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What foods in combination are the best to eat when I have a bacterial infection?Some foods of interest would include the entire onion family,these contain natural antiseptic and antibiotic compounds,of particular reknown is garlic but of course some people detest the smell when it’s used,so I sometimes resort to raw brown onions,sliced.Curries are a particularly good food to fight off the effects of bacterial infections,the ingredients have many other health benefits as well.Tumeric and ginger are found in curries,and can be used singly for their antiseptic qualities.Garlic and members of the pepper family are also found in some curries.The blend varies to the makers desire.Luckily for me,there is an Indian spice supplier nearby here and I can buy fresh whole curries or the single ingredients freshly ground as needed.Instead of sugar in tea and coffee,I now use honey exclusively,as it has antiseptic qualities as well,and I sometimes add a pinch of ginger too.Coconut oil has a powerful antiseptic compound in it called lauric acid,which is good for your bowel.When used in oil swishing,the oil is an excellent way to look after your teeth.Oil pulling involves swishing oil around the mouth, using it like a mouthwash. It has been used for thousands of years as an Indian folk remedy. In order to oil pull, you put a tablespoon of oil in your mouth, then swish it around for 15–20 minutesOil Pulling With Coconut Oil Can Transform Your Dental HealthIf you don’t look after your dental health,you can have follow on infections,first in the alimentary tract,then the gastrointestinal system.Once again,another curry ingredient favourite,the pepper family,will also help fight infections.Capsicums, including chilies and other hot peppers, are in the middle of the antimicrobial pack (killing or inhibiting up to 75 percent of bacteria), while pepper of the white or black variety inhibits 25 percent of bacteria, as do ginger, anise seed, celery seed and the juices of lemons and limes.When you mix black pepper with tumeric and coconut oil,they enhance each other’s effects,which you can use in recipes when you cook.Foods high in Vitamin C also have powerful anti bacterial properties,these are more beneficial raw as cooking tends to destroy Vitamin C.A total of 148 animal studies indicated that vitamin C may alleviate or prevent infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. The most extensively studied human infection is the common cold. ... The effects of vitamin C against infections should be investigated further.Magnesium Chloride“Magnesium is nothing short of a miracle mineral in its healing effect on a wide range of diseases as well as in its ability to rejuvenate the aging body. We know that it is essential for many enzyme reactions, especially in regard to cellular energy production, for the health of the brain and nervous system and also for healthy teeth and bones. However, it may come as a surprise that in the form of magnesium chloride it is also an impressive infection fighter………”“……….later Prof. Delbet also performed experiments with the internal applications of magnesium chloride and found it to be a powerful immune-stimulant. In his experiments phagocytosis increased by up to 333%. This means after magnesium chloride intake the same number of white blood cells destroyed up to three times more microbes than beforehand. “This is copied from the article Magnesium Chloride,by Dr Walter Last pasted as the last of the 3 articles that follow.Iodine the AntisepticIodine is by far the best antibiotic,antiviral and antiseptic of all time.Dr. David DerryThats taken from the following article.I think you will find it very interesting concerning general health After that I have placed 3 more articles that concern natural remedies that help fight infections.They are quite involved reading,but rewarding for your general health and well-being if you persevere with them.IODINEBring Back the Universal Nutrient MedicineInternational Medical Veritas AssociationMedical textbooks contain several vital pieces of misinformationabout the essential element Iodine, which may have causedmore human misery and death than both world wars combined.Dr. Guy AbrahamThe present situation we find ourselves in at the very beginning of the 21st century demands that we quickly reengineer medicine, not only mainstream allopathic but all the branches and alternatives. Consciousness is just forming around the conclusion that the majority of humans today are suffering from chronic poisoning. It is not just the fact that the tide of toxic chemicals is rising and accumulating in our cells and blood streams, wrecking physiological, emotional and mental havoc, but there is also a sheer drop in the quality and quantity of key nutrients being consumed. Iodine is a perfect example, in today’s world the last thing you want to be short on is iodine.Iodine is detected in everyorgan and tissue in the body.We might debate about the optimum dosage but we should find quick agreement that iodine is absolutely necessary for a healthy thyroid as well as healthy ovaries, breasts and prostate. Beside the greater risk for breast cancer in iodine deficient women, there is convincing evidence that iodine deficiency increases also the risk of thyroid cancer. These are just a few of the reasons to become interested in iodine. In an age of increasing toxic exposures we all need more not less iodine because it has very specific protective effects against several common poisons like fluoride, bromide, and to a lesser extent it helps eliminate lead and mercury from the body. Dr. Sebastiano Venturi, in Evolution of Dietary Antioxidants: Role of Iodine, makes it clear that iodine is a crucial antioxidant and apoptosis-inductor with anti-tumoral and anti-atherosclerotic activity. When we supplement with iodine we will see increased antioxidant activity [i] and immune system function [ii].Iodine, Cancer and Fibrocystic DiseaseSeveral studies have demonstrated a relationshipbetween low iodine intake and fibrocystic disease of thebreast (FDB), both in women and laboratory animals. [iii]Dr. David Derry said, “Lugol's solution is an iodine-in-water solution used by the medical profession for 200 years. One drop (6.5 mg per drop) of Lugol's daily in water, orange juice or milk will gradually eliminate the first phase of the cancer development namely fibrocystic disease of the breast so no new cancers can start. It also will kill abnormal cells floating around in the body at remote sites from the original cancer. Of course this approach appears to work for prostate cancer as prostate cancer is similar to breast cancer in many respects. Indeed, it likely will help with most cancers. Also higher doses of iodine are required for inflammatory breast cancer. As well we know that large doses of intravenous iodine are harmless which makes one wonder what effect this would have on cancer growth.”Because iodine deficiency results in increased iodine trappingby the thyroid, iodine deficient individuals of all agesare more susceptible to radiation-induced thyroid cancer.Iodine plays a crucial role in the body’s elimination system by inducing apoptosis, or what is called programmed cell death, and this is vital because this process is essential to growth and development and for destroying cells that represent a threat to the integrity of the organism, like cancer cells and cells infected with viruses.Women with goiters (a visible, non-cancerous enlargement ofthe thyroid gland) owing to iodine deficiency have been foundto have a three times greater incidence of breast cancer.A high intake of iodine is associated with a low incidence breastcancer, and a low intake with a high incidence of breast cancer.Dr. Donald Miller Jr.Iodine is a very important primary nutrient in regards to people’s health and healing. So essential is iodine for life that those who are deficient in it suffer from a wide variety of afflictions (including cancer) that are difficult to trace back to this trace mineral. Iodine used to be considered much more importantly, so much so that up until 20 years ago, it had been routinely added to bread as a supplement. "Just how likely is an iodine deficiency in cancer? In an in-house study, 60 cancer patients (various types) were given the iodine-loading test and then measured for urinary excretion. All 60 patients were found to be seriously deficient in body stores of iodine and some had great excesses of bromine. The best case excreted only 50 percent of the load and the worst excreted only 20 percent (that means they were retaining a very high 80 percent). Folks, these are some serious numbers. One hundred percent of these cancer sufferers were deficient in iodine! I assure you the problem is population wide," writes Dr. Robert Rowen.60 million mainland Japanese consume a daily averageof 13.8 mg of elemental iodine, and they are one of the healthiestnations based on overall well being and cancer statistics. [iv]Iodine is available in small amounts in some salts but health officials do not consider that most of the iodine evaporates while sitting on the kitchen table. In the United States 45 percent of American households buy salt without iodine and over the last three decades people who do use iodized table salt have decreased their consumption of it by 65 percent. Americans are consuming less iodine when in reality they need much more.Iodine the AntisepticIodine is by far the best antibiotic,antiviral and antiseptic of all time.Dr. David DerryThe antiseptic properties of iodine are used to sterilize every surface and material in hospitals. Iodine is an excellent microbicide with a broad range of action that includes almost all of the important health-related microorganisms, such as enteric bacteria, enteric viruses, bacterial viruses, fungi and protozoan cysts.[v] The minimum number of iodine molecules required to destroy one bacterium varies with the species. For H. influenzae it was calculated to be 15000 molecules of iodine per cell. When bacteria are treated with iodine, the inorganic phosphate up-take and oxygen consumption by the cells immediately ceases. [vi]Though iodine kills all single celled organisms such as these it is not exploited for internal use by modern day physicians to combat internal infections, which of course is a great mistake. Dr. Derry says iodine is effective “for standard pathogens such as Staphylococcus, but also iodine has the broadest range of action, fewest side effects and no development of bacterial resistance.” Some doctors have reported that it is excellent for the treatment of mononucleosis.Iodine is able to penetrate quicklythrough the cell walls of microorganisms.Iodine is a deadly enemy of single cell microorganisms thus it can be our best friend. Iodine was not available to these life forms at the beginning of evolution and it was not until seaweed concentrated it did it become involved in higher life forms. It is for this reason that the simplest level of life cannot tolerate iodine. Iodine kills single celled organisms by combining with the amino acids tyrosine or histidine when they are exposed to the extra-cellular environment. All single cells showing tyrosine on their outer cell membranes are killed instantly by a simple chemical reaction with iodine that denatures proteins. Nature and evolution have given us an important mechanism to control pathogenic life forms and we should use it and trust it to protect us in ways that antibiotics can’t. As we shall see directly below, so powerful is iodine in a protective sense that it also helps us rid the body, not only of harmful chemicals and heavy metals, but also rids the body of abnormal cells meaning it qualifies as an anticancer agent.Elemental iodine is a potent germicide with a wide spectrum of activity and low toxicity to tissues. A solution containing 50 ppm iodine kills bacteria in 1 min and spores in 15 min. It is poorly soluble in water but readily dissolves in ethanol, which enhances its antibacterial activity. Iodine tincture contains 2% iodine and 2.4% sodium iodide (NaI) dissolved in 50% ethanol; it is used as a skin disinfectant. Strong iodine tincture contains 7% iodine and 5% potassium iodide (KI) dissolved in 95% ethanol; it is more potent but also more irritating than tincture of iodine. Iodine solution contains 2% iodine and 2.4% NaI dissolved in aqueous solution; it is used as a nonirritant antiseptic on wounds and abrasions. Strong iodine solution (Lugol’s solution) contains 5% iodine and 10% KI in aqueous solution. Iodophores (eg, povidone-iodine) are water-soluble combinations of iodine with detergents, wetting agents that are solubilizers, and other carriers. They slowly release iodine as an antimicrobial agent and are widely used as skin disinfectants, particularly before surgery.Medical iodophobia has reached pandemic proportions.It is highly contagious and has wreaked havoc on thepractice of medicine and on the U.S. population.Dr. Guy AbrahamAccording to current W.H.O. statistics more than 3 billion people in the world live in iodine deficient countries and it is known that deficiencies of selenium, vitamin A and iron may exacerbate the effects of iodine deficiency. In the analysis of ‘National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys’ data of moderate to severe iodine deficiency is present now in a significant proportion of the U.S. population, with a clear increasing trend over the past 20 years, caused by reduced iodized table salt usage [Vii].Along with magnesium and selenium, iodine is one of the most deficient minerals in our bodies. Iodine is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormone, but selenium-dependent enzymes (iodothyronine deiodinases) are also required for the conversion of thyroxine (T4) to the biologically active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3). Selenium is the primary mineral responsible for T4 to T3 (thyroid hormones) conversion in the liver. (Selenium is absolutely essential in the age of mercury toxicity for it is the perfect antidote for mercury exposure. It is literally raining mercury all over the world but especially in the northern hemisphere. And of course with the dentists poisoning a world of patients with mercury dental amalgam and the doctors with their mercury laden vaccines, selenium is more important than most of us can imagine. One must remember that mercury strips the body of selenium for the selenium stores get used up quickly because of its great affinity for mercury).Iodine is the agent which arouses (kindles) and keeps going theflame of life. With the aid of our thyroid, in which the iodine ismanifesting, it can either damp this flame or kindle it to a dissolute fire.Scholz 1990.Symptoms of iodine deficiency include muscle cramps, cold hands and feet, proneness to weight gain, poor memory, constipation, depression and headaches, edema, myalgia, weakness, dry skin, and brittle nails. Sources include most sea foods, (ocean fish, but not fresh fish, shellfish, especially oysters), unrefined sea salt, kelp and other sea weeds, fish broth, butter, pineapple, artichokes, asparagus, dark green vegetables and eggs. Certain vegetables, such as cabbage and spinach, can block iodine absorption when eaten raw or unfermented and are called goitrogens. But eating fish won't give you iodine in mg amounts. To get 13.8 mg iodine, you would have to eat 10-20 pounds of fish per day. [viii]Iodine is needed in microgram amounts for the thyroid,mg amounts for breast and other tissues, and canbe used therapeutically in gram amounts [ix]Dr. David MillerInorganic non-radioactive iodine/iodide is an essential nutrient, not a drug. Therefore, the body has the metabolic mechanism for using inorganic iodine beneficially, effectively and safely. Iodine is as safe as magnesium chloride with a track record of 180 years of use in medicine. Published data confirms its safety even when used in pulmonary patients in amounts four orders of magnitude greater than the US RDA [x]. When patients take between 12.5 to 50 mg of iodine per day, it seems that the body becomes increasingly more responsive to thyroid hormones [xi]. Optimal intake of iodine in amounts two orders of magnitude greater than iodine levels needed for goiter control may be required for iodization of hormone receptors [xii].Iodine helps us utilize our proteins properly. In all likelihoodan iodine deficient person will remain protein deficient.Dr. Bryce VickeryIodine is the essential ingredient in thyroid hormone synthesis. So if deficient, protein synthesis will be disturbed. Thyroid hormones have two major physiological effects. They increase protein synthesis in virtually every body tissue and increase oxygen consumption dependent upon Na+ -K+ ATPase (Na pump). The thyroid gland needs iodine to synthesize thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), hormones that regulate metabolism and steer growth and development. Thyroid hormones are essential for life as they regulate key biochemical reactions, especially protein synthesis and enzymatic activities, in target organs such as are the developing brain, muscle, heart, pituitary and kidney[xiii]; thus iodine is critically important to the developing fetus.Iodine transport damage can be corrected, in part, by administrationof reasonably high doses of ascorbic acid or more natural Vitamin C.The thyroid hormones are synthesized in the follicular cells of the thyroid. The first step to hormone synthesis is the import of iodide into the follicular cells. Thyroid hormone regulates mitochondrial protein synthesis through the stimulation of synthesis of mitochondrial protein synthesis modulators, and that the tissue specific modulators (stimulatory in liver and inhibitory in kidney) can be produced by the hormone. [xiv] Whole body iodine sufficiency is a critical means to counter the side effects of thyroid hormone medications (Synthroid, etc.). Long-term use of these drugs is associated with depletion of thyroid and tissue iodine levels, as well as increased rates of cancer. All thyroid patients should be on iodine therapy.Iodine is a powerful primary nutrient with broad medicinal effects and a hundred years ago it was used universally by most doctors. From 1900 to the 1960s almost every single U.S. physician used Lugol (iodine) supplements in his or her practice for both hypo and hyperthyroid, as well as many, many other conditions all with excellent results. In fact, iodine was considered a panacea for all human ills. The Nobel laureate Dr. Albert Szent Györgi (1893 - 1986), the physician who discovered vitamin C, writes: "When I was a medical student, iodine in the form of KI (potassium iodide) was the universal medicine. Nobody knew what it did, but it did something and did something good.” Today we know what iodine does and how much it can help people but modern allopathic medicine is asleep at the switch letting people suffer and die for its lacking.Iodine is a gatekeeper of mammary gland integrity"Breast, ovarian, and skin cysts - In addition to fixing almost all cases of breast cysts, iodine also has a remarkable healing effect on ovarian cysts,” says Dr. Robert Rowen. Though few know it swollen ovaries is a condition analogous to goiter, when the thyroid swells in response to iodine deficiency. Goiters often also result in a hormonal imbalance leading to hypothyroidism. In the case of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) the starvation of the ovaries causes them to become cystic, swollen and eventually unable to regulate the synthesis of their hormones leading to imbalances and infertility. Russian studies when investigating Fibrocystic breast disease also discovered that the greater the iodine deficiency the greater the number of cysts in the ovaries. Since 1928, the iodine concentration in the ovary has been known to be higher than in every other organ except the thyroid. Dr. Browstein has found in his research with high doses of iodine that cysts on the ovaries became smaller and began to disappear. He also found that libido in women and men increased.It takes 20 to 40 times the amount of Iodine needed to controlbreast cancer and fibrocystic disease than it does to prevent goiter.In sufficient amounts iodine can not only adjust a dysfunctional thyroid, it can assist with a host of glandular imbalances as well as a wide assortment of internal as well as external bacteria, fungi, and virus's. Iodine has many non-endocrine biologic effects, including the role it plays in the physiology of the inflammatory response. Iodides increase the movement of granulocytes into areas of inflammation and improve the phagocytosis of bacteria by granulocytes and the ability of granulocytes to kill bacteria [xv].Dr. Robert Rowen informs that iodine reduces the activity of lipoprotein(a). When elevated, this protein can lead to excessive blood clotting and vascular disease. Iodine has been used successfully in headaches, keloid formation, parotid duct stones, and Dupuytren's and Peyronie’s contractures. Doses up to six times the RDA have been used safely for months to combat the excessive mucous in chronic lung diseases. He also states that Iodine is found in large amounts in the brain (including the parts of the brain associated with Parkinson’s disease) and the ciliary body of the eye, a possible factor in glaucoma."One 1860 French physician mistakenly gave a tincture of iodine when he meant to give digitalis to a woman with Grave’s Disease. She recovered within three weeks. When he discovered his mistake, he switched to digitalis, and her symptoms came back. He switched back to the iodine and achieved a remission," reported Dr. Rowen.The occurrence of iodine deficiency in cardiovascular disease is frequent. The thyroid hormone deficiency on cardiovascular function can be characterized with decreased myocardial contractility and increased peripheral vascular resistance as well as with the changes in lipid metabolism. A study done with 42 patients with cardiovascular disease were divided into 5 subgroups on the ground of the presence of hypertension, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, coronary dysfunction and arrhythmia. When urine concentrations were tested the most decreased urine iodine concentration was detected in the subgroups with arrhythmia and congestive heart failure. An elevated TSH level was found by 3 patients and elevation in lipid metabolism (cholesterol, triglyceride) associated with all subgroups without arrhythmia. The researchers concluded that iodine supplementation might prevent the worsening effect of iodine deficiency on cardiovascular disease. [xvi]Iodine made its leap into medical history when a Swiss physician, Dr Jean François Condet announced that iodine could reduce goiters (enlarged thyroids). At this moment, modern medical science was born because for the first time we have a specific disorder that is relieved by a specific treatment. It is most ironic to note that the very first step of allopathic medicine was into nutritional not chemical medicine with iodine being a common mineral from the sea.The required daily amount (RDA) of iodine is just enough to keep our thyroidsfrom expanding, like the RDA of vitamin C today which is just enough to keep usfree of scurvy, but not enough to prevent pre scurvy syndromes or Cardiovascular Disease.