood pressure, migraines, alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, diabetes, and even obesity.

I made sure that I never gave my children commercial products which had any chemical additives in them when they were young.  I think that this is very important in bringing up children today – there is an even greater use of preservatives in food nowadays than there was when I had my children at home.  These poisons are extremely deleterious to the health, and especially to the growing child.

At the very least, some of the  food additives  listed below can have an immediate negative effect on your emotional and mental function.  They can so easily upset the balance of bacteria in the bowel, leading to the proliferation of the ‘bad’ organisms, such as candida albicans which causes yeast infectins.  They can lower your immunity to disease.

Nowadays, as I have just discovered,  I find I cannot eat quantities of cottage cheese because of the preservatives and thickeners which are added to most brands.  Even a well-known Aussie ‘naturally brewed’ has preservatives added to it, which I have found cause headaches and fluid retention.

Recently, I sampled some ginger beer and cottage cheese at a friend’s picnic party. The result next day was similar to a hang-over, with a massive headache, slow brain function and a slight puffiness of the flesh which warns me that the kidneys have taken some punishment.

I am now fasting on home made lemon and ginger root drinks, with some of my cousin’s beautiful New Zealand bush honey added to them. (Actually – cousins’ – there are two of these lovely people who have a farm down at Waikino, where you will find the proverbial ‘land of milk and honey’)

Merrilyn’s new book is available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Cancer-And-Good-Health-Notebook-ebook/dp/B01DHMH6DG

So – what was in these two foods which I had yesterday?  I see immediately that the cottage cheese and the ginger beer both have the same preservative added.  So that probably means that I have consumed much more than what would be considered to be a ‘safe’ dose.

The Ginger Beer Contains good things such as root ginger, natural flavours, and Ascorbic acid, or Vitamin C.  But it also contains some harmful things, which would negate the ‘goodness’ of the ginger, etc. – These potentially harmful chemicals are the preservatives  202 and 211.  202 is Potassium sorbate.  211 is Sodium benzoate.

The Cottage Cheese Contains the same preservative –  202,  which is Potassium sorbate, and Thickeners 407 and 1422.  407 is the thickener Carrageenan which is a natural product, but which causes reactions in some people, so I have read.  The thickener 1422 I am unfamiliar with at this stage.

Anyhow – I am reminded of the fact that it is still imp;ortant for me to be vigilant about keeping foods which have harmful preservatives in them out of my diet.  When you are looking after young children, I think it is easier to remain conscious of food additives, and to keep them out.  When you get older and have no dependents any more, then it is easy to become slack and think that a little bit of this or that will not hurt.  But this is a bad attitude, I know.

So – A List of Common Food Additives and Their Numbers, taken from Rosemary Stanton’s ‘ ‘Health & Energy Cookbook’ with added information from other sources.

Colourings – generally, these are the numbers from 100 through to 163.  Many colourings can contribute to hyperactivity in children, attention deficit disorder, and depression in adults.  They are best avoided.

100 – Curcumin

101 – Riboflavin (natural vitamin)

102 – Tartrazine

107 – Yellow 2G

110 – Sunset Yellow FCF

120 – Cochineal, carminic acid  (Cochineal is a colouring which used to be derived from the cochineal beetle, but now it is an artificial form which may have side effects)

122 – Carmoisine

123 – Amaranth  (This used to be from the plant itself, but I think it is now a synthetic form,  which is not good)

124 – Brilliant scarlet 4R

127 – Erythrosine

132 – Indigo carmine

133 – Brilliant blue FCF

140 – Chlorophylls (natural)

142 – Green S

150 – Caramel

151 – Brilliant black BN

153 – Cholcolate brown HT

160 – Carotenoids (natural)

160-a – Carotene, alpha-, beta-, gamma-

160-b – Annato (bixin, norbrixin)

160-e – Beta-apo-8′ carotenal

160-f – Ethyl ester of beta-apo-8′ carotenoic acid

161 – Xanthophylls

161-g – Canthaxanthine

162 – Beetroot red, betanin (I think this one is also synthetically produced now, which may have side effects)

163 – Anthocyanins

170 – Calcium carbonate

171 – Titanium dioxide

172 – Iron oxides and hydroxides

Preservatives – generally, the numbers from 200 to 250 are the common preservatives:

200 – Sorbic acid

201 – Sodium sorbate

202 – Potassium sorbate

203 – Calcium sorbate

210 – Benzoic acid

211 – Sodium benzoate

212 – Potassium benzoate

213 – Calcium benzoate

220 – Sulphur dioxide

221 – Sodium sulphite

222 – Sodium bisulphate

223 – Sodium metabisulphite22

224 – Potassium metabisulphite

234 – Nisin

249 – Potassium nitrite

250 – Sodium nitrite

251 – Sodium nitrate

252 – Potassium nitrate

260 – Acetic acid

261 – Potassium acetate

262 – Sodium acetates

263 – Calcium acetate

270 – Lactic acid (natural food acid)

