No SF – Page 6 – Green Lifestyle Market

Lyme Disease Facts You Should Know

This is an excerpt from the extensive article Best Supplements To Kill Lyme and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Lyme Disease.

Current diagnostics miss up to 60% of acute cases. This is what’s so infuriating for those trying to figure out what’s going on with their bodies: Testing for Lyme is inaccurate, but especially so in the beginning. By the time the tests are likely to show positive for someone with Lyme, antibiotic treatments are typically no longer effective. In other words, people would go to their doctor and ask if they have Lyme, the doctors would say how rare it is (fortunately doctors are getting much better about this lately), but would reluctantly perform the tests, only to find no trace of Lyme. So the person would assume some other autoimmune disease while the Lyme slowly proliferates. Then the person would eventually seek another opinion, get another round of tests, and maybe (but often not) find out they do in fact have Lyme. Or, they often find out that one can have Lyme and still test negative indefinitely, but at this stage, the person is showing enough symptoms that the new more knowledgeable doctor can easily conclude that it’s Lyme.

But now the antibiotics will no longer be effective. It’s too late. Many people try anyways, wrecking their immune system in the process.

I suspect that often times a heavy round of antibiotics works to kill the bacteria, but the body is left so badly damaged that new infection (often Candida being the first) takes over, and all of the symptoms remain.

Borrelia does not seem to circulate in the blood. This is the main reason it is so difficult to detect. The bacteria also have a very slow replication rate, so the number of bacteria found in a host remains small, at least for a long time.

There are multiple tests for Lyme. The CDC recommends screening with the ELISA test and then confirming the results with the Western blot test. As mentioned, these tests are completely unreliable during the first 4-6 weeks of infection. The tests only measure the patient’s antibody response to the infection, not the presence of the bacteria itself.

Lyme disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose using conventional tests. And there’s great variation in the presentation of the disease as well, depending on where you contracted it, and whether or not you have any other coexisting infections. There is a group of seven or eight microbes that are the most common. The worst ones are Babesia microti and the different forms of Bartonella.

It is said that an initial course of antibiotics given in stage one cures the disease most of the time, but why not all the time? Is the course of antibiotics too short? Should more be given? Should they be given long term, especially for those who have stage 3 symptoms? What if blood tests no longer show spirochetes? If the antibiotics don’t work, the patient now has to combat Lyme with a very depleted immune system.” – Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD

Why Antibiotics May Not Work for Lyme Disease

These days, early treatment is typically successful, according to the latest science, but most patients go undiagnosed for years. At least 20% of those who are said to be successfully treated for Lyme will experience the same symptoms after treatment, which as mentioned, can easily be attributed to a depleted immune system leading to Candida overgrowth or other fungal pathogens, opening the door for many other infections as well.

Antibiotic resistance occurs at a high rate with spirochete bacteria. Borrelia (and also its co-infections), will respond slowly to antibiotics. They will develop resistance. The bacteria that survive antibiotics can become completely antibiotic resistant. This is why doctors are starting to use multiple antibiotics at once seems, and this does lead to better chance of defeating Lyme, and depleting the immune system. If the medication fails, the bacteria that have survived will not only become resistant, but it will also become much more entrenched in the host.

The Lyme Timeline

Phase One – 3 to 30 Days

Also called early localized infection

Some say less than 50%, others say up to 70-75% develop the bullseye rash, starting at the site of the tick bite. It is not itchy or painful but they are usually warm to the touch. Sometimes flu-like symptoms develop soon after, including fever, chills, swollen lymph glands, headaches, muscle pain, and joint pain.

Phase Two – Days to Weeks After Bite

Also called early disseminated infection

Rash spreads
Large joints may become swollen and painful
Stiff neck in some cases
Meningitis may develop
Dizziness
Heart palpitations

Phase Three – Later Months to Years

Also called late disseminated infection

Many infectious disease specialists believe that “chronic Lyme disease” does not exist, and that Lyme disease from a tick bite can be cured with a short course of antibiotics. It is possible that those who have undergone antibiotic treatments are suffering from the side effects of antibiotics, but more and more experts are coming around to the idea that Lyme disease can survive and cause long-term autoimmune symptoms when antibiotics don’t work. We all know (or at least, we all should know) that antibiotics do not always work and can cause more problems.

Arthritis symptoms – swollen, painful joints (fluid-filled joints)
Neurological symptoms – numbness, tingling, shooting pains
Cognitive symptoms – brain fog, short-term memory deficits, confusion
Mood disturbance – depression
Fatigue
Abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure

Facial paralysis sometimes occurs in this stage or stage two.

