In 2014, the UK passed a new law aimed at drastically reducing tobacco’s marketing appeal. The law, of course, was challenged by four of the world’s largest tobacco companies, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, and Philip Morris International. The High Court dismissed all grounds of their case.

Uniform Packaging for Cigarettes

The new law calls for uniform packaging for cigarettes. All cigarette packages will be a uniform color, a drab olive green. The package must include pictures that are health warnings, which must cover 65% of the front and back. Additional warnings are required on the top. No promotional statements (such as “free of additives”) will be allowed. The brand name of each company will be the only distinguishing factor, but the name will be presented in a uniform font. Hand rolled tobacco packages will be the same color.

The new regulations will not allow companies to promote their products. The marketing power of trademarks and promotional statements will be eliminated.

The new law and separate EU laws are all aimed at smoking reduction. These laws include the elimination of 10 cigarette packs; menthol cigarettes and skinny cigarettes will be banned by 2020. New rules will regulate e-cigarettes and herbal products as well.

Previous Smoking Regulation Laws in the EU

At this time, 17 European countries have adopted smoke-free laws regulating public smoking. Ireland, Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, and the UK have instituted a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public places, in workplaces, and on public transport. Limited exceptions are allowed.

The 2001 EU directive on tobacco products banned terms like “mild,” “low tar,” and “light, and required packaging to include 2 warnings. The first compulsory warning is either “tobacco kills” or “tobacco can seriously harm you and others around you”. The second can be chosen from a list of 14 choices. One example is “smoking causes fatal lung cancer”. The directive also set maximum limits for nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide in cigarettes and banned snus (an oral tobacco product that is still legal in Sweden).

Televised tobacco advertising and tobacco sponsorship were prohibited in 1989. In 2003, the Directive on Tobacco Advertising banned cross-border advertising of tobacco products in printed media, radio, and online services and prohibited sponsorship of cross-border events.

Current Statistics Regarding Smoking in the U.S.

The CDC states that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States with 1 in 5 deaths (480,000 deaths per year) attributed to the practice. Their latest statistics for the year 2014 report 16.8% of American adults (18 or older) were current smokers. That’s 40 million smokers. This percentage is down from 20.9% in 2005.

The percentage of the population who smoke does vary from state to state and region to region as well as age, gender, education, income, disability, and sexual orientation.

The highest percentage of adult smokers live in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Guam (25.3% – 29.2%); the lowest live in Utah and California (9.7% < 13.6%).

Regions Ranked According to the Percentage of Residents Who Smoke:

• West – 13.1%
• Northeast – 15.3%
• South – 17.2%
• Midwest – 20.7%

Percentage of the Population Who Smoke According to Age:

• 18–24 – 16.7%
• 25–44 – 20.0%
• 45–64 -18.0%
• 65 and older – 8.5%

Other Interesting Stats

Statistics showed higher use among men (18.8%) than women (14.8%).

Americans below the poverty level were more likely to smoke (26.3%) than those at or above the poverty level (15.2%).

Americans with a graduate degree ranked the lowest (5.4%). It is interesting to note that those who obtained a GED were the most likely to be smokers (43%), nearly twice as likely than those who never completed high school (22.9%) and fully twice as likely as those with a high school diploma (21.7%).

Lesbian/gay/bisexual adults were more likely to be smokers (23.9%) than straight adults (26.6%).

Native American and Alaskan Native Americans ranked the highest (29.2%) while non-Hispanic Asian Americans ranked the lowest (9.5%).

Adults with limitations/disabilities were more likely to smoke (21.9%) than adults without limitations or disabilities (16.1%).

Conclusion

It will be interesting to see how the new laws affect sales in the UK and EU and whether the U.S. would ever consider a similar action. Considering the power of the corporate world in the U.S. economy and politics, it is unlikely.

Recommended Reading:

• How To Quit Smoking Naturally
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones
• Heal Gum Disease and Cavities Naturally – Step by Step
• Hypothyroidism – Natural Remedies, Causes, and How To Heal the Thyroid

Sources:

• Tobacco laws: Bid to overturn packaging rules dismissed – BBC
• Tobacco, Smoke-Free Environments – European Commission Public Health
• Snus – EU Ban on Snus Sales – Tobacco Tactics
• Q&A: The Fight Against Tobacco in the EU – European Commission Press Release Database
• Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States – CDC
• MPs pass legislation to introduce standardized cigarette packaging – The Guardian

ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is making the news again. No it is not another plea to stop medicating children, and it’s not another argument about how normal children can’t or shouldn’t be expected to sit still in a classroom. The current news is that young adults with no prior history of ADHD are now being diagnosed with the disorder.