280 – Propionic acid

281 – Sodium propionate

282 – Calcium propionate

283 – Potassium propionate

290 – Carbon dioxide

296 – Malic acid

297 – Fumaric acid

300 – Ascorbid acid (a natural food component)

301 – Sodium ascorbate

306 – Tocopherol-rich extracts from natural food sources – a safe additive

307 – Synthetic alpha-tocopherol

308 – Synthetic gamma-tocopherol

309 – Synthetic delta-tocopherol

310 – Propyl gallate

311 – Octyl gallate

312 – Dodecyl gallate

320 – Butylated hydroxy-anisole (BHA)

321 – Butylated hydroxy-toluene (BHT)

322 – Lecithin (from natural food source – usually soy beans – egg yolk are rich in lecithin)

325 – Sodium Lactate

326 – Potassium lactate

327 – Calcium lactate

330 – Citric acid (naturally occurring)

331 – Sodium citrates

334 – Tartaric acid

335 – Sodium tartrates

336 – Potassium tartrates

337 – Sodium potassium tartrate

339 – Sodium orthophosphates

340 – Potassium orthophosphates

341 – Calcium orthophosphates

350 – Sodium malates

351 – Potassium malates

352 – Calcium malates

353 – Metatartaric acid

354 – Calcium tartrate

355 – Adipic acid

363 – Succinic acid

380 – Tri-ammonium citrate

400 – Alginic acid

401 – Sodium alginate

402 – Potassium alginate

403 Ammonium alginate

404 – Calcium alginate

405 – Propylene glycol alginate

406 – Agar (from sea-weed)

407 Carrageenan (naturally occurring in moss)

410 – Locust bean gum (natural)

412 – Guar gum (natural)

413 – Tragacanth (natural)

414 – Acacia

415 – Xanthan gum (natural)

416 – Karay gum (natural)

420 – Sorbitol

421 – Mannitol

422 – Glycerol

433 – Polyoxythylene (20) sorbitan mono-oleate

435 – Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan-mono-stearat436 – Polyoxythylene (20) sorbitan tristearate

440-1 – Pectin (naturally occurring in apples and in the seeds of pip fruit, and citrus fruit)

442 – Ammonium phosphatides

450 – Sodium and potassium polyphosphates

460 – Microcrystalline cellulose (powdered cellulose)

461 – Methylcellulose

464 – Hydroxypropyl-methylcellulose

465 – Ethylmethylcellulose

466 – Sodium carboxy-methylcellulose

471 – Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

472-e – Mono and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

473 – Sucrose esters of fatty acids

475 – Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids

476 – Polyglycerol polyricinoleate

481 – Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

492 – Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate

491 – Sorbitan monostearate

500 – Sodium carbonates

501 – Potassium carbonates

503 – Ammonium carbonates

504 – Magnesium carbonate

508 – Potassium chloride

509 – Calcium chloride

529 – Calcium oxide

536 – Poatassium ferrocyanide

541 – Sodium aluminium phosphate

551 – Silicon dioxide

553-b – Talc

554 – Sodium aluminium silicate

558 – Bentonite

559 – Kaolins

570 – Stearic acid

572 – Magnesium stearate

575 – Glucono deltalactone

621 – Monosodium glutamate

627 – Sodium guanylate

631 – Sodium inosinate

637 – Ethyl maltol

900 – Dimethylpoly-siloxane

901 – Beeswax (safe)

903 – Carnauba wax

904 – Shellac

905 – Paraffins

902 – L-Cysteine and its hydrochlorides

924 – Potassium bromate

925 – Chlorine

926 – Chlorine dioxide

Note:  Since this list was approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, some of these items may have been deleted from the ‘safe’ list.

 

 

 

Toxic Chemicals Used On New Zealand Kiwi Fruit Cause Concern For Te Puke Residents.

Stop All Experimenting With Toxic Chemicals Which Cause Cancer And Other Disease:  Kiwifruit orchardists in Te Puke are using toxic chemicals including an antibiotic, streptomycin, which has been linked to birth defects. Streptomycin is being used against the bacterial disease Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae, called Psa, which attacks kiwifruit vines. Thanks to the Herald on Sunday, New Zealand, who gave us that story.

There are organic ways to treat infectious diseases in people, in animals, and in plant life.  It’s just that our health and science authorities do not know about them, and are not really interested, because they have the drug and chemical giants pushing their products behind the scenes.  Drug and chemical companies have the power, which equates to money, to advertise their chemical products and potions on a global scale. The practitioners of  alternative holistic treatments, who have no driving economic force behind them, cannot compete in this insidious game of marketing, and so pharmaceuticals and toxic chemicals continue to over-ride every other available alternative.