Scary Lyme Facts You Should Know

How does Lyme make us sick, and why is it so damn resilient?!?!

Spiders, mosquitoes, fleas, and mites may also be spreading the same or similar bacterial infections.
Tests are unreliable because they measure the patient’s antibody response to the infection, not the bacteria itself.
There’s great variation in the presentation of the disease, depending on where it’s contracted, and whether there are other coexisting infections. At least eight other microbes make up the most common co-infections., including Babesia microti and different forms of Bartonella.
Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, has a corkscrew shape that allows it to bore deep into tissues and cartilage (including the brain and nervous system), safely out of reach of most antibiotics.
Borrelia burgdorferi can give up its corkscrew shape and convert to a form that is able to live inside cells (“intracellular”) where again, antibiotics have less reach.
Borrelia burgdorferi, along with other similar microbes, can form dormant cysts that are completely resistant to antibiotics; the harder you hit it, the more resistant it becomes.
Most ticks carry multiple disease-causing pathogens called co-infections. Borrelia burgdorferi is usually accompanied and aided by co-infections of other stealth microbes.
Lyme disease has been reported in all 50 states.
Lyme disease has been found on every continent except Antarctica.
Ticks carrying Lyme can be smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.
Many, perhaps most, do not get the bull’s eye rash. Some develop flu-like symptoms a week or so after becoming infected, however, many people are asymptomatic but can develop Lyme symptoms months, years or decades later.
It is called the great imitator; looking like many other health problems (Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Bells Palsy, ADD, MS, and Lupus).
People with other chronic disease are much more susceptible to Lyme disease, making Lyme even more likely to go undetectedcted.
The medical community is divided over the diagnosis and treatment guidelines.
Health insurance still often won’t cover the treatment for Chronic Lyme disease.
Lyme Disease transmission may be possible through intercourse, and can likely be passed down through the womb.
There are 12 strains of Borrelia that are known to cause Lyme Disease, and standard testing only tests for one.
Lyme Disease is more epidemic than Aids, West Nile and Avian Flu combined.
Lyme Disease can cause more than 300 different symptoms.
The average Lyme patient takes 2-3 years to get diagnosed correctly.
25% of the reported cases are children.

Lyme Disease Cofactors

Leaky Gut and Lyme

In response to pathogenic toxins leaking from the intestines, the immune system produces multiple inflammatory compounds: Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF Beta-1), Matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9), Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). These inflammatory compounds affect multiple systems of the body. Because of the inflammatory compounds that become elevated in people with Lyme disease or co-infections, they are at greater risk of leaky gut. In a study on Lyme disease patients, Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and Interleukin-13 (IL-13) were found to be elevated in different phases of infection. TNFα has also been found to be elevated in Bartonella infections, mice infected with Babesia, mice receiving Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever antigens, Ehrlichia infections, and in Brucellosis patients. Both TNFα and IL-13 have a direct effect on increasing intestinal lining leakage. Unfortunately, western medicine lacks a way to accurately diagnose and to treat leaky gut syndrome.” – Plugging the Holes in Lyme Disease Leaky Gut

I am of the opinion that a leaky gut is the root of most chronic disease. True or not, a leaky gut always exacerbates every ailment, every disease, every single health issue. You cannot cure any chronic disease without a healthy gut.

Lyme Disease and Co-infections

Ticks can carry many bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans within them, and transmit these pathogens with a single bite.

The most common tick-borne diseases in the United States include Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Diseases acquired together like this are called co-infections. Click below to learn more about specific Lyme disease co-infections. – About Lyme Disease Co-Infections

We also borrowed their chart:

Lyme and Candida Overgrowth

Yeast overgrowth is a common concern for Lyme patients who undergo antibiotic therapy. Whether or not the Lyme or other bacterial pathogens are killed, the immune system is depleted, the body;’s beneficial bacteria is eradicated, and the body is almost guaranteed to be overrun with fungal pathogens. If one is cured of Lyme disease they will then have to rebuild their immune system (along with healthy gut flora). Most people don’t know how to do this. If they did, they most likely would not have been susceptible to Lyme in the first place. But for those who do the Lyme treatment without successful elimination of Lyme now have to deal with a body that soon inundated with fungi.

Lyme Disease and Amalgam Fillings, Vaccines, and Other Toxic Compounds

Mercury toxicity has been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, panic attacks, insomnia, cognitive decline (Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and more), chronic headaches including migraines, joint pain, Candida overgrowth, and much more. The body cannot fend off Lyme under such conditions. People with a history or poor diet, antibiotic use, mercury fillings, or immunizations, are extremely susceptible to Lyme disease and the many co-infections the come with it.

