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The Dangers of Fluoride in Drinking Water Part 2

Following on from last weeks article, we will explore the solutions and things you can do to help get this poision out of our drinking water. If you missed last weeks part 1 you can find it here:-https://naturalhealthireland.com/the-dangers-of-fluoride-in-drinking-water-part-1/

Mass Medication

The FDA in America has classified fluoride as a drug. People have a choice whether or not to take a drug, so  the Irish people are simply being mass medicated against their will. This must be stopped! Where you ever asked for your consent to be medicated?. Ireland has been fluoridating the water supplies since 1964. “Since then fluoride has never once been tested for safety to assess its impact on human health, even though under the 1960 water fluoridation health act, the government are required to test for possible adverse health effects. Doses of the fluoride drug/chemical into the body cannot be controlled, for example an athelete will drink more water than the average person, and what about someone who drinks vasts amount of tea on a daily basis?, and babies who totally rely on fluid, are people being more damaged in the summer time when fluid intake is higher? are some people being “OVERDOSED?” I think the common sense answer to this question is a resounding “YES”!. As  far back as 2007 a Donegal survey  by Dr Peter Mansfield into the fluoride levels of 32 subjects, concluded that only nine people tested within a safe intake with one urine sample being four times higher than what is regarded as safe, while four others were twice the limit. Read full report here-   http://fluoridealert.org/news/levels-of-fluoride-in-inishowen-water-unsafe/

Food

Fluoride is not just in the water but in every food and drink product that is made using tap water in Ireland, as well as in most toothpaste. The level of fluoride in drinking water in Ireland has been set at between 0.6-0.8 parts per million (PPM) nearly one part per million, studies have shown this to be not a safe level. But apart from that simply put “there are no safe levels”, this chemical waste product should not be ingested by the human body at all in any doses whatsoever.

In an interview with Vin Byrne on Peoples Internet Radio  Aisling Fitzgibbon a young Kerry woman who donned the mantle “The Girl Against Fluoride” to raise awareness spoke about some of the fluoride levels in some Irish products that she got tested in a private laboratory in Co. Louth. Cheese came in at an astounding  29 PPM, Cider at 9 PPM, Oats 3 PPM and butter at 5 PPM. Listen to the podcast here- http://podcaststorage.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/8/9/12897302/pod-joe-murphy-aisling-fitzgibbon.mp3 Most Irish brewed beers and stout are also brewed in fluoridated water. There are astoundingly high levels of flouride in foods simply because tap water is being used in the production. I wonder how this is tolerated in Europe? exported Irish products are saturated with flouride while it is banned in most of Europe and there is an EU directive already in place against food prepared in fluoridated water. Is it a coincidence that there are many more cancers and diseases around today that never existed years ago? Is there a connection? Well the precautionaly principle needs to be exercised here, avoid fluoride as best you can until it is removed.

Solutions

If you want to get involved in trying to get Fluoride removed from your drinking water or you just want to protect youself and your family well there are many solutions.

1. STOP DRINKING TAP WATER asap!! Fit a reverse osmosis filter or get a water distiller unit to remove fluoride, ordinary water filters wont do it. Dont cook food in tap water.
2. CARRY WATER FROM A WELL, there is a good well in Burt on main Letterkenny Road , and at the Youth Club in Buncrana. 
3. Buy a water distiller from H2O Labs in the UK, this one is great- http://www.h2olabs.com/p-55-stainless-steel-model-300ss-water-distiller-with-glass-carafe.aspx or just buy bottled water
4. USE A FLUORIDE FREE TOOTHPASTE and do not use tap water to make formula milk for bottle fed babies. Use Fluoride free baby formula.
5. LOBBY YOUR LOCAL COUNCILLORS AND TD’S to get fluoride removed as a matter of urgency, and educate them to the unknown dangers of having this in the drinking water. While the government are  trying to introduce water charges, this may be the ideal time to demand getting fluoride out and ask yourself the question why would you pay for something that can and will harm you?  
6. START YOUR OWN LOCAL ANTI-FLUORIDE GROUP, keep yourself informed “do your own research”, keep in touch with like minded people by joining  the Facebook page “Freedom from Fluoride”

Kim- Dip.Ac. Lic.Ac. C.Ac. China MQP is a registered licensed practitioner of Chinese Medicine. Treatments are VHi,  LAYA healthcare, Irish Life, St Pauls Garda Medical Aid Society, and HSF Healthplan approved.