How often do you see alternative treatments being promoted on television, such as homeopathic, or herbal, or ayurvedic treatment for any given ailment?  Or an organic treatment for pests, or unwanted insects on fruit crops?  Well, you don’t and that is mainly because the whole idea of treating a pain  or disease of any kind holistically is to examine the cause of the complaint, which is usually healed through diet and detoxification. The healthy way is to cure the cause, not the symptoms, with organic, holistic means.  Which means that you do not use drugs or chemicals to mask any given condition of ill-health, in people, in plants, or in animals. So holistic medicine and organic treatments means no money for drug and chemical companies, because once the condition is properly brought to health, there is no need for chemicals of any kind.

You make it better by organic means, if you want a real ‘cure’.  This is the antithesis of modern medicine and its drugs, which thrives on the sales of  chemicals to ‘fix’ conditions of ill health, such as pain which comes from arthritis.   Modern medicine does not ‘cure’ disease, but simply masks the symptoms of the real cause.  Thus the drug companies make huge profits, because people become dependent on their drugs, to mask symptoms of ill health. Once people fall into the trap of using these pharmaceuticals to mask pain, instead of healing the cause,  they  usually need them for life.  Or they believe that they do.

Holistic medicine, on the other hand, will attempt to rectify the cause of the pain and other symptoms.  When the cause is rectified, pain disappears. So much for the ‘pain relief potions’ advertised on television at the moment by drug companies, who copiously promote their poisons as if they will make you fit and well again. When actually, these chemicals will ruin your health.

The same goes for using the commonly promoted  pesticides, insecticides and herbicides in agriculture.  These chemicals are  all harmful to people.  Using chemicals on plants does not  actually ‘cure’ a disease,  and nor will it prevent pests coming back, unless a residue of the chemical is left on the plant for a while.  And therein lies one very concercing aspect of using chemicals of any kind in agriculture:  They do not disappear right away. We get traces of these chemicals in our food by the day.  Many agricultural chemicals  have a life-time which is  longer than yours or mine, which means these chemicals remain in the soil, get into the food chain, get into water-ways, and continue to be a hazard to everyone’s health.

The organic way to rid your crops of pests is first to treat the soil, to enrich it with the minerals and enzymes it needs.  This will result in stronger, healthier plants which do not need to have bursts of poison put upon them.  Companion planting should be done,  as this is a natural way to deter pests.  Mono-cultures, where one type of plant is grown for miles, is a sure way to attract a heap of unwanted parasites. Then,  there are organic ways of keeping insects at bay, which don’t also kill the bees, moths and butterflies and ants:  These insects all have a purpose in pollinating our orchards, vegetable gardens, and flowers, as well as feeding the birds. Commercial pesticides and herbicides too, kill bees and all other valuable insects, as well as birds and worms, and people.
The Reason We Should Opt For Poison Free New Zealand:  The Herald on Sunday September 11, 2011, page 30, has an article about the worries of an expectant mother who lives in Te Puke, Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand.  She is concerned about the usage of the antibiotic streptomycin being sprayed onto kiwi-fruit vines, which could affect her unborn child.  The New Zealand medical book called MIMS New Ethicals has, according to this article, stated that streptomycin ‘has potential to cause increased rates of human foetal malformations or irreversible damage‘.  Expectant mothers are advised  by the Parents Centre to avoid the use of streptomycin.  The young mother-to-be in Te Puke, Rachael Sexton,  who is protesting about the use of streptomycin on local kiwifruit orchards, is contemplating leaving the district to protect her unborn child. 

Like the ‘Harmless’ 245T Dioxin Story of the 1970’s:  The public have apparently been soft-soaped by the ‘agency which approved the product’ (is this  our own government agency MAF I wonder?), as this agency has declared that streptomycin is only dangerous to humans in medications, and not when it is used in agriculture chemicals.  Well, how would they really know that?  And why would you take the risk, just because the ‘research’ done by the chemical company has declared it safe?  Time and time again, these companies have been proved wrong. The ‘not dangerous to humans in agricultural chemicals’ idea  is obviously what ‘the agency’ has been told by the chemical company manufacturing the stuff.

It is not logical to assume that there is no connection between birth defects and  agricultural streptomycin, if there is definitely a connection between birth defects and medical streptomycin.  Even in microscopic amounts, agricultural chemicals such as nicotinoids have been shown to have adverse effects on the health of bees, resulting in ‘colony collapse disorder’.  Nicotinoid toxins kill bees, even when the microscopic dose of the  poison cannot be detected on the bees.  This is because the faint trace of nicotinoid poison lowers the bees immunity so drastically, that it falls sick with the first virus going around.

