So I can, so I can
See the light that’s right before my eyes.

-From the 1984 Corey Hart song

And thats some pretty good advice with some new research coming out. From Sharon Moalem’s “Survival of the Sickest“:

“As everybody knows, skin color changes, to some extent, in response to sun exposure. The trigger for that response is the pituitary gland. Under natural circumstances, almost as soon as you are exposed to the sun, your pituitary gland produces hormones that act as boosters for your melanocytes, and your melanocytes start producing melanin in overdrive. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to disrupt that process. The pituitary gland gets it’s information from the optic nerve - when the optic nerve senses sunlight, it signals the pituitary gland to kick-start the melanocytes. Guess what happens when you’re wearing sunglasses? Much less sunlight reaches the optic nerve, much less warning is sent to the pituitary gland, much less melanocyte-stimulating hormone is released, much less melanin is produced - much more sunburn results. If you’re reading this on the beach with your Ray-Bans on, do your skin a favor - take them off.”

This brings us to the topic of Vitamin D and how it can help prevent many forms of cancer. It’s estimated that up to 50,000 people die from cancers that could have been prevented from proper Vitamin D levels. Now, whats the cheapest most effective way to regulate our Vitamin D without overdosing? Sunshine!

I remember a time when my next door neighbor, a biodynamic gardner, took me out to climb Mt. Yale, a 14′er in Buena Vista, Colorado. He abstained from putting sunblock on and when I asked if he was scared of getting skin cancer, he unexpectedly told me, “Yes” and that’s why he wasn’t wearing sunblock. huh? He told me that sunblock was actually implicated in skin cancer. Now I’ve never seen this study before and I’m not saying it’s true, it just got me thinking. The skin is a major detox organ and is going to be damaged by the toxins in our body - not necessarily by the sun. Since we evolved underneath this solar bath for millions of years why all of a sudden has it become poisonous? That makes no sense.

The FDA recommends 200-400 IU’s daily. Guess what - 15 minutes in the sun should garner your body the best type of Vitamin D possible, the endogenous kind, and in the 10,000-15,000 IU’s range (this varies due to altitude, skin color, and latitude). Remember, once the skin shows signs of gently turning pink in the sun- you’ve had enough. Don’t go crazy now - over doing the sun exposure by tanning can prematurely age the skin and increase skin cancer rates. You must build a tolerance this spring just like you need to rebuild your muscles after relaxing on your couch all winter. Avoid tanning beds and go to the source. When you’ve had enough, make sure to avoid sunblocks loaded with toxins. Go biodegradable and organic. Here is a page of good sunblocks. Here is what you want to avoid:

Para Amino benzoic acid (PABA)
Avobenzone
Cinoxate
Dioxybenzone
Homosalate
Menthyl anthranilate
Octocrylene
Octo methoxycinnamate
Octyl salicylate
Oxybenzone
Padimate O
Phenylbenzimidazole
Sulisobenzone
Trolamine salicylate

The question I have and that I want to leave you with is, is there a correlative between the massive widespread use of UV protected eye wear in our culture with a rise in skin cancer?
I’m going to listen to Corey Hart and only wear my sunglasses at night so I can…

Pharmaceutical drugs have now been found in many cities drinking water.

From the health section at CNN:

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

The federal government doesn’t require any testing and hasn’t set safety limits for drugs in water.

And the scary news is that users of bottled water and home filtration systems don’t necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry’s main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems. Click here for the Jupiter Biostone filtration report.

Contamination is not confined to the United States. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. Studies have detected pharmaceuticals in waters throughout Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe — even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea.

The environmental effect is frightening, and guess what - no one is accountable for our “downstream” pollution so nobody is doing a thing about it. And make no mistake about it - “Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.”