ADHD Diagnostic Criteria

The following is the current CDC diagnostic criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The CDC uses the DSM V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V – the diagnostic manual for mental health professionals). ADHD diagnosed as follows:

Inattention: Six or more symptoms of inattention for children up to age 16, or five or more for adolescents 17 and older and adults; symptoms of inattention have been present for at least 6 months, and they are inappropriate for developmental level:

• Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or with other activities.
• Often has trouble holding attention on tasks or play activities.
• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
• Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (e.g., loses focus, side-tracked).
• Often has trouble organizing tasks and activities.
• Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to do tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
• Often loses things necessary for tasks and activities (e.g. school materials, pencils, books, tools, wallets, keys, paperwork, eyeglasses, mobile telephones).
• Is often easily distracted.
• Is often forgetful in daily activities.

Hyperactivity and Impulsivity: Six or more symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity for children up to age 16, or five or more for adolescents 17 and older and adults; symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have been present for at least 6 months to an extent that is disruptive and inappropriate for the person’s developmental level:

• Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet, or squirms in seat.
• Often leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected.
• Often runs about or climbs in situations where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may be limited to feeling restless).
• Often unable to play or take part in leisure activities quietly.
• Is often “on the go” acting as if “driven by a motor”.
• Often talks excessively.
• Often blurts out an answer before a question has been completed.
• Often has trouble waiting his/her turn.
• Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).

In addition, the following conditions must be met

• Several inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were present before age 12 years.
• Several symptoms are present in two or more setting, (e.g., at home, school or work; with friends or relatives; in other activities).
• There is clear evidence that the symptoms interfere with, or reduce the quality of, social, school, or work functioning.
• The symptoms do not happen only during the course of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder. The symptoms are not better explained by another mental disorder (e.g. Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dissociative Disorder, or a Personality Disorder).”

Late Onset ADHD

The late onset ADHD was found through a longitudinal twin study of 2232 children born in England and Wales from January 1, 1994 to December 4, 1995. Researchers found the following, “Among 166 individuals with adult ADHD, 112 (67.5%) did not meet criteria for ADHD at any assessment in childhood.”

The actual cause of ADHD is officially unknown. If we stop being distracted by the myths associated with this disorder (that this it doesn’t exist, that it is over diagnosed, etc.) and realize the significance of this new finding, we might see ADHD for what it is – a horrific and alarming result of our toxic lifestyle.

ADHD is a neurobehavioral disorder associated with both structural and chemical alterations in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. In other words, ADHD is a set of symptoms exhibited due to damage to the brain. Currently, 11% of American children are diagnosed with this disorder.

ADHD, autism, chronic autoimmune diseases, and a host of other diseases continue to rise along with the recommended number of vaccines and the daily chemical exposure we all experience through our environment and through our food. It’s time we wake up, use our common sense, and stop poisoning our children and young adults.

Related Reading:

• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• ADHD, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Autism – What Do They Have in Common?
• Hypothyroidism – Natural Remedies, Causes, and How To Heal the Thyroid
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• The Power of Our Hormones and How To Balance Them

Sources:

• Evaluation of the Persistence, Remission, and Emergence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Young Adulthood – JAMA Psychiatry
•  Understanding the Neurobiological Basis of ADHD – ADHD and You
• Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – CDC

As of May 12^th, 59 Harvard students have been diagnosed with the mumps. The outbreak began in February. Numbers continue to rise despite the fact that the MMR vaccine (a live attenuated combination vaccine that includes weakened measles, mumps, and rubella viruses) is required for all students.

In March, the local public health department reported that all of the students who had contracted the mumps had received their MMR vaccinations – 2 MMR vaccines.

On their website the CDC states, “The measles vaccine is very effective. One dose of measles vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus and two doses are about 97% effective.” Although this outbreak appears to be a clear case of vaccine failure, students are now being advised to get a booster shot.

On their site, the CDC also continues to claim viral shedding of live virus does not occur with the MMR shot. Several studies have found otherwise. It does seem counterintuitive to try and battle this outbreak by giving booster shots. First, the vaccine failed. Second, the recipient’s immune system would receive a third assault along with exposure to all of the known risks. Third, vaccine shedding may cause infection.