This is an excerpt from the extensive article Best Supplements To Kill Lyme and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Lyme Disease.

Asbestos and Benzene in Crayons and Markers

(Dr. Mercola) The term “asbestos” is used to describe six types of fibrous, heat-resistant asbestos minerals: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite — all of which are carcinogenic to humans.¹ While asbestos kills 100,000 people each year and is banned in nearly 60 countries,² the mineral continues to be legally used in the U.S.³

The World Health Organization calls exposure to benzene a major public health concern⁴ as it has been associated with a range of cancers and aplastic anemia. Sources include industrial processes, indoor air, food and water. The chemical is liquid at room temperature and evaporates quickly, often sinking to low-lying areas as the vapor is heavier than air.⁵

A recent report from a federation of U.S. and Canadian nonprofit organizations operating under the umbrella of the U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (US PIRG) reveals these same chemicals may be found in some of the back-to-school supplies you purchase for your children.⁶

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Leave These Off Your Back-to-School Supply Shopping List

Laboratory testing on popular school supplies, such as markers, crayons, glue and spiral notebooks, revealed toxic chemicals such as lead, asbestos, phthalates and BTEX compounds, including benzene and toluene. Supplies were purchased across the country from a variety of big box stores, online retailers and arts and crafts stores.⁷

The results revealed asbestos in Playskool crayons; a three-ring binder from Dollar Tree contained high levels of phthalates; dry erase markers contained benzene; and two water bottles were recalled due to high levels of lead.⁸

Although alarming, the results actually demonstrate a reduction in the amount and level of dangerous chemicals used in the manufacture of children’s art and school supplies. According to Kara Cook-Schultz, toxics director at US PRIG and lead author of the report:⁹ “The good news is that when we were testing three years ago, all sorts of brands came back with asbestos. Now it’s just this one.”

Tests run in 2015 on major brands including Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse crayons and Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle crayons demonstrated trace amounts of asbestos fibers.

At the time, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) acknowledged asbestos trapped in wax may have limited inhalation danger, but noted children sometimes eat crayons and recommended parents avoid those brands as a precaution.¹⁰

Since then, most manufacturers have changed their process to eliminate even trace elements. After the report was released, a spokesperson for Dollar Tree stated all their products are independently tested and met legal and safety standards. Leap Year, the licensee of the product, also released a statement, saying:¹¹

“We are aware of a report of trace amounts of asbestos being detected in a small amount of product testing conducted by a private group and are reviewing our own certified lab testing, which to our knowledge, passes all regulatory requirements and had no detectable asbestos.”

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Phthalates and Benzene Detected in Frequently Used School Supplies

Learning asbestos may be found in school supplies raises red flags, but it’s important to note the study also found phthalates, BTEX and lead in children’s products. Researchers found three-ring binders, made by Jot and sold at Dollar Tree, tested positive for phthalates, a chemical linked with asthma, obesity and reduced IQ.¹²

Phthalates are pervasive chemicals found in cosmetics, foods, household cleaners and plastic products. For the most part, they are added to plastics to make them durable and flexible, but since they are not strongly bound, they easily leach or migrate out of the products that contain them and into your environment.

Phthalates are endocrine disrupting chemicals and are “reasonably considered to be a human carcinogen.”¹³ What’s more, research suggests even minute amounts can cause significant harm, especially in children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is even asking parents to limit their children’s exposure to plastic chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenols, as these chemicals may damage your child’s health for years to come.^14,¹⁵

The data also indicated BTEX chemicals such as benzene, xylene and toluene — all known carcinogenic chemicals — were found in dry erase markers made by Expos and The Board Dudes.¹⁶These chemicals may be responsible for the sweet smell emanating from the markers.

According to the US PRIG:¹⁷ “Benzene is a probable carcinogen linked to dangerous disruptions in sexual reproduction, liver and kidney function and immune system functioning.”

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Asbestos Is Still Legal, Dangerous and Use May Be Expanding

Asbestos is primarily linked to lung conditions, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.¹⁸ Although many believe exposure is a thing of the past, it remains a deadly public health concern and may become an even larger one in the near future.

After a 10-year study of the effects, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered asbestos phased out in 1989.¹⁹ The asbestos industry then took the EPA to court and won a ruling that has essentially hamstrung the agency and its efforts to ban not only asbestos but other dangerous materials.

The chemical kills as many as 15,000 Americans each year from mesothelioma, asbestosis or other lung cancers.²⁰ There is no safe level, as even brief exposure can cause mesothelioma. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) Action Fund analysis determined more than 8.2 million pounds of raw asbestos and waste products containing asbestos arrived in U.S. ports between 2006 and 2018.