These pharmaceuticals in our water are toxic and are dissolved at such very high dilution levels (in the parts per billion and parts per trillion range) that they are acting like homeopathic treatments. There is an unmistakable similarity to homeopathy, which uses dissolved substances in water at such a high dilution rate that the original substance is virtually undetectable. This processing attempts to remove the “toxic” qualities of the substance and leave behind the essence that is used to treat the problem. Homeopathy is an intelligent system and every treatment is highly specific. Our water supply is blanketing us with many different toxic pharmaceuticals: what do you think is happening to us men who are getting small amounts of hormone replacement therapy, estrogen, and mood stabilizers with every sip of water? I feel like less of a man just thinking about that happening. I for one, will continue to use my Jupiter Melody water filtration system. And if you want one to - I will still pass my discount on to you. Nobody should be without a proper water filtration system nowadays.

City Reports

• The New York state health department and the USGS tested the source of the city’s water, upstate. They found trace concentrations of heart medicine, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer.

• Officials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city’s watersheds.

• Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.

• Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.

• A sex hormone was detected in the drinking water of San Francisco, California.

• The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.

I know most of you remember this from the New York Times, but I just had to put it out again as it’s importance and relevance is paramount. It’s easy to forget that Mercury is a huge problem when it gets into our nervous system thus compromising our brain function.

What is mercury?
From MSU:

Mercury can exist as monomethylmercury (MeHg). This form of mercury is 100 to 1000 times more toxic then natural mercury. MeHg participates directly in biochemical reactions. MeHg is created both by humans and by the environment. Industry uses MeHg, and in the past there have been poisonings due to industrial discharge. MeHg is also created through biomethylation processes in the environment, and this MeHg bioaccumulates primarily in fish. The greatest source of MeHg is natural biomethylation, and fish consumption is the principal source of MeHg intake for most people.

How do you test to find out your mercury levels?

Blood, urine, and hair analysis can reveal recent or acute mercury poisoning but these tests don’t do well to uncover chronic accumulation.

How does mercury hurt us?

Monomethylmercury (MeHg) is an estimated 100 to 1000 times more toxic (than elemental mercury) to humans. In fact, MeHg seems to specifically target the advanced Central Nervous System (CNS). Until recently, this was a mystery, as the CNS enjoys the protection of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). The BBB consists of tightly packed endothelial cells that line the walls of the blood capillaries in the CNS. The key to understanding why MeHg is so toxic is to see that structural similarities in biochemical reactions can lead to active transport of toxins. In this case organisms with a highly advanced CNS, like humans, this active transport can lead to a brain accumulation of MeHg.

As mentioned before, most of our exposure to MeHg comes from bioaccumulations in fish. When we eat contaminated fish, this ingested MeHg easily passes through the intestines and into the bloodstream. The pathway of MeHg from the bloodstream to the brain is complicated, and we think it is easiest to understand the pathway through a list of the various processes involved:

1. MeHg in blood plasma can combine with cysteine, forming a compound that is structurally similar to the amino acid methionine

2. This MeHg-cysteine compound is actively transported into the endothelial cells in the BBB, on the methionine carrier.

3. A high level of reduced glutathione is maintained in the endothelial cells, and the MeHg switches from a cysteine carrier to a glutathione carrier.

4. MeHg-glutathione is actively transported out of the endothelial cells and into the brain.

5. In the brain, the hydrolysis of MeHg-glutathione generates MeHg-cysteine.

6. This MeHg-cysteine can now enter nerve cells in the brain, where it accumulates.

What if you have high levels of mercury?

Chelation therapy is one option for removing mercury. EDTA is used to bond to mercury in your body and help you safely eliminate it through your urine. Click here for ACAM certified doctors in the NY/NJ area.

Note: I looked for information on the negative side effects of chelation therapy and only came across a piece from Quackwatch - the website of the now disgraced Stephen Barrett, who lost in court in 2005 when it was revealed that he was not a real doctor of psychiatry and was actually paid by the American Medical Association, Federal Trade Commission, and the FDA to “de-bunk” alternative and complementary medicine. We must persevere and stay diligent in our research to show how amazing alternative medicine is when it complements the body’s natural healing response. I can not express how happy I am to see Barrett destroyed in the public arena and his covert relationship with the medical industry’s corporate agenda exposed to us all.