Outbreaks of mumps have been occurring on both high school and college campuses among the vaccinated for years. In 2006, many college campuses experienced outbreaks with more than 6,500 reported cases.

Here are the annual numbers of confirmed mumps cases as reported by the CDC from 2010 until now.

• 2010 – 2,612
• 2011 – 370
• 2012 – 229
• 2013 – 584
• 2014 – 1,223
• 2015 – 1,057

The CDC’s preliminary case count for 2016 as of April 29 is 727.

Mumps is a virus that is spread through saliva and mucous. Those infected are believed to be contagious before they become symptomatic and up to five days after initial symptoms occur. Coughing, sneezing, talking, sharing cups or eating utensils, and touching surfaces that have become contaminated will spread the disease.

While mumps is generally a mild disease, it can cause complications including:

• encephalitis – inflammation of the brain
• meningitis – inflammation of the tissue covering the brain and the spinal cord
• mastitis – inflammation of breast tissue in post-pubescent females
• oophoritis – inflammation of the ovaries in post-pubescent females
• orchitis – inflammation of the testicles in post-pubescent males
• deafness

All of these complications and more are listed as possible side effects of the MMR vaccine on the package insert.

In regards to the current outbreak, once again, there is no explanation as to why the MMR is not providing protection from the virus. Instead, students will be put at risk for vaccine injury with a third dose of an ineffective vaccine.

Related Reading:

• The MMR Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness
• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Vaccines, Retroviruses, DNA, and the Discovery That Destroyed  Judy Mikovits’ Career
• How Plumbing (Not Vaccines) Eradicated Disease
• Influenza Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness of the Flu Shot
• A Burden of Guilt – Learning About Vaccine Dangers the Hard Way
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research

Sources:

• Harvard mumps outbreak grows; dozens infected – CNN
• Harvard mumps outbreak now 59 cases – Outbreak News Today
• Vaccines and Immunizations – CDC
• Mumps Cases and Outbreaks – CDC
• The Emerging Risks of Live Virus & Virus Vectored Vaccines: Vaccine Strain Virus Infection, Shedding & Transmission – NVIC
• Studies Show that Vaccinated Individuals Spread Disease Should the Recently Vaccinated be Quarantined to Prevent Outbreaks? – Weston Price Foundation

A new study published in the European Journal of Microbiology and Immunology reveals a discovery with the potential to end late stage or chronic Lyme disease.

According to the CDC, Lyme disease is estimated to infect 300,000 Americans per year. While 80-90% of the cases are considered resolved with antibiotic treatment, 10-20% of patients develop the chronic form, a persistent, and sometimes devastating illness that can affect any organ of the body, including the brain and the nervous system.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by a spirochete bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. Doxycycline and amoxicillin are antibiotics proven to eliminate the spirochetal form of this bacteria, but Borrelia burgdorferi can be found in morphological forms. It exists as spirochetes, spheroplast (or L-form), round bodies, and biofilms. It changes into the dormant round body form under unfavorable conditions and is believed to hide in a biofilm form. When conditions become favorable, it can return to its spirochete form.

Stevia leaf extract contains a number of phytonutrients that are known antimicrobial agents. In this lab study, the antimicrobial effect of stevia extracts was compared to doxycycline, cefoperazone, daptomycin and to combinations of these antibiotics, which had been found to be effective against Borrelia persisters (persistent forms).

The stevia leaf extract was found to be effective against all known forms of the bacteria in the lab tests. It is important to note that four different extracts were tested. One was chosen due to its effectiveness, which was believed to be a result of its growing conditions and the agricultural practices used.

The extract was compared to the three antibiotics and combinations of the antibiotics. The stevia extract alone was able to eliminate the spirochetes and persisters as well as the three antibiotics in combination.

The biofilm form of the bacteria is the most antibiotic-resistant form. The stevia extract was very effective. The individual antibiotics, however, increased the biofilm rather than eliminating it.

In long-term culture studies with persister cells, stevia extract was more effective than the three-drug combination. Doxycycline and cefoperazone were both ineffective.

The study calls for further investigation and clinical trials. This is a promising start given the earlier studies with stevia did not reveal any ill effects from its use, while showing its ability to lower high blood pressure and reduce blood glucose in type II diabetics.