E mail  contact@naturalhealthireland.com or write to the Natural Health Centre, Millfield, Buncrana, Tel. 074/9362606, From North 00353749362606 or to the The Traditional Chinese Medical Practice, 5 Academy Court, Oliver Plunkett Rd., Letterkenny, Tel. 0863981882, from North 00353863981882. Visit the Website www.naturalhealthireland.com

Can Acupuncture be used along with healthy eating to lose weight? Can it be used along with exercise to lose weight? The answer is a resounding YES! Sometimes diet and exercise alone does not do it for a lot of people, simply because their internal organs especially the spleen/digestive system is very sluggish, so loads of exercise and diet may not work until this is corrected. But this does not mean that you should not exercise. More on this later. Acupuncture works by enhancing the function of two neuro-endocrine pathways that regulate many bodily processes, including metabolism.
It lowers body weight by lowering body fat, insulin levels, and lipid levels in the blood
It decreases excessive appetite and makes it easier to satisfy your hunger with less food.
It decreases menopausal weight gain, in one study; acupuncture took off 10 pounds in 2 months.
Combined with diet control, and aerobic counseling it not only takes off the pounds and body fat but keeps them off by balancing the spleen/digestive matrix, especially if you’re diligent with the exercise. Overweight means an excess of body weight. This excess weight may be muscle, bone, fat, and/or body water. Obesity refers specifically to an abnormally high proportion of body fat. You can be overweight without being obese – for example, a bodybuilder or other highly muscled athlete, or someone just a few pounds overweight. But many people who are overweight are also obese.

Depress Cravings
Acupuncture releases endorphins into the body, which has a relaxing effect to reduce the sort of stress that triggers overeating and bingeing on high-calorie foods. The body’s natural feel-good factors are enhanced by acupuncture which decreases the need for comfort foods like sweets and chocolate. Also, endorphins affect the digestive and hormonal systems so acupuncture can help rebalance the organ systems (e.g. metabolism) that are running too slow. The theory behind Acupuncture for weight loss is that it helps to curb appetite, depress cravings, rid excess water, and stimulate the pituitary gland to burn off extra calories.
Problem 1 (Enzyme Deficiency): Modern digestive science explains that when your body can’t digest a food, you crave more of it – you’re not getting what you need from it. This leads to a cycle of craving and over-eating the exact foods you can’t digest.
Problem 2 (Low Blood Sugar): Another vicious cycle happens when you can’t digest complex carbs, so your blood sugar is low, so you eat simple carbs that raise your blood sugar which raises insulin, which lowers your blood sugar again, and you’re stuck eating donuts and feeling horrible.

Acupuncture
Solution: Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas can help you digest your food and break both of these cycles. With acupuncture treatment, the stomach/spleen system can be strengthened allowing the proper digestion of all foods thus interrupting the food craving cycle, which in turn will balance the digestive system, eliminate cravings and lead to an overall reduction in weight.

Exercise and Diet
Eat a sensible diet, and DO miss breakfast! It’s not the most important meal the food industry will have you believe, look up intermitting fasting, Try and avoid carbohydrate type foods, fatty foods don’t make you fat but carbohydrate foods will. Try and eat a more protein-based diet, but do not overdo it. Weigh yourself regularly, and exercise an hour a day or better still join an exercise class, the new “Body Burn Workout” at our Natural Health Centre would be a good start. If you have never exercised before try a Tai Chi class or try walking a few minutes each day, or take the stairs at work. Don’t overdo it! Remember the rubber band effect if you stretch it too quickly it will bounce back. Get some aerobic exercise or book one of our private aerobic counseling classes, focusing on self-esteem, motivation, exercise, and diet.
In my own clinics, I treat people all the time for weight loss, one woman who followed my instructions lost one stone! In 4 weeks! This, in my opinion, was too much too soon but it was a good testament to the effectiveness of acupuncture for this particular problem.