“We placed am 83-year-old woman on ortho-iodo supplementation for six months at 50 mgs of elemental iodine daily. She experienced a tremendous increase in energy, endurance, well being, and memory. At six months all her skin peeled off and was replaced by new, younger-looking skin. She was flabbergasted and amazed at her new appearance. In our experience older women (especially over 65) noticed a major difference both physically and mentally,” wrote Dr. Guy Abraham, an endocrinologist who today is providing the backbone of the movement back toward the use of iodine as an essential safe and effective medicine.Breast tissue has an affinity for iodine.Iodine deficiency causes fibrocystic breast diseasewith nodules, cyst enlargement, pain and scar tissue.Drs. Abraham, Flechas and Brownstein tested more than 4,000 patients taking iodine in daily doses ranging from 12.5 to 50 mg, and in those with diabetes, up to 100 mg a day. These investigators found that “iodine does indeed reverse fibrocystic disease; their diabetic patients require less insulin; hypothyroid patients, less thyroid medication; symptoms of fibromyalgia resolve, and patients with migraine headaches stop having them.” We can expect even better results when iodine is combined with magnesium chloride.Most physicians and surgeons view iodine from a narrow perspective and this is one of the greatest tragedies of allopathic medicine. Most health officials are chemical terrorists in disguise as they ignore the toxic buildup going on in the general population and they have no intention of informing them what they can do about it. Mercury is a perfect case in point. Mercury is toxic from whatever source it arrives into our bodies but doctors and dentists still insist on using it, which puts us solidly in the modern age of medical and dental barbarism. We like to think we are an advanced race of intelligent beings but lo and behold we find what are supposed to be the best and most intelligent of us poisoning young and old alike with mercury. It is beyond criminality what they are doing and what they are denying.On top of everything these same health officials do not even have an understanding of the basic medicines already in use, like iodine, magnesium chloride, and sodium bicarbonate, all emergency room substances that save peoples’ lives everyday. To most doctors iodine is an antiseptic that disinfects drinking water and prevents surgical wound infections, and the thyroid gland needs it to make thyroid hormones and that’s it. But Dr. George Flechas relates that many of his diabetic patients need lowering of insulin dosage and diabetic drugs after repletion of iodine deficiency and others have observed the same thing. Something is dangling itself before our very eyes, a medical mystery that will enlighten us about our ignorance about how important minerals are for life. Both general and medical scientists can explain why diabetics and others benefit so greatly from heavy iodine supplementation, but will allopathic medical officials listen? Don’t count on it.Iodine is utilized by every hormone receptor in the body.The absence of iodine causes a hormonal dysfunction thatcan be seen with practically every hormone inside the body.Dr. George FlechasThis, in part, would already start to explain why Dr. Flechas sees such dramatic results with his diabetic patients. Why would many people who take iodine report that they have a greater sense of well-being, increased energy, and a lifting of brain fog? They feel warmer in cold environments, need somewhat less sleep, improved skin complexion, and have more regular bowel movements. The most obvious answer is that iodine is a tracemineral used to synthesize hormones and is a mineral that is very important to how hormones function at the hormone receptor sites.Thyroxin and Triiodo-thyronine stimulates and maintains normal heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. [xvii] "Despite the general medical dependence upon special hormone tests, such as TSH, etc, temperature appears to be much more accurate for assessing thyroid function. During the past decade, I have noticed that 90% of individuals have a temperature BELOW normal. The oral temperature before getting out of bed in the morning should be 97.6 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Mid-afternoon the temperature should be 98.6. Temperature is the simplest measure of basal metabolic rate, the key function of the thyroid gland," said Dr. Norman Shealy, who suggests iodine dosages of 1500 micrograms daily 4 to 6 weeks. If basal temperature comes to normal, lower iodine dosage to 600 mcg daily.Iodine's ability to revive hormonal sensitivity seems to significantly improve insulin sensitivity. Dr. Flechas said, “It was while treating a large 320-pound woman with insulin dependent diabetes that we learned a valuable lesson regarding the role of iodine in hormone receptor function. This woman had come in via the emergency room with a very high random blood sugar of 1,380 mg/dl. She was then started on insulin during her hospitalization and was instructed on the use of a home glucometer. She was to use her glucometer two times per day. Two weeks later on her return office visit for a checkup of her insulin dependent diabetes she was informed that during her hospital physical examination she was noted to have FBD. She was recommended to start on 50 mg of iodine (4 tablets) at that time. One week later she called us requesting to lower the level of insulin due to having problems with hypoglycemia. She was told to continue to drop her insulin levels as long as she was experiencing hypoglycemia and to monitor her blood sugars carefully with her glucometer. Four weeks later during an office visit her glucometer was downloaded to my office computer, which showed her to have an average random blood sugar of 98. I praised the patient for her diligent efforts to control her diet and her good work at keeping her sugars under control with the insulin. She then informed me that she had come off her insulin three weeks earlier and had not been taking any medications to lower her blood sugar. When asked what she felt the big change was, she felt that her diabetes was under better control due to the use of iodine.”Increased metabolic rate increases the need for iodine.If a person is not getting enough iodine and areon thyroid meds they will become more deficient.Dr. Fletchas [xviii] reported that two years later and 70 pounds lighter this above patient continues to have excellent glucose control on iodine 50 mg per day. “We since have done a study of twelve diabetics and in six cases we were able to wean all of these patients off of medications for their diabetes. The range of daily iodine intake was from 50 mg to 100 mg per day. All diabetic patients were able to lower the total amount of medications necessary to control their diabetes.”A lack of iodine in the skin manifests as very dry skinand skin that does not sweat when an individual becomes hot.Dr. Jorge D. FlechasEveryone agrees that a lack of iodine in the diet causes a spectrum of disorders that includes, in increasing order of severity, goiter and hypothyroidism, mental retardation, and cretinism (severe mental retardation accompanied by physical deformities). Iodine deficient humans, like endemic cretins, suffer physical, neurological, mental, immune and reproductive diseases. Iodine is important in the proper function of the nervous system and Dr. S. Cunnane [xix] suggests that “iodine is the primary brain selective nutrient in human brain evolution.”Iodine deficiency is a major cause of under-functioning intellect [xx]. Dr. Flechas agrees, “In newborn children iodine is responsible for the development of the babies’ I.Q. Recent research shows iodine deficiency is felt to be the source of attention deficit disorder in children.” “We have an absolute epidemic of autism in this country,” said Representative Dan Burton (R-Indiana). “Parents and doctors are struggling to find appropriate treatment options.” What help iodine can be to neurological damaged children has not been explored yet but iodine and magnesium logically should be some of the first things parents should reach for. We certainly will find science to create a foundation for the use of iodine before, during and after pregnancy.Deficiency of iodine seems to cause more damage in developing embryos and in fact, in pregnant women iodine deficiency causes abortions and stillborns [xxi]. It is not cretinism alone that holds risks from deficiency, but the very survival of the infant itself. Adequate iodine may also provide protection from infection and vaccine damage. In a study done on 617 infants between the ages of 6 weeks and six months, in an iodine deficient area, it was shown that with the addition of 100 mg of iodine oil to the diet of newborns, that the death rate of infants was markedly lower than for those without any supplementation. [xxii]Magnesium and iodine deficiencies are thecauses of autoimmune thyroiditis, not excess iodide.Iodine deficiency poses significant additional reproductive risks, including overt hypothyroidism and infertility. Hypothyroidism causes anovulation, infertility, and gestational hypertension. [xxiii] Adequate tissue iodine helps guide estrogen into friendly pathways that support proper function of female sex hormones. Iodine contributes to the formation of testosterone. In women this supports healthy sex drive. In men, testosterone is vital to function.Iodine is my drug of choice. I use it for everything. I raise my kids andnow my grandkids on iodine. My son was due to have his tonsils removedand I decided to paint his tonsils and he has never been had any moreproblems with his throat. I took a spray bottle and poured some iodine into thebottle and sprayed his tonsils. As you may know iodine dries quickly, so hedidn't really swallow any. It worked within 24 hours after spraying the throat.According to Dr. John Myer iodine has a marked effect on muscle contraction directly. It relieves cramps of the leg muscles known as ‘charley horses’. It also relieves pain in the pericardium, which he believes is similar contraction of the heart muscles, and it has a remarkable effect on muscle energy and contraction of all muscles of the body. Dr. Myer also asserts that iodine plays a decisive and critical role in the lymph system and in the lymph glands. Swollen sub maxillary glands known as ‘waxen kernels’ to our parents and grandparents, will soften and regress within minutes after allowing iodized lime to dissolve in the mouth.Iodine is a very effective method for water purification. Its action is dependent on the concentration of iodine, the water temperature and duration of contact. For example, a concentration of 8 mgs per liter at 20 degrees centigrade will destroy all pathogens if left for 10 minutes. Lower concentrations and lower water temperatures require a longer duration of action. Iodine tablets were developed during World War II to disinfect small amounts of water for emergency or temporary use. A few drops of tincture of iodine or iodine tablets are popular with campers and the military for disinfecting water. An iodine residual of 0.5 to 1.0 mg/l should be maintained and iodine at this level gives the water little or no iodide taste or odor.When one combines the intake of iodine with other minerals (Iodine in combination with selenium increased the activities of type 1 deiodinase (D1) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) [xxiv] one can expect strong and positive changes in cell physiology. Iodine with magnesium, with the help of natural chelation will resolve tough, stubborn problems that resist other treatments. Dr. Linus Pauling's 'orthomolecular medicine,' which refers to the concept of creating the optimal molecular environment in the body ('orthomolecular' means 'the right molecules') should have become the foundational stone for medicine but was replaced by a system that massively destroys peoples’ life and health with pharmaceutical poisons. Allopaths live with the illusion that the dose makes the poison meaning they are always assuming that there is too little poison in their medicines to do harm. We are just beginning to find out how tragically wrong they have been and the staggering cost in terms of lives lost because of this mistake.Iodine and/or selenium deficiency may modifythe distribution and the homeostasis of other minerals. [xxv]Running our bodies without sufficient minerals is like running a car without oil. Our engines of cellular life begin to seize up especially quickly today because of all the impurities in our food, air, water and medical and dental drugs and substances. Minerals are powerful medicines exactly because they directly touch upon and effect vital body physiology.One might go as far as imagining that there might even be a conspiracy to keep us iodine deficient, because if we are iodine deficient our will to resist is diminished, our apparent intellect, energy and vitality are all diminished and we are significantly more vulnerable to thyroid malfunction, endocrine/hormonal imbalances, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. Many fine physicians are wondering why the RDA for iodine would be set so low, and why would many of the former sources of iodine be diminished or removed and replaced with things like bromides and fluorides that deplete iodine and offer no worthwhile compensation for the replacement?Dr. Daniel H. Duffy uses some very harsh but deserved words while asking some clear questions about iodine. “Isn’t it odd that the government dispenses Iodine to protect against radioactive iodine resulting from a nuclear disaster when the medical quacks are dumping the same type of radioactive iodine into patients with thyroid problems in a stupid attempt to ‘cure’ thyroid ‘disease’ caused by a lack of elemental iodine in its natural state found in nature? Nature’s iodine protects our thyroid glands from taking up biologically destructive, radioactive iodine, yet the medical quacks use similar radioactive iodine to destroy our thyroid glands? Why did doctors quit using Lugol’s solution, the sure cure for thyroid disease? Why did the medical quacks bring in anti thyroid drugs and goitrogens to kill the thyroid gland when iodine was being used so successfully for so long?”President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in Government and politics happens by accident, you can bet if something happened it was well planned.” J. Edgar Hoover said: “The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists.” When it comes to iodine suspect the worst from top government health officials who only seem to want to poison the public. What can one say about an FDA that, for example continues to assert the safety of aspartame when scientists around the world are finding it to be the worst food additive ever used? Now that there is an iodine revival going on expect the FDA to clamp down on its availability.Orthoiodo-supplementation should be partof a complete nutritional program,emphasizing magnesium instead of calcium.Dr. Guy AbrahamOrthoiodo-supplementation employs elemental iodine supplements until the thyroid gland and all other iodine-sensitive sites in the body have reached iodine sufficiency. In reality there is no reason to fear iodine if approached with reason and a slight bit of caution [xxvi] for it will stimulate a detoxification process of heavy metals especially of halogens. All doctors used iodine a hundred years ago and the best ones are still using it today.Every 17 minutes, every drop of blood in our body flushes throughour thyroid, and if our thyroid has an adequate supply of iodine, blood-bornebacteria and viruses are killed off as the blood passes through the thyroid.We are just beginning to rediscover the amazing curative powers of iodine. While it may not be the panacea that old-timers have claimed it to be when used alone, when combined with magnesium chloride, ALA, and in the special case of cancer, with sodium bicarbonate, we will find something quite extraordinary. Survival Medicine for the 21st Century contains a revolutionary protocol for breast cancer that includes magnesium chloride, iodine and sodium bicarbonate. These three emergency room medicines when combined and used correctly will revolutionize the field of oncology but will threaten the pharmaceutical industry whose profits will suffer enormously from the widespread use of these inexpensive, safe and effective nutritional medicines.The medical truth is obvious and as plain as day, but most of the time it does not line up with conventional thinking. But given time medical science will catch up to the obvious. As you will see in Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, the research is already there showing magnesium chloride to be the number one heavyweight champion of the medical world able to save lives with a single bound in emergency situations and it, along with other basic nutritional substances concentrated for medical purposes are the answers we are looking for to protect ourselves and loved ones in the age of toxicity that we are all unfortunately passing through.Mark Sircus Ac., OMDDirector International Medical Veritas AssociationDr. Sircus | International Medical Veritas AssociationMagnesium Articles, Dosages, Benefits, Uses and [email protected] Medical Veritas AssociationCopyright 2007 All rights reserved.IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This communication is intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in it is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.COMMENT by WALTER LASTIncrease iodine remedies slowly while monitoring your wellbeing. According to present medical warnings iodine can suppress thyroid functions. However, the dose needed to suppress thyroid functions is about 750 mg of iodine, while one drop of