A study released by Newcastle University (Great Britain) might deliver incontrovertible proof of the benefits of organics.

The largest ever study into organics has found that organic food is more nutritious. The Newcastle University study found that organic vegetable crops contained up to 40% more beneficial compounds and organic milk contained over 90% more nutrients than conventionally produced milk.

The research was conducted at a 725-acre farm in Newcastle upon Tyne in a four year, A$30M experiment funded by the European Union. Researchers from Newcastle University created two identical farms; one managed using conventional farming practices and the other managed organically. 33 academic centres across Europe participated in this four year project. The resounding conclusion was that the organic produce contained higher levels of compounds thought to boost health and combat disease.

Professor Carlo Leifert, the co-ordinator of the European-funded project said in a Sunday Times article that the differences were so marked that organic produce would help to increase the nutrient intake of people not eating the recommended five portions a day of fruit and vegetables. He was quoted as saying, “If you have just 20% more antioxidants and you can’t get your kids to do five a day, then you might just be okay with four a day.”

While the study did find that some conventional crops contained larger quantities of some vitamins, the research has confirmed that the overall trend is that organic fruit, vegetables and milk are more likely to have beneficial compounds.

Andre Leu, the Chair of the Organic Federation of Australia says, “It’s official that organic food is healthier and this report lends credibility to what we have been saying all along. This study adds to the 83 peer reviewed public reports that say that on average, organic food has a higher nutrient content. The exciting thing about this is that it involved 33 academic institutions across Europe led by Newcastle University, and as a result, it has enormous scientific credibility. The significant increase in cancer fighting compounds shows that investing in organics is excellent value for consumers.”

[To read the Times article, please visit timesonline. For more information on organic food see also The Organics Directory and OTACNet Organic Traders’ & Consumers’ Network.]

Supported by more than 40 Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations, including Oxfam Australia, the campaign calls on federal, state and territory governments to commit to closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation.

A national scandal

It’s hard to believe but impossible to deny that Indigenous Australians live nearly 20 years less than other Australians. In 21st century Australia this is plainly unacceptable.

While most women in Australia can expect to live to an average age of 82 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women can expect to live to only 64.8 years. The situation is even worse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men whose life expectancy is only 59.4 years.

We should not accept that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders end up in hospitals at twice the rate of other Australians. Nor is it fair that while most Australians can look forward to long healthy lives with access to some of the best healthcare facilities in the world, Indigenous Australians can expect to die at much higher rates of heart disease, cancer, and kidney failure, to name a few diseases.

It’s sad but true that Indigenous Australians have not shared in the health gains enjoyed by other Australians over the last twenty years. Yet it is inconceivable that a country as wealthy as Australia cannot solve a health crisis affecting less then three per cent of its population.

Closing the gap

The Close the Gap campaign is calling on Australian governments to take action to achieve health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within 25 years through

• Increasing Indigenous Australians’ access to health services
• Addressing critical social issues such as poor housing, nutrition and education
• Building Indigenous control and participation in the delivery of health and other services

There is no quick fix but with a long-term commitment to work with Indigenous communities we can bring about change! You can help bring about change:

• Find out more about the issues
• Join National Close the Gap Day activities
• Sign the Close the Gap pledge
• Read Indigenous health success stories
• Buy a T-shirt or wristband

National Close the Gap Day

National Close the Gap Day - Tuesday 18 September 2007 - will give Australians across the nation the opportunity to come together and show their support for closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians. Why not organise your own small-scale event with our help? You can also get involved in other ways.

National Close the Gap Day events

• NSW
• QLD
• SA
• VIC
• WA

In addition to my previous post on root canal therapy I found on the linked site (Bio Compatible Dentistry, a dental practice is Sydney, Australia) an article on Biological Dentistry in which the author Edward Arana, D.D.S. talks about an alternative approach to addressing oral health issues.

Founding President, American Academy of Biological Dentistry

Biological Dentistry can be categorized as conscious dentistry. It is conscious of how treatments of the teeth and jaws affect the individual’s overall health. Will they be congruent and health-enhancing, or will they be health stressors?

In the past, only lip service was paid to the biocompatibility of dental materials. It was judged on a general basis, not the required individual basis. The most tragic result of this is conventional dentistry’s continued advocacy of the use of a known poison—MERCURY—in amalgam filling. And their reason for doing so? Because it’s been done for more than 150 years.

In maintaining this position, conventional dentistry has misled itself—and the public. Obscuring the truth that mercury does cause ill effects when implanted in the body, it denies that a filling inserted in a prepared tooth is even an implant! But the fact remains: mercury and other heavy metals from dental fillings contribute to all chronic disease states. So do multiple chemical-sensitizing exposures. Environmentally ill patients have provided clinical evidence that these conditions act synergistically to intoxicate and stress the patient, thus causing disease.