Constipation Stops Weight Loss
Constipation can also be a major factor that blocks weight loss and I usually try to treat this problem first and foremost to put the bowel in good working order to pave the way for weight loss. There are two very important acupuncture points on the stomach that moves the bowel and also the Chinese herbal formula Ma Ren Wan is excellent to treat this condition, it is not a laxative nor does it have a laxative effect, it moistens and moves the bowel in a very natural way. All in all, acupuncture combined with regular exercise seems a really good start on the path to weight loss, but realistic checks to lifestyle and diet must also be considered.

The underlying theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is that the body should be in a perfect state of physical and emotional balance to reach harmony with the outside world. When the balance is upset, disease will result. In the case of a young eczema patient it was obvious after an examination of his pulse and the colour and texture of his tongue, that the cause of his problem was excessive dampness in his stomach causing indigestion. In addition, the drugs he had been taking to control his condition had, over time, contributed to the accumulation of excess of toxins in his body. Following time-honored TCM principles I use two key methods to restore balance: acupuncture and herbal therapy. Acupuncture involves the insertion of sterilized fine steel needles at specific points in the body in order to stimulate the function of the internal organs and to direct healing energy called Qi (pronounced Chi) to a particular area of the body.
Itching

Three-body meridians are essential to the treatment of eczema – the lung, spleen and liver meridians. These three organs have a direct influence on the skin. A person should also avoid drinking alcohol and orange juice because these foods can induce heat in the body causing the skin to heat up thus aggravating the itch. I would advise eating more cooling foods as well like pears, grapefruit and watermelons The choice of acupoints in the spleen meridian is of primary importance for eczema patients and it takes a qualified practitioner to identify them correctly. In the hands of an expert the procedure isn’t painful and most patients gain immediate relief from itching. The TCM treatment of eczema aims for more than temporary relief. The ultimate goal is 100% cure.
Herbs and Acupuncture

In the Chinese medical system, there are some 10,000 herbs that are used for medicinal purposes. About 1,000 of these are used in daily practice. The selection of herbs is highly sophisticated and it takes knowledge and experience to make the optimal choice for each particular patient. Rarely does one prescribe the same herbs for different patients? This is true even if patients suffer the same disease. In my own practice, I have found the Chinese herbal formula Jin Ju Di Dan Wan to be very effective in the treatment of eczema due to heat toxins in the blood.
Blood plays a defensive role by delivering nutrients and removing metabolic wastes, toxins, and pathogens from the body. In the case of chronic eczema, I have observed that some patient’s blood is deficient and the immune function is weak. I can detect this by observing the colour of the patients tongue, Chinese doctors have a saying that “the tongue never lies” and indeed Western doctors years ago used to look at the tongue as well for signs of ill health, but this was long before the drug companies and other so-called modern methods took over their methods and their medicine. Eczema is a skin problem that is not that difficult to resolve. Herbs with properties of cleansing and enriching are safe, effective and economical. When taken as prescribed along with acupuncture they can be highly effective. A healthy lifestyle and diet are of utmost importance to prevent the re-occurrence of eczema.

Allergens

Anything that aggravates the symptoms should be avoided. This includes food allergens; although food allergies are a very individual matter, common irritants may include wheat, corn, dairy, soy, peanuts, eggs, beef, and lamb. As well, patients should avoid skin irritants such as wool and lanolin. Exposure to environmental triggers can also worsen symptoms, as can exposure to water, changes in temperature, sweat, and stress. Dry skin often makes the condition worse. When washing or bathing, patients should keep water contact as brief as possible and use no soap The herbal wash I prescribe for eczema called Liu Wu Xi Yi is a very effective shampoo and shower gel for the body and is a combination of Chinese herbs designed to treat itch and clear away heat toxins from the skin. It is also very important to apply Huang Qin Gao which is a high-quality Chinese ointment to treat skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis. Mainstream medicine generally depends on drugs for the treatment of eczema, this approach only temporally alleviates the symptoms, and it ignores the underlying causes of the disease. In addition, the drugs often have very negative side effects and could also maybe be addictive as well.