Lugol's has only 6.5 mg iodine.Saturated solution of potassium iodide (SSKI) has been used as an emergency treatment for hyperthyroidism because high amounts of iodide temporarily suppress secretion of thyroid hormones from the thyroid gland. The dose for this are 5 drops of SSKI with 250 mg iodine as iodide three times daily. The recommended dose for thyroid protection from radioactive contamination is 100 mg iodine/day. Two drops of SSKI or a standard 130 mg pill may be used daily in nuclear accidents to block the uptake of radioactive iodine.The main causes of suppressed thyroid functions are Candida, mercury and fluoride. Until the 1970's Fluoride was prescribed by doctors as thyroid-suppressing medication for patients with an over-active thyroid !Some symptoms of under-active thyroid functions include fatigue, underweight or overweight, constipation, fuzzy thinking, dry skin, low blood pressure, fluid retention, depression, and slow reflexes. When using high-dose iodine supplements then watch out for signs of over-active thyroid functions. These include anxiety, insomnia, rapid weight loss, diarrhea, high pulse rate, high blood pressure, sensitivity or bulging eye and vision disturbances.Iodine supplements tend to normalize over-active thyroid conditions, including autoimmune conditions and thyroid cancer. However, if the size of the thyroid is increased as with goiter, then additional iodine will initially cause an overstimulation. To normalize thyroid size and functions the iodine dose needs to be increased only very slowly and temporarily decreased when overstimulation occurs, and after a while slowly increased again.Another problem is that iodine is a heart stimulant, and if you are using thyroid medication, or other stimulant drugs in addition, then that may be too much stimulation and heart palpitations may develop. In this case you need to reduce some of these stimulants sufficiently to rectify this problem.According to my experience and understanding the greatest benefit of high iodine intake is its effectiveness in killing Candida and other fungi and microbes. This may also be a reason for its effectiveness with breast cancer and fibrocystic disease in breasts, ovaries and uterus. The secret of this success may be the fact that both iodine and fungi have an affinity for the mucous membranes. By keeping the mucous membranes healthy iodine greatly helps to overcome autoimmune diseases, sinus problems, asthma, lung cancer, and other lung problems, and also intestinal diseases, including inflammatory conditions, and cancers. Studies indicate that the best iodine supplement is one that includes molecular iodine, which breast tissue prefers.The common use of iodine as an antimicrobial agent is 4 x 6 to 8 drops or 3 x 10 drops of Lugol’s solution for 3 weeks, see the Ultimate Cleanse. The FDA recently banned the sale of more than 30 ml of Lugol’s solution, but in the US you can still obtain Iodoral (iodine tablets) and a 2% iodine solution, and take five times as many drops as stated for Lugol’s solution, but make sure you use a water-based iodine solution, not iodine in alcohol which may cause reactions. Iosol, an iodine/ammonium iodide remedy has 1.8 mg of iodine/iodide per drop. The TGA in Australia does no longer allow Lugol's and similar iodine solutions to be used as remedies. You may still obtain Lugol’s solution from aquarium supplies and for water purification, see www.strideintohealth.com.You may monitor your thyroid function by checking your temperature before getting up in the morning. Measuring under the tongue is more reliable than in the armpit. Women before menopause measure in the first half of the cycle before ovulation and best in the first week after the start of a new period. The temperature should be 36.5ºC (97.6ºF) or higher, otherwise the thyroid is likely to be under-active. However, be sure that you do not have a raised temperature due to a healing reaction or an infection.For another excellent article see Iodine for Health by Donald W. Miller. A paragraph from this article reads:“More than 4,000 patients in this project take iodine in daily doses ranging from 12.5 to 50 mg, and in those with diabetes, up to 100 mg a day. These investigators have found that iodine does indeed reverse fibrocystic disease; their diabetic patients require less insulin; hypothyroid patients, less thyroid medication; symptoms of fibromyalgia resolve, and patients with migraine headaches stop having them. To paraphrase Dr. Szent-Györgi, these investigators aren’t sure how iodine does it, but it does something good.”REFERENCES[i] Saker KE, Fike JH, Veit H, Ward DL (2004) Brown seaweed-(Tasco) treated conserved forage enhances antioxidant status and immune function in heat-stressed wether lambs. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 88:122-30.[ii] Saker KE, Allen VG, Fontenot JP, Bagley CP, Ivy RL, Evans RR, Wester DB (2001) Tasco-Forage: II. Monocyte immune cell response and performance of beef steers grazing tall fescue treated with a seaweed extract. J Anim Sci 79:1022-31[iii] Ghent, W., et al, Can. J. Surg., 36:453-460,1993.Eskin, B., et al, Biological Trace Element Research, 49:9-19, 1995.[iv] Abraham, G.E., The historical background of the iodine project. The Original Internist, 12(2):57-66, 2005.[v] http://www.ispcorp.com/products/pharma/content/brochure/pvpiodine/antiact.htmlTable 4: Microbiological Efficacy Activity of PVP-Iodine versus Bacteria, Yeasts and Molds, Actinomycetes and RickettsiaORGANISMS (NO. of STRAINS)RANGE OF PVP-I IN ppm AVAILABLE IODINECONTACT OF KILL TIME IN SECONDSProteus (41)100 - 250015 - 180Staphylococcus (36)66 - 250015 - 80Pseudomonas (36)25 - 250015 - 900Streptococcus (25)200 - 250015 - 30Escherichia (23)200 - 250030 - 120Salmonells (9)1000 - 250015 - 60Candida (8)3.75 - 250010 - 120Serratia (6)200 - 250060 - 120Spores-Baccillus; Clostridium (6)100002 - 5 HoursTrichomomonas (5)400 - 250030 - 60Enterobacter (4)1000 - 250060Klebsiella (4)500 - 250060Clostridium (4)100030 - 60Shigella (3)1000 - 250060Corynebacterium (3)250060Diplococcus (3)1000 - 250060Mycobacterium (3)1000 - 250060 - 120Bacillus (3)7.5 - 250010 - 30Sarcina (2)500 - 250060Trichophyton (2)100060Aspergillus (2)100030Mima (1)250060Herella (1)250060Edwardsiella (1)250060Citrobacter (1)250060Providencia (1)100060Acienetobacter (1)3.7510Epidermophyton (1)100060Microsporum (1)100060Pencillium (1)100030Nocardia (1)250060[vi] STERILIZATION ACTION OF CHLORINE AND IODINE ON BACTERIA AND VIRUSES IN WATER SYSTEMS; JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV BALTIMORE MD SCHOOLOF HYGIENE AND PUBLIC HEALTH; Final rept. 1 Jul 1962-30 Jun 1966; http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0476804[vii] Hollowell JG, Staehling NW, Hannon WH, et al. (1998) Iodine nutrition in the United States. Trends and public health implications: iodine excretion data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys I and III (1971-1974 and 1988-1994). J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83: 3401-3408[viii] The iodine content of most foods depends on the iodine content of the soil in which it was raised. Seafood is rich in iodine because marine animals can concentrate the iodine from seawater. Certain types of seaweed (e.g. wakame) are also very rich in iodine. Processed foods may contain slightly higher levels of iodine due to the addition of iodized salt or food additives, such as calcium iodate and potassium iodate. Dairy products are relatively good sources of iodine because iodine is commonly added to animal feed in the U.S. In the U.K. and northern Europe, iodine levels in dairy products tend to be lower in summer when cattle are allowed to graze in pastures with low soil iodine content . The table below lists the iodine content of some iodine-rich foods in micrograms (mcg). Because the iodine content of foods can vary considerably, these values should be considered approximate; http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/iodine/FoodServingIodine (mcg)Salt (iodized)1 gram77Cod3 ounces*99Shrimp3 ounces35Fish sticks2 fish sticks35Tuna, canned in oil3 ounces (1/2 can)17Milk (cow's)1 cup (8 fluid ounces)56Egg, boiled1 large29Navy beans, cooked1/2 cup35Potato with peel, baked1 medium63Turkey breast, baked3 ounces34Seaweed1 ounce, driedVariable; may be greater than 18,000 mcg (18 mg)[ix] Iodine Metabolism; http://iodine4health.com/overviews/clinicians/miller_clinician.htm[x] The RDA limits for vitamins and minerals were established after World War II. One of the last essential elements included in the RDA system was iodine, established in 1980 and confirmed in 1989. The RDA for iodine was based on the amount of iodine/iodide needed to prevent goiter, extreme stupidity and hypothyroidism. The optimal requirement of the whole human body for iodine has never been studied. Therefore, the optimal amount of this element for physical and mental wellbeing is unknown. Based on demographic studies, the mainland Japanese consumed an average of 13.8 mg daily and they are one of the healthiest people on planet earth. One tablet of Iodoral contains 12.5 mg iodine/iodide, an amount very close to the 13.8 mg average intake of mainland Japanese.[xi] Abraham, G.E., Flechas, J.D., Hakala, J.C., Orthoiodosupplementation: Iodine sufficiency of the whole human body. The Original Internist, 9:30-41, 2002.[xii] Abraham, G.E., Flechas, J.D., Hakala, J.C., Orthoiodosupplementation: Iodine sufficiency of the whole human body. The Original Internist, 9:30-41, 2002.[xiii] http://www.moh.gov.my/opencms/export/sites/default/moh/download/16_chat.pdf[xiv] Nippon Naibunpi Gakkai Zasshi. 1985 Nov 20;61(11):1249-58.Induction of cytosolic proteins controlling mitochondrial protein synthesis by thyroid hormone.[xv] Stone OJ (1988) The role of the primitive sea in the natural selection of iodides as a regulating factor in inflammation. Med Hypotheses. 25:125-129[xvi] [Iodine deficiency in cardiovascular diseases]; Molnar I, Magyari M, Stief L.Orv Hetil. 1998 Aug 30;139(35):2071-3.[xvii] http://www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/endoreview.html[i][xviii] Orthoiodosupplementation in a Primary Care Practice; Jorge Fleches, M.D.http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-10/IOD_10.htm[xix] Cunnane SC (2005) Survival of the Fattest: The Key to Human Brain Evolution. World Scientific Publishing Company (Hardcover)[xx] J Clin Endocr and Met 1998; 83:3401-08[xi] Dunn JT, Delange F (2001) Damaged reproduction: the most important consequence of iodine deficiency. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 8:2360-3[xxii] Infant Survival Is Improved by Oral Iodine Supplementation; Cobra et al; The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 127 No. 4 April 1997, pp. 574-578 http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/4/574[xxiii] Damaged Reproduction: The Most Important Consequence of Iodine Deficiency; Dunn and Delange 86 (6): 2360. (2001) http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/reprint/86/6/2360[xiv] Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2006 Summer;111(1-3):229-38.[xxv] Tissue distribution of Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn, the essential trace elements associated with oxidant and/or antioxidant processes, was examined in iodine- and/or selenium-deficient rats. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2003 Dec;95(3):247-58 Entrez Pubmed[xxvi] Iodine therapy is not as completely free from side effects as magnesium is but compared to medical treatments, thyroid drugs, and all the rest, iodine is very safe. Simply proceed with caution, follow directions vigilantly, and carefully monitor your results. It is always best to use a high quality iodine supplement and to start with low dosages and work the dosages up slowly.HOMEHEALING FOODSBODYDISEASESENERGIESEMOTIONSMINDSPIRITUALITYDisclaimer: The aim of this web site is to provide information on using natural healing methods in the treatment of illness and health improvement. The author cannot accept any legal responsibility for any problem arising from experimenting with these methods. For any serious disease, or if you are unsure about a particular course of action, seek the help of a competent health professional.MORE ENERGY & LESS DISEASEwith Vitamin C and MSMWalter LastHealth authorities generally set such low limits for the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamins and minerals that obvious deficiencies in most individuals are avoided but so that these nutrients do not become a threat to the pharmaceutical industry by preventing and curing diseases. In this article I like to show what can be done with higher amounts of vitamin C as pioneered by doctors Linus Pauling, Ewan Cameron, Abram Hoffer and others. The results are even better when combined with MSM (methylsulfonylmethane or dimethylsulfone) and DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide).Hundreds of vitamin C articles with positive results have been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine (www.doctoryourself.com/) which specializes in vitamin research. In an act of obvious bias the MEDLINE database lists all articles by medical research journals, including Time Magazine and Readers' Digest, but not the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. Because all these highly positive studies are not indexed by Medline, proponents of drug medicine can claim that there are no studies showing that vitamin C is useful and safe in the treatment of diseases.30 years ago Linus Pauling and Ewan Cameron showed that high doses of vitamin C are beneficial in cancer treatment. This has been ‘disproved’ by the orthodoxy ever since. But now a study by conventional Johns Hopkins scientists has shown that they were right after all (1). There are, of course, countless studies and reports on the value of vitamin C for preventing and treating infections, but only if enough of it is being used.In critical conditions alternative medical practitioners like to give weekly infusions of 30 to 120 grams of sodium ascorbate. While these can definitely be helpful, I now believe it is more effective for most conditions to gradually increase the orally taken amount close to bowel tolerance level. When diarrhoea or "loose bowels" start to develop then just cut back by 10 to 20% to a more comfortable level. In the following I want to focus mainly on lesser known aspects of using high doses of vitamin C, MSM and DMSO.More EnergyThere are many stories and anecdotal reports about people feeling more energetic by supplementing with vitamin C, MSM, DMSO and niacinamide (vitamin B3), either individually or taken all together. I can confirm these from my own experience. Here just a few examples from the Internet (2).Dr Stanley Jacob presented 3 case histories where five, ten and thirty grams per day of MSM reduced or eliminated fatigue and pain in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. A competitive athlete mixed equal amounts of MSM and Vitamin C powder and drank it in the morning. It gave him an extreme rush of energy, considerably more than either one did alone. Dr Abram Hoffer helped thousands of patients with cancer and schizophrenia with high doses of vitamin C and vitamin B3.Here a paraphrased story: I spread a liberal amount of DMSO on my abdomen. A few hours later I played tennis and I felt a very large increase in energy and agility. I have repeated this a number of times since with the same result.Another paraphrased example about Alzheimer's disease/senile confusion: Gave mom some liquid DMSO in juice and within an hour a new woman! She could have conversation, laugh, be alert. When the DMSO wore off back to the fatigued, yawning and disorientated person. So, I gave some more DMSO, a whole teaspoonful, and within an hour she came alive again, hold conversation, have energy.Also niacinamide improved memory and energy in Alzheimer's disease (3). This is no real surprise because it works also in many other conditions, such as improving or normalising schizophrenia, senile conditions, arthritis, hyperactivity or behavioural and learning difficulties of children, cancer, dermatitis, juvenile diabetes, fatigue and lack of energy (4). The reason why a single vitamin can help with all of these problems is its key role as a coenzyme in oxidative cellular energy production. Some other important nutrients for the oxidative metabolism are copper and the vitamins B2 and B6.In the following I will try to explain how we can understand this energy boost as a result of increased oxygen supply to anaerobic cells.Alternative Oxygen SupplyOur main oxygen distribution is with the haemoglobin in red blood cells. A problem with it is that oxygen is released into the tissues only in response to the presence of carbon dioxide as generated with the aerobic energy metabolism through muscle or brain activity.People with a high amount of Candida, fungi and other myco-microbes have an anaerobic metabolism in parts of the brain and in many muscles and organs. Also cancer cells have an anaerobic metabolism and can become normal with increased oxygen supply so that tumours may just melt away (5). Anaerobic cells do not produce carbon dioxide, and therefore do not get sufficient oxygen from the normal blood circulation. This makes it understandable why it is highly beneficial with all anaerobic and low-energy conditions to use additional oxygen supply methods that do not require carbon dioxide to release oxygen.Best suited for supplementation are vitamin C and MSM. These form reduction-oxidation or redox pairs. One such pair is vitamin C (ascorbic acid or ascorbate) as the reduced form and dehydroascorbic acid or DHA as the oxidized form. Another one is DMSO as the reduced form and MSM as the oxidized one (6).The principle of action is as follows: In an oxygen deficient environment such as a cell with anaerobic metabolism a redox pair changes from their oxidized state to their reduced form by giving off one atom of highly reactive oxygen. When vitamin C or DMSO return to the circulation and flow with the blood through the lungs they are again being converted to their oxidized forms. In this way the redox cycle can repeat several times until the chemicals are gradually being excreted through the kidneys, and an oxidative energy metabolism can be restored in anaerobic tissue where this is not possible with the oxygen in red blood cells.DHA is the form in which vitamin C gets into the brain and most other cells without needing a carrier molecule. Inside the cell it is then reduced by liberating oxygen. With the normal intake levels of vitamin C and MSM the released amount of oxygen is so low that it does not make a difference, and especially not in cells that produce carbon dioxide and get their oxygen from haemoglobin. But it can make a world of difference in anaerobic tissue, and with high intakes of vitamin C and MSM. The oxygen released in this way is initially highly reactive and kills the microbes inside the cells that caused this blockage, and then re-starts the blocked oxidative energy metabolism. This is how vitamin C protects us against cancer and infections if we use enough of it.I do not regard hydrogen peroxide and ozone as suitable oxygen delivery systems to restore the cellular oxygen metabolism. While hydrogen peroxide can be very beneficial to destroy or control fungal-type microbes in the stomach and small intestines, it is not normally suitable for delivering oxygen to anaerobic tissues deeper within the body as it is too reactive, and in the high amounts needed would cause too much damage to antioxidant systems. It has been used with good results, just like ozone, to destroy blood-born microbes by intravenous infusions. But even blood can probably be cleaned just as well or better with frequent oral doses of sodium ascorbate and MSM than with occasional intravenous courses of hydrogen peroxide or ozone.I regard this alternative oxygen supply as being very effective in all conditions of low energy, mental-emotional conditions, cancer, autoimmune diseases, liver diseases, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and all other fungal or Candia-related diseases as well as chronic inflammations and infections.Cleaning Blood VesselsBlood vessel congestion is the main underlying cause of many serious diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) leading to heart attacks and strokes, and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) leading to varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, leg ulcers potentially causing leg amputation in diabetes, and poor blood supply