In the late 1970s, Biological Dentistry emerged as a new field of Probiotic (life-supporting) dental medicine. Developed in Germany, it is now taught and practiced throughout the world.

But what is Biological Dentistry exactly?

Above all, Biological Dentistry is aesthetic, relatively nontoxic and individually biocompatible. Its practitioners use physiologic and electronic means to locate chronic areas of disease that are difficult to locate with conventional clinical methods. It incorporates the time-proven healing methods of homeopathy, acupuncture, nutrition, physical therapy and herbology, as well as the more modern sciences of neural therapy, hematology, immunology and electro-acupuncture. Such modalities complement the many scientific disciplines that encompass the field of clinical dentistry. The curative measures of Biological Dentistry are applied in accordance with each patient’s natural abilities of regulation, regeneration, adaptation and self-cure. Biological dental treatment removes the stress burdens that conventional treatment may induce.

There are several dental situations that especially concern the Biological Dentist. The first is the toxicity of metals used in dental materials and their release from fillings and replacement appliances (metal partials and crowns containing nickel). Dissociating from their masses, these metal ions diffuse, migrate and are absorbed by the tissues, altering the electrochemical character of the immune system. At the same time, they change the ratios and populations of the blood cells (decreased white count), as well as those of the immune system. These migrating metal ions also stop or alter the function of the body’s enzymes.

Another concern is the extent and character of the direct electrical currents generated by the mingling of dissimilar metals in electrolyte media (fluids and tissues of the human body). This is called oral galvanism. These currents carry disruptive metal ions to the opposite poles in what amount to oral galvanic batteries. How much oral galvanic power is necessary to change organic function and membrane permeability, to interfere with the power of thought of recall, or to initiate degenerative change? We still don’t know. But we do know that it changes the charge from electronegative to electropositive.

Is it possible that these metallic energy sinks act as blockades in the meridians, the bioenergetic circuits associated with the teeth? Indeed, it is. Can these blockades cause dysfunction in their respective organs, endocrine systems, vertebrae, muscles, nerves and nerve reflexes? Absolutely. Should we view current existing dental restorations as toxic scars? If mercury is involved, most definitely. With gold and other metals, or with composite cements? For a certain percentage of people, yes. With just about any restorative dental material, there will be blockades if the body’s immune system is still functional. This is because the tooth is an open and dynamic living organ.

Biological Dentistry is concerned with treatment and therapies that cause the least disturbance to the immune system.

A third area of concern is that of hidden or residual infection, including areas of necrosis (dead tissue) and chronic inflammation. Collectively, these areas are called Dental Interference Fields, or Foci. A focus is a diseased change in the soft connective tissue containing non-processable material that keeps the local and general defense reactions in a continuous state of active conflict. This can lead to abnormal distant effects far removed from the original source. It is most often chronic in nature. Ignoring this area as completely as it does, conventional dentistry misses out on the chance to make meaningful and effective therapeutic contributions in resolving chronic disease.

In seeking the least toxic reparative and restorative materials for each patient’s dental work, Biological Dentists use materials reactivity testing. This individualizes biocompatibility. The patient’s blood serum is used for this qualitative antigen-antibody precipitin observation test. Developed by W.J. Clifford, MS, the test indicates which materials may be suitable for the individual patient. Parallel test methods include electrodermal testing as advocated by Reinhold Voll, MD, and Fritz Kramer, DDS, and Applied Kinesiology muscle testing as developed by George Goodheart, DC.

Using all the knowledge and skills of Probiotic dental medicine, Biological Dentists strive to provide individual biocompatibility testing, and aesthetic, comfortable, functional and enduring dental replacements. Biological dental treatment has the possibility of stress reduction so great that the patient loses all or many of the distressing chronic disease symptoms, encompassing many pathological conditions.

Biological Dentistry is the great contribution that Sir William Osler meant when he said, “The next great advancement in medicine will come from the dentists.” Biological Dentistry will, out of necessity, become the dental medicine of the 21st Century.

This article originally appeared in modified form in the DAMS newsletter, Volume IV, Issue 2.

Right now I do have what seems a major problem with one of my teeth, and I know that a traditional dentist most likely will suggest root canal therapy. From people I met who underwent this treatment, I have never heard many good stories though about the procedure itself and the results, and it therefore seemed serendipitous that a friend pointed me to sites documenting decades of scientific research that strongly questions its value (links are enclosed below). This post lists what I understand are the main arguments against this root canal therapy.