Acupuncture and Herbal Therapy are ancient Chinese methods used for the treatment and prevention of disease. These systems are as ancient and effective as any other medical techniques used in the world today. They have been practiced consistently for the past five thousand years in the Orient. Seventy percent of one-quarter of the world’s population uses acupuncture and herbs as their main form of health care. Whenever I worked in the Hospitals in China, patients nearly always received Acupuncture and Herbal medicine first before any drugs or surgery was given, you could say the opposite is true here.

A natural form of medicine that can do no harm or have any side effects surely has to be the medicine of choice when it comes to properly looking after your health.

Treating the Whole Person

The benefits of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs in treatment for the infertile couple can be found in early Chinese medical literature dating back to the 11AD. Not only do these techniques assist in regulating the menstrual cycle and invigorating the sperm, but they also serve to enhance the function of the whole body. This “whole body” health approach, in turn, provides a key to unlock unlimited potential in healing. Furthermore, herbal formulas that tonify the Kidney energy (renal and adrenal function), and Kidney essence (jing) are especially beneficial in raising sperm count and motility. Whether you are planning to use high tech fertility treatments, or take the more natural approach, acupuncture can increase your chances of achieving a pregnancy and a Take Home Baby.

Acupuncture uses the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as well as herbal prescriptions for maintaining a balanced system. Our goal is to allow patients to conceive naturally. By strengthening the patient’s health, it allows the inborn ability of conception to take place. A healthy more balanced body will conceive more naturally. Many women feel a sense that their “biological clock” is running out, it stands to reason that pregnancy is more likely to occur in a “healthy” 40-year-old versus an “unhealthy” 40-year-old. It will take more than three months to improve the quality of your internal and external health. This doesn’t mean lost time; it means giving your body a head start. If you do not conceive naturally and decide to use ART, IVF or IUI; you can rest assured that the time spent on improving your health will give you the best possible outcome. There are several advantages to using Traditional Chinese Medicine as an approach to heightening a couple’s fertility.

Some Advantages of Using Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM for short), which includes acupuncture and herbal therapy sees the person as an integral Mind/body organism, thereby does not treat just symptoms/diseases. TCM ventures to stimulate the body’s natural healing potential by treating root causes rather than just symptoms.

TCM, used in the treatment of infertility, minimizes undesired side effects and accumulated toxicity from invasive procedures and drug therapies, known and unknown.

Traditional Chinese medicine may be used to strengthen and balance one’s general health so that IVF, GIFT, ZIFT, ICSI, ART, IUI and TET procedures are more effective. The TCM patient derives general health benefits and endocrine system balancing from specific acupuncture and herbal regimes. Pregnancy becomes easier to achieve and postpartum recuperation happens faster. Medical studies have been done in China to verify this type of whole-body health enhancement in bringing about pregnancy.

The widespread use of TCM suggests that it is a complete traditional medical health care system and can be used very successfully with or without the integration of Western medical techniques.

This is how Traditional Chinese Medicine can Enhance Fertility it regulates the menstrual cycle,

regulates hormones by reducing stress, Improves ovarian function; encourages production of follicles; enhances their quality, Improves blood flow to ovaries and uterus, reduces miscarriages, enhances immune system, lessens uterine contractions after embryo transfer, improves thickness of uterine wall lining, lessens side effects of medications, improves sperm parameters (takes 3 mon.), improves quality of oocytes (immature female reproductive cells) (takes 3 mon.) In part 2 next week we will continue and explain the involvement of liver congestion and its impact on fertility.

