News & Views on Women, Politics and Medicine

You and I start out each day with lathering on facial cleanser, moisturizers, deodorant, using toothpaste and several other “health and beauty” products. And we end the day with similar rituals using maybe a dozen products including soaps, shampoo and a dizzying array of hair products, lip balm, sunscreen, etc. The men and children in our lives have yet other products.

No Safety Testing Required
How often have you thought about the ingredients in these products? Unless we have an allergy to a product or its ineffective we assume that it’s safe to use. Right? Aren’t these products in the categories monitored by the Food & Drug Administration? The truth be told–they’re not. We consumers are on our own.
A non-profit organization, the Environment Working Group (EWG), reports on their website that major gaps in public health laws allow cosmetic companies to use almost any ingredient they choose–even lead, mercury and placenta. Ingredients in any kind of product–sunscreen, mascara, deodorant, baby shampoo–are sold to consumers with no restrictions and no requirements for safety testing, reports the Group.
EWG tests products and on the website report by brand name and product the toxicity levels they find. You (and your friends) should research what’s on your bathroom counter–85 million have already done.
The Group is also working to improve the regulatory environment–there are petitions to support–but without a whole lot of success.

FDA won’t enforce Warning Labels
In response to a cosmetic safety petition filed by the EWG, the FDA issued a final response in 2005 affirming its inability to enforce a requirement that a warning label be posted on products that have not been substantiated for safety. So not only are the ingredients not tested for safety, you’re not going to be notified of such.
Furthermore, the FDA declined to develop guidance for the cosmetic industry on what must be done to substantiate safety and what standards must be met to ensure safety. In other words, the industry will set all the rules for itself, and the FDA abdicates responsibility. Visit http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/

Nano technology dramatically raises Risks
The regulatory environment has been dangerous already, but new technology gives a quantum boost to the dangers. Stacy Malkan, author of Not Just a Pretty Face: the Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, tells us in her book (New Society Publishers, 2007):
“As if there weren’t enough concerns about the toxicity of cosmetic chemicals, manufacturers are rushing to incorporate nanotechnology that uses particles 80,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Nanotechnology has been touted as the next revolution in cosmetics and packaging. However, nanoparticles, being so tiny, have the potential to penetrate unusually deeply into the skin and organs, causing exotic physical effects.

Animal studies show that some nanoparticles can penetrate cells and tissues, move through the body and brain and cause biochemical damage. As one example, carbon fullerenes–also called buckyballs, and currently being used in some moisturizers–can cause brain damage in fish, and even low levels of exposure can be toxic to human liver cells. The health impacts of nanomaterials in cosmetics and sunscreens remain largely unknown, pending completion of long-range studies that have only recently begun. But that’s not stopping the cosmetics industry from leading the charge to incorporate the inadequately tested technology into products we put on our faces and in our hair.

“In one of the most dramatic failures of regulation since the introduction of asbestos, corporations around the world are rapidly introducing thousands of tons of nanomaterials into the environment and onto the faces and hands of hundreds of millions of people, despite the growing body of evidence indicating that nanomaterials can be toxic for humans and the environment,” said a May 2006 report by Friends of the Earth. The group filed the first-ever legal challenge on the potential health impacts of nanotechnology in a 2006 petition to the FDA, demanding that the agency monitor and regulate nanoparticles in cosmetics.

“Hundreds of personal care products already contain nano-sized ingredients, and thousands more contain ingredients that are available in nano form but don’t include information about particle size on the labels, according to a Skin Deep analysis. Since nano-sized ingredients are absorbed differently into the body, they require separate safety studies. But as Iane Houlihan noted, “Manufacturers seem to be following the pattern they established with conventional chemical ingredients–put poorly tested chemicals into personal care products and do the science later, if at all.”

“With no safety framework and little government oversight, the cosmetics industry is operating in a virtual Wild West. And the West has gotten wilder still.

• Nanoemulsians in shampoo encapsulate active ingredients and carry them deeper into hair shafts.
• Nanosomes of Pro—Retinol A penetrate the skin’s surface to soften wrinkles and reduce the appearance of fine neck creases.
• Nanovectors transport and concentrate active ingredients in the skin.