You can bet your bottom dollar that no studies have been done on the effects of microscopic doses of streptomycin on humans.

This sounds VERY much like the 245T Dioxin theory of the 1970’s, which claimed that ‘there was no evidence that 245T did any harm to humans’.  Years later, after many babies HAD suffered birth defects, or had died, and other people had suffered cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, depression, and the like – 245T was acknowledged to be dangerous to humans.  It is now banned, and it is no longer produced in New Zealand.  Too late for some.

Memory Loss

Natural Health

Consider the possible environmental causes – see Merrilyn’s new post, published 12 Feb, 2017:

Global Amnesia Cause Probably RoundUp Glyphosate Formaldehyde

Memory loss is something which concerns many people today.  Even young people can suffer from memory loss.

We are all afraid of getting alzheimer’s disease: when the memory and brain function  have declined so badly that we are incapable of making decisions and caring for ourselves, then we have lost control of our lives, we get put into care, and our active contribution to society ceases. We all wish to avoid this scenario.

There are several main causes of memory loss in people who are not yet old. If you have reason to believe that your memory function is declining, or is impaired, then it would be prudent for you to consider the list below which outlines memory loss factors, then you can begin to take measures which will help remedy the problem.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION can cause memory loss. Lack of sleep makes you feel tired, and it also makes the brain tired. This causes not just short term memory loss, but a general inability to think clearly, to make decisions or string your sentences coherently together. Sleep deprivation can also cause you to become depressed and listless.

DEPRESSION, whether it be from lack of sleep or from a deep-seated emotional cause, or from lack of certain nutrients in the diet, can cause short term memory loss. Addiction to alcohol or other drugs can cause depression.

ANXIETY which is often associated with sleep deprivation and depression, can inhibit brain function, including memory. Vitamins and good nutrition can help enormously in minimizing anxiety, and DEEP RELAXATION exercises which include YOGA BREATHING and YOGA NIDRA do wonders for alleviating stress,  anxiety and depression, thus helping the problem of memory loss. Try to remove emotional factors in your life which could be causing anxiety, or learn, via these yoga techniques, to overcome them.

POOR NUTRITION alone can be the cause of short term memory loss. Lack of IRON is a well known factor in memory loss, poor mental function, and general tiredness. Lack of VITAMIN B complex components, especially NIACIN, and VITAMIN B12, can contribute to temporary memory loss.

A fluctuating blood sugar level (hypoglycaemea) means that the brain is not being fed a constant supply of blood sugar, and this is the cause of many people’s memory loss.

Keeping sugar to a minimum and using other quality foods which help the blood sugar level to be more stable should be the aim. Use  rice instead of wheat products and bread. Eat adequate protein. Include enough good quality fats and oils in your diet:   These things all help improve memory function.

If you find that some days your memory is good, while on other days it seems to be poor, then try a diet which excludes wheat, bread, sugar and dairy products, alcohol and coffee for a while. On the other hand, a quick-fix of sugar, best from fruit or honey, can alleviate a sudden attack of memory loss, but it is best to avoid letting things get to this state of affairs by following a good dietary regime and leading a sensible life style.

ADDICTION TO ALCOHOL OR MARIJUANA OR OTHER DRUGS can cause short term memory loss as well as long term memory loss. Too much COFFEE can affect memory function also: too much makes the brain tired, as it, and alcohol, etc, deplete the brain of essential nutrients, causing a state of malnutrition. Many young people smoke marijuana thinking that they are avoiding the harmful of effects of alcohol – well, alcohol probably affects the liver and nervous system more drastically, but marijuana affects the brain and its memory function much more quickly than alcohol: it doesn’t take very long for a young brain to manifest the memory loss effect of  smoking marijuana. Of course, some people have more resistance to the stuff than others, but there is plenty of evidence to show that marijuana causes memory loss.

DENTURE plastic/acrylic could be contributing to your state or memory loss. Check out the article I have posted on DENTURES which follows this post on memory loss. Dentures should be made of quality materials and really are best, for the benefit of mental function including memory, to be changed for a new set every three years or so. In my experience, the life of a denture is about three years before it begins to affect memory adversely.

DEHYDRATION: Insufficient water causes the brain to malfunction and suffer memory loss. WATER is necessary for a healthy brain. Alcohol, coffee and other drugs and medications can make you dehydrated. Check your water intake: start your remedial measures to counteract memory loss and improve your brain by drinking plenty of water each day.

SLUGGISH BOWELS can, and DO cause memory loss. It is very important to get the bowels cleared of effete matter which causes auto-intoxication. A diet which includes plenty of fresh, raw fruit and vegetables, and which avoids those dairy products which clog the bowel with mucous, is imperative. Using rice, preferably brown, instead of wheat products, plenty of salads with sprouted grains and seeds with adequate proteins will help cure your sluggish bowels.