Borrelia burgdorferi is not the only bacteria stevia may be used to fight. In the future, it may be used to treat E. coli, Salmonella and a number of other pathogens.

Related Reading:

• How to Cure Lyme Disease, and Virtually Any Other Bacterial Infection, Naturally
• Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge
• Stevia: The Sweet Medicine for Inflammation
• Healthy Sugar Alternatives & More

Sources:

• Effectiveness of Stevia Rebaudiana Whole Leaf Extract Against the Various Morphological Forms of Borrelia Burgdorferi in Vitro – NCBI
• About Lyme Disease – org
  Lyme Disease – CDC

People are seeking happiness. And yes, Virginia, there is a path, not one simple answer. Happiness is a state of mind, a state of being. If you are not happy, consider how you can improve your state of mind through optimum health, giving and receiving love, and becoming attuned to your own spirituality.

Be Healthy

There are lots of excuses when it comes to poor health. Most of them are self-defeating nonsense. Truly healthy choices reap immediate benefits. When we eat right, we feel better. Right then. In that moment. It’s hard to be happy when you don’t feel good.

What if you adopted a healthy lifestyle? What if you felt full of energy and vitality each and every day? Wouldn’t you be happier? It’s not that hard. It’s not a sacrifice. It’s a shift; one that’s well worth the change.

Diet

You argue about your lack of time, lack of money, lack of ability. You can’t cook. You can’t afford organic food. You don’t have time to shop carefully. Set aside the B.S. for a moment and consider the facts. Choosing and preparing a truly healthy diet can be easy and fast.

• Organic – Organic foods are grown with far fewer pesticides, in healthier soil. They taste better and are better for you. It’s a no-brainer. Fill your body with poison and toxins and you are poisoning yourself.
• Raw – Raw foods are full of enzymes and nutrients. A diet consisting of 80% (or more) fresh, raw, organic produce will nurture every cell in your body.
• GMO-Free – Studies conducted by biotech companies suggest genetically modified foods are safe. Long-term studies conducted by unbiased scientists tell a different story, one of reproductive difficulties and cancerous tumors. Avoid GMO foods. Learn where hidden GMOs lurk in food. Better yet, don’t eat processed foods!
• Stop Drinking – All that hype about alcohol being good for you. Come on. You know better. If may relax you a bit, but so does meditation.
• Eliminate Caffeine – It’s just another addiction. An expensive one.
• Additive Free Foods – Avoid all of the things that result in poor health! The list is long, but basically, avoid eating chemicals. Never eat MSG, artificial sweeteners (except stevia), artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, trans fats, refined sugar, and high fructose corn syrup.
• Gluten – Eliminate gluten if you suffer from any chronic disease, digestive disease, autoimmune issues, or allergies.
• Top of Food Chain – If you choose to eat meat, seafood, and dairy, you must consider the source. If those animals were fed antibiotics, GMO foods, and garbage, what are you putting in your body when you eat them? If diary is not organic, chances are it contains rBGH, a genetically modified growth hormone. If you eat seafood, make sure your purchase is not on the list of those with the highest levels of mercury. Don’t eat farmed fish. They are fed GMO feed and garbage. When it comes to meat, dairy and eggs, choose organic.
• Fresh – Check out your local farmer’s markets for the freshest foods.

So, let’s go back to the original pushback on healthy food – lack of time, lack of money, lack of ability…

Yes, organic food is more expensive. But when you stop eating processed foods, drinking coffee, drinking alcohol, and most of your diet consists of fresh, raw, organic produce, it’s very affordable. You will probably save money. Food prep is pretty fast and easy, too. Anybody can pick up an apple and eat it. Anybody can chop up veggies and make a salad. Anybody can throw stuff in a blender. Where you go from there is up to you; these three actions are the basics.

So why is a truly healthy diet so important? You put the nutrients in; you leave the toxins out. In addition, this kind of diet does two things: it continually detoxes the body and it builds a healthy gut.

A healthy gut is the key to a healthy body. Autoimmune diseases, allergies, and a poor immune system are all symptoms of poor gut health.

Detox and Build a Healthy Gut

Make sure your diet includes chelating foods. Eat lots of raw garlic and onions. Eat fresh cilantro and plenty of cruciferous veggies. In fact, a daily salad with 10-15 veggies is a great start. Not only will you be cleansing your gut, you will be aiding in the proliferation of healthy bacteria with a high fiber, veggie salad each day.

