Have We Reached the Tipping Point?

Dear Friends,

Happy Halloween! What do you think of this ghoulish creature? Identify its genus and species correctly, and I’ll send you a treat—pick one of the four products in the Therapeutic Foods Platform we are highlighting below as your gift. Do watch the Beauty of the Ugly in the Last Quiz Answer segment. For extra credit: what does this creature have in common with the de-evolution of the biosphere?

Higher animals, such as amphibians, reptiles and mammals, are now listed as endangered or in the imminent thread of extinction due to the load of toxins, pathogens, the effects of global warming on habitat, and ecosystem destruction. But what about humans, we are mammals. Have we reached the tipping point, the point of no return for higher animals? We’ve done so in the past when you look through the window of Deep Time.

Do you recognize this creature? Probably not.

It’s a Gorganopsian and it lived a quarter of a billion years ago! The Gorganopsia are a major group of Tetrapods that includes the mammals. Though more than thirty genera have been described, in all sizes from the size of a dog to that of a bear, they are all extinct except for one of their species that survived and evolved into what we now classify as mammals. Gorganopsians were warm blooded creatures, the dominant predators of the late Permian. The Permain period ended 248 million years ago along with these marvelous creatures.

In our Forward Thinking, see the archives—scroll down to Feb 3rd 2010, we highlighted the work of Dr. Peter Ward, Astrobiologist and Paleontologist. Dr. Ward maintains that there have been at least five major extinctions over the last five hundred million years. Each extinction manifests as a resurgence of the microbial slime world of bacteria, algae, molds, jellyfish, etc., creatures that can survive in a low oxygen environment, over the more complex, oxygen dependent species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, bird-like creatures and mammal-like reptiles (the Gorganopsians)—most all of these higher phyla became extinct.

This brings the urgency of our present situation into focus. Green house gasses are rising, dead zones (hypoxic zones) in the oceans and seas are spreading, one species after another must be placed on the endangered list. For example, one-third of the world’s frogs will be lost within the next several years because of toxins and pathogens. Isn’t that frightening! We too are suffering.

Last weekend we were at the WANP 2010 Fall Conference entitled, Clinical Focus on Environmental Medicine and Detoxification. We were there on Saturday and heard lectures by Marianne Marchese ND, Lyn Patrick ND, Bonnie Nedrow ND, and Owen Miller ND. They all gave absolutely superb and important talks! Well worth your getting the tapes. Their titles were: Endometriosis and Breast Cancer; The Tsunami of Fatty Liver Disease: Naturopathic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment of nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Preconception Detoxification; and The Cleanse and Resolving Chronic Disease.

Dr. Lyn Patrick showed us a photo of BP’s Senior VP, looking very much like a deer caught in the headlights, when asked why BP used the dispersant Corexit, when it knew that Corexit was much more toxic to all forms life than the oil itself. The consequences of using Corexit, as a dispersant, in the Valdez oil spill spelled this out all too clearly.

I talked with Dr. Patrick after her lecture and she told me of marine toxicologist Dr. Riki Ott and her book Not One Drop, documenting the Valdez disaster. I did some research of my own on Dr. Ott and found my newest environmental hero. Dr. Ott asked herself and important question regarding the Valdez oil spill: I know enough to make a difference, do I care enough? Her story and her answer to this critical question is absolutely inspiring and illuminating. I have inclued the following interviews of Dr. Ott—one relative to the Valdez spill and one on the Gulf spill. I guarentee they will wake you up and I hope inspire you. Take a moment to watch them.

• Dr. Riki Ott on the Valdez Spill.
• Dr. Riki Ott on the Gulf Spill.

A few facts for you to consider from the lectures:

To date, we have 83,000 chemicals in circulation and nine new ones are being patented daily. These chemicals are rushed to the market with almost no safety testing in as little as 90 days from patent application. 287 of 413 chemicals tested were found in the average American’s blood. That is 69% of all chemicals tested.

If we applied that to the 83,000 chemicals that exist, we could be carrying 57,000 chemcials in our bodies, and we don’t know how toxic each of these chemicals are.

Researchers at the University of California Berkeley’s School of Public Health estimate that 42 billion pounds of chemicals enter American commence daily, representing enough chemicals to fill up 623,000 tanker trucks each day.

Current policy, unchanged since 1976, has allowed the EPA to require testing for a mere 200 of the 83,000 chemicals currently registered in the U.S. .

Even if all chemicals were banned today, the impact of persistent pollutants would continue to harm our health and the environment for many generations to come.

Non-Alcoholic fatty liver Disease (NAFLD) is now considered to be the primary hepatic complication of obesity and insulin resistance. NAFLD is recognized today as the most prevalent liver disease in the Western population, with estimated prevalence rates of 13-34%.

6.5 million children in the US have fatty liver disease with the overweight and obese children accounting for 81% of the fatty liver cases.

Let’s focus on obesity for just a moment and take a look at the CDC’s 2010 report:

The Obesity Epidemic– More than one third of U.S. adults— 72 million people— and 17% of U.S. children are obese. From 1980 through 2008, obesity rates for adults have doubled, while rates for children have tripled! During the past several decades, obesity rates for all groups in society, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education level, or geographic region, have increased markedly.

The health consequences of obesity are cornonary heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, cancers such as endometrial, breast and colon, high blood pressure, high total cholestrol or high levels of triglycerides, strokes, liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, degeneration of cartilege and underlying bone with a joint (osteoarthritis) and reproductive health complications

We have a crisis here—we are becoming less viable as a species, and it is directly attributable to the load of toxins in our environment and therefore in our bodies, and to the foods that we consume on a daily basis.

All the speakers agreed when it comes to protecting ourselves we need: to clean our homes, detox our bodies, and eat a protective diet.

Throughout the seminar I spoke with many doctors about activisim, the need to include in our daily routines a small activist component of their choice, and inspire the people within their communities to do the same. The Therapeutic Foods Platform is not only a powerful way to catalyse the transformation of our diet into one that is protective and healing, but is also a statement about food as medicine, and the fact that it takes the effort and awareness of the whole world to grow healthy foods. Pure, clean, vital foods is imperative to all life forms.

Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell

BioImmersion.com

Clinical Note:

The Power of the Therapeutic Foods Platform.

Protocol Number One: basic protection

• Wild Blueberry Daily- one capsule daily.
• Organic Chlorella- four to six tablets daily.
• Cruciferous Sprout Complex- Two to four capsules daily.
• Number Seven Systemic Booster- one-half to one teaspoon daily.

The ingredients: see last week’s Forward Thinking

Because the protocol is about using foods therapeutically, the dosage can be increased or decreased as needed. Always think of the platform as food to guide you in the dosages. This coming week we will look at the biological pathway involved, how these foods interact with our genes, what the top food scientists have to say regarding these ingredients and much more.

The Last Quiz Answer: This amazing creature is a Condylura cristata a star-nose mole. At only 4 to 5 inches long, the star-nosed mole has one of the strangest noses in nature. Its 22 fleshy tentacles are super-sensitive to touch. The star-nosed mole hunts worms and insects, and its specialized nose allows it to capture and eat its prey 14 times faster than any other mole. In fact it is the fastest eater in nature. See this mole in action.

Well it was the end of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) season, and this Tuesday was the last of our weekly shipments. For next Spring check out a CSA in your area. Here is a very easy way to do it: Go to our website bioimmersion.com, click on the Meatrix link in the Green Facts at the bottom home page, once in on the left click on the Eat Well Guide where you will be able to find a CSA in your area.