ENVIRONMENTAL POISONS, such as preservatives in our food, herbicides on grass verges, household poisons such as pesticides and weedkillers, and petrochemicals, are very bad for your health generally: they contribute to cancer setting in, but also affect your memory very badly. Fly sprays, potions which kill fleas on the dog or the cat, are all very harmful for the general health and for the memory, both to your pet and to you. Every time you pat your pet you will be getting a dose of that poison you put there to counteract fleas. Make sure that you buy safe homeopathic or herbal preparations for your pet.

Many hair products, especially hair dyes, could be affecting your state of memory loss.

FORMALDEHYDE is extremely toxic to humans and to animal life. Formaldehyde is probably the most potent of  the chemicals known to cause memory loss. It is found in many products used about the home, and is even found in some cosmetics and balms. It is found in particle board flooring (fake wood, or chip board) and in many synthetic building materials. It is found in many glues,  paints and varnishes. It is found in dyes and in leather-tanning products. Much of our clothing, which comes now from China, is made with cheaper dyes and materials which use formaldehyde and other extremely poisonous chemicals.

If you handle photocopy print, or inks a lot, then beware – many of these contain formaldehyde and other dangerous chemicals.

When formaldehyde first became popular as an antiseptic in the 1950’s, it was used widely in hospitals and dental surgeries in New Zealand and other parts of the world. It was regarded as a best friend to nurses, doctors and surgeons, as surgical objects, after being used on a patient, could be placed in a jar of formaldehyde which would sterilize them immediately. No one was aware of the dangers to the health, especially to the brain. I read an article years ago which documented two nurses who were working in New Zealand in the 1950’s. Their memories were shot well before time, and they attributed this to the fact that they had freely used formaldehyde, even dipping their hands in a bowl of it to quickly kill off all germs, while they had been working in hospitals. They were reported as saying that there was no point in reading a book, as they had forgotten completely what the plot and the characters were all about by the time they had gotten very far along with the story.

I had peritonitis when I was about five years old, in early 1955, the year of my sixth birthday. I remember the glass of formaldehyde which sat beside my bed in the hospital where the operation to save my life had been done. The smell of the glass of formaldehyde made me feel sick, but the worst thing was the thermometer which permanently sat in the fluid. The nurses would come around, take the thermometer out of the liquid formaldehyde, give it a quick flick, and put it straight into my mouth. I was getting dosed, inadvertently, with formaldehyde.  I quickly began to associate the ‘white outs’ in the brain, when it was apparent to me that  not only could I not remember anything, but it seemed as if I did not exist at all; and confusion and drowsiness, the heavy sleep which followed, with the stuff in the jar, as these things happened to me straight after each thermometer reading. I therefore began to scream loudly every time they came to take my temperature, and to fight them off, but to no avail, of course. I was simply held down and forced to take the thermometer. I remember, after returning home from hospital, screaming hysterically every time my mother opened the bottle of dry cleaning fluid, which was carbon tetrachloride: I feared that this might put me to sleep just as the formaldehyde had done, as it smelt similar. I suspect it probably is just about as bad in its effect on the memory, but I never waited to find out. I would run out the door to gasp at the fresh air outside. Because of this early experience which sensitized me to formaldehyde, I have to be very careful with anything containing formaldehyde, or indeed most chemicals, as they can cause  complete memory loss. But fortunately, once I get onto a fasting diet and the offending toxins are removed from my body, my memory improves again.

Vitamin C in mega doses is one of the best things to get rid of toxins from the body and the brain. 1000 mg of ester C or another non-acidic type of Vitamin C such as calcium ascorbate, work wonders. You can take a 1000mg dose once, or twice, or even three times a day in  cases of acute poisoning.

ELECTRO MAGNETIC RADIATION. This is affecting people’s memories today. Cell phones, cell phone towers, electricity transformers which are located near your home, electricity meter boxes which are too close to your bed or working space, TV aerials too close to where you sleep or work, an environment which is too well-circuited with electricity wires and plugs, such as apartment buildings where you have a super-charged electrical environment because of the TV upstairs and below and to the side of you, and all the wiring to go to stoves, meter boxes etc above and all around you: all these things affect your brain function, including your memory.  Apartment buildings are bad also because of the clusters of cell phones being used all about you: this energy is intensified with more cell phones being in use together.

MENTAL STIMULATION: It is important to stimulate the brain on a regular basis. Crossword puzzles, chess and card games, writing short essays on chosen topics, reading stimulating books, learning new pieces on the piano or another instrument, and conversing with people, all stimulate the brain. Communicating with people and interacting socially is very good for mental function as well as the emotional state. It is amazing how quickly you can lose confidence in communicating verbally with people if you are living in isolation. The brain becomes really slow at responding if it is given a chance to be idle for too long. Keep the brain active by enjoying activities where you get to talk to people, about meaningful things, or simply just in a caring way, to friends, family and neighbours.

