Natural Holistic Health

Botox - I actually heard a news clip on the radio that announced that the Food and Drug Agency just approved Botox to be injected in the armpits to stop sweating. I cannot begin to imagine what people can be thinking. Botox is derived from botulism bacterium that causes FOOD POISIONING! Bo – tox : short for Botulism toxin. What part of this sounds good for you? I cannot image how the brain can somehow positively spin injecting poison in your face to cause paralysis and come up with a new cosmetic procedure. As if this isn’t bad enough, now we can use this poison to paralyze our sweat glands. Great. I had to see for myself what the FDA actually had to say about Botox. “Botulinum toxin is the most poisonous substance known.” According to JAMA – Journal of the American Medical Association. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/285/8/1059. The FDA agrees almost word for word. http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/095_bot.html This substance has been used in Biological Weapons. It should not be put in your body. Your body does not need to be paralyzed to be beautiful.

Artifical sweetners - It seems that we don’t want to know the truth that artificial sweeteners are simply toxic. We keep hoping that the new and improved product will be safe enough to allow us to eat all of the sweet food we want, loose lots of weight and live happily ever after. Right? History shows us that cyclamate, Saccharin (Sweet’N Low), Aspartame ^{® (}NutraSweet^®) were health disasters. Nobody lost weight, and many people became chronically ill from the toxic effects of the artificial sweeteners. The reason that they have zero calories is that the are NOT RECOGNIZED AS FOOD TO THE BODY. THEY ARE TOXIC. That’s right. The body has to figure out how to get rid of them or store them in a safe place (usually fat cells) so that they don’t poison you. The marketing industry knows that we like sweet food, and does it’s best to allow us to continue our false hope while sacrificing our health. So we have a new white poison available – Sucralose (also known as Splenda). This new product is a “chlorocarbon — like a pesticide” and it shows up on the market at a time when chlorine is being questioned for its link to all cancers. http://www.pacifichealthcenter.com/updates/71.asp . The real issue is learning to deal with the appropriate ways to include sweet items in our diet. Everything we eat should not be either sweet or salty. There are many natural ways to enjoy sweetness. Honey and fruits can be added to the diet. These items are sweet because they give us many health benefits and naturally attract us. Choose a wonderful piece of fruit instead of a little packet of white poison.

Tampons – From the Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) of the 1980’s and 1990’s, to the ever escalating reports of endometriosis, women should be concerned about tampons. Common sense tells us that just about all commercially produced products contain hundreds of harmful chemicals, pesticides, preservatives, and herbicides. There have been many allegations that tampons contain Rayon (for absorbency) and dioxin (a chemical used in bleaching the products), as well as asbestos (to promote more bleeding). The reproductive area of a woman is a self cleansing mechanism. Every month, these organs go through a natural cycle. Minimizing this or stopping it up does not result in better health. Cleansing these organs provides a safe and healthy environment in the following month in the event of a pregnancy. This is mother nature’s way of cleaning house. This area should in no way be exposed to harmful chemicals. There are many safe and natural (reusable, washable) alternatives available today.

Sunscreen – These products have created a marketing bonanza similar to the fat-free craze. Virtually every lotion, lipstick, and cosmetic now contains sunscreen. We have all been told that it prevents skin cancer. BUT IS THAT SO? Many researchers say that the chemicals used in sunscreen actually cause more cancer than the sun. In addition, many of the chemicals used in sunscreen are suspected of being toxic to the body and must be stored in the fat cells. http://www.skinbiology.com/toxicsunscreens.html Perhaps more troubling is that sunscreen blocks the absorption of sunlight and inhibits our body from producing much needed Vitamin D. According to Wikipedia, Vitamin D has been linked to the prevention of much more dangerous forms of cancer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen ). WebHealthMD states that Vitamin D is “essential for building strong bones and teeth, vitamin D also helps to strengthen the immune system and may prevent some types of cancer.” http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,905,00.html. Vitamin D is produced in the body after exposure to sunlight. This doesn’t mean that burning the skin by over exposure is better. 15 minutes of sun exposure is all that is necessary to maintain optimum Vitamin D levels. Some research has shown that this all natural vitamin may also slow joint damage due to arthritis, ease back pain, protect against multiple sclerosis, relieve the symptoms of psoriasis, prevent osteoporosis, and prevent or reverse some forms of cancer. Enjoy a walk in the sun. Both are healthy.

Underarm Antiperspirant – A warning about underarm antiperspirant dangers floated around the web stating that aluminum based antiperspirant was linked to breast cancer. The medical community was quick to say that clogging up your underarm pores with toxic chemicals couldn’t possibly lead to disease. www.webmd.com states "Just because someone makes a statement on the Internet doesn't make it true," says Lisa Bailey, M.D., a cancer surgeon and past president of the American Cancer Society (ACS), California Division. "There haven't been any studies to verify these claims about antiperspirants, which are tested by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have not been found to contain any chemicals that cause DNA damage leading to cancer." Although lymph nodes do clear some toxins from the body, toxins are not released through sweating, according to the ACS. Most cancer-causing substances are released through the kidneys and liver. “

We agree with part of this. Just because somebody makes a statement on the Internet doesn’t make it true, Dr. Bailey. Furthermore, we all have come to know that the FDA has not always been as safety conscious as we would want. Let’s not forget the Vioxx and Celebrex disasters, just to name a few. There is definitely a credibility problem here. To make matters worse, some doctors in the UK are now saying they agree with the original Internet warning. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/01/health/webmd/main1361403.shtml

It is hard to believe that a doctor could say that “toxins are not released from sweating”. Anyone who has worked out strenuously or done yard work on a hot day KNOWS that toxins are released from sweating. Furthermore, sweating has been a method used to remove toxins from the body for thousands of years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna#References sites that the Romans, Turkish, Russian cultures have historic ties to using hot wet sauna like facilities to remove toxins. The Native American Indians have used Sweat lodges for both spiritual as well as physical cleansing in a highly ceremonial fashion.

Common sense tells us that sweating is a normal bodily function and that toxic chemicals used to stop this normal process will spell trouble…. Clinical trials or not.