Fermented foods have been getting a lot of attention lately. Unfortunately, a lot of the probiotic benefit of fermented foods is neutralized by stomach acid. Yes, fermented foods help. Salads help more. So eat both! But focus on those daily salads. And skip the sugar filled yogurts.

You will never be healthy with a sick gut. It’s that simple. Learn about Candida, gluten, and leaky gut syndrome.

Exercise

Don’t have the time to go to the gym? Don’t have the money for a membership? Don’t know how to exercise on your own? Oh, come on! Walk!

Get outside and walk in the sun. A daily walk for a minimum of 15 minutes gets the body moving and provides a huge benefit – lymphatic circulation. Our lymphatic system is vitally important to our health. Lymph carries waste from the cells and is a basic part of our immune system. Lymphatic fluid has to circulate through our body to dump waste and for our immune system to find, identify, and eliminate viruses and bacteria. But the lymphatic system does not have a pump. Unlike the circulatory system that relies on the heart, the lymphatic system relies on physical movement, the contraction and relaxation of muscles in order to move through our bodies. So walk, run, dance, bounce on a trampoline. But move every day for your health.

Love

If you want to attract love into your life, give it, give it, give it. Stop focusing on what you don’t have and find a way to make the world a better place.

Whether you choose a cause or find a calling, make sure your choice involves positive change, not empty protest. You can denounce poverty or volunteer to teach literacy. You can rail against deforestation or plant trees. Find something positive and productive to do. If it is your passion, try to make it your work.

When you find a way to give to others or give to the world, you enrich your life and raise your self-esteem. You also meet like-minded people. It’s a win-win.

Spirituality

This is an area in which you need to be true to yourself. Whether you believe you should attend services every Sunday and Wednesday or believe your road to enlightenment is found through meditation, honor your beliefs.

Think Right

No one can deny the fact that we are creatures of habit. What we do and what we think are patterns of behavior. If you’re not happy, these are patterns crying out to be broken.

Vengeance and Forgiveness

Let it go. Holding on to hate or anger hurts one person – you. Well, to be perfectly honest it may hurt those around you as well. Forgiveness does not mean making yourself vulnerable. You can forgive someone and never speak to them again. But holding onto the anger and the pain hurts you.

Forgiveness can be difficult. Sometimes forgiveness is a process rather than an outcome. If someone has hurt you that deeply, violated you so horribly that forgiveness is ongoing even though you no longer have contact, it is still better to work at forgiveness that wallow in anger and pain. Let the hurt go.

Gratitude

If you are not grateful for what you have, what you have achieved, and the people in your life, how can you possibly be happy? Practice gratitude. Whether you say the words aloud each day in private, write in a journal, or share your gratitude with your friends and family around the dinner table, make the expression of gratitude a daily ritual. This one act will create the fundamental shift from a glass half empty to a glass half full mentality.

Right Your Mind

If you’ve never seen it before, watch the Bob Newhart skit called Stop It. The skit is so famous, if you google “stop it”, the video is Google’s first hit. But we’ll also give it to you here.

This is a simple, silly take on a very real phenomenon. Unhappy people tend to dwell on their failures, live in the past, and fear the future.

Stop worrying about the things you can’t change. Stop keeping a tally of everything that’s gone wrong. Shit happens. It happens all the time, to all of us. Life is full of disappointments and tragedy. Everyone faces pain and hardship, challenges that sometimes seem too huge, too overwhelming to survive. But we do.

Instead of dwelling on what has gone wrong in the past, instead of fearing the future, recognize that you control today. Plan for your future. Make goals and achieve them. But live in the now.

Last but not least, be good to yourself. When you become an adult, you become responsible for you. In other words, you become your own parent. Be kind. Be compassionate. Become your better self. How could you not be happy?

Related Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• How To Be Happy
• How To Be Happy
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders

SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) or crib death are terms used to denote the unexplained death of a healthy, sleeping infant less than one year old. The CDC reports that in 2014, about 3,500 babies died from Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID). The three main types of deaths are:

• SIDS – 44% of the cases – about 1,500 deaths
• Unknown Cause- 31% about 1,085
• Accidental Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed- 25% about 875

Unknown cause is described is differentiated from SIDS by not being consistent with or not meeting the diagnostic criteria.