CONCENTRATION: Make sure that you concentrate totally on the task in hand, or on the conversation you are having. Do not allow yourself to daydream whilst you are talking to somebody, or, say, listening to the news.  How can you remember the important things people tell you if you are not listening with full attention? Day dreaming is OK too, but day dream with your full attention, and not too long at a time. Try to have a  half hour of snoozing/daydreaming, or meditating, and then get straight onto a specific task which you will give your full attention. Give yourself projects which you find exciting:  having goals is a great thing for encouraging the memory to perform well.

EXERCISE: Physical exercise, whether it be from yoga, or light jogging, playing tennis, swimming, or such-like, cannot be underestimated in the beneficial effect on the physical body and the brain. Memory loss can be helped enormously by taking up an exercise such as these listed above, especially if they are done daily, or at least three times a week. Working up a bit of a sweat helps eliminate toxins from the body and the brain. Physical exercise also helps move the lymph around the body and to the brain: this is important in helping your brain to function optimally, as the nutrients are carried throughout the body and brain, not just via the blood, but via the lymph.

SAUNAS are very useful in helping memory loss. Saunas will help your body to sweat out all those toxins which are impairing your mental function.

Modalities such as MASSAGE, ACUPUNCTURE, ACUPRESSURE, HERBAL MEDICINE, HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE, and AYURVEDIC MEDICINE can also have a beneficial effect on the brain when the right treatment is given.

GINKGO is reputed to help people with memory loss. However, I find that I cannot ingest the stuff, as it has the effect of lowering my pulse rate too much, which makes me feel terrible. Funnily enough, though, I picked up some fruit of a giant ginkgo tree in Remuera yesterday, which I took home to have a go at growing from the seed inside. Just handling and smelling these pale, lemon coloured fruits has had a definite positive effect on my brain and powers of recall. But I have kept them outside to avoid a negative effect which could result from having too much of the stuff around me.

Risk of Using Rat Poison

Read merrilyn’s  ‘Organic Rat Poison’ for a homemade rat poison idea.  This post gives some organic solutions to  the problem of rats and mice.

About a week ago I saw a commercial pest eradication van leaving our hotel grounds in Glenfield. I hadn’t seen the driver at work, so I wasn’t sure what he was up to. Was it going to be a fumigation of our rooms, or was he here to lay poison for rats. Either way, I thought it would mean trouble. After a few days I could taste poison  around the hotel. My vision was affected. For days it was blurred and my eyes bloodshot and burning. I had terrible pain in the heart when lying down. This, for me, is  always a symptom of  chemical poisoning, usually rat poison. I had a serious headache, nausea and a runny nose. I also had several days with diaorrhea, brought on by the intestinal flora being upset and the acidophillus being killed off. My joints seemed frozen when I went to do my piano playing jobs. My mental function was also impaired. I could tell because piano pieces that I normally play well were a struggle to perform. The slowed up mental state and the frozen nature of my fingers and arms really was a big concern.

The poison  seemed to be everywhere – in the kitchen, and even out in the garden. I did my yoga-breathing exercise on the lawn- actually to alleviate the severe depression which had hit me this week. But yoga on the lawn, rather than improve the state of depression, was more effective in pin-pointing the reason for the depression which had come on for no apparent reason: No doubt now – this was for sure a chemically-induced state of depression due to  rat poison. I could taste it on my clothes.I could smell it on my hands. Touching my face after doing the yoga on the lawn caused a burning sensation on the face. Then I realized there were plastic containers which contained rat poison, in the garden, all about the property. One was situated only about 20 feet away from where I had been lying on the lawn for yoga exercises. I had seen a dead rat lying a few feet away from one rat-poison recepticle near the kitchen.

I showered and changed all my clothes immediately, although they were fresh just before doing the yoga. Now they were contaminated. I kept them apart from anything else I might touch or wear. Shoes were the vehicle for the transportation of the pesticide right through the hotel. After realizing this, I removed these before entering my room to avoid contaminating the carpet and everything in the room. Many people live here and walk to and fro the kitchen and other facilities, so before long, traces of the poison had been tramped all over the premises. Only a trace is needed for depression to set in.

I took care not to walk near the rubbish collection area – that seemed to be one of the worst places affected by the poison. I could taste it strongly in this area. Either there was more bait put around this area which I could not see, or rats were carrying the stuff here when they came about their inspections for the night.

Cats must surely be affected as they walk bare-foot over this territory. Birds must be afftected also, as they eat worms off the grass.