“In the absence of federal regulations, some cities are trying to get a handle on the situation. Berkeley, Calif., became the first city to regulate nanotechnology in December 2006, and other cities may follow suit. Under the Berkeley law, companies and research labs that make or use nanoparticles must disclose that fact to the city government and provide information about known health or safety risks.”
My question: With no federal regulations, are city health inspectors going to enforce city laws to post warnings to consumers? Not likely to happen. For the foreseeable future, we consumers are on our own.
Salud!
Beverly A Jensen, Ph.D.
President, www.WomensMedicineBowl.com

Recently I was invited to present a paper at a public health conference focusing on delivering quality health care to America’s minorities. Physicians, nurses, translators, all who work directly with patients across the US were present; about 700 met in Minneapolis.

While every other presentation concerned providing the best possible medical care within US mainstream medicine, I was the sole messenger proposing that mainstream medicine encourage America’s minorities to re-consider their native or national health treatments first.

My proposal was (and is) to give foremost responsibility to the patient to take care of herself, a whole new paradigm instead of depending upon the AMA.

A keynote speaker from one of the nation’s foremost medical foundations told a story of one of his patients. The patient was retired, living on Social Security and a small pension and was very diligent about his financial affairs. A routine exam and stool test indicated suspicious cells, and the MD advised a colonoscopy be done to test for cancerous cells.

Get a 2nd Opinion—outside the AMA
However, Medicare wasn’t going to cover the full cost of the colonoscopy, and the patient tried unsuccessfully to get prices from various labs and clinics in the area in order to budget his out-of-pocket expenses. He had just learned the furnace in his home needed to be replaced, and he had limited funds.

The point of the keynote speaker was that there needs to be transparency in pricing of medical services and public accountability of medical outcomes (for patients to determine the best physician to buy services from). But his patient, not being able to get this information, instead paid for the furnace and died the following year of colon cancer.

Sitting in the auditorium of polite and quiet hundreds, I wanted to stand up and shout, ”You had no other ideas? It was get a colonoscopy and chemo or die?”

Now I’m not a licensed medical practitioner, but as long as I reside in this body I have the right and responsibility to take care of my body by all means possible. This was the thesis of my presentation at the conference: educate the patient to find answers to their health issues.

Any Naturopathic Doctor would have immediately had the above patient do a bowel detox regimen regardless of whether cancer cells had been confirmed. A change in diet was in order. And there are herbs that eliminate cancer cells. My family has personal experience in overcoming stomach cancer using herbs and prayer.

Whatever the outcome of this regimen, it could not have been worse than the AMA route—death.

A Quiet (Undercover) Response to my Presentation
In a session on “accounting for culture” in health care, the other three presenters reported statistics on specific minorities’ care. My presentation was a rogue, a bad-news-bear report on the fact that nearly one million Americans annually land in the nation’s hospital ERs or die from pharmaceutical drugs (see JAMA, Oct. 2006 and June 2000). And only 10 to 20 percent of MD’s treatment is evidence-based. Let’s take the cue from our minority patients and use homeopathic medicines, Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese Medicine. That was my message.

In the front row on one side of the room, two nurses from Wyoming continually nodded and smiled. On the other side, in the front row, a young woman grimaced painfully during the 20 minutes—a pharma rep?

No one had any questions for me so I asked them, had they heard of homeopathy (the quickest, easiest route to self-care). About 75 percent of these medical professionals knew of homeopathy—and 40% were using it!!

Of course, they are not representative of the US medical profession. Since they are serving minorities, many are minorities themselves or through years of working with minority groups, they have learned non-AMA methods of health care.

In the group setting nobody had any comments on my new paradigm, but in the following two days, several who had been in the audience introduced themselves and told me their personal stories regarding health care: A request to have a Healing Touch practitioner in the operating room, which created such a buzz that the hospital nurses requested further education on this. A parents’ dispute with an MD that a five-year-old’s change in behavior wasn’t due to ADD (requiring another drug) but to her asthma inhaler—and the parents were correct.

I may have been the only one speaking publicly about alternatives to the mainstream, but I left Minneapolis feeling like there was an undercurrent of new ideas and approaches being quietly practiced by these mainstream professionals.

Salud!
Beverly A. Jensen, Ph.D.
President, www.WomensMedicineBowl.com

I began this blog for WMB about three years ago because I was so alarmed with the developments of CODEX Alimentarius, and not one mainstream newspaper or even alternative newspaper (the weeklies you find in the FREE news stands in most cities) would cover the story I submitted. And I’ve published plenty of (often controversial) articles in magazines and newspapers.

Not anymore. Now FIVE corporations own 90 percent of all US media; two of them are foreign organizations, and if the news organization is part of a conglomerate, journalists are always raising the hackles of one of those subsidiaries.