Nearly 25 million American homes have asbestos in attic insulation and more can be found in pipes, flooring, wall shingles or ceiling finishes.²¹ In fact, it may show up in kitchen appliances, cement and some heat-resistant fabric and clothing. The bottom line is that while it is lethal, it continues to be legal and used in common consumer products.

What’s worse, the number of consumer products containing asbestos may soon grow, as the Trump administration has proposed a rule to open the door for asbestos to make a comeback. Prior to becoming president, Trump indicated his support of the chemical by suggesting asbestos could have prevented the collapse of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks.²²

New Proposed Rule May Increase Use of Asbestos in Home Products

The new proposed rule would require manufacturers to alert the EPA if they want to use asbestos in an array of building or electrical materials. However, Melanie Benesh, legislative attorney for EWG, and Thomas Burke, environmental epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, believe this may present a problem.²³

A combination of previous omissions and the proposed rule may leave room for manufacturers to increase use of asbestos in new products. In December 2017, Brazil, the leading exporter of asbestos to the U.S., issued a nationwide ban on mining, use and commercialization of asbestos.²⁴

Although lethal, the U.S. had imported 705 metric tons from overseas, 95 percent of which came from Brazil. This change places Russia in the unique position to become the largest exporter to the U.S., and Russian manufacturers see an opportunity to expand their market while Trump remains president.

Believing the continued support of the Trump administration will increase profits, one Russian company has gone so far as to stamp Trump’s face on their packaging, along with an “Approved by Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States” stamp.²⁵

Burke believes the road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but the same applies to environmental protections, citing the gasoline additive MTBE used so fuel burns cleaner, saying:²⁶

“This is now perhaps one of the most pervasive drinking water contaminants and groundwater contaminants in the U.S. That’s what happens when you use a narrow lens, when you have the blinders on. Asbestos is a bellwether issue for the protection of public health and chemical safety. It’s important to have a public health approach that looks at the full range of uses and potential risk to a population.”

Look for Safety Labeling in Your Art Supplies

To ensure your child’s safety, Cook-Schultz recommends parents check products for nontoxic labels or to check with manufacturers for the Children’s Product Certificate,²⁷ which guarantees the product was made in a factory adhering to CPSC standards.²⁸ The US PRIG recommends:²⁹

“Given that it is often legal to sell products containing these toxic substances, parents can do several things. First, look for the Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) ‘AP’ label, letting consumers know that the product is nontoxic.

If there is no AP label, look for the manufacturer’s ‘Children’s Product Certificate’ on the product, which assures parents that the product has been tested in a third-party laboratory under government specifications.

If neither of those labels is on the product, parents can reach out to the manufacturers and ask that they start using AP certification, or that they meet the requirements needed for a children’s product certificate.”

ACMI’s “AP” seal indicates the product is certified nontoxic and a medical expert has evaluated the product and the ingredients, while the “CL” (caution label) seal indicates the ingredients are toxic or hazardous but may be used safely with appropriate caution.

Products bearing the CL seal should only be used by those who are able to read, understand and follow suggested safety precautions for handling the materials.³⁰

You can also look for the California Proposition 65 label. This label indicates the product contains chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Even if only a trace amount is found, a warning is required by California and caution is recommended when using these products.³¹

Researchers Develop New Method To Inject Turmeric Compound Into Cancer Cells

Mainstream science is now openly trying to inject high-powered curcumin into tumors in order to kill cancer cells. But first they must solve the issue of insolubility…

Curcumin is the extract from turmeric that is studied for its effects on cancer and pain. Anecdotally, one person used high-powered curcumin to reverse their cancer after chemo failed. So it’s not whole turmeric that scientists would use, but its component curcumin.

Researchers think they have solved the problem of getting curcumin into the tumor to kill cancer stem cells and interestingly – they’re using platinum to do it. They think they have stumbled on an ideal anti-cancer drug.

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From University of Illinois College and Engineering:

In India and other countries in Southeast Asia, curcumin is often used as a spice in cooking, particularly chicken or fish. It is known for its therapeutic effect and as a way to kill germs present in raw meet. Recently, scientists have also discovered that curcumin, a naturally occurring substance isolated from the Curcuma long plant, to be an effective agent for killing cancer cells.

“Until now, however, curcumin is what we call in pharmaceutical science as a ‘false lead’ – it is therapeutic, but the full effect can’t be utilized because it’s poorly soluble in water,” noted Dipanjan Pan, an associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who leads the Laboratory of Materials in Medicine.