My guess is that many people have been suffering depression in our hotel this week. I have noticed that the mood generally hasn’t been as jolly as it usually is.

Now, about five days after putting up this post, I am sure the rodent man has put insecticide around the utility areas as well, which compounds the rat poison problem. These days, unfortunately, poisoning such as this is quite common in New Zealand;  Warehouses, shops, storage facilities, hotels, and other places of accommodation often use drastic methods  to kill insects and this outside method to kill rodents and insects as well.

I encountered  poisoning  such as this when I was in Australia, but at the time, New Zealand definately seemed cleaner and ‘greener’ as far as rodent killer and domestic insecticides went.  However, sadly, I think many Aucklanders  have become increasingly more like the Aussies in their widespread use of rat poison and ant and cockroach killer. We are conditioned by advertising on television and  the very existence of these chemical killer companies. The ‘spray and walk away’ approach teaches us to be generally uncaring and insensitive to our surroundings, our environment, and all the creatures who live in it. As I write this, people are hacking  out beautiful gardens and lopping down trees around Auckland to make less work for themselves and control nature, completely oblivious to the fact that the birds’ habitat is being destroyed and the wonderful colour of a garden is turned to dust. This kind of attitude seems to go hand in hand with toxic chemical usage.
Wellington, by comparison, seems to value its gardens and surroundings. While I was living in Wellington over a three year period, I never encountered problems with toxic chemicals. The cooler climate has something to do with it, but Wellingtonians do seem to be a more gentle, milder-natured lot who just love their city and its surroundings.

Just how one can educate people into respecting the beautiful environment we have here in Auckland, to take care of the gardens, instead of cutting them all out, for the benefit of all;  into not using poisons such as rat and ant and cockroach killers because of  detrimental effect on bird, animal and human life, is something which cannot be achieved in a day. Where are you, Helen Clarke?

Prevent Cancer

CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. – Keeping a clean environment, of course,  is extremely important. Toxic working and home environments should be avoided. The use of anything toxic  in the house, garden and work place  such as fly sprays, herbicides, fungicides and other chemicals should  never be used.

Merrilyn’s book on Amazon has more information on the subject of avoiding and treating cancer:

Many things which people use about the house and garden are used in good faith that they won’t hurt the user. Rat poison  is a good example. This is extremely toxic and contaminates the area in which it is laid even if it is not physically spread about. But rats and mice will spread it about anyway, which adds to the problem of contamination of food and clothing. This contamination is likely to upset the heart and blood pressure, apart from setting off other patterns of ill health.  People often leave rat poison lying about in a hidden place, just in case rats or mice enter the house, but this practice should not be continued. An example follows:

Recently, my son and I moved my gear, mainly boxes of books, records and music, out of storage where it has been now for several years. But since the items stored have been exposed to fumigation treatment and the laying of rat bait at the door of a previous storage unit, they were contaminated. Handling the boxes with bare hands caused absorption of these chemicals through the skin, which caused distressing reactions, including intense bone pain in the hands and up the arms, dizziness, vomitting and an ongoing painful headache. All the  food stored, even unopened cans of food, had to be thrown out.

Chemicals  which will deter insects for a long period, and rat poison, can  contaminate foods without touching them. This is because the vibration of the chemical is so strong that something of its aura changes the quality of the items nearby it. Everything in the vicinity is affected: foods, clothing, furnishings, your own body and that of your children and pets.

Imagine then, what effect a hidden pot of rat poison will be doing quietly to the health of you, your family, your pets, even if it is not opened.

For this reason,  no chemicals, household cleaners, even soaps, should ever be stored near food. Even cans of food will be affected by the storage of non-food items nearby. Affected foods, when eaten, can seriously undermine your health, because you are taking in the quality of the poison with it.

If rats and mice get into the poison, then there is an invisible trail of the stuff around on  the rat circuit inside the house. You and your poor bare-footed pet will be walking through this and spreading it around. Your pet will absorb poison straight through the skin on its paws.

Pet collars and sprays to deter fleas on cats and dogs are another hazard to the health of your pet, you and your family. The poor pet is likely to get cancer, or kidney failure, heart disease or arthritis because of the continual wearing of these collars. And every time you touch the collar, or the spot which has the flea deterent on it, you will be contaminating yourself and spreading the poison about to contaminate others. It gets into your food, and is absorbed through the skin of you and your pet.

If you must paint the house, or varnish floors, try to use a non-toxic product and you should still wear protective gear, including a mask. The family are best housed somewhere else if painting is being undertaken. Our health is already being tested by the numerous poisons in our environment – senseless to add anything to it which we can avoid or do without.