Risk Factors for SIDS

Statistics show that age, sex, race, family history, birth weight, prematurity, multiple births, and environment can all increase the risk of a SIDS death.

SIDS is the leading cause of death for infants 1 month through 1 year of age, with months 2 and 3 being the most critical. Male babies are more likely to die of SIDS than female babies. African American, American Indian, and Eskimo babies are at higher risk. Premature babies, low birth weight babies, or babies from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) are at higher risk, as are those with cousins or siblings who have died from SIDS.

Smoking in the home and mothers smoking during pregnancy elevate risk. Smoking is believed to affect an infant’s serotonin levels, which affects breathing and arousal.

Other maternal risks during pregnancy include the age of the mother (younger than 20), the use of drugs or alcohol, and inadequate prenatal care.

Many experts believe multiple factors combine to result in SIDS deaths such as physical issues (low birth weight, multiple births, genetics), sleep environment, and illness. For example, a child with a low birth weight may be placed in bed on his stomach when suffering from a cold. These three issues combine: underdeveloped breathing and arousal, poor sleep position, and congestion.

Sleeping Positions and Conditions

Researchers report a dramatic decline in SIDS deaths due to the “Back to Sleep” campaign – the campaign that has encouraged parents to place on infants on their backs rather than their stomach or side to sleep. The campaign began in 1992. By the year 2000, the SIDS rate dropped by 50% in what seemed to be a corresponding decline to the rising rates of parents adhering to the back-sleeping practice.

It is interesting to note that around a quarter of U.S. parents do not place their infants on their backs to sleep, while that number among African American parents is around 50%. The SIDS rate for African Americans is double that for Caucasians, raising the question: is the higher incidence is due to a genetic predisposition or is it due to the infant’s sleeping position?

It is more difficult for babies to breathe when they are laid down on their stomachs or on their sides. The difficulty or danger is further increased if the surface is soft or the baby’s head is covered by a blanket. When an infant is lying with his face pressed against a surface, the oxygen level is lower than unobstructed sleep. An infant normally moves, gasps, lifts his head and resettles. If the infant’s brain is defective in regards to either breathing or arousal, the infant will slowly suffocate. Overheating is believed to affect arousal ability as well.

Waterbeds, soft plushy quilts, bumper pads, pillows, and plush toys can add to any difficulty of breathing by obstructing the airway. To ensure unobstructed breathing, babies should be laid on their backs with pillows, toys, and plush blankets completely removed from the area. Once your baby is able to roll over (on both sides), sleep position is no longer an issue. If your baby rolls over onto her stomach, it is safe to leave her in this position.

Parents are warned to instruct caretakers, family members, or anyone caring for their child to follow these guidelines for safe sleeping.

Asphyxiation due to breathing or arousal abnormalities is not the only concern in SIDS cases. Cardiac function, control of inflammatory response, and genetic mutations are some of the concerns being researched.

Researchers do not agree on the association between vaccines and SIDS. While the CDC and a number of  studies claim there is no association, other studies show an arguable association between SIDS and the DTP vaccine. During the 1960s, the national immunization campaign required multiple doses of vaccines for the first time. SIDS became an identified medical term in 1969. SIDS was added to the ICD (The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems – the medical diagnostic classification manual) in 1973.

Co-Sleeping and SIDS

Read any article on SIDS and safe sleep practices and you will probably find a warning against co-sleeping (adults sharing a bed with their infant). The fear is that the infant will suffocate when the sleeping parent rolls over and puts weight on the infant or obstructs his or her airway. Other concerns are the infant being suffocated by pillows or by becoming wedged between the mattress and the wall or the mattress and the headboard.

Rather than recommending the child sleep in a separate room, the current recommendation by those who denounce co-sleeping is for the infant to sleep in a separate bed in the same room as the parents. Some suggest special cribs that are open to the bed on one side but provide a separate sleeping space.

Not all experts agree that co-sleeping is dangerous. Many studies suggest the opposite – that co-sleeping with a newborn actually helps the child regulate breathing, heart rate and body temperature, making sleep safer.

Both sides agree that parents who smoke, drink, or use drugs should never co-sleep with an infant. The danger of drinking or using drugs and co-sleeping cannot be emphasized enough, and this includes prescriptions drugs, antibiotics, over the counter drugs, and anything that can disrupt or impair the hormones, the brain, or sleep. SIDS deaths are higher on weekends and they spike on New Years Day – a 33% jump.