to the brain. Many common conditions such as arthritis, degenerative eye changes (e.g. cataracts, macular degeneration), migraines, and multiple sclerosis are aggravated by it. I noticed symptoms attributed to multiple sclerosis or nerve degeneration disappearing with improved blood circulation.The position of the medical orthodoxy is that atherosclerosis, the clogging up of blood vessels with cholesterol, is caused by high levels of low-density lipoproteins, transporting mainly cholesterol from the liver to other parts of the body. The main problem with this theory is that many individuals with persistently high LDL levels never have a heart attack, and many individuals with low or normal LDL levels do have heart attacks.In 1991 and 1992 doctors Matthias Rath and Linus Pauling wrote important articles linking the development and cure of CVD and PVD to vitamin C deficiency (7, 8). They showed that it is actually a variant of LDL, namely lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a), and not LDL that is accumulating in the blood vessel wall causing atherosclerosis. Lp(a) is formed in increasing amounts in the liver in response to low ascorbate concentrations. Animals, except for primates and guinea pigs produce their own vitamin C at a comparable daily rate of several grams in humans. It therefore comes as no surprise that CVD is essentially unknown in animals, and Lp(a) is mainly found in species that have lost the ability to produce their own ascorbate.Ascorbate deficiency results in degenerative changes of the blood vessel wall, potentially leading to life-threatening bleeding disorders. To avoid such unwanted consequences, low ascorbate levels at the same time increase the plasma concentration of factors that constrict blood vessels and increase blood clotting, including Lp(a) and fibrinogen. Accordingly, Lp(a) is deliberately accumulated in blood vessels damaged by vitamin C deficiency to strengthen the wall and prevent it from bleeding or bursting. An unwanted side effect of this defensive action is the clogging up of blood vessels like old water pipes, and the formation of blood clots, especially micro-clots blocking the blood flow in capillaries. With this vitamin C deficiency appears to be a main cause of acquired as well as inherited bleeding and blood clotting disorders.Another side effect of vitamin C deficiency is high or low blood pressure. Hypertension is mainly associated with CVD and caused when the congestion of arteries and the blood vessel constricting effects dominate. Hypotension is mainly due to weakness and loss of elasticity in the veins, leading to PVD. In PVD triglyceride-rich lipoproteins accumulate in the plasma as very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). These are easily oxidised by chlorinated water, smoking, polluted air, and other factors that deplete vitamin C and then form brownish coloured residues in affected tissues. Elevated glucose levels as in diabetes inhibit the cellular uptake of vitamin C, leading to greater degeneration of the blood circulation.The authors and others have shown that prolonged high supplementation with ascorbate does not only protect against the development of CVD and PVD, but also gradually clears congested blood vessels and strengthens blood vessel walls. They also wrote:" The therapeutic significance of our discovery is not limited to CVD; Lp(a) and ascorbate are involved in cancer, inflammatory disease, and other diseases, including the process of aging" and "We are convinced that before long ascorbate will become the treatment of first choice for cardiovascular disease." Not unexpectedly this last statement is the only one in this article which has turned out to be totally wrong. Why would drug companies give up the highly profitable statins and face bankruptcy with vitamin C instead? Even if individual doctors were inclined to use vitamin C, the drug companies control the system. As I will point out below the drug companies are moving in the opposite direction by restricting the availability of vitamin C.HaemochromatosisIndividuals with iron overload problems, mainly the elderly and those with haemochromatosis (HC) may be reluctant to use vitamin C because of medical advice that it may increase iron absorption. However, from a biochemical perspective, iron overload is a problem of the redox balance with too much iron in the oxidised ferro-form accumulating in the liver. I have shown that this can easily be cured or rectified with a sufficiently high intake of vitamin C (10 grams of spaced-out sodium ascorbate/day) to normalise the overall redox potential of the body (9, 10).I had several HC patients whose iron levels normalised within weeks with a high sodium ascorbate intake. The success rate was 100%, while with the low vitamin C intake suggested by conventional medicine it is 0%. My first patient with hereditary HC was treated conventionally for several years with frequent blood-letting, and was close to death without bringing the iron values into the normal range. But this happened within 20 days after starting ascorbate supplementation. He was anaemic with very low haemoglobin values, and additional Meniere's disease, also all of these normalised rapidly with the start of ascorbate therapy. Interestingly, when he reduced his ascorbate to 5 grams and also started eating meat his iron level moved up again and only normalised when increasing vitamin C to 10 grams.In medicine HC is regarded as an iron overload disease because high amounts of oxidised iron in the form of ferritin (an iron-3 binding protein complex) are stored in the liver and cause oxidative problems also in other parts of the body. I prefer instead to regard it as an iron deficiency disease. The body is deficient in usable iron, that is why it sends out a message to absorb more of it.Vitamin C not only improves the absorption of iron, it is also required to move iron in and out of ferritin tissue stores. Without adequate antioxidants, ferric iron stores may build up because iron cannot be liberated from tissue ferritin and transferred onto plasma transferrin, the main protein in the blood that binds to iron and transports it throughout the body. This step requires vitamin C for a temporary reduction of 3-valence ferric to 2-valence ferrous iron.A main problem is the recycling of iron from the continual breakdown of haemoglobin in the spleen. About 25 mg of iron are recycled daily in this way, but this requires a reduction-oxidation step to transfer ferritin iron in the tissue onto plasma transferrin. With vitamin C deficiency there would be only a partial recycling. Most of the iron stores build up in the liver where the decomposed haemoglobin arrives through the portal vein after its liberation from old erythrocytes in the spleen.This causes a very high oxidation potential in the liver, leading to various liver diseases and elevated liver enzymes. However, very high ferric iron stores in the liver would also make this organ more antioxidant deficient than other tissue. The highest vitamin C activity would be in the intestinal mucosa as these have first call on the antioxidants absorbed from food. Therefore, transferrin will preferentially pick up iron from the intestinal mucosa and avoid the liver stores as too difficult to convert.Iron overload is not just a problem of our genes. It is a general problem as we get older but happens more rapidly in males and with liver diseases. Therefore it is probably a condition of most elderly individuals. This causes generalised vitamin C deficiency being expressed as a great variety of old-age symptoms. Two very common ones are connective tissue weakness and loss of hair colour.Connective TissueConnective tissue holds the different parts of our body together. Examples of connective tissue are tendon, ligament, skin, cornea, cartilage, bone and blood vessels. Skin cells grow on a scaffolding of connective tissue, while bone consist of minerals within a matrix of connective tissue. The main component of connective tissue is collagen. It is structured as three protein strands arranged as a triple helix, and is the most abundant protein in the body.Ascorbate is essential in forming different components of collagen and to assemble everything into the triple helix. Severe vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy in which collagen becomes defective and prevents the formation of strong connective tissue. Gums deteriorate and bleed with loss of teeth; skin discolours and breaks down, and wounds do not heal just as with diabetes. Another scurvy-like effect of vitamin C deficiency is haemorrhagic bleeding in the brain of children after vaccinations for which some parents were put in jail accused of causing "shaken baby syndrome".Along with soft keratin, collagen makes the skin strong and elastic, its degradation leads to wrinkles, loose and ageing skin. Even more important for health is the effect on the blood vessels. Deficiency causes them to lose their elasticity, rigid and calcified arteries drive up the blood pressure and they can more easily break. This is especially a problem with aneurisms - ballooning enlargements of arteries with thin walls that can easily rupture (Albert Einstein died of a ruptured abdominal aneurism). In the veins vitamin C deficiency causes distension and slack walls so that the valves no longer close properly. The blood stagnates in the lower legs and pools to form varicose veins.Now we can also understand sagging breasts and enlarged prostates as chronic vitamin C deficiencies rather than just advancing age. The prostate story is more complicated and goes like this: testosterone is partially converted in the testes and prostate into the much stronger dihydrotestosterone or DHT. It is then supposed to go with the blood circulation into the rest of the body. But with chronic ascorbate deficiency the blood keeps stagnating and pooling in or near the prostate leading to very high DHT levels that now stimulate prostate growth. The solution is improving the elasticity of connective tissue.High DHT levels in the scalp are the main cause of male-pattern baldness. It appears that prostate enlargement is the result of DHT combined with a weak venous system (PVD) while male-pattern baldness is due to DHT in a congested arterial system or CVD. Both may, of course, be present simultaneously.All of these problems - ageing skin, rigid arteries, aneurisms, varicose veins, sagging breasts, enlarging prostates and male-pattern baldness are signs of chronic vitamin C deficiency, commonly in combination with copper deficiency. Copper is also essential in forming connective tissue. Furthermore, plenty of sulphur is required either from sulphur-rich vegetables or MSM or both.In addition to a high oral intake of sodium ascorbate it is beneficial to rub it onto the skin, good after a bath or shower. You may just pour some of the powder into your wet hands and rub it on the wet skin. Alternatively dissolve a teaspoon of sodium ascorbate in an egg cup of warm water and rub it all over the body. Let it dry on the skin without rubbing off with a towel. For quicker drying this may be done in the sun or in front of a heater, but the longer it stays wet the better it penetrates. Alternatively skin penetration may be improved by dissolving the ascorbate in aloe vera gel or 50% DMSO. Plenty of oral and topical vitamin C also prevents and may remove skin cancers. Melanoma also have disappeared after frequently rubbing with DMSO.Hair ColourHair is coloured by the production of melanin in the hair bulbs. There are two kinds of melanin, eumelanin which colours the hair brown to black, and pheomelanin that makes it yellow-blond to red. Different combinations of these two kinds of melanin determine then the exact colour and shade of the hair.White hair results when insufficient nutrients are supplied to the scalp to maintain normal melanin production in hair cells called melanocytes or when these are damaged by microbes, oxidation or heavy metals, especially mercury. Several nutrients are responsible to convert the amino acid tyrosine into melanin. The most common deficiency is with copper.A convincing demonstration in regard to copper has been conducted with black sheep. When their feed was alternated several times containing high and low amounts of copper, they developed alternating black and white coloured bands in their wool; also the curliness was reduced when copper was low (11).Grey/gray hair contains much less copper than naturally coloured hair. It is not clear if high copper hair levels due to high intake of inorganic copper can be used for melanin production but I assume that it cannot be used. To restore hair colour I regard it as most useful to rub diluted copper salicylate solution directly into the scalp but additional oral intake may be helpful (12, 13).Para-amino benzoic acid or PABA, which is related to the B group of vitamins and has a similar ring structure to tyrosine, helps to produce eumelanin and darkens the hair. Generally PABA has been effective in 10-25% of cases to darken grey or white hair; after stopping application the colour tends to fade again after several weeks. In clinical trials amounts from 400 mg up to 15 g of oral PABA have been used daily. PABA, used orally or topically, is also a natural sunscreen.PABA itself is not water-soluble but may be dissolved in DMSO or by adding about one-third of bicarbonate to PABA suspended in water. Use about half a level teaspoon of PABA. After some fizzing the water will clear and the solution may now be rubbed into the scalp. Additional PABA may be taken internally with meals, but I regard the direct application as more effective. If available you may buy directly the water-soluble potassium or sodium salts of PABA.Other nutrients required to maintain or restore natural hair colour are the B vitamins pantothenic acid, folic acid (in green leaves) and biotin (highest in egg yolk), and the quasi B vitamin inositol. Inositol stabilises cell membranes. This protects the hair bulbs and helps to keep the hair moist and so darkens its colour; severe deficiency may cause baldness. Zinc may be required in addition as well as iodine and sufficient calcium and magnesium. Overacidity causes mineral deficiency and premature greying of the hair.Another cause of fading hair colour is chronic stress. This may be due to emotional stress or to nutritional deficiency, or to chronic infections, most commonly related to Candida. In the normal metabolism free radicals and hydrogen peroxide are being formed. These need to be detoxified otherwise the melanin-producing enzymes are being damaged. Oral as well as topical treatment with fungicides and high amounts of vitamin C are most important to avoid this problem (14).From this it also follows that regularly applying oxidants to the scalp as in the form of chlorinated water will lead to premature greying, and also seems to contribute to male-pattern baldness. Also drinking chlorinated water or cooking in it, or frying, all increase the ingestion of oxidized products and contribute to early greying. Hair colouring damages the hair, and it may then take longer for a natural colour to reappear. It is not clear if and to what degree completely white hair can regain some natural colouring; this may depend very much on additional measures to improve overall vitality and blood circulation to the scalp.The main cause of premature greying is probably intestinal dysbiosis based on Candida overgrowth in combination with its cousin pyroluria which causes severe deficiency of vitamin B6, zinc and various other vitamins and minerals. For details see Pyroluria. Together with vitamin C deficiency this also is an important cause of early aging skin and deteriorating blood vessels.There is much anecdotal evidence that increased blood circulation to the scalp can restore hair colour. This may be done by frequently keeping the head lower than the heart, such as with inversion equipment or slant boards, or by rubbing irritating substances into the scalp such as a solution of cayenne or some aromatic oils. Most difficult is restoring the colour of the beard as it is commonly greatly damaged by dental procedures, especially mercury and root canal treatments.In my experience it is best to apply both, copper salicylate as well as sodium ascorbate. Depending on the vitality of the damaged hair bulbs, hair can recolour almost instantly, but generally it takes at least several weeks or even months, while some white hair may never recolour. I recommend to rub some copper salicylate solution into the hair/scalp once or twice a week but sodium ascorbate preferably daily, just rub some dissolved ascorbate into the scalp or beard. Initially it may come back as a light reddish colour which darkens over time, especially with additional application of PABA.How to use Vitamin C and MSMLinus Pauling, two times Nobel prize winner, pioneered the daily use of 10 grams of vitamin C for the improvement and protection of health. He reportedly used himself between 10 and 18 grams/day for 35 years. However, even much smaller amounts can cause diarrhoea if taken all at once. Therefore use it well spread out during the day and night (in case you tend to wake up) but increase amounts only gradually to minimize the possibility of diarrhoea and cleansing reactions, cut back if problems arise.It is best to use vitamin C and MSM together, such as up to 2 rounded teaspoons or 10 grams each of sodium ascorbate and MSM, and possibly 1 to 3 teaspoons of 50 to 70% DMSO rubbed on the skin at problem areas, such as for arthritis.You may frequently mix the powders with drink or food, or dissolve them in half to one litre of water, juice or herb tea, add some lemon juice and frequently sip during the day. You may also add magnesium chloride or magnesium oil, or borax, or other frequently taken nutrients such as other vitamins and minerals, but generally not oxidants such as MMS or Lugol's solution. If there are indications that you are too acidic and need additional alkalizers, then it is preferable to take sodium bicarbonate separately before or between meals so that the gastric acid needed for digestions is not neutralised.I would generally continue with 10 grams daily until the treated problem has been resolved, be it to get more energy, a chronic disease, liver problems, improving connective tissue, or just to clean out and strengthen the blood vessels. After about one year or with sufficient and sustained improvement you may try reducing to 5 grams daily and later even less. You may also cycle the dosage, go up and down in a slow wave form, remaining for several weeks each at the intended maximum and minimum levels which may go as low as 1 gram or zero with a good diet. Young and healthy individuals may remain healthy with several hundred milligrams of vitamin C available from a good diet.Do not stop a high vitamin C intake suddenly as this can create a serious rebound deficiency, rather reduce high intakes gradually. In addition to a vitamin B complex, with chronic diseases use about 500 mg of niacinamide with breakfast and lunch because vitamin B3 is needed as the main coenzyme for energy-producing redox reactions. Niacinamide is also an effective anti-inflammatory agent.If sodium ascorbate is not available look for buffered vitamin C. This may contain in addition to ascorbic acid ascorbates of calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium, or more commonly and cheaper these minerals as carbonates. Buffered vitamin C is preferable with kidney disease, water retention and high blood pressure problems. Alternatively, you may use ascorbic acid and neutralise it in water by adding two parts to one part of sodium bicarbonate or mixed potassium, magnesium and calcium carbonates shortly before ingesting. You can drink it while it is still fizzing.While vitamin C is known to be good as treatment for viral infections, recent research has shown that it is actually DHA that is the effective antimicrobial remedy, up to one thousand times stronger than the reduced form of vitamin C (16). These effects can be even stronger in the presence of copper ions. This may be the reason why blood copper levels are elevated during infections and inflammations, just waiting to team up with high levels of vitamin C.With serious infections it may be helpful to oxidize vitamin C to DHA before ingestion for better absorption and a stronger effect. Dissolve a teaspoon of sodium ascorbate and 1 teaspoon of MSM in a large glass of water. Add a teaspoon of 3% or about 10 drops of 35% hydrogen peroxide, a teaspoon of glycerine