“When you try to deliver a drug, it requires solubility in water, otherwise it won’t flow through the bloodstream,” added Santosh Misra, a post-doctoral researcher working with Pan.

Recently, however, Pan’s laboratory collaborated with Peter Stang, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of American Chemical Society, and Distinguished Professor of chemistry at the University of Utah on ways to be able to render curcumin soluble, deliver it to infected tumors, and kill cancer cells. The team has created a sophisticated metallocyclic complex using platinum that has not only enabled curcumin’s solubility, but whose synergy has proven 100 times more effective in treating various cancer types such as melanoma and breast cancer cells than using curcumin and platinum agents separately. They published their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

“It’s a combination of clever chemistry and nanoprecipitation utilizing host guest chemistry,” Pan explained. “We know that a drug is going to bind to a certain ‘host molecule’ if the proper pocket is present. We have shown here that a pumpkin-shaped macrocyclic molecule Cucurbituril by virtue of its glycoluril monomeric linkages, that attracts curcumin, which gets bound and comes off once it gets delivered to the cell. That is the key to demonstrating the effectiveness of the therapy and in solving a long-standing problem with curcumin’s insolubility.”

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“In order to make it available to the system, it was necessary to put curcumin in a larger complex where it can be soluble in water,” Misra said. “This complex has a very unique ability to take on different forms of material — from a spherical nanoparticle to longer elongated threads of nanometer size. In both cases, curcumin is present in the system, which what is important for to its medicinal value.”

“We knew platinum is a commonly used cancer therapeutic agent in the clinic,” Pan said in explaining the road to discovery. “We wanted to exploit that property as well in addition to curcumin. Our results demonstrate that curcumin works completely in sync with platinum and exert synergistic effect to show remarkable anticancer properties.”

The team detailed a hierarchical approach to solubilize a hydrophobic anti-cancer drug, curcumin in water via a combination of coordination-driven self-assembly and host-guest interactions.

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Curcumin has shown to prevent the phosphorylation of STAT3, a well-known signaling pathway that triggers the growth of cancer cells and allows them to survive, in in vivo studies. The platinum-curcumin combination kills the cells by fragmenting its DNA.

Although the researchers have only tested the method in delivering curcumin, its contribution to cancer treatment will ultimately also come from the likelihood the method will work with other drugs as well.

“In cancer therapy, one of the measures that constrains a number of the drugs is their poor solubility,” Pan said. “Viability only becomes prominent when the drug becomes soluble in water. So, no matter how the drug is given, intravenously or orally, it needs to eventually be absorbed by the organs in the body.”

Pan’s team also hopes to prove that this method will be effective in killing cancer stem cells, in effect cancer’s root system.

“More and more it is becoming obvious that cancer stem cells are responsible for all these cancers to regrow,” Pan said. “Even if you are killing all the cells in the tumor, there would be a tiny population of cells with ‘stemness’ properties that could enable cancer cells to grow back and spread to other parts of the body. That is why even if a patient has been declared cancer free, doctors continue to monitor to see if cells regrow. However, if we can deliver therapy to cancer stem cells, we can prevent that from happening. As an ongoing research in our laboratory to find agents for stopping the growth of cancer stem cells, we will be looking into using these highly sophisticated self-assembled metallacycles for targeted therapies”

The ‘Hot’ Health Benefits of Chili Peppers

(Dr. Mercola) Known for their hot flavor, chili peppers (Capsicum annuum) are primarily used for culinary purposes, as a spice added to various dishes and sauces.¹ The chili is a fruit pod of the capsicum pepper plant belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Cayenne, jalapeno, habanero and serrano peppers are some of the most popular varieties of chili peppers.²

Chili peppers were first cultivated by ancient farmers in Central and South America, regions whose cuisines are famous for their piquant flavor.³ Today, chili peppers are grown all over the world, but Mexico, China, Spain, Nigeria and Turkey are among the largest commercial producers.⁴

Chili pepper contains a bioactive plant compound called capsaicin, which is responsible for its hot and spicy kick.^5,6 Capsaicin is concentrated in the seeds and white inner membrane; the more capsaicin it contains, the spicier the pepper.^7,8 Whether eaten fresh, dried or powdered (known as paprika), chili peppers can put fire on your tongue and perhaps even a tear in your eye.

Related: Cayenne and Capsaicin, Natures Miracle Medicine

What Makes Chili Peppers Healthy?

Capsaicin offers more than just a pungent oral sensation in your mouth — experts say the endorphin rush it causes makes this chemical compound an effective remedy for pain and other medical conditions.