Another statistic worth noting – breastfed babies are 60% less likely to die from SIDS.

Conclusion

Like many issues, parents must make decisions for the safety of their babies. These decisions begin during gestation. There is clear evidence that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of SIDS as well as smoking around the baby after birth. Drug and alcohol use greatly increases the risk. Placing a baby on the stomach or side for sleep greatly increases the risk.

Parents must decide whether or not to co-sleep with their babies and whether to vaccinate or whether to follow the vaccine schedule if they do vaccinate. And mothers need to know all the facts before they decide on breast or bottle.

Unfortunately, as we evaluate the risks of vaccination and co-sleeping, conflicting studies will make these decisions more difficult. It is imperative for parents to consider the source as they do their own research and carefully review studies and articles about these issues before making their own decisions.

We at OLM do not recommend well vaccinated or medicated parents to cosleep with children. Cosleeping works when the people doing it are healthy. Anything that can disturb your natural hormones is dangerous with cosleeping. Eat right, don’t take drugs, avoid toxins, and nature works better. On that note, we also recommend non-toxic mattresses and bedding that do not emit harmful gasses, which many suspect can contribute (and possibly even cause) SIDS.

Recommended Reading:

• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Circumcision, the Primal Cut – A Human Rights Violation
• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore

Sources:

• Rethinking SIDS: Many Deaths No Longer A Mystery – NPR
• SIDS Risk Factors Vary for Older and Younger Babies – Live Science
• SIDS rate has declined, but 2,300 U.S. babies still die annually – The Washington Post
• A perspective on SIDS pathogenesis. The hypotheses: plausibility and evidence – PMC
• Bed sharing when parents do not smoke: is there a risk of SIDS? An individual level analysis of five major case–control studies – PMC
• Why SIDS Skyrockets on New Year’s Day – Yahoo News
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – Mayo Clinic
• SIDS Statistics – CJ Foundation for SIDS
• Babies sleeping with parents: case-control study of factors influencing the risk of the sudden infant death syndrome. CESDI SUDI research group. – PubMed
• Bed-sharing in the absence of hazardous circumstances: is there a risk of sudden infant death syndrome? An analysis from two case-control studies conducted in the UK. – PubMed
• Benefits of Co-Sleeping – Ask Dr. Sears
• Infant mortality rates regressed against number of vaccine doses routinely given: Is there a biochemical or synergistic toxicity? – HET

Aluminum is the Earth’s third most common element and our most common metal. It is lightweight, durable, and easily combines with other metals. Due to these characteristics, aluminum is used in a huge variety of products. It is essential to the aerospace industry and it’s used in other transportation applications, in construction, for electrical wiring, and a host of other manufactured products including pigments and paints, fuel, light bulbs, and most every conceivable type of metal product.

Unfortunately, its uses do not stop there.

Aluminum in Food and Over-the-Counter Medications

Aluminum is added to many processed foods as fillers, emulsifiers, and anti-caking agents. It is found in baking powder and preservatives. It is even added to soy-based baby formulas. Aluminum is also used in sugar refining, in the brewing process, and as an aid to water purification in water treatment plants. It is also found in antacids and other pharmaceuticals.

Antacids, buffered aspirins, anti-ulcerative, and anti-diarrheal medications contain enormous amounts of aluminum compared to foods. Antacids have been linked to bone density problems because aluminum interferes with calcium absorption.

Aluminum in Cookware and Food Containers

We also ingest aluminum that leaches into food and drink from aluminum cans and aluminum cookware. Just boil water in an aluminum pan and pour the water into a glass jar to see how gray it has become, or lay aluminum foil against spaghetti sauce and watch it dissolve into the food.

Aluminum in Body Care Products

Our skin, the largest organ of the body, absorbs whatever we put on it. Aluminum is an ingredient in many personal body products including antiperspirants.

Aluminum in Vaccines

Not only do we absorb aluminum and ingest it, we also inject it. Aluminum is commonly used as an adjuvant in vaccines as a means to increase the immune system’s reaction to the pathogen.