COSMETICS – These are best left alone. There are very few brands which don’t contain anything harmful such as petrochemicals, preservatives and colourings. Don’t be fooled just because the item says “With Vitamin E”, or “Aloe vera”, because, in most cases, a host of harmful chemicals  will also be added to the combination.  The “Weleda” brand, who also make homeopathic medecines, is one to be highly recommended. Their products are all made organically in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand,  and contain no petrochemicals or other harmful agents. I will post up any other reliable products on this site as they come to my attention.

NEVER USE HAIR DYE OR HAIR-SPRAY OR NAIL POLISH. These chemicals get stored in the liver, affect liver function, and lead to cancerous conditions, arthritis and other degenerative disease. Jacqui Davison who recovered from melanoma using Dr Gerson’s therapy, attributed her cancer mainly to the use of hair dye and nail polish.

ADEQUATE NUTRITION – The most important factor is ROUGHAGE. We need adequate fibre in our diets for our bowels to remain clean so that unhealthy organisms and toxins are not harboured there. Clean intestines also mean that you gain more nutrition from the food which you eat.This means that plenty of raw and cooked vegetables and fruits and whole grains such as brown rice should form the bulk of the diet. An adequate amount of protein, eggs, fish, nuts, pulses, should go with it. Meat eating should be moderate if it is eaten at all, and should not be eaten on a daily basis, as it putrifies in the bowel. So does cheese and  most other dairy products. This is why  vegetables, fruits and grains should form the bulk of the diet.

AVOID PROCESSED WHEAT FLOUR AND SUGAR. Use brown rice to replace bread eating. This has more fibre  and so is digested more cleanly. Brown rice is far  is more nutritious than wheat  flour. Even white rice has been used in the treatment of disease, but brown is preferable because of its higher nutritional value and higher fibre.

Use brown wheat flour if you must use flour, but try to minimise the intake of wheat.

It is best that our vitamin and mineral intake comes from the food we eat. But added vitamin and mineral supplements can aid immune function, prevent cancer and other degenerative disease, and enhance the quality and length of life. ANTIOXIDANTS, mainly Vitamins A, C and E are extremely important in counteracting “free radicals” and the effects of modern living. Vitamin E is reputed to be the king of the antioxidants, with Vitamin C next in line, and Vitamin A in 3rd place. These have been shown to be active in preventing cancer, and in reducing cancer growth.  Selenium, Zinc and Manganese are also important. Studies in Turkey have shown that a deficiency of zinc can lead to prostate cancer.

VITAMIN C – This is found in all vegetables and fruits, but much is destroyed with cooking. Raw fruits are the best way to get your vitamin C. All the berries, cranberries, blackberries, boysenberries, strawberries, raspberries, are especially high in Vitamin C.

Citrus fruits are very high, but not everybody can tolerate these – lemon juice in water is a good cleanser, rich in Vitamin C,  and is not usually problematic to people who can’t tolerate other citrus.

Grapes are a great  alkaline fruit to aid digestion and provide Vitamin C and iron. Most people can eat these in any amounts. The grape diet is an excellent one for cleansing the body of toxins. All you do is eat only grapes, as many and as often as you like, for one or several days. (Get some advice on this if you are on medication of any sort or have a heart condition)  Apples and stone fruits are all contain Vitamin C. Grated apple is another good cleanser. Pineapple, mango and paw paw are all good sources of Vitamin C.

Kiwifruit is extremely high in Vitamin C and is another excellent cleanser for the bowel. A meal taken entirely of Kiwifruit will cure an attack of constipation without any need to take a laxative. Eat a bulk of the fruit at one sitting every day until the problem is cured. This doesn’t usually take more than a day, but persist in the treatment if you don’t get results that soon.

Broccoli is high in fibre and still retains some of its Vitamin C after cooking. It is also high in iron and has been shown to help prevent cancer.

All the above fruits and vegetables, eaten plentifully and on a daily basis, will provide you with enough ROUGHAGE  and Vitamin C to help you prevent cancer and other disease.

CALCIUM ASCORBATE POWDER can be used as an extra antioxidant. 500mg twice daily is recommended by some practitioners. But 1000mg twice a day is the dose I used when treating myself for severe chemical and metal poisoning. I used this amount also when I was treating myself for a breast lump, along with a diet of predominantly raw food and the Gerson enema treatment. However, if you are healthy and are eating plenty of the above fruits and vegetables, you should not really need to take extra Vitamin C unless you are detoxifying or have some illness.

EXERCISE and ENJOYMENT of life are important factors in avoiding cancer. Dwelling on unhappy thoughts are very bad for the health, as we all know. Make the effort to do nice things with the family and friends. Appreciate the people who love you.

DEEP RELAXATION – YOGA NIDRA- is very beneficial for the health. It can help you with emotional problems so that you do not fall prey to disease, and improve the quality and enjoyment of your life.

See my post on YOGA NIDRA