Dr. Ashwin Mehta, director of integrative medicine at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, said, “It’s used for all kinds of arthritis pain, as well as for neuropathic pain and dermatologic conditions that have a painful itch.”⁹ Aside from pain relief, capsaicin has shown promise in weight loss by helping reduce calorie intake and shrinking fat tissue.¹⁰ Chili also offers these benefits:¹¹

•Helps Fight Inflammation — Capsaicin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and it has shown potential for treating inflammatory diseases and cancer. In fact, a research published in Future Oncology indicated that it can suppress the growth of human prostate cancer cells.^12,13

•Boosts Immunity — Chili peppers are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body. This vitamin is essential for maintaining healthy mucous membranes to help protect the body from invading pathogens (microorganisms that cause disease). Chili is also rich in vitamin C, and this helps the body produce white blood cells that fight germs.¹⁴

•Helps Reduce Insulin Levels — Another known benefit of eating chili peppers is how they help with blood sugar level management. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that the regular consumption of chili may help reduce risk of hyperinsulinemia (high insulin levels in the blood).¹⁵

•Protects Your Heart — The compound capsaicin can help reduce triglycerides, cholesterol and platelet aggregation. Some studies have shown that it may assist the body in dissolving fibrin, which prevents the formation of blood clots. Additionally, cultures that use hot peppers regularly in cooking have significantly lower heart attack and stroke rates.¹⁶

•Prevents Sinusitis and Relieves Congestion — Another health effect of the compound capsaicin is its ability to address nasal congestion by helping clear mucus from your nose. It has antibacterial properties as well, and can help fight chronic sinus infections.¹⁷Aside from capsaicin, chili also contains other beneficial bioactive plant compounds, including:^18,19

Capsanthin. This is the primary carotenoid (antioxidant) in red chili peppers, giving them their red color and typically accounting for up to 50 percent of the spice’s antioxidant content.
Lutein. Most plentiful in immature (green) chili peppers, it has been shown to help maintain and improve eye health.²⁰
Volaxanthin. It is the main carotenoid found in yellow chili peppers, which accounts for 37 to 68 percent of their total content.
Sinapic acid. Also known as sinapinic acid, this antioxidant is known for its neuroprotective potential.²¹
Ferulic acid. This compound has shown promise in protecting against diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.²²

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The Other Uses of Chili

Chili doesn’t just offer culinary and health uses; it can also be used for self-defense. Oleoresin capsicum (OC), extracted from red hot chili peppers, is the active ingredient in pepper spray. OC is an inflammatory agent that makes the eyes and mucous membranes of the upper respiratory swell. Pepper spray causes breathing difficulties, runny nose, pain in the eyes and temporary blindness.²³

The capsaicin in chili can also be used to repel insects and wild animals, which is the reason it is often used as natural pesticide for gardens.²⁴ If you want to use it to help repel pests, just mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder in a quart of water and add two drops of liquid dish soap. Take note that some plants are sensitive to chili powder sprays, so you need to test it first on a few leaves.

How to Grow Chili Peppers at Home

Growing chili peppers takes about six months so you should plant them by May, although starting early is recommended so the plant will ripen just in time for summer. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide for growing chilies adapted from The Telegraph:²⁵

Fill a multicell seed tray with rich organic soil, firm it down and moisten with water. Place a seed in each cell, then lightly cover with soil.
Use a very fine hose to water it gently and then cover with cling film and keep in a warm area of your home. The soil should be moist but not soaked.
After about two to four weeks, when there’s a first sign of growth, move to a warm place with plenty of light — but it shouldn’t be in direct sunlight. Water the plant from below to strengthen the roots, and check daily to ensure the surface is moist.
When the seedlings sprout a second set of leaves, transplant to 7-centimeter (2.75 inches) pots with moist soil and use liquid tomato for weekly feeding.
Once the plants reach 12 centimeters (4.72 inches), transplant to larger pots, and fill with soil to approximately 1 centimeter (.39 inch) from the top. You should support the plants using a cane when they reach 20 centimeters (7.87 inches).
When the plants reach 30 centimeters (11.8 inches), pinch out the growing tips right above the fifth set of leaves in order to encourage bushiness. Transplant to another pot if needed and make sure to check the plant daily for aphids.
When the flowers appear, gently dab a cotton bud into every flower to pollinate.
Cut off the first chilies while still green to encourage fruiting all season long (July to October). Allow the next fruit to turn red if you want a rounder flavor.