Here is a cool computer to help you figure out your actual carbon footprint and also help you eliminate it by donating to carbon reducing technologies: basic calculator

What most people seem to overlook is that methane gas is 20x’s more greenhouse causing then carbon. So our food choices become just as important to how many miles we carpool or if we drive a hybrid. Driving a hybrid is better then a gas guzzler but it sure does not make you green! Ride a bicycle you bought second-hand if you really want to step it up.

To truly make a difference stop eating meat. Eating more like a vegetarian (or being one) is better for you, better for the environment, and ridiculously better for the animals. This is from the United Nations,

…the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.

From the University of Michigan site:

Each year we add 350-500 million tons of methane to the air by raising livestock, coal mining, drilling for oil and natural gas, rice cultivation, and garbage sitting in landfills. It stays in the atmosphere for only 10 years, but traps 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Livestock such as cows, sheep, goats, camels, buffaloes, and termites release methane as well. Bacteria in the gut of the animal break down food and convert some of it to methane. When these animals belch, methane is released. In one day, a cow can emit ½ pound of methane into the air. Imagine 1.3 billion cattle each burping methane several times per minute!

This is an interesting article on non-methane kangaroo farts and the far-fetched idea that cows can switch to this type of bacteria so we can still raise them. Why do we take the hard road when we can just modify our lifestyle? I’m sure William of Occam would say, “Just put down the burger and eat more veggies.” And I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt if we all used some Beano once in awhile!

It’s important to make a clear distinction that all water is not created equal. And I’m not talking about taste. As a snowflake falls to the ground it has a high coherence of hexagonal structure (6 branches) and when it melts retains this coherence in the hydrogen bonds to other H2O molecules. The unique quality of these hydrogen bonds is that they are incredibly strong and make it a good conductor of electricity and also a good solvent for biological materials. This is because it has small positive charge on the hydrogen end and small negative charge on the oxygen end. Now, why is this important to us? As human beings we are essentially water movers. We are born almost 95% water and if we live long enough, 55% water. To me, aging seems to be a dehydration process. So how do we stay hydrated properly?

We can drink naturally structured water, which comes from very pure places like Icelandic glaciers, or Hawaiian or Fijian springs. This water is easily assimilated and very hydrating. The downside to these bottled waters is the high environmental impact of transportation, plastic manufacturing, and besides the risk of potential carcinogenic chemicals from the plastic seeping into the water. We really don’t need to add to the North Pacific Greyere, a floating mass of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean either. So now what?

There are multiple options for getting bio-available water from the tap. Bio-availablility means water that actually makes it into the cells for proper hydration. I’ve had a Jupiter Microlite for years and like the way it tastes and feels going down the gullet. It alkalizes, ionizes, and filters the water all to the tune of “Home Sweet Home”. I’m upgrading to the Jupiter Melody soon - it features an endless supply of water without having to wait for it to get “processed”. It’s a bit pricy at $1250 but I’m ordering a bunch and I can get a couple of hundred off. I’m happy to pass on any savings if anyone wants one. A friend of mine distributes the Kangen water filters but they are way too pricey (over $3k) for not much benefit. I’m not even sure there is a benefit to the Jupiter brand.

Doctor Terry Grossman and Ray Kurzweil were at first skeptical of a water ionizer’s ability to create alkaline water. So they tested the water themselves with a pH meter and an ORP meter. They concluded, “The negative ions in alkaline water from an electrolysis machine are a rich source of electrons that can be donated to these free radicals in the body, neutralizing them and stopping them from damaging healthy tissues.”

Warning: One of the biggest problems and misconceptions are the benefits of Brita and Pur drinking filters. These company’s boast pure healthy water but what actually happens is the filtered water is turned acidic. My home Ph testing kit revealed that new and used filters can make the water up to 5.5 acidic. Oh my god, this is so scary. With evidence pointing to the health benefits of alkaline diets, drinking neutral or alkaline water should match and increase our health. I think what is happening is that these type of cartridge filters strip all the minerals from the water rendering it acidic whereas ionizing filters organize the minerals into alkaline and acidic and split them into different membranes. You drink the alkaline side of the water and the acidic water goes down the sink. Acidic water can be used for washing things like fruit, bath tubs, or your face. This is what I would use Brita for - but absolutely do not drink it!
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