Never heard of CODEX? That’s exactly what they want!
If you have any interest in being able to buy organic foods, growing your own vegetable garden (yes, permits will be needed in cities), or buying nutritional supplements over 10mg, you must listen to the videos listed at the bottom of this blog AND PASS THIS ALONG TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ANY INTEREST IN THEIR HEALTH.

Briefly, CODEX Alimentarius is a trade commission launched by a German chemical conglomerate who supplied the Nazi gas chambers of WWII. After a brief stint in prison for war crimes against humanity, the president of the company convinced friends at the newly formed United Nations that through food the world could be “managed.”

It was a long-term plan that is right on schedule. Over 4,000 regulations regarding food production have been decided by CODEX committees all over the globe. In 1994, the WTO accepted CODEX as its standards-bearer. Now with enforcement power, the CODEX plan is right on schedule. Your freedom to manage your health in every dimension will be ended on Dec. 31, 2009.

Here’s some key points from the CODEX manual. This sounds like a black nightmare from a science fiction movie, and I wish it were fiction. However, European nations are already in this iron grip to varying degrees, but in Norway and Germany consumers already are covered:
Only low-potency supplements that will have no health benefits are available
All foods may be genetically-modified
Any beneficial supplements are available by prescription only
Standards for organic foods are to be eliminated; “organic” foods can be radiated and contain pesticides.

Want to grow your own vegetables and fruits? That will require a Permit in most sizeable cities of the world. There will be actual (commissioned) Food Police who will patrol neighborhoods to see that you’re not growing garlic and onions or herbs (they are medicinal, you know).

This isn’t Science Fiction. It’s the facts. Organic berries and herbs are being removed from produce shelves in Ireland. Oh, you say, this can’t happen in America? Last year CODEX tested the American response to their regulations by prohibiting shipments of raw almonds from California–there was no large protest and the ruling stood.

And rather than a direct on-slaught onto the Congress, which would probably wake up some advocacy organizations in the US, CODEX is coming to the US through the side door–through Canada. Then it will be applied to the US, fait accompli, through NAFTA.

I’ve been following CODEX since 1996, and the implications are terrifying. Recall the film Soylent Green? We’re about to move into a very dark world if the population doesn’t wake up. Read below what the Canadians are doing and support their efforts. Through NAFTA their fate is also ours and Mexico’s. Watch the videos and PASS THIS ON.

Salud!
Beverly Jensen, Ph.D.
President, www.Womens Medicine Bowl.com

Dear natural health advocates across Canada and the United States,

Have you heard of CODEX ALIMENTARIUS?
Why is there such bureaucratic pressure to pass BILL C-51 and C-52?
Why must we stop CODEX and these BILLS?

This recent video is a presentation which highlights CODEX. It explains the reason why governments are pushing forward restrictions on natural health supplementation and organic foods. The featured speaker, Ian Crane, presents the future agenda of the United Nations, and he secures his 1 1/2 hour presentation byway of facts and clear images. (NOTE: Several shorter videos are also available)
The presentation took place this June, in the United Kingdom.

His research about CODEX explains that it is an international trade law which will ultimately control the global food and natural health supplementation network by January 2010. This explains the Parliamentary rush to pass BILL C-51 and BILL C-52 well before the 2010 deadline.

Any Member of Parliament’s indecision, lack of leadership and lack of passion to speak to Shawn Buckley of the Natural Health Products Protection Association (NHPPA) could possibly lead to Canada’s full implementation of CODEX on both Food and Natural Health Supplements within the next two to five years. Predictions state that over two billion people will face unnecessary deaths if the lowered health standards of CODEX be adopted worldwide.

Health Canada has already approved the CODEX Food Regulations without going through Parliament. This fact was stated at Health Canada’s Public Health Consultations in Winnipeg on June 13th/2008.

Without consulting Parliament, CODEX Natural Health Product Regulations will be have to be adopted in the future by Health Canada, in order that Canada become
CODEX compliant. If Canada is not completely CODEX compliant by 2010, then Canada will begin to face sanctions by the UN/World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization. This is the economic threat that all countries will have to face if they do not allow CODEX to be adopted as their food and natural health code.

If you would like to share the video with as many as possible, please send the link forward:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=5800206429960925518&q=ian+crane&ei=xr2TSIPmMpKu_AHGmc2kBg

Sincerely,

WPG STOP BILL C-51

Did you know that the CODEX food code is the apex of Canada’s BILL C-51 and BILL C-52?
Did you know that regulations such as the above three, stand against the true health, sovereignty and prosperity of our nations?