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Cooking With Chili

If you want to try some chili pepper recipes, remember that the smallest peppers are usually the hottest, and the stems and seeds are typically removed during preparation. Moreover, the capsaicin oils in chilies can irritate and burn your skin (and your eyes), so wear rubber gloves when handling this spice.²⁶ Chili peppers taste great with beans, just like this delicious dish from my book “Healthy Recipes for Your Nutritional Type:”

Beef and Bean Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

2 pounds 100 percent grassfed beef
1 1/2 cups kidney beans (drain and rinse)
7 tomatoes (crushed)
1 medium jalapeno chili (remove the ribs and seeds then mince)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup plain traditionally cultured yogurt made from organic raw milk
1/4 cup grassfed cheddar cheese (grated)
2 tablespoons garlic cloves (minced)
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Procedure: This recipe makes four servings.

Heat a heavy 5-quart pot, then add the ground beef. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat until it turns brown (make sure it doesn’t burn). Drain the excess fat and leave just a small amount to cook the onions in.
Add the onions and cook for five minutes. Mix in the garlic and jalapeno and cook until tender. Stir in the chili powder and cumin and continue to cook until it becomes fragrant.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes and then the tomato sauce, and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the beans and continue to cook uncovered until the meat and beans become very tender and the chili turns thick (about 30 minutes more).
Serve in small bowls and garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon each of yogurt and cheddar cheese.

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You Should Try Chili Oil too

A staple condiment of Chinese, Thai and Korean cuisine, chili oil is commonly used as a condiment. Its deliciously fragrant, reddish orange infusion of chili peppers in a base oil can make almost any humdrum dish sing. Chili oil comes in handy when your palate craves a little more heat, kicking up your taste buds a notch.

The good news is that you can easily make chili oil at home, so you can be sure that it is pure and hygienic. Note that some commercial chili oils are adulterated with synthetic dyes, which can be detrimental to your health.²⁷ If you want to learn how to make chili oil, here’s a recipe adapted from The Woks of Life:²⁸

Chili Oil Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups extra-virgin coconut oil
5 pieces of star anise
1 cinnamon stick (preferably cassia cinnamon)
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
3/4 cup Asian red pepper flakes (crushed)
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Himalayan salt (to taste)

Procedure:

Gently warm the oil, star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and Sichuan peppercorns in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to bubble slightly, turn the heat down to medium.
Let the oil simmer for 30 minutes. If you start to see that slight bubbling die down, periodically turn the heat back up to medium-high, then back down to medium if it gets too hot.
You’ll know the oil is done cooking when the seeds and pods turn darker in color.
Allow the oil to cool for five minutes, and in a separate heat-proof bowl, measure out the crushed red pepper flakes and Himalayan salt.
Remove the aromatics from the oil, slowly pour it over the chili flakes and then stir well. When completely cooled, transfer to a sealable, sterilized glass bottle using a funnel.
Seal the bottle then store it in the refrigerator and use within six months.

This recipe makes about 2 1/4 cups. Chili oil is not only a must-have condiment that adds a reddish tinge and piquancy to many Asian recipes, but it can also be used for various healing purposes. It contains nutrients from the chili pepper and the base oil, and some percentage of these nutrients leach into the oil. Chili oil has a capsaicin content of about 7 percent, so it can offer the same health benefits of chili peppers.²⁹

There are a few important things to remember when preparing, cooking and storing chili oil. It generally has a long shelf life and can last up to six months if stored in the pantry or up to one year when refrigerated.³⁰

But like any other infused oils, it may create an anaerobic (there is little to no breathable oxygen) environment where botulism, a rare but potentially life-threatening bacterial illness, can occur.³¹Heating the oil and chilies to kill any bacteria, sterilizing your container before use and using dried flavoring agents, will reduce any potential risks.³²

CONFIRMED: FL Shooter Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs Linked To Violent And Suicidal Behavior

(Free Thought Project) Jacksonville, FL — David Katz, was a 24-year-old male who lost his temper Sunday morning after losing a video game and began shooting up an e-sports tournament. He killed two innocent people and wounded 10 others before her turned the gun on himself and took his own life. Now, we have learned that Katz had been on the types of psychiatric medications known to cause violent thoughts and that are linked to many of the worst mass shootings in recent history.

According to family divorce records, Katz had been in and out of treatment for psychiatric issues since as early as the age of 12. According to a 2006 letter from the father’s attorney, as reported by CNN, Katz was prescribed a number of psychiatric medications, including an antipsychotic, and saw “a succession of psychiatrists.”

What’s more, a separate 2006 court filing states that a therapist said he had experienced a “psychiatric crisis” while prescribed these medications.