and a tiny amount of a copper compound. This solution does not keep and needs to be made fresh every day. Take a sip of it frequently during the day. In this way you can get a stronger antimicrobial effect with less vitamin C (15).In most EU countries, except the UK (see www.ebay.co.uk), sodium ascorbate powder in kilogram quantities is not available for human consumption, and even for veterinary use it is very expensive and difficult to obtain. These restrictions are most severe in Germany. Ascorbic acid is increasingly vilified in German internet articles. Ascorbic acid in kg amounts is only available as food preservative, not as a vitamin, and buyers may be checked to make sure that they do not intent to use it as a vitamin. I have no doubt that this attack originates from the German pharmaceutical industry which now tries to extend the German and EU ban on natural remedies world-wide with the Codex Alimentarius regulations and in coordination with similar draconian FDA regulations.Reactions and Side-EffectsI can confirm from my own experience that the recommended vitamin C/MSM works. However, with improving vitality the body also start to clean out accumulated waste products and toxins, and this can cause more or less severe reactions or side-effects in some individuals. These are commonly related to inflammatory effects caused by a revitalised immune system. The main effects that I have noticed so far are:· Microbial die-off or Herxheimer effect and autoimmune reactions· Initial worsening of inflammatory joint and skin problems· Cholesterol and oxidised fats from obstructed blood vessels may temporarily lodge in the skin· Mercury and possibly other toxic metals liberated from brain and tissues may temporarily increase in the blood· The body may become overacid due to increased inflammationsMost of these effects are beneficial in the long-term and can also happen with other methods of increasing the vitality of the body, and especially the activity of the immune system, but they need to be properly managed. Most of these problems arise either from overgrowth of Candida and other pathogenic microbes in intestines, blood, joints and tissues, and especially from poor liver functions which cause problems with the fat metabolism and prevent the removal of wastes and toxins through the liver.The immune system requires a lot of vitamin C to overcome acute infections. Because vitamin C is usually in short supply, the immune system cannot do its job, and when acute infections subside, they become chronic instead, such as in the form of arthritis and autoimmune diseases. When the immune system now receives plenty of vitamin C it starts again attacking the invading microbes, and this can cause immune reactions with strong inflammations.A reverse effect is muscle pain during and after an infections, commonly experienced with influenza. This is due to vitamin C deficiency. If it persists it is called scurvy and includes feeling unwell, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhoea, fever, painful joints and muscles. There is then also a tendency of microbes moving into joints and causing arthritis or hiding in organs or glands and causing autoimmune diseases.All this can be prevented by quickly increasing sodium ascorbate close to bowel tolerance levels during an acute infection. Dissolve several heaped teaspoons of it together with some MSM in a litre of herb tea (with freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice) and sip some of it every half hour while awake. Also take enough spaced-out sodium bicarbonate before meals to keep the urine alkaline, and finally try1/8 of a teaspoon of borax powder (may be dissolved in the vitamin C/MSM drink) 3-4 x per day (in all up to 2g/day) with food or drink. Borax protects the joints from getting arthritis, and supports the immune system in eliminating microbes and keeping the intestines free from pathogens. During this time you should not get any cleansing reactions from vitamin C. It also helps when removing pathogens from the intestines by having a psyllium drink with bicarbonate, garlic, ginger or other microbicides before breakfast.When the infection is over reduce the level of vitamin C/MSM to a lower intake but then gradually try increasing again up to 10 grams of each. If a cleansing reaction develops reduce again, then increase again, always up and down like a wave gradually trying to push towards the 10 grams of vitamin C and MSM. If you keep up with a higher borax intake and additional vitamin D3 (see below) you can expect to get less reactions due to immune stimulation. Two grams of daily borax have cured lupus in 4 months, apparently without any strong immune reactions. If it is used in a high amount for a long period then it is advisable to leave borax off for one week each month to avoid it accumulating in the body, but generally it is preferable to alternate anti-microbials as detailed in The Ultimate Cleanse.This may also be a successful strategy for psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions. Psoriasis tends to be intensified by high amounts of vitamin C. In one case someone who never had psoriasis before developed it after some time of taking 10 grams of sodium ascorbate. When this was reduced to 1-2 grams the psoriasis vanished again. I interpret this to mean that with psoriasis the skin is invaded by mycoplasmas, pleomorphic microbes or fungi, and when the activated immune system starts attacking then this causes the skin inflammation.An effective remedy against such skin inflammations seems to be vitamin D3 in high amounts. Initially try absorbing 5,000 IU several times daily under the tongue, and also mixing 5,000 IU or more with some extra virgin olive oil and rubbing it on the skin all over the body. When the inflammation has subsided continue with 5,000 IU orally and as skin rubs, except on days with adequate sun exposure on the skin.Also helpful with skin inflammations are rubs with fresh green leaf or grass juice (this can also be made in a blender with water and strained, or try dissolved and strained wheat/barley grass powder). Also diluted glycerine may help - inflammatory skin may be caused by skin cells not maturing due to a lack of glycerine. This can also be rectified or improved by eating raw fats still containing lipase, such as raw butter, Shea butter, avocado, freshly extracted raw coconut fat, and raw egg yolk, or try an emulsion of extra virgin olive oil with water, lecithin and lipase, or adding lipase to oils or heated fats. Some of these may also be tried as skin rubs.All conditions benefit from soaking in a bath with up to a cupful of sodium bicarbonate and about half this amount of magnesium chloride. Also beneficial is exposing inflamed skin to blue light, such as by covering it with blue cellophane and exposing it to strong light. With all infections and inflammatory conditions alkalizesufficiently to keep the urine alkaline. Finally, a main cause of inherited liver diseases appears to be Pyroluriawhich underlies many of our chronic diseases, especially in combination with Candida overgrowth. This calls for high amounts of zinc and P5P, which is the activated form of vitamin B6.References1) Science Blog 2007-09-10: How vitamin C stops the big 'C' scienceblog.com/14162/how-vitamin-c-stops-the-big-c2) Gregg, David: DMSO and MSM - The Biochemical Oxygen Transport Pair; www.ip-number.com/DMSO/krysalis/dmso.htm(different examples are from different pages of this website)3) Pekker, Michael: Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) May Prevent Alzheimer’s Memory Loss; alzheimers-review.blogspot.com/2010/08/niacinamide-vitamin-b3-may-prevent.html4) Hoffer, Abram: Vitamin B-3 - Niacin and Its Amide; www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_niacin.html5) Last, Walter: Cancer Therapy - A New Direction; www.health-science-spirit.com/cancerdirection.htm6) Gregg, David: Cancer Health Notes; www.ip-number.com/DMSO/krysalis/cancer1.htm, also see the linked pages ..../cancer2.htm and ..../cancer3.htm7) Solution to the Puzzle of Human Cardiovascular Disease: Its Primary Cause is Ascorbate deficiency, leading to the deposition of lipoprotein(a) and fibrinogen / fibrin in the vascular wall Matthias Rath and Linus Pauling Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine 1991, 6: 125-134 www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1991/pdf/1991-v06n03&04-p125.pdf8) A Unified Theory of Human Cardiovascular Disease Leading the Way to the Abolition of This Disease as a Cause for Human Mortality Matthias Rath M.D. and Linus Pauling Ph.D. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine 1992, 7: 5-15www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1992/pdf/1992-v07n01-p005.pdf9) Last, Walter: Natural Therapy for Hemochromatosis; www.health-science-spirit.com/haemo2.html10) Last, Walter: Antioxidants for Haemochromatosis. International Clinical Nutrition Review Volume 11, No.2, pages 71-74, 1991 www.health-science-spirit.com/haemochromatosis1.html11) Adams, R. and Murray. F.: Minerals: Kill or Cure? Larchmont Books, NY 1974.12) Last, Walter: Copper Salicylate - A Potent Inflammation Fighter and Rejuvenator. www.health-science-spirit.com/copper.html13) To buy copper salicylate see www.strideintohealth.com14) ABC News in Science: Grey hair? Blame the bleach. 4 March 2009, www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/03/04/2506240.htm15) Patent US8324269 - Stable compositions of dehydroascorbic acid; www.google.com/patents/US832426916) Ayami Furuya et al: Antiviral effects of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids in vitro: http://www.spandidos-publications.com/ijmm/22/4/541 (free pdf download)HOMEDisclaimer: The aim of this web site is to provide information on using natural healing methods in the treatment of illness and health improvement. The author cannot accept any legal responsibility for any problem arising from experimenting with these methods. For any serious disease, or if you are unsure about a particular course of action, seek the help of a competent health professional. I do not recommend using DMSO or high doses of vitamins for treating humans in countries where this is illegal.The Borax ConspiracyHow the Arthritis Cure has been stoppedWalter LastYou may not be able to imagine that borax, this humble insecticide and laundry detergent, has the potential of singlehandedly bringing down our entire economic system. But you do not need to worry, the danger has been recognised and the necessary steps are already being taken to defuse the situation. I will start with the basics and you will understand what I mean as the story unfolds.Borax is a naturally occurring mineral commonly mined from dried salt lakes, and is the source of other manufactured boron compounds. The main deposits are in California and Turkey. Chemical names are sodium tetraborate decahydrate, disodium tetraborate decahydrate, or simply sodium borate. This means it contains four atoms of boron as its central feature combined with two sodium atoms and ten molecules (or sometimes less) of crystallisation water - decahydrate means 10 water molecules, pentahydrate 5, and anhydrate or anhydrous borax means no crystallisation water; chemically it is all the same.Borax is commonly sold as technical or agricultural grade with 99 to 99.5% minimum purity. Potential impurities consist of sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, bicarbonate, carbonate, sulphate and phosphate but not toxic or heavy metals. This grade includes the borax commonly used as household cleaner. Pharmaceutical grade is not noticeably purer or better.Borax is the sodium salt of the weak boric acid. Because sodium is more strongly alkaline, this makes a solution of borax strongly alkaline with a pH between 9 and 10 (pH 7 is neutral). When ingested, it reacts with hydrochloric acid in the stomach to form boric acid and sodium chloride. The boron content of Borax is 11.3% while for boric acid it is 17.5% or about 50% higher. Ingested boron compounds are rapidly and nearly completely excreted with the urine. Formerly boric acid was widely used as a preservative in foods but is now banned for this purpose in most countries, and is also banned from public sale in Australia.According to conventional medicine it is not known if boron is essential for humans but research shows that we do need it. The reason why it was difficult to answer this question is the presence of boron in all plants and unprocessed foods. Diets with a fair amount of fruit and vegetables provide about 2 to 5 mg of boron per day, but this also depends on the region where the food was grown and how it was grown.In reality the average intake in developed countries is 1-2 mg of boron per day. Institutionalized patients may receive only 0.25 mg of daily boron. Chemical fertilizers inhibit the uptake of boron from the soil: an organic apple grown in good soil may have 20 mg boron, but if grown with fertilizer it may have only 1 mg of boron. Fertilizers combined with poor food choices have greatly reduced our boron intake compared to 50 or 100 years ago.Further, unhealthy cooking methods greatly reduce the availability of boron from food. The cooking water of vegetables containing most of the minerals may be discarded during home cooking or commercial processing; phytic acid in baked goods, cereals and cooked legumes may greatly reduce availability, while gluten sensitivity and Candida overgrowth inhibit the absorption of minerals. All this makes health problems due to boron deficiency now very common.Health Effects of BoronDue to their content of boron, borax and boric acid have basically the same health effects, with good antiseptic, antifungal, and antiviral properties but only mild antibacterial action. In plants as well as animals boron is essential for the integrity and function of cell walls, and the way signals are transmitted across membranes.Boron is distributed throughout the body with the highest concentration in the parathyroid glands, followed by bones and dental enamel. It is essential for healthy bone and joint function, regulating the absorption and metabolism of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus through its influence on the parathyroid glands. With this boron is for the parathyroids what iodine is for the thyroid.Boron deficiency causes the parathyroids to become overactive, releasing too much parathyroid hormone which raises the blood level of calcium by releasing calcium from bones and teeth. This then leads to osteoarthritis and other forms of arthritis, osteoporosis and tooth decay. With advancing age high blood levels of calcium lead to calcification of soft tissues causing muscle contractions and stiffness; calcification of endocrine glands, especially the pineal gland and the ovaries; arteriosclerosis, kidney stones, and calcification of the kidneys ultimately leading to kidney failure. Boron deficiency combined with magnesium deficiency is especially damaging to the bones and teeth.Boron affects the metabolism of steroid hormones, and especially of sex hormones. It increases low testosterone levels in men and oestrogen levels in menopausal women. It also has a role in converting vitamin D to its active form, thus increasing calcium uptake and deposition into bone and teeth rather than causing soft tissue to calcify. Also other beneficial effects have been reported such as improvement of heart problems, vision, psoriasis, balance, memory and cognition.The German cancer researcher Dr Paul-Gerhard Seeger has shown that cancer commonly starts with the deterioration of cell membranes. As boron is essential for cell membranes and boron deficiency widespread, this may be an important cause for the initiation of tumour growth. Boron compounds have anti-tumour properties and are "potent anti-osteoporotic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipemic, anti-coagulant and anti-neoplastic agents" (1).This overview shows the wide-ranging influence of boron on our health. In the following I want to describe some of these health effects in greater detail.The Arthritis Cure of Rex NewnhamIn the 1960's Rex Newnham, Ph.D., D.O., N.D, developed arthritis. At that time he was a soil and plant scientist in Perth, Western Australia. Conventional drugs did not help, so he looked for the cause into the chemistry of plants. He realized that plants in that area were rather mineral deficient. Knowing that boron aids calcium metabolism in plants he decided to try it. He started taking 30 mg of borax a day, and in three weeks all pain, swelling and stiffness had disappeared.He told public health and medical school authorities about his discovery but they were not interested. However, some people with arthritis were delighted as they improved. Others were scared to take something with a poison label on the container and meant to kill cockroaches and ants. Eventually he had tablets made with a safe and effective quantity of borax.Within five years and only by word of mouth he sold 10,000 bottles a month. He could no longer cope and asked a drug company to market it. That was a major mistake. They indicated that this would replace more expensive drugs and reduce their profits. It so happened that they had representatives on government health committees and arranged that in 1981 Australia instituted a regulation that declared boron and its compounds to be poisons in any concentration. He was fined $1000 for selling a poison, and this successfully stopped his arthritis cure from spreading in Australia. (2)Subsequently he published several scientific papers on borax and arthritis. One was a double-blind trial in the mid 1980's at the Royal Melbourne Hospital which showed that 70% of those who completed the trial were greatly improved. Only 12% improved when on placebo. There were no negative side-effects, but some reported that their heart ailment had also improved, and there was better general health and less tiredness. (3)Most of his later research was devoted to the relationship between soil boron levels and arthritis. He found, for instance that the traditional sugarcane islands, due to long-term heavy use of fertilizers, have very low soil-boron levels. Jamaica has the lowest level and arthritis rates are about 70%. He noted that even most dogs were limping. Next comes Mauritius with very low boron levels and 50% arthritis. The daily boron intake in these countries is less than 1 mg/day. An interesting comparison is between Indian and native Fijians. The Indians are estimated to have an arthritis rate of about 40% and eat much rice grown with fertilizer while the native Fijians with an estimated arthritis rate of 10% eat mainly starchy root vegetables grown privately without fertilizer.The US, England, Australia and New Zealand generally have average soil-boron levels with an estimated intake of 1 to 2 mg of boron and arthritis rates of about 20%. But Carnarvon in Western Australia has high boron levels in soil and water, and the arthritis rate is only 1%. It is similar in a place called Ngawha Springs in New Zealand with very high boron levels in the spa water which is curative for arthritis. Actually all spas reputedly curing arthritis have very high boron levels. These are also high in Israel with an estimated daily boron intake of 5 to 8 mg and only 0.5 - 1% arthritis.Bone analysis showed that arthritic joints and nearby bones had only half the boron content of healthy joints. Equally, synovial fluid that lubricates joints and provides nutrients to the cartilage is boron deficient in arthritic joints. After boron supplementation bones were much harder than normal and surgeons found them more difficult to saw through. With additional boron bone fractures heal in about half the normal time in both man and animal. Horses and dogs with broken legs, or even a broken pelvis, have fully recovered.Borax is also effective with other forms of arthritis, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Juvenile Arthritis, and Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus). For instance Dr Newnham saw a young girl aged 9 months with juvenile arthritis. He was able to cure her in 2 weeks.He wrote that commonly people can get rid of their pain, swelling and stiffness in about 1 to 3 months. Then they can reduce treatment from 3 to 1 boron tablet (each 3 mg) per day as a maintenance dose so that they can avoid any future arthritis. He also stated that patients with rheumatoid arthritis commonly experienced a Herxheimer reaction and that this is always a good prognostic sign. They must persevere and in another 2 or 3 weeks the pain, swelling