Sciatica can be completely cured, this is a fact, it may not be a medical fact according to some Western Doctors, but it is a fact according to Chinese medicine. When your doctor tells you there is no

cure or no treatment for sciatica, what he really means is that he and his Western medicine do not have a cure or a treatment, it does not mean that a treatment or a cure does not exist! When your doctor throws anti-inflammatories at you or tells you to just go home and rest or to go and change your job, then this is just his way of fobbing you off, sometimes he may send you for an x-ray or a scan so he can tell you even more bad news with something seen that may or may not be true. But still, no treatment? So what is going on here, loads of tests X rays, scans, but still no treatment? Well lucky for us we have the ancient healing modality that is Acupuncture, the amount of people I have treated successfully for this condition over the years has been vast, the amount of people I have prevented from further degeneration and surgery has also been vast. This is great news for all those people out there who are needlessly suffering simply because they are being given the run around by their doctor or sent to a physiotherapist, which is a lot of cases that make the problem worse. To all you physiotherapists out there sciatica does not need exercise it NEEDS TREATMENT! and REST! FULL STOP!

Sciatica is a general term for pain along the sciatic nerve. It is usually a sharp pain or a dull constant ache and is sometimes described as an electrical-like shock or numbness running down the back or side of the leg. The sciatic nerve is the longest and largest nerve in the body-measuring three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The sciatic nerve originates in the lower back and its nerve branches enable movement and feeling (motor and sensory functions) in the thigh, knee, calf, ankle, foot, and toes.
Compressed Nerve

If the nerve is compressed, caused by conditions such as a bulging or herniated disc also commonly known as a slipped disc then intense pain can travel along any part of the sciatic nerve pathway – from the buttocks to the toes. This can be caused by injury to the back through inflexibility, to begin with, and then sudden movement or exercise can pull on the back compressing the vertebrae, which in turn compresses the discs that lie between them. If the spine becomes overly strained or compressed, a disc may rupture or bulge outward. A slipped disc can happen anywhere in the spine, and surprisingly, a slipped disc does not actually slip. Instead, the disc, which is located between the bones of the spine (vertebrae), bulges out, splits or ruptures. When this happens, the inner gel-like substance (nucleus pulposus), leaks out and the bulging disc puts pressure on the sciatic nerve causing the associated pain down the leg.

Flexibility

Yoga and Tai Chi are excellent ways to keep flexibility maintained in the back, but only after treatment. People who sit at a desk, and there are many these days, should be mindful of undertaking regular yoga-type exercises to counteract the build-up of stiffness that constant sitting will produce. There are special air cushions available now that you can sit on, these work by you have to constantly keep your balance thereby keeping the back in a state of constant slight movement which although no substitute for flexibility exercises, will maintain some sort of movement and flexibility in that area all the while you are sitting, getting up periodically to walk around your office is also a good strategy to keep the back mobilised. There are also special postural chairs available that you can sit in and your knees will take some of the weight of your back correcting your posture as well.

Sacro-iliac Joint.

Not all sciatica can be simply put down to a slipped disc; it can come from inflammation and strain of your Sacroiliac joint. That’s the joint where your hip meets the spine. The pain can originate from the left or right of the spine itself and not necessarily from the center of the back. This type of sciatica is, in my opinion, a lot less severe than the one coming from the center of the spine itself. Sacroiliac joint sciatica is also much more easily treated and recovers quite quickly with acupuncture treatment. Sacroiliac joint pain can also originate from pain caused by the Piriformis muscle that may be in spasm, inflamed, or irritated. This muscle is in your buttock and lies right on top of the sciatic nerve as it exits the spine and goes down your leg. As you can imagine, if this muscle is having a problem it will cause pressure on the nerve giving you the sciatica-like symptoms.

Good Prognosis

In my clinics, I see and treat both types of sciatica on a regular basis and I have to say no two of them are the same and in keeping to the edicts of Chinese medicine every patient gets treated differently according to their particular type of sciatica. I find this problem responds really well with regular acupuncture and especially electro-acupuncture treatment, but the patient must adhere strictly to the advice I give them and they must expect to have a least at the minimum between 12 and 15 treatments once or twice per week according to the severity of the problem. I find electrical stimulation of the acupuncture points absolutely essential in nearly every case of sciatica.