Aluminum Is Toxic

There are too many sources of aluminum toxicity to list, from cosmetics to plane exhaust particulates that fall from the sky.  However it enters the body, aluminum is highly toxic. While most of it is expelled, the aluminum retained is absorbed and accumulates in the bones, the brain, and other organs and tissues. Individuals with renal disease and premature infants have more difficulty expelling it.

The following quote is from Aluminum-Induced Entropy in Biological Systems: Implications for Neurological Disease. (Al is the abbreviation for aluminum.)

Al disrupts biological self-ordering, energy transduction, and signaling systems, thus increasing biosemiotic entropy. Beginning with the biophysics of water, disruption progresses through the macromolecules that are crucial to living processes (DNAs, RNAs, proteoglycans, and proteins). It injures cells, circuits, and subsystems and can cause catastrophic failures ending in death. Al forms toxic complexes with other elements, such as fluorine, and interacts negatively with mercury, lead, and glyphosate. Al negatively impacts the central nervous system in all species that have been studied, including humans.”

For more than 30 years we have known that aluminum is found in the brain tissues of deceased Alzheimer’s patients. Like every other scientific discovery that impacts big business in this country, this finding was refuted by additional studies and supported by others that defended the original conclusion that aluminum is a causal factor for Alzheimer’s. But Alzheimer’s is just one of the possible outcomes. Aluminum causes a cascade effect where the immune system and the central nervous system interact and spiral out of control. Results can include a number of autoimmune diseases (such as multiple sclerosis) or neurological diseases (such as Parkinson’s disease or encephalopathy associated with autism).

The step-by-step process of destruction from the article, Aluminum’s Role in CNS-immune System Interactions leading to Neurological Disorder, outlines the inflammation cascade due to aluminum exposure.

1. Aluminum disrupts water-based cellular homeostasis and causes a crisis for the exposed cell.
2. The cell sends out “death alarm” messages, which draw in macrophages and other immune cells, initiating an inflammatory cascade.
3. The highly stressed cell dies via necrosis rather than a “programmed cell death,” and releases its DNA into the interstitial tissues.
4. This extracellular DNA is picked up as an antigenic signal by immune cells and leads directly to autoimmune disease.
5. In parallel, sulfate synthesis and sulfate transport are disrupted due in part to Al contamination of the pineal gland and other sensitive nuclei in the midbrain.
6. The entire biological system switches from a sulfate-based to a phosphate-based management strategy for maintaining water interfaces, leading to hyperparathyroidism.

We are poisoning ourselves and our children. At the very least, common sense dictates removing aluminum from vaccines, food, and our water supply. What can we do? Obviously, limit ingesting and breathing aluminum, but that’s not enough. We’ve gone way too far down our modern industrial path to entirely avoid such toxins. The good news is, the body can handle a remarkable toxic load when the diet is right. Raw, fresh, organic produce helps pull toxins, including heavy metals, from the body. Amino acids in  protein and pectin found in the rinds of many fruits and vegetables are both found to chelate, but some foods are known for chelating heavy metals:

Chelating Foods

• Chlorella
• Spirulina
• Garlic
• Onions
• Cilantro, coriander
• Parsley
• Wheatgrass

Natural Chelating Supplements

• Activated charcoal
• Bentonite clay
• Medical Mushrooms
• Yellow dock leaves
• Algae (like spirulina and chlorella)

For a thorough heavy metal detox, check out the protocol in How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children and also see Total Nutrition – Make your own Homemade Multivitamin and Mineral Formula.

Related Products:

• Shillington’s Intestinal Detox
• Reishi Extract – Host Defense
• Activated Charcoal • 100c – Integrative Therapeutics
• Shillington’s Total Nutrition Formula

Related Reading:

• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• How to Detoxify from Vaccinations & Heavy Metals
• More Doctors Against Vaccines
• Flu Shot Facts Everyone Should Know
• Is Your Deodorant Drugging You Through The Armpits Daily With This Neurotoxin?
• Alzheimer’s
• Top 5 Foods that Detox Heavy Metals and Toxins – With Protocol

Sources:

• Top 5 Foods that Detox Heavy Metals and Toxins – With Protocol
• Aluminum-Induced Entropy in Biological Systems: Implications for Neurological Disease, Journal of Toxicology – NCBI
• Aluminum’s Role in CNS-immune System Interactions leading to Neurological Disorders – MIT
• Human Health Risk Assessment for Aluminium, Aluminium Oxide, And Aluminium Hydroxide – NCBI