and stiffness will be gone. (4,5)I found this statement not only interesting but also surprising. The Herxheimer reaction is an early aggravation of symptoms with increased pain. It is commonly due to toxins released by killed Candida and mycoplasma. This is very common with antimicrobial therapy, and borax definitely is an exceptionally good and strong fungicide. What surprises me, however, is that this fungicidal effect can be already present at this rather low dose of 75 to 90 mg of borax. Equally surprising is the finding that also up to 30% of those with osteoarthritis experienced a Herxheimer reaction, suggesting that the border between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is rather fluid. I believe that in long-standing and especially resistant cases it will be advisable to use other antimicrobials in addition. For co-factors in arthritis treatment also see my article Arthritis and Rheumatism or the booklet OVERCOMING ARTHRITIS.Osteoporosis and Sex HormonesBoron deficiency causes greatly increased amounts of calcium and magnesium to be lost with the urine. A borax supplement will reduce the daily loss of calcium by nearly 50%. As this calcium comes mainly from resorbed bone and teeth, boron deficiency may be the most important factor in causing osteoporosis and tooth decay.It has been estimated that 55% of Americans over 50 have osteoporosis and of these about 80% are women. Worldwide 1 in 3 women and 1 in 12 men over the age of 50 may have osteoporosis, and this is responsible for millions of fractures each year. Rats with osteoporosis were given a boron supplement for 30 days with the result that their bone quality was now comparable with that of the healthy control group and of a group supplemented with oestradiol (6).The beneficial effect of borax on bones seems to be due to two interrelated effects: a higher boron content of the bones which makes them harder, and a normalisation of sex hormones which stimulates the growth of new bone. Low oestrogen levels after menopause are thought to be the main reason why so many older women develop osteoporosis. In men testosterone levels decline more gradually which seems to be reflected in their later onset of osteoporosis as a group.Research has now shown that boron supplementation in postmenopausal women doubles the blood level of the most active form of oestrogen, 17-beta oestradiol, to the level found in women on oestrogen replacement therapy. Equally, the blood levels of testosterone more than doubled (7). With HRT there is a higher risk of breast or endometrial cancer which is not known to happen with hormones produced by the body as with borax supplementation.Some women get premenstrual problems because oestrogen levels are too high and progesterone too low, and therefore may be afraid of using boron. However, I found no evidence that boron raises oestrogen above normal healthy levels. Boron may balance levels of sex hormones similar to the action of maca root powder. Maca acts on the pituitary gland not only to increase but also to balance our sex hormones and seems to stimulate our own progesterone production as needed.A recent study in younger men (29 - 50) showed that the level of free testosterone (the form that matters most) had risen by one third after a daily supplementation of about 100 mg of borax for one week (8). This is of special interest for bodybuilders.Contrary to the medical preference of chemically castrating men with prostate cancer, research with boron has shown that elevated testosterone levels are beneficial by shrinking prostate tumours and PSA levels, PSA being a marker for tumours and inflammation in the prostate. Also significantly improved memory and cognition in elderly individuals may be partly due to increased levels of sex hormones and partly to improved membrane functions of brain cells (9).I have been asked about boron supplementation for women with oestrogen-sensitive breast cancer. Breast cancer is related to calcifications in the breast. In my opinion it is more important to normalize the calcium-magnesium metabolism and cellular membrane functions rather than feel restricted by a possibly faulty medical concept, especially as I believe that cancer can usually be controlled with long-term antimicrobial therapy. Therefore I would use boron as well as Maca in this case.Fungi and FluorideBeing such an excellent fungicide it is not surprising that borax is being successfully used to treat Candida. There is much interesting information on an Earth Clinic forum called Borax Cures (10). With low to medium-weight people use 1/8 teaspoon of borax powder and with heavier weight 1/4 teaspoon per litre of water. One drinks the water spaced out during the day, and does this for 4 or 5 days a week as long as required.Many contributors wrote that it cured or greatly helped them. So for instance this post: "I also have psoriasis, so maybe the soreness in my joints is the psoriatic arthritis creeping in. I thought, after reading about borax here on this forum, I would give it a try. OMG! In one day, the soreness in my knees has vanished! .... Also, my psoriasis seems a lot better after 2 days drinking 1/4 tsp borax in 1 litre of water per day."Another one about toe fungus: "He wet his feet and then took a handful (of borax) and rubbed it all over his feet. He said it stopped itching immediately! He was stunned. A few weeks later I asked him how his Athletes foot was and he said: oh wow! it hasn't come back! that stuff totally cured it !!!"Other enthusiastic posts were about vaginal thrush. Borax appeared to be more effective than other remedies. Commonly one large gelatine capsule filled with borax or boric acid was inserted at bedtime for several nights or up to 2 weeks. Alternatively the powder can be mixed with cool solidified coconut oil as a bolus or suppository.A recent scientific study (11) confirms these positive observations with vaginal thrush. Boric acid at the dose of a filled capsule worked even in cases of drug-resistant Candida and against all the tested pathogenic bacteria. Because of the greater dilution, a douche may not be strong enough for bacteria and drug-resistant Candida but it should work for normal Candida. Borax, due to its alkalinity, was more effective than boric acid.In normal healthy conditions Candida exists as harmless oval yeast cells. When challenged, chains of elongated cells called pseudohyphae develop, and finally strongly invasive long, narrow and tube-like filaments called hyphae. These damage the intestinal wall, and cause inflammation and Leaky Gut Syndrome. Pseudohyphae and hyphae can be seen in the blood of individuals with cancer and autoimmune diseases. Candida can also form tough layers of biofilm. This same study shows that boric acid/borax inhibits the formation of biofilms and also the transformation of harmless yeast cells into invasive hyphal form. In other articles I have shown that this process, commonly initiated by antibiotics, is a basic cause of most of our modern diseases, and this makes borax and boric acid primary health remedies. But this article shows that there are many more reasons to give them a top rating.A scientific review in 2011 concluded: "... boric acid is a safe, alternative, economic option for women with recurrent and chronic symptoms of vaginitis when conventional treatment fails..." (12). But as it is so much better than drugs why not use it as a first option, or use the even more effective borax?Another study from Turkey (13) shows the protective effect of boric acid on food contaminated with mycotoxins, especially fungal aflatoxins. Among these, Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) causes extensive DNA damage and is the most potent carcinogen ever tested, especially affecting liver and lungs, also causing birth defects, immune-toxicity and even death in farm animals and humans. Boric acid treatment was protective and led to increased resistance of DNA to oxidative damage induced by AFB1. The strong antifungal action of boric acid is, of course, the reason why it has traditionally been used as a food preservative.I received numerous appreciative communications ranging from cancelling surgery for hip replacement to removing brain fog, and curing autoimmune diseases. One woman wrote in a recent Nexus Magazine of curing her Lupus and serious kidney disease in 4 month with half a teaspoon of daily borax powder.Borax, similar to the equally endangered Lugol's iodine solution, can also be used to remove accumulated fluoride and heavy metals from the body (14). Fluoride not only causes bones to deteriorate, but also the pineal gland to calcify and the thyroid to become underactive. Borax reacts with fluoride ions to form boron fluorides which are then excreted in the urine.In a Chinese study borax was used to treat 31 patients with skeletal fluorosis. The amount was gradually increased from 300 to 1100 mg/day during a three month period, with one week off each month. The treatment was effective with 50 to 80% improvement.One forum contributor suffered with Fibromyalgia/Rosacea, chronic fatigue and TMJ for over 10 years which she believed was caused by fluoride. She used 1/8 tsp of borax and 1/8 tsp of sea salt in a litre of de-chlorinated water, and drank this for 5 days each week. Within two weeks her face cleared, the redness faded, body temperature normalized, energy level increased, and she steadily lost excess weight. The only side-effect was an initial aggravation of her Rosacea symptoms.Another post: "7 years ago thyroid cancer, the next year adrenal fatigue, then early menopause, the following year uterine prolapse followed by hysterectomy - the following year fibromyalgia and neuropathy. Early Childhood was fluorinated water along with fluoride tablets. Fall of 2008 I was looking at total disability. I could barely walk and couldn't sleep because of the pain and was throwing up daily from the pain in my back. ... After reading about fluoride I came to understand where all of my problems originated. ... I began the borax detox of 1/8 tsp in a litre of water and within 3 days my symptoms were almost gone."Calcium-Magnesium MetabolismThere is antagonism as well as cooperation between calcium and magnesium. About half of the total body magnesium is found in bones and the other half inside the cells of tissues and organs. Only 1% is in the blood, and the kidneys try to keep this levels constant by excreting more or less with the urine.In contrast, 99% of calcium is in bones, and the rest in the fluid outside of cells. Muscles contract when calcium moves into the cells, and they relax when calcium is again pumped out and magnesium moves in. This cellular pump requires much energy to pump calcium out, and if cells are low in energy, then calcium may accumulate inside cells. Low cellular energy may be due to Candida, faulty sugar or fat metabolism, deficiencies, or accumulating metabolic wastes and toxins.This then leads to only partial relaxation of the muscles with stiffness, a tendency to cramps, and poor blood and lymph circulation. The problem gets worse the more calcium moves from bones into soft tissue. Nerve cells can also accumulate calcium, leading to faulty nerve transmission, in the lens it causes cataracts, hormonal output keeps reducing as endocrine glands increasingly calcify, and all other cells become handicapped in their normal functions. In addition it causes intracellular magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is needed to activate countless enzymes, and a deficiency leads to inefficient and blocked energy production.A further problem is that excess calcium damages the cell membrane and makes it difficult for nutrients to move in and wastes to move out. When the intracellular calcium level gets too high the cell will die.Here we can see the importance of boron as a regulator of cell membrane functions, especially in regard to movements of calcium and magnesium. With boron deficiency too much calcium moves into the cell while magnesium cannot move inside to displace it. This is the condition of old age and of the boron-deficiency diseases leading up to it.While in good health and especially in younger years a calcium - magnesium ratio of 2 : 1 is normal and beneficial and supplied with a good diet. But with increasing age, boron deficiency and resulting disease conditions we need progressively less calcium and more magnesium.For boron to be fully effective in reversing tissue calcification ample magnesium is required. For elderly individuals I recommend 400 to 600 mg of magnesium together with the daily borax supplementation spaced out during the day, and with protracted joint problems additional trans-dermal magnesium. However, oral magnesium may need to be adjusted according to its laxative effect. I am doubtful whether calcium supplements are needed and beneficial, even in case of osteoporosis. In my view these individuals have plenty of calcium stored in soft tissues where it does not belong, and supplementing boron and magnesium is expected to redeposit this misplaced calcium into bones. I regard the medical focus on a high calcium intake as a prescription for accelerated aging.What and How Much to UseIn some countries (e.g. Australia, NZ, USA) borax can still be found in the laundry and cleaning sections of supermarkets. There is no "food-grade" borax available or necessary. All borax is the same and "natural", and usually mined in California or Turkey, whether it has been packed in China or any other country. The label usually states that it is 99% pure (or 990g/kg borax) which is safe to use, and is the legal standard for agricultural grade borax. Up to 1% mining and refining residues are permitted. Boric acid, if available, may be used at about ⅔ the dose of borax, it is not for public sale in Australia.Use as essential Mineral: Firstly dissolve a lightly rounded teaspoonful (5-6 grams) of borax in 1 litre of good quality water. This is your concentrated solution keep it out of reach of small children.Standard dose = 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of concentrate. This has 25 to 30 mg of borax and provides about 3 mg of boron. Take 1 dose per day mixed with drink or food. If that feels right then take a second dose with another meal. If there is no specific health problem or for maintenance you may continue indefinitely with 1 or 2 doses daily.If you do have a problem, such as arthritis, osteoporosis and related conditions, cramps or spasms, stiffness due to advancing years, menopause, and also to improve low sex hormone production, increase intake to 3 or more spaced-out standard doses for several months or longer until you feel that your problem has sufficiently improved. Then drop back to 1 or 2 doses per day.For treating Candida, other fungi and mycoplasmas, or for removing fluoride from the body - using your bottle of concentrated solution:Low dose for low body weight: 100 ml or 1/8 teaspoon of borax powder or 500 mg; best with or after main carbohydrate meal.Medium dose for heavier individuals or more pervasive Candida: 200 ml or 1/4 teaspoon/1000 mg of borax powder; take with or after 2 meals.High dose for strong fungal/Candida problems such as autoimmune diseases, cancer or dementia: ½ tsp of borax powder mixed with food.Always start with a lower dose and increase gradually to the intended or effective maximum. Take the effective amount as long as required for 4 or 5 days a week, or interrupt for one week each month, or periodically alternate between borax and another fungicide.For vaginal thrush fill a large size gelatine capsule with borax and insert it at bedtime for one to two weeks. With toe fungus or athlete's foot wet the feet and rub them with borax powder.You may take borax mixed with food or in drinks. It is rather alkaline and in higher concentrations has a soapy taste. You may disguise this with lemon juice, vinegar or ascorbic acid.Restrictions in the EUIn Europe borax and boric acid have been classified as reproductive poisons, and officially since December 2010 are no longer available to the public within the EU. Presently borax is still available in Switzerland (15), but shipment to Germany is not permitted. In Germany a small amount (20 - 50 grams) may be ordered through a pharmacy as ant poison, it will be registered. Borax is presently still available from Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles, Coupons and More | eBay and can be shipped to other EU countries. Also, as leader of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, Germany is very strict in controlling borax for non-commercial use while some other EU countries are completely ignoring the ban on borax.Boron tablets can be bought from health shops or the Internet, commonly with 3 mg of boron. In some European countries, such as The Netherlands, these may still contain borax, but not in others, such as Germany, where boron is not allowed in ionic form as with borax or boric acid. While suitable as a general boron supplement, I do not know if or how well they work against Candida and mycoplasmas. Most scientific studies and individual experiences in regard to arthritis, osteoporosis, or sexual hormones and menopause were with borax or boric acid. It is not yet known if non-ionic boron is as effective as borax. To improve effectiveness I recommend 3 or more spaced-out boron tablets daily for an extended period combined with sufficient magnesium and a suitable antimicrobial program (16).Possible Side-EffectsWhile side-effects from pharmaceutical drugs tend to be negative and often dangerous, with natural medicine such as borax therapy these are usually healing reactions with beneficial long-term effects. Most common is the Herxheimer reaction from eliminating Candida. This is the main cause of pain or discomfort in the digestive system when starting with borax supplementation.In some of the above forum posts rapid improvement was experienced within days. This is always a functional response. High cellular calcium levels cause muscle contraction with cramps or spasms as a common cause of pain. Boron, especially together with magnesium, can rapidly relax these muscles and take away the pain.However, with long-standing severe calcifications a large amount of calcium cannot be redistributed in a short time. This leads to increased calcium levels in the affected area, especially the hips and shoulders, and can cause problems for a considerable time, such as a tendency to severe cramping and pain, or problems with the blood circulation, or nerve transmission. Nerve-related effects in hands and feet may be numbness, or reduced sensitivity or feeling in the skin. Higher amounts of calcium and fluoride passing through the kidneys may cause temporary kidney pain. Further, kidney pain appears to be mainly due to kidney stones being released. After a few days the stones are usually cleared and the pain stops.Such healing reactions cannot be avoided when aiming for a higher level of health, but they can be minimized by increasing borax levels only gradually. Whenever you experience an unpleasant effect reduce or temporarily stop borax intake until the problem subsides. Then gradually start increasing again. Helpful additional measures are a greatly increased fluid intake, using more organic acids such as lemon juice or vinegar, and improving lymph flow as with rebounding, walking or inverted positions.Toxicity IssuesGovernment health agencies are concerned about boron toxicity. You might be concerned as well if you read the following, pertaining to sodium chloride or table salt (17): 'Acute oral toxicity (LD50 - the dose at which half of the tested animals die): 3,000 mg/kg [Rat]. Chronic Effects on Humans: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact, ingestion or inhalation. Lowest Published Lethal Oral Dose in Man: 1000 mg/kg. Causes adverse reproductive effects in humans (fetotoxicity, abortion) by intraplacentalroute, may increase risk of Toxemia of Pregnancy in susceptible women. May cause adverse reproductive effects and birth defects in animals, particularly rats and mice - fetotoxicity, abortion, musculoskeletal abnormalities, and maternal effects (on ovaries, fallopian tubes). May affect genetic material (mutagenic).Ingestion of large quantities can irritate the stomach with nausea and vomiting. May affect behavior (muscle spasicity/contraction, somnolence), sense organs, metabolism, and cardiovascular system. Continued exposure may produce dehydration, internal organ congestion, and coma.'Now compare the sodium chloride toxicity with the Material Safety Data Sheet or MSDS for borax (18): 'Low acute