On top of the psychiatric crisis and the reported drug cocktail, CNN also obtained police records that show 26 calls for service to the police from the Katz family home in Columbia, Maryland, from 1993 to 2009, for issues ranging from “mental illness” to domestic disputes. At least two of those calls involved Katz arguing with his mother, though none of the reports provided to CNN show any physical violence. The Howard County Police Department declined to release the reports from a number of the incidents, citing statutory restrictions.

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David Katz’ past is eerily similar to that of Nikolas Cruz, except that his parents were both feds.

Both of Katz’ parents reportedly worked for the federal government according to a law enforcement source. Katz’ father, Richard Katz, is a NASA engineer employed at the Goddard Space Flight Center outside Washington, DC and his mother was listed as an employee of the Food and Drug Administration, according to CNN.

Since he was a child, Katz was prescribed a myriad of drugs including the antidepressant Lexapro, and Risperidone, sometimes used to treat schizophrenia.

There have been 20 drug regulatory agencies from seven different countries who’ve pointed out the dangerous side effects of Lexapro. The majority of the warning are for suicidal risk or suicidal behavior. Other side effects include, hostility or aggression, agitation, anxiety, mania or psychosis, irritability, and violence.

According to CNN, Katz’ father disputed the necessity of the drugs and a psychiatric evaluation sought by David’s mother, suggesting that his son instead “attend a support group for middle school students.” “Richard Katz has seen no evidence whatsoever of schizophrenia in David Katz,” a motion from his father’s lawyer said.

Despite the dozens of police reports stemming from Katz’ behavior, the laundry list of drugs he was taking to treat his “psychiatric crisis,” the fact that he was in treatment for psychiatric issues, and the fact that it was documented that he’d had multiple mental breakdowns involving the police, Katz submitted his fingerprints, underwent a background check, passed a firearms safety training course and legally purchased a 9mm handgun and a .45-caliber handgun in Maryland last month.

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As TFTP has reported on numerous occasions, the majority of mass shooters have links to psychological medications that carry serious warnings for side-effects on their labels.

Stephen Paddock, Omar Mateen, Gavin Long, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, James Holmes, and Nikolas Cruz, all have one thing in common other than the mass murders they carried out. They were all reportedly taking prescription drugs which alter their state of mind and carry a host of negative side effects ranging from aggression and suicide to homicidal ideation.

There have been 150 studies in 17 countries on antidepressant-induced side effects. There have been 134 drug regulatory agency warnings from 11 countries and the EU warning about the dangerous side effects of antidepressants.

Despite this deadly laundry list of potential reactions to these medications, their use has skyrocketed by 400% since 1988. Coincidentally, as antidepressant use went up, so did mass shootings.

The website SSRIstories.org has been documenting the link between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and violence. On the website is a collection of over 6,000 stories that have appeared in local media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) in which prescription drugs were mentioned and in which the drugs may be linked to a variety of adverse outcomes including most of the mass shootings which have taken place on US soil.

As the Citizens Commission on Human Rights notes, before the late nineteen-eighties, mass shootings and acts of senseless violence were relatively unheard of. Prozac, the most well known SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) antidepressant, was not yet on the market. When Prozac did arrive, it was marketed as a panacea for depression which resulted in huge profits for its manufacturer Eli Lilly. Of course other drug companies had to create their own cash cow and followed suit by marketing their own SSRI antidepressants.

Subsequently, mass shootings and other violent incidents started to be reported. More often than not, the common denominator was that the shooters were on an antidepressant, or withdrawing from one. This is not about an isolated incident or two but numerous shootings.

The issue of psychotropic medication playing a role in mass shootings is not some conspiracy theory. It is very real and the drug manufacturers list these potentially deadly side effects on the very inserts of every one of these drugs. But the mainstream media and the government continue to ignore or suppress this information. Why is that?

It is no secret that the pharmaceutical industry wields immense control over the government and the media. It is their control which keeps any negative press about their dangerous products from airing. However, most people likely do not know the scope of this control.

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As Mike Papantonio, attorney and host of the international television show America’s Lawyer, explains, with the exception of CBS, every major media outlet in the United States shares at least one board member with at least one pharmaceutical company. To put that into perspective: These board members wake up, go to a meeting at Merck or Pfizer, then they have their driver take them over to a meeting with NBC to decide what kind of programming that network is going to air.

In the report below, Papantonio explains how the billions of dollars big pharma gives to mainstream media outlets every year is used to keep them subservient and complicit in covering up the slew of deadly side effects from their products.

How much longer will we allow these billion-dollar drug companies to control the narrative and not let this conversation take place? How many more mass shootings will take place before Americans wake up to this reality?

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project, where this article first appeared. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.