The issue

Much of the line of argument against root canal therapy goes back to the research done by Dr. Weston Price at the turn of the 20th century. He was the head of the American Dental Association and wrote numerous papers on subjects as diverse as the role of nutrition on dental health to the effects of dead teeth and root canal therapy on systemic health. He was able to correlate different disease states with the types of pathology seen around dead teeth and he demonstrated hundreds of times their role in the creation of diseases. He also showed how every belief about Root Canal Therapy, held by the dental community at the time, was based on a complete lack of scientific research. They were myths that developed into firm beliefs, and the current dental fraternities have now set these beliefs into concrete truths which they continue to teach.

The dental institutions claim that:

• Root canal therapy is safe
• Dr Price’s research is out of date
• Focal infection theory (see below) is irrelevant in dentistry

The aim of Root Canal Therapy is to ‘save’ a tooth which has become infected or dead - in an attempt to make it functional and pain free. After scraping out the inside of the tooth the dentist will attempt to disinfect the tooth and the canals to eliminate any source of infection. The canal is then filled with a combination of cement and Gutta Percha in an attempt to completely seal these canals in order to prevent any microorganisms from entering the tooth either through the crown or the root.

If you consider pain control, mechanical function and aesthetics to be the limit of good dental treatment, then you will have “saved” the tooth. If systemic effects are included in your concept of dentistry (such as your general health), than all that has happened is that you have kept dead, infected tissue buried in the bone, within a couple of inches from your brain.

Treatment process

Apart from serious doubts been voiced about the effectiveness of x-rays in diagnosing root infections, a number of concerns are being raised in the literature about the actual root canal treatment process.

• current dentistry practices seem to be based on the assumption that only the soft tissue (or pulp) carrying root canal needs treatment, neglecting the dentin areas which makes up the bulk of the tooth; dentin consists of miles of tiny tubules (if laid out in a straight line on the ground, the tubules of a front single-root tooth, would stretch for three miles!); the tubules harbour bacteria (see below) and therefore need to be included in the sterilisation process of root canal therapy; the problem though is that even if it that would happen, it would be impossible to get all bacteria out of the labyrinth and the length of tubules areas given the nature of their structure
• research shows that it is also next to impossible to completely remove all pulp from the root canal and sterilise it completely (again because of its size and porous structure)
• dental literature is repleat with research that demonstrates that all of the root filling cements and Gutta Percha itself are all cytotoxic; there is NO safe material, in fact, root filling cements have been shown to
  • induce calcification in various organs of the body
  • cause neurological damage and interfere with nerve transmission, in some cases irreversibly
  • be mutagenic and carcinogenic
• many of the root filling cements either contain or breakdown to Formaldehyde – a substance known to cause cancer, breathing problems, damage to embryos, and a host of other disastrous effects; it is the substance which is used to mummify tissue.
• one of the most commonly used root filling materials in Australia and overseas is a material called AH26; the manufacturer says about its own material in its Material Safety Data Sheet: “Dangerous components: Bismuth Oxide, Methanamine, Silver, Titanium Dioxide. Dangerous breakdown products: Formaldehyde, Nitrogen Oxides, Ammonia. Warnings: skin irritant, eye irritant. Sensitisation: avoid inhalation and skin contact. After swallowing: rinse mouth thoroughly and then drink plenty of water. Call a doctor immediately. Ecological information: do not allow product to reach ground water, water course or sewage. Do not allow to enter sewers/surface or ground water. Water Hazard class 2 (German regulation self assessment): hazardous for water.” How would you like to have this material implanted into your body?

Post-treatment bacterial activity

Dentistry teaches that lack of pain is a sign of success of the procedure. Apart from the fact that many people complain about ongoing pain (either immediately after the treatment or at some later stage), lack of pain around the tooth does not reflect the seriousness of associated systemic effects (and the spread of systemic disease from infected teeth and gums is well-documented):