oral toxicity; LD50 in rats 4,500 to 6,000 mg/kg of body weight. Reproductive/developmental toxicity:Animal feeding studies in rat, mouse and dog, at high doses, have demonstrated effects on fertility and testes. Studies with boric acid in the rat, mouse and rabbit, at high doses, demonstrate developmental effects on the fetus, including fetal weight loss and minor skeletal variations. The doses administered were many times in excess of those to which humans would normally be exposed. No evidence of carcinogenicity in mice. No mutagenic activity was observed in a battery of short-term mutagenicity assays. Human epidemiological studies show no increase in pulmonary disease in occupational populations with chronic exposures to borate dust and no effect on fertility.'Here you see that table salt is 50 to 100% more toxic than borax, it changes the genetic material and is mutagenic, while borax is harmless in this regard. Infants are most at risk from high borax ingestion. It has been estimated that 5 to 10 grams can cause severe vomiting, diarrhoea, shock and even death, but it also says that lethal doses are not well documented in the literature.The following toxicity data are from documents of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control(19, 20).A review of 784 accidental human poisonings from 10 - 88 grams of boric acid reported no fatalities, with 88% of cases being asymptomatic, meaning they did not notice anything. However, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, and central nervous system effects, dermatitis, erythema, and death have occasionally been observed in some infants, children and adults exposed to more than 84 mg boron/kg, corresponding to more than 40 grams of borax for 60 kg of body weight.Animal studies have identified reproductive toxicity as the most sensitive effects of boron ingestion. Exposure of rats, mice, and dogs for several weeks showed some damage to the testes and sperm at doses of more than 26 mg boron/kg which corresponds to 15 grams of borax/day for 60 kg body weight.Most at risk is the developing foetus, and in the studied animals rats were most affected. In one study slight reductions in the foetal body weight were already found at 13.7 mg boron/kg/day used during pregnancy. The no effect dose during pregnancy was set at less than 13.7 mg/kg/day corresponding to about 7 grams of borax per day for 60 kg body weight. With an added safety factor a no effect value of 9.6 mg boron/kg/day was calculated corresponding to 5 grams of borax for 60 kg.However, a rat study lasting for 3 generations found no reproductive toxicity or effect on the parents or offspring at 30 mg boron/kg/day. This dose corresponds to 17 grams of borax for 60 kg ingested for 3 generations! In another 3-generation study no problem was found at 17.5 mg boron/kg/day, corresponding to 9 grams of borax/60 kg while the next higher tested borax dose of 58.5 mg/kg/day, corresponding to 30 grams of borax/60 kg, resulted in infertility. Therefore we can assume that the safe reproductive dose is about 20 grams/60 kg/day.Human studies of the possible association between impaired fertility and high boron levels in water, soil and dust in a Turkish populations, and boron mining and processing workers, found no effect. One study even reported elevated fertility rates in borax production workers as compared to the U.S. national average.All this is important because possible reproductive toxicity is the official reason for the present assault on borax. The sodium chloride MSDS mentioned above also states: "While sodium chloride has been used as a negative control in some reproductive studies, it has also been used as an example that almost any chemical can cause birth defects in experimental animals if studied under the right conditions." Keep this in mind when you read the following.The Assault on BoraxArthritis in its various forms and its close relative osteoporosis affect about 30% of the population in developed countries. Osteoporosis is responsible for more long term hospital care than any other individual disease. This is due to the very high incidence of fractures, and especially the protracted nature of hip fractures. This is a main source of income for the medical-pharmaceutical system. If the boron-magnesium cure for these diseases should become widely known, this vital income stream would dry up and the system collapse. As this is the biggest and most profitable industry in the world, this cannot be allowed to happen.When Dr Newnham discovered the boron-arthritis cure it was not a big problem for the pharmaceuticals because news travelled slowly and was easily suppressed. This is very different now with Internet communication. Most research funding comes from the pharmaceutical industry, and nothing has come forward to duplicate Dr Newnham's findings and other positive osteoporosis studies. Instead, funding goes into the development of patentable boron drugs for limited application as in chemotherapy, or even to discredit boron. A test-tube experiment found that a relatively low dose of about 4 grams of borax can damage lymphocytes, just like an earlier test-tube study showed that vitamin C supplements are toxic. Most positive borax studies now come from China, Japan and Turkey.Furthermore, PubMed is a publicly funded search facility for bio-medical research publications. While other articles for Newnham R.E. and Zhou L.Y. are still listed, the two important borax publications mentioned earlier - about the arthritis trial at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the treatment of skeletal fluorosis in China - are no longer listed, but they belong there and obviously had been there originally. I suspect that they have been deliberately removed to prevent them from being quoted in other research.In addition, increasing effort goes into publicly demonizing borax for its alleged reproductive and infant toxicity. As an example I recently read an article by a 'senior scientist' of the supposedly 'green' Environmental Working Group. In it the perceived dangers of borax were so exaggerated that most comments in effect said: "Thank you for opening my eyes. I did not know how poisonous and dangerous borax is, I certainly will not use it anymore in my laundry, or for cleaning my toilet and kitchen".This is obviously a deliberate campaign to make people grateful for banning borax from public sale. For laundry and cleaning purposes Borax Substitute now replaces the product previously sold as Borax. The EU has spearheaded this campaign. In June 2010 borax and boric acid were reclassified as “Reprotoxic Category 2“, suggesting that they may be harmful to the reproductive functions of humans in high doses, and the product package must display the skull and crossbones symbol. From December 2010 these products were no longer available for public sale within the EU. While this classification now applies for all of Europe, non-EU countries still have some leeway in regard to public sales. This initiative is part of a Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) which is to be implemented as soon as possible. Australia is well-advanced on preparing regulations to implement the GHS for industrial chemicals, with new regulations expected in 2012 (21).The European Chemicals Agency gave as reason for their reclassification of boron products (paraphrased):'The available data do not indicate major differences between laboratory animals and humans, therefore it must be assumed that the effects seen in animals could occur in humans as epidemiological studies in humans are insufficient to demonstrate the absence of an adverse effect of inorganic borates on fertility. 17.5 mg boron/kg/day was derived as a NOAEL (no event level) for male and female fertility. For the rat decreased foetal weight occurred at 13.7 mg boron/kg/day, and a safe limit of 9.6 mg/kg/day has been derived.' (22)What they are really saying is this: 'While we have no human data, animal studies suggest that for adult reproductive functions a daily ingestion of about 2 teaspoons of borax is safe. But to be absolutely sure that no-one is harmed, we will ban it completely.' Importantly, this ruling is not related to borax in foods or supplements where it is already banned, but only for general use as in laundry or cleaning products or as insecticides. Because borax is not readily inhaled or absorbed through intact skin, it is difficult to see how even a few milligrams daily could get into the body with the conventional use. If the same standard would apply to other chemicals there would be none left.The key study in this assessment was published in 1972. Why is this being dug up now to justify banning borax when it was of no concern for the past 40 years? It does not make any scientific sense, especially if you consider that the main chemical in the new borax substitute, sodium percarbonate, is about three times more toxic than borax. Acute oral LD50 values for animals are from 1034 to 2200 mg/kg/day (23). Even the commonly used sodium bicarbonate, with an animal LD50 of 3360 mg/kg, is nearly twice as toxic as borax (24). Both of these chemicals have not been tested for long-term reproductive toxicity at the high doses that caused fertility problems in rats and mice.The same applies to washing powders, it has been stated that no toxicity is expected if used in the approved way, or that reproductive tests have not been done. Ingredients in these products are more toxic than borax, why can they be used in the approved way but not borax? And how about really toxic items such as caustic soda and hydrochloric acid? Why do they remain available to the public when one of the safest household chemicals is banned despite the fact that it is absolutely impossible to cause any reproductive harm with the approved use?Regardless of the lack of any scientific credibility, the stage has been set for borax and boric acid to be globally removed from public sale at short or no notice. Even low-level and less effective boron tablets are now tightly controlled by the pharmaceutical industry, and may be restricted at any time through Codex Alimentariusregulations. With this the medical-pharmaceutical system has safely defused any potential danger that borax may have posed to its profitability and survival.Note:This article is not about curing arthritis. Boron is essential for healthy bones and joints, and supplements may be able to help with arthritis, but chronic conditions often are associated with additional other deficiencies, allergies, microbial infestations and inflammation. All of these factors may need to be addressed. For further information see Arthritis and Rheumatism or the more detailed Overcoming Arthritis.REFERENCES(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9638606(2) http://www.whale.to/w/boron.html(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1566627/pdf/envhper00403-0084.pdf(4) http://nah.sagepub.com/content/7/2/89.full.pdf(5) http://www.arthritistrust.org/Articles/Boron and Arthritis.pdf(6) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/172591209(7) http://www.ithyroid.com/boron.htm(8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21129941(9) http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/aug2006_aas_01.htm(10) http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/borax.html(11) http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/63/2/325.long(12) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21774671(13) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873987/(14) http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/fluoride.html(15) http://www.supergenial.ch/pi1/pd2.html(16) http://www.health-science-spirit.com/ultimatecleanse.html(17) http:/www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927593(18) http://www.hillbrothers.com/msds/pdf/n/borax-decahydrate.pdf(19) http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp26-c2.pdf(20) http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0062-0004(21) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globally_Harmonized_System_of_Classification_and_Labelling_of_Chemicals(22) http://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/17230/supdoc_boric_acid_20100609_en.pdf(23) http://www.inchem.org/documents/sids/sids/15630894.pdf(24) http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927258For this article in Portuguese see A conspiração do bórax - Como se impediu a cura da artriteHOMEBODYDISEASESHEALING FOODENERGIESEMOTIONSMINDSPIRITUALITYDisclaimer: The aim of this web site is to provide information on using natural healing methods in the treatment of illness and health improvement. The author cannot accept any legal responsibility for any problem arising from experimenting with these methods and does not recommend using borax to treat any disease in countries where this is illegal. For any serious disease, or if you are unsure about a particular course of action, seek the help of a competent health professional.The following is about another compound that is also said to enhance your ability to fight infectionMAGNESIUM CHLORIDEfor Health & Rejuvenationby Walter LastMagnesium is nothing short of a miracle mineral in its healing effect on a wide range of diseases as well as in its ability to rejuvenate the aging body. We know that it is essential for many enzyme reactions, especially in regard to cellular energy production, for the health of the brain and nervous system and also for healthy teeth and bones. However, it may come as a surprise that in the form of magnesium chloride it is also an impressive infection fighter.The first prominent researcher to investigate and promote the antibiotic effects of magnesium was a French surgeon, Prof. Pierre Delbet MD. In 1915 he was looking for a solution to cleanse wounds of soldiers, because he found that traditionally used antiseptics actually damaged tissues and encouraged infections instead of preventing them. In all his tests magnesium chloride solution was by far the best. Not only was it harmless for tissues, but it also greatly increased leucocyte activity and phagocytosis, the destruction of microbes.Later Prof. Delbet also performed experiments with the internal applications of magnesium chloride and found it to be a powerful immune-stimulant. In his experiments phagocytosisincreased by up to 333%. This means after magnesium chloride intake the same number of white blood cells destroyed up to three times more microbes than beforehand.Gradually Prof. Delbet found magnesium chloride to be beneficial in a wide range of diseases. These included diseases of the digestive tract such as colitis and gall bladder problems, Parkinson's disease, tremors and muscle cramps; acne, eczema, psoriasis, warts and itching skin; impotence, prostatic hypertrophy, cerebral and circulatory problems; asthma, hay fever, urticaria and anaphylactic reactions. Hair and nails became stronger and healthier and patients had more energy.Prof. Delbet also found a very good preventative effect on cancer and cured precancerous conditions such as leukoplasia, hyperkeratosis and chronic mastitis. Epidemiological studies confirmed that regions with magnesium-rich soil had less cancer than those with low magnesium levels.Another French doctor, A. Neveu, cured several diphtheria patients with magnesium chloride within two days. He also published 15 cases of poliomyelitis that were cured within days if treatment was started immediately, or within months if paralysis had already progressed. Neveualso found magnesium chloride effective with asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and emphysema; pharyngitis, tonsillitis, hoarseness, common cold, influenza, whooping cough, measles, rubella, mumps, scarlet fever; poisoning, gastro-enteritis, boils, abscesses, whitlow, infected wounds and osteomyelitis.In more recent years Dr Vergini and others have confirmed these earlier results and have added more diseases to the list of successful uses: acute asthma attacks, shock, tetanus, herpes zoster, acute and chronic conjunctivitis, optic neuritis, rheumatic diseases, many allergic diseases, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and beneficial effects in cancer therapy. In all of these cases magnesium chloride had been used and gave much better results than other magnesium compounds.Magnesium for NervesMagnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system. With this, it is frequently used to promote good sleep. But more importantly, it can be used to calm irritated and over-excited nerves. This is especially useful with epileptic seizures, convulsions in pregnant women and the 'shakes' in alcoholism. Magnesium levels are generally low in alcoholics, contributing or causing many of their health problems. If magnesium levels are low, the nerves lose control over muscle activity, respiration and mental processes. Nervous fatigue, tics and twitches, tremors, irritability, hypersensitivity, muscle spasms, restlessness, anxiety, confusion, disorientation and irregular heartbeat all respond to increased magnesium levels. A common phenomenon of magnesium deficiency is a sharp muscle reaction to an unexpected loud noise. 'Memory pills' have been marketed that consist mainly of magnesium.Many of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease can be overcome with high magnesium supplementation, shaking can be prevented and rigidity eased. With preeclampsia pregnant women may develop convulsions, nausea, dizziness and headaches. In hospitals this is treated with magnesium infusions. Because of its strong relaxing effect, magnesium helps not only to have a better sleep but is also useful in overcoming headaches and migraines. Even the number of suicides are linked to magnesium deficiency. The lower the magnesium content in soil and water in a given region, the higher are the rates of suicides.Epilepsy is marked by abnormally low magnesium levels in the blood, spinal fluid and brain, causing hyperexcitability in regions of the brain. There are many reported causes of epilepsy greatly improving or disappearing with magnesium supplementation. In a trial with 30 epileptics 450 mg of magnesium supplied daily successfully controlled seizures. Another study found that the lower the magnesium blood levels the more severe was the epilepsy. In most cases magnesium works best in combination with vitamin B6 and zinc. In sufficient concentrations, magnesium inhibits convulsions by limiting or slowing the spread of the electric discharge from an isolated group of brain cells to the rest of the brain. Animal studies show that even the initial burst of firing nerve cells that starts an epileptic attack can be suppressed with magnesium.Magnesium for the HeartAdequate levels of magnesium are essential for the heart muscle. Those who die from heart attacks have very low magnesium but high calcium levels in their heart muscles. Patients with coronary heart disease who have been treated with large amounts of magnesium survived better than those with drug treatment. Magnesium dilates the arteries of the heart and lowers cholesterol and fat levels.High calcium levels, on the other hand, constrict the heart arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks. Calcium deposits in the walls of the arteries contribute to the development of arteriosclerosis. The arteries become hard and rigid, thereby restricting the blood flow and causing high blood pressure. In addition, such inelastic blood vessels may easily rapture and cause strokes. Countries with the highest calcium to magnesium ratios (high calcium and low magnesium levels) in soil and water have the highest incidence of cardiovascular disease. At the top of the list is Australia.Worldwide the intake of magnesium has been lowered and that of calcium increased because of the heavy use of fertilisers high in calcium and low in magnesium. With this, the intake of magnesium from our food has steadily declined in the last fifty years, while the use of calcium-rich fertilisers and cardiovascular disease have greatly increased at the same time.Diabetics are prone to atherosclerosis, fatty degeneration of the liver and heart disease. Diabetics have low magnesium tissue levels. They often develop eye problems - retinopathy. Diabetics with the lowest magnesium levels had the most severe retinopathy. The lower the magnesium content of their water, the higher is the death rate of diabetics from cardiovascular disease. In an American study the death rate due to diabetes was four times higher in areas with low magnesium water levels as compared to areas with high levels of magnesium in the water.Magnesium for Healthy Bones & TeethMedical authorities claim that the widespread incidence of osteoporosis and tooth decay in western countries can be prevented with a high calcium intake. However, published evidence reveals that the opposite is true. Asian and African populations with a very low intake of about 300 mg of calcium daily have very little osteoporosis. Bantu women with an intake of 200 to 300 mg of calcium daily have the lowest incidence of osteoporosis in the world. In western countries with a high intake of dairy products the average calcium intake is about 1000 mg. The higher the calcium intake, especially in the form of cows' milk products (except butter) the higher the incidence of osteoporosis.Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus levels are kept in a seesaw balance by the parathyroid hormones. If calcium goes up, magnesium goes down and vice versa. With a low magnesium intake, calcium goes out of the bones to increase tissue levels, while a high magnesium intake causes calcium to go out of the tissues into the bones. A high phosphorus intake without a high calcium or magnesium intake causes calcium to leach from the bones and leave the body with the urine. A high phosphorus intake with high calcium and magnesium leads to bone mineralisation.Dr Barnett, an orthopaedic surgeon practised in two different U.S. Counties with very different soil and water mineral levels. In Dallas County with a high calcium and low magnesium concentration osteoporosis and hip fractures were very common, while in Hereford with high magnesium and low calcium these were nearly absent. In Dallas County the magnesium content of bones was 0.5% while in Hereford it was 1.76%. In another comparison the magnesium content in bones of osteoporosis sufferers was 0.62% while in healthy individuals it was 1.26%.The same applies for healthy teeth. In a New Zealand study it was found that caries-resistant teeth had on average twice the amount of magnesium as caries-prone teeth. The average concentration of magnesium phosphate in bones is given as about 1%, in teeth about 1.5%, in elephant tusks 2% and in the teeth of carnivorous animals made to crush bones it is 5%. In regard to the strength of bones and teeth think of calcium as chalk and of magnesium as superglue. The magnesium superglue binds and transforms the chalk into superior bones and teeth.Cancer and AgingMany studies have shown an increased cancer rate in regions with low magnesium levels in soil and drinking water. In Egypt the cancer rate was only about 10% of that in Europe and America. In the rural fellah it was practically non-existent. The main difference was an extremely high magnesium intake of 2.5 to 3 g in these cancer-free populations, ten times more than in most western countries.Dr Seeger and Dr Budwig in Germany have shown that cancer is mainly the result of a faulty energy metabolism in the powerhouses of the cells, the mitochondria. A similar decline in energy production takes place when we age. The great majority of enzymes involved in the production of energy require magnesium. A healthy cell has high magnesium and low calcium levels. Up to 30% of the energy of cells is used to pump calcium out of the cells. The higher the calcium level and the lower the magnesium level in the extra-cellular fluid, the harder is it for cells to pump the calcium out. The result is that with low magnesium levels the mitochondria gradually calcify and energy production decreases. We may say that our biochemical age is determined by the ratio of magnesium to calcium within our cells. Test with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome showed that magnesium supplementation resulted in better energy levels.We use our muscles by selectively contracting them. On the biochemical level muscle contraction is triggered by calcium ions flowing into muscle cells. To relax the muscle calcium is pumped out again. However, as we age, more and more calcium remains trapped in the muscles and these become more or less permanently contracted, leading to increasing muscle tension and spasms. Together with calcification of the joints, this is the typical rigidity and inflexibility of old age. The higher our intake of calcium relative to magnesium, the faster do we calcify and age. Most of the excess calcium in our diet ends up in our soft tissues and around joints leading to calcification with arthritic deformations, arteriosclerosis, cataracts, kidney stones and senility. Dr Seyle proved experimentally that biochemical stress can lead to the pathological calcification of almost any organ. The more stress, the more calcification, the more rapid the aging.The Rejuvenation MineralIn addition to its anti-microbial and immune-stimulating properties, both magnesium as well as chloride have other important functions in keeping us young and healthy. Chloride, of course, is required to produce a large quantity of gastric acid each day and is also needed to stimulate starch-digesting enzymes. Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation and prevents the calcification of our organs and tissues that is characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body.Using other magnesium salts is less advantageous because these have to be converted into chlorides in the body anyway. We may use magnesium as oxide or carbonate but then we need to produce additional hydrochloric acid to absorb them. Many aging individuals, especially with chronic diseases who desperately need more magnesium cannot produce sufficient hydrochloric acid and then cannot absorb the oxide or carbonate. Epsom salt is magnesium sulphate. It is soluble but not well absorbed and acts mainly as a laxative. Chelated magnesium is well absorbed but much more expensive and lacks the beneficial contribution of the chloride ions. Orotates are good but very expensive for the amount of magnesium that they provide and both orotates and chelates seem to lack the infection-fighting potential of the magnesium chloride.Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on our body structure. As a general rule, the softer our body structure the more we need calcium, while the more rigid and inflexible it is, the less calcium and the more magnesium we need. Magnesium can reverse the age-related degenerative calcification of our body structure and with this help us to rejuvenate.Young women, children and most of all babies have soft body structures and smooth skin with low calcium and high magnesium levels in their cells and soft tissues. They generally need high calcium intakes. This is the biochemistry of youth. As we age and most pronounced in old men and post-menopausal women, we become more and more inflexible. The arteries harden to cause arteriosclerosis, the skeletal system calcifies to cause rigidity with fusion of the spine and joints, kidneys and other organs and glands increasingly calcify and harden with stone formation, calcification in the eyes causes cataracts and even the skin hardens, becoming tough and wrinkled. In this way calcium is in the same league as oxygen and free radicals, while magnesium works together with hydrogen and the antioxidants to keep our body structure soft.A gynaecologist reported that one of the first organs to calcify are the ovaries, leading to pre-menstrual tension. When he put his patients on a high magnesium intake their PMT vanished and they felt and looked much younger. Most of these women said that they lost weight, increased their energy, felt less depressed and enjoyed sex again much more than before. For men it is equally beneficial for problems arising from an enlarged prostate gland. Symptoms commonly improve after a period of supplementation with magnesium chloride.Increased magnesium intake has also been shown to be an effective way to prevent or dissolve kidney stones and gall bladder stones, the latter best in combination with a high lecithin intake. Activation of digestive enzymes and bile production as well as helping to restore a healthy intestinal flora may be the factors that make magnesium chloride so beneficial in normalising our digestive processes, reducing any digestive discomfort, bloating and offensive stool odours. This is in line with a reduction of all offensive body odours, including underarm and foot odour.Prof. Delbet used to give magnesium chloride solution routinely to his patients with infections and for several days before any planned surgery and was surprised by many of these patients experiencing euphoria and bursts of energy. Magnesium chloride supposedly has a specific action on the tetanus virus and its effects on the body. It even seems to be protective against snakebites. Guinea pigs did not die after normally lethal injections of snake venom and a rabbit survived a poisonous snakebite when given magnesium chloride solution.In addition to being the most essential mineral in our cellular energy production, magnesium is also needed for the ingested B-vitamins to become metabolically active. Magnesium is also essential for the synthesis of nucleic acids, for cell division to occur, for DNA and RNA synthesis of our genetic material, for protein as well as fatty acid synthesis. Unfortunately magnesium deficiency at a cellular level where it counts is not easy to diagnose, as serum magnesium levels do not correlate to muscle or cellular magnesium levels. Instead of trying difficult tissue magnesium analysis to find out if your health problems may be due to low magnesium levels, it is much easier and more effective just to take more magnesium and see what happens.Researchers at the Lille Pasteur Institute found in a prospective study with over 4,000 men over an 18-year follow up period that high levels of magnesium were associated with a 50 percent decrease in cancer mortality, and a 40 percent decrease in cardiovascular and all-cause mortality ("Zinc, Copper and Magnesium and Risks for All-Cause Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality" Epidemiology, Vol. 17, No. 3, May 2006, Epidemiology).Rejuvenation by ingesting more magnesium is a slow process, especially as the amount of magnesium that we can take is limited by its laxative effect and the need to keep it in a reasonable balance with the calcium and phosphorus intake. The other problem is that spastic muscles have a poor blood and lymph circulation, which makes it difficult for the ingested magnesium to dissolve and flush out the tissue and joint calcifications. Therefore, we can greatly speed up the rejuvenation process by increasing the circulation through permanently contracted muscles as with deep tissue massage, hot and cold water applications, relaxation exercises, lymphasising as well as packs and rubs with magnesium chloride or Epsom salts.How much?Hydrated magnesium chloride contains about 120 mg of magnesium per gram or 600 mg per rounded teaspoon. It has a somewhat bitter-salty taste and a mildly laxative effect. To improve or maintain your health you may use up to 600 mg of magnesium daily in divided doses with meals, well diluted in a drink or mixed with food.With raised blood pressure, calcifications and other symptoms of magnesium deficiency you may use 600 mg orally in addition to any transdermal application of magnesium oil for arthritis or muscle relaxation. With low blood pressure you may use about 300 mg of magnesium daily in addition to some extra calcium. As a source of calcium you may dissolve some self-made eggshell powder in citrus juice or vinegar. Actual amounts are not important as the body absorbs only as much as it needs.For daily use it will be more convenient to dissolve the magnesium chloride in water. You may dissolve 10 lightly rounded teaspoons of the crystals in a medium size glass of water or, more accurately, 50g in 150 ml of water. Decant and discard any undissolved residue. One teaspoon of this solution three times daily with food or drink provides a daily intake of about 600 mg of magnesium. Alternatively you may fill a jar half full with magnesium chloride flakes and then to the top with water. This provides similar amounts of magnesium.Individuals with very sensitive taste buds may start using it in tiny amounts mixed with strongly flavoured food and increase doses very gradually. You may start adding one drop to a glass of water or mixed with a meal. If that is alright, then next time add two drops, and then three until it starts tasting unpleasant. Cut back temporarily, but after another week or two you may not taste it anymore and you can start adding further drops until you reach the desired intake. I had many people complaining that they cannot use it because they had started taking it in too high a dose or too concentrated.While for some conditions it can be helpful to take a larger amount and wash it down with a drink, you need to be careful as this can easily upset the stomach. For everyday use I recommend adding it in small amounts to food and drink so that it is present in amounts that would be normally present in water and food with a high mineral content. It definitely should not taste unpleasant, and in most cases the actual amount used every day is not that important.This same solution may also be used as a pack over tumours and infected, inflamed, painful, stiff or calcified joints, muscles, adhesions or scar tissue. It is also excellent to use a weak solution as a back rub and all over the body to relax tense muscles anywhere and even to rejuvenate ageing skin. For sensitive skin use it in a strongly diluted form. On wounds it was commonly used in a 4% solution that is 4 g or a level teaspoon in 100 ml or a small glass of water.With acute infections dissolve 40 g or 8 slightly rounded teaspoons in 1 liter of water. With children commonly a small glassful or 125 ml has been used every 6 hours. Adults may double this dose by drinking this amount every 3 hours or even more until diarrhoea develops and then cut back to a maintenance intake just below the level of diarrhoea until the infection has cleared. If you have sensitive taste buds the taste may be rather unpleasant in this concentrated form. Therefore try to drink it in one gulp while pinching your nose and quickly drink something pleasant afterwards.For general relaxation as well as for back pain and arthritic or muscle pain and stiffness either magnesium chloride or Epsom salts may be used. Both are excellent to soak in a hot bath with the addition of up to 1 kg of magnesium salts. Also hot magnesium salt packs may be used over stiff or painful muscles and joints. Keep warm for one to two hours with a hot water bottle.There is also a non-hydrated or desiccated magnesium chloride available; it contains approximately twice as much magnesium as the hydrated product. If using this then just half the amounts indicated above. It is now also available in tablet form but more expensive.Instead of magnesium chloride, you may use the brine from the production of sea salt. It has the advantage of having more trace minerals than the technical magnesium chloride, but due to its high content of magnesium sulphate it is also rather bitter. While magnesium chloride does have a laxative effect, magnesium sulphate or Epsom salts is much better suitable if used purely as a laxative because it is less well absorbed and therefore attracts more water into the intestines.While a higher magnesium intake is beneficial for most individuals, those with low blood pressure usually require more calcium in addition. Normal blood pressure is about 120/80; the lower it is the higher should be the daily intake of calcium. While those with high blood pressure may benefit from ingesting up to twice as much magnesium as calcium, those with low blood pressure may take twice as much calcium as magnesium, but both minerals in relatively high amounts. Those with low blood pressure and a tendency towards inflammations may also reduce their intake of phosphorus. A high level of phosphorus in the blood tends to cause magnesium and calcium levels to be low.Normally a good diet should provide all necessary vitamins and minerals. Presently supplementation is often indicated because of malabsorption, poor dietary choices, metabolic defects, and specific diseases. Also some drugs, such as diuretic and antibiotics may cause magnesium deficiency. When supplementing with magnesium or other vitamins and minerals, the balance with related nutrients, such as calcium and phosphorus, and also the fluid intake, are usually more important than the absolute intake of magnesium or any other single nutrient. If in doubt consult a qualified health professional.For supplies of magnesium chloride in Australia see Resources. For adding large amounts to bath water you may try to obtain hydrated magnesium chloride in 25 kg bulk quantities from companies that supply agricultural and water chemicals. Commonly it originates from evaporated seawater and especially from the Dead Sea.Magnesium Oil is a concentrated and nearly saturated solution of magnesium chloride in water. It is called “oil” because of the smooth oily feeling when rubbed onto the skin. Magnesium is relatively easily absorbed through the skin, and in this way is an effective way to relax tense muscles and improve arthritic joint problems. It is especially good for low back pain. In addition to skin rubs you may also use hot packs with cloths soaked in magnesium oil.For more information on magnesium oil see www.health-science-spirit.com/MagOil.htm. An excellent book on the external use of magnesium oil is Transdermal Magnesium Therapy by Mark Sircus. For a supply of magnesium oil in Australia based on magnesium chloride from the Dead Sea see www.strideintohealth.com, while www.magneticclay.com in the USA distribute magnesium oil from ‘Ancient Minerals’.CAUTION: Magnesium supplementation should be avoided with severe kidney problems (severe renal insufficiency when on dialysis), and also with myasthenia gravis. Be careful with severe adrenal weakness or with low blood pressure. Too much magnesium can cause muscle weakness, if this happens temporarily use more calcium. Signs of excess magnesium (hypermagnesia) can be similar to magnesium deficiency and include changes in mental status, nausea, diarrhoea, appetite loss, muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, extremely low blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat.MAGNESIUM PROFILEMagnesium is mainly found inside the cells, it activates many enzymes and is necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and amino acids. It is essential for the functions of muscles and nerves and for the formation of bones and teeth. Generally it counteracts and regulates the influence of calcium.Some early signs of magnesium deficiency are loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. Increased deficiency may show as numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures, personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, and coronary spasms. Severe deficiency results in low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia), and is also associated with low levels of potassium in the blood (hypokalemia).Deficiency Symptoms & Increased Requirements:CIRCULATION: angina, arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart infarcts, , strokes, tachycardia (fast pulse), thrombosis.DIGESTIVE SYSTEM: colic, constipation, chronic diarrhoea, malabsorption, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).MUSCLES: backache, convulsions, cramps, increased excitability/jumpiness, numbness, nystagmus (rapid eye movements), spasms, tense/tight muscles, tingling, tremors.NERVOUS SYSTEM: apathy, confusion, depression, disorientation, epilepsy, hallucinations, irritability, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, nervousness, neuritis paranoia, Parkinson's disease, poor memory, senility.GENERAL: alcoholism, arthritis, body odours, broken bones, calcification in any organ, cancer, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, diabetes, eclampsia, headaches, infections and inflammations, liver cirrhosis, lupus erythematosus, migraines, old age, prostate problems, rickets, rigidity - mental and physical, skin wrinkled and tough, stiffness, stone-formation in gall bladder or kidneys, thyroid overactive.Best Sources:Fresh grass juice (e.g. wheat grass, barley grass) and powder of cereal grasses, vegetable juices, kelp, seawater, seafood, green leaves, molasses, soaked nuts, oily seeds and sprouted seeds. Magnesium is the central mineral in chlorophyll, which has a similar protein structure as haemoglobin.HOMEHEALING FOODSBODYDISEASESENERGIESEMOTIONSMINDSPIRITUALITY