• a high percentage of chronic degenerative diseases can originate from root filled teeth (most frequently heart and circulatory diseases followed by those of the joints, arthritis and rheumatism, diseases of the brain and nervous system and many other)
• the source for these systemic correlations between root canal treated teeth and diseases seem to be streptococcal focal infections: germs from a central focal infection - such as teeth, teeth roots, inflamed gum tissues, or maybe tonsils - metastasise to hearts, eyes, lungs, kidneys, or other organs, glands and tissues, establishing new areas of the same infection
• ALL root-filled teeth harbor bacteria; sealing off the canal and cutting off oxygen supply to it does not remove the bacteria in the dentin; microscopic organisms lurking in the maze of tubules simply migrate into the interior of the tooth to spaces created when root fillings shrink minutely
• large, relatively harmless bacteria common to the mouth, change and adapt to new conditions by shrinking in size to fit and learning to exist and thrive on very little food and more or less no oxygen; those mutations become pathogenic (capable of producing disease), more virulent and they produce more potent toxins; bacteriologists have confirmed the presence of strains of streptococcus, staphylococcus and spirochetes
• bacteria migrate from the tooth interior and the tubules into surrounding tissue where they can “hitch hike” to other locations in the body via the bloodstream; the new location can be any organ or gland or tissue, and the new colony will be the next focus of infection in a body plagued by recurrent or chronic infections; in addition to causing infections, the bacteria also exude potent systemic toxins triggering activity by the immune system causing the affected person to respond from just dragging around and feeling less energetic, to overt illness; in addition people will be more vulnerable to whatever “bugs” are going around, because his/her body is already under constant challenge and the immune system continues to be “turned on” by either the infective agent or its toxins - or both; many patients won’t be well until the source of infection - the root canal tooth - is removed
• infections in root-filled teeth cannot be treated with antibiotics because the no longer-living tooth lacks a blood supply to its interior, preventing the circulating antibiotics reaching the bacteria living there; in addition, a root filled tooth no longer has any fluid circulating through the dentin, which makes the anaerobic bacteria living in the maze of tubules remarkably safe from antibiotics
• every root canal filling does leak and bacteria do invade the structure, but people do react differently, with the variable factor probably being the strength of the person’s immune system; over time though most people with root filled teeth do seem to develop some kinds of systemic symptoms they didn’t have before
• the only way to tackle the problems relating to root-filled teeth seems to be extraction of the affected tooth plus the removal of one millimeter of the bony socket to take away the periodontal ligament which is always infected with toxins produced by streptococcus bacteria living in the dentin tubules and the small part of the bone that lines the socket, which also is usually infected

Decay prevention

Root canal infections are a result of oral ill-health, and so are other much more common dental diseases such as caries or inflamed gums. But we can’t talk about oral health without talking about total health. The problem with Western medicine in general is that patients and doctors alike haven’t come around to seeing that one disease such as dental caries reflects systemic - meaning “whole body” - illness.

A main and scientifically proven way to prevent tooth decay seems diet and nutrition. Dr. Ralph Steinman did some outstanding, landmark research at Loma Linda University. He injected a glucose solution into mice - into their bodies, so the glucose didn’t even touch their teeth. Then he observed the teeth for any changes. What he found was truly astonishing. The glucose reversed the normal flow of fluid in the dentin tubules, resulting in all of the test animals developing severe tooth decay!

Past research on native people who still lived their original ways and who had no access to civilisation and its byproducts (such as tooth brushes, floss, fluoridated water or tooth paste) showed that they were almost 100% free of tooth decay - as well as of all our degenerative diseases relating to the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, joints, skin or allergies. Some of this research was undertaken already before the arrival of such health risk factors as car pollution, pesticides and pathogenic substances in consumer goods and living environments, which led to the early conclusion that diet is a prime factor in maintaining oral and overall health.

One thing all these tribal cultures shared was the absence to highly refined foods, in particular sugar and white flour, but nowadays also refined and fabricated cereals and boxed mixes of all kinds, soft drinks, refined vegetable oils and a whole host of other “foodless” foods as opposed to wholefoods. In regards to using oral hygiene practices as preventive measures therefore one could say that some of them help minimise the destructive effect of our “civilised”, refined diet (although some, such as fluoridation of water and toothpastes, make things worse). But the real issue is still diet. We do prefer to hear that if we would just brush better, longer, or more often, we too could be free of dental problems, but that is not the reality we live in.

[see also Biological Dentistry]

Links:

• http://www.bcd.com.au/
• http://www.rooted.tv/
• http://curezone.com/dental/root_canal.asp
• http://www.drshankland.com/osteocavitation_lesions.html#4
• http://www.hugginsappliedhealing.com/index.php

PFOA (perfluoro-octanoic acid) is being used in the manufacture of stain resistant fabrics and carpets, all weather clothing and non-stick surfaces. An advisory panel EPA has identified it as a likely human carcinogen, and it is found in the blood of almost all of us - even though it is supposedly a mystery how it got there because in theory it should not turn up outside the manufacturing process. Now, a research team at the national Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Morgantown, West Virginia, has shown that mice exposed to it and an allergen produced stronger allergic reactions than those poor little creatures exposed to the allergen alone. DuPont, which also makes Teflon coatings, of course says that it is unlikely that PFOA increases susceptibility to allergies, even though they have no studies backing up their argument.

[source: New Scientist]