Indoor Molds Can Cause Hair Loss

Exposure to Mold and Hair Loss

By bhartiraju2

Hair restoration expert, Dr. Mobhebi says that he recently saw a familial case of hair loss that was caused by exposure to fungus toxin. Three members of a family were referred to him by their doctor for hair loss treatment Los Angeles problems secondary to the diagnosed chronic mold exposure. The family used to live in a house with a sewage problem causing some molding in the old walls approximately three years ago. The walls with mold were painted over but never changed. The family members presented a variety of symptoms such as nausea, sleep disorder, and speech problems. The female member showed some cognitive disorders with episodes of sever confusion and was initially diagnosed with premature Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 53. A 34 year old male member of the family had seizure attacks and episodes of nose bleeding. Hair loss surgeon says that what was reported by all these patients was hair loss.

The female member of the family had diffuse loss of hair as universal thinning and loss of hair volume. During the examination, hair thinning was obvious on a large area of the scalp. Microscopic examination did not show significant miniaturization, however, hair density was significantly lower than density of a normal Caucasian woman with no hair loss. Hair transplant expert scheduled her for a follow up visit in 6 months.

Hair restoration

A 34 year old male member of the family showed evidence of typical male patterned hair loss that was not evident in the pictures from 3 years ago (before the mold exposure). The miniaturization study was similar to atypical male patterned hair loss with preserved hair on the donor area with minimum miniaturization despite having significant miniaturization on a large area at front, top and crown areas. I prescribed finasteride and scheduled him for a follow up visit in 6 months. We will address the surgical option at that point.
Hair transplant
A 40 year old male member of the family showed diffuse miniaturization throughout scalp. The patient did not have any hair loss problem before the exposure to the toxin. This patient has also been started on finasteride with a follow up visit in six months.
hair loss treatment Los Angeles
Below we describe two know fungal toxins that may cause hair loss in addition to other symptoms.

Stachybotrys

Some strains of this fungus (S. atra, S. chartarum and S. alternans are synonymous) may produce a toxin, which is poisonous by inhalation. The toxins are present on the fungal spores. This is a slow growing fungus. The dark colored fungi grow on building material with high cellulose content (wooden material). Areas with relative high humidity that are subject to temperature fluctuations are ideal for toxin production.
Individuals with chronic exposure to the toxin produced by this fungus reported cold and flu symptoms, sore throats, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, dermatitis, intermittent local loss of hair and balding and generalized malaise.
Aspergillus
Aspergillus is the most common genus of fungi in our environment with more than 160 different species of mold. Sixteen of these species have been documented as causing human disease. Aspergillosis is now the 2nd most common fungal infection requiring hospitalization in the United States. Exposure to aspergillus can often cause skin rashes and hair loss.
Symptoms of Fungal Exposure (Mycotoxicosis)
Mold toxicity is often the end result with constant exposure to mold of a toxic substance. A common misconception among allergists who are untrained in this type of toxicity levels in humans, which is technically not their area of expertise unless they have trained specifically in environmental medicine with their background in immunology, is to do general allergen testing. Most tests usually result in an unequivocal result, a 2+ or less.
If you would like more information on hair loss, contact an expert for a free consultation.

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Mercury Free Swine Flu Vaccine Available

If you are required to recieve the Swine Flu Vaccine, by your employer, at least demand on of the mercury free versions below.

http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/will-swine-flu-vaccine-be-hurt-over-thimerosal.aspx?googleid=269222

Posted by Craig
Thursday, October 08, 2009 1:14 PM ESTThe H1N1 vaccines, as well as the seasonal flu vaccines, have a thimerosal-free version. When you get the shot, ask for the “preservative-free” version and you will not get the one with mercury.
My whole family got the seasonal flu vaccine from Walgreens and it was the thimerosal-free version.

For the seasonal flu vaccine, there are 2 “preservative-free” brands. PF stands for preservative-free.

Fluzone PF Single Dose Vial (Sanofi Pasteur)
Afluria PF Single Dose Vial (CSL Australia)

For the H1N1, they are saying 15% of the total H1N1 vaccines will be mercury free. The nasal version is all mercury free if you can get it.

A mercury free swine flu vaccine is made by  Sanofi Pasteur in a 0.25 mL prefilled syringe (an individually packaged shot).  Avoid the multiple dose bottle, which is preserved with mercury.

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Swine Flu Vaccine Orders Cancelled

Did the WHO Exaggerate the H1N1 Flu Pandemic’s Danger?

Time.com

France joins Europe flu vaccine sell-off Play Video AFP – France joins Europe flu vaccine sell-off

WHO attend key European hearing on flu pandemic AFP/File – Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment for the World Health Organization, …

By EBEN HARRELL Eben Harrell Tue Jan 26, 5:25 am ET

By the summer of 2009, shortly after the H1N1 flu pandemic had first emerged, there was a waiting list for the first several million doses of the forthcoming new flu vaccine. At the head of the line, naturally, were the world’s richest nations. “Again we see the advantage of affluence,” said Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), at a news conference on July 14. “Again we see access denied by an inability to pay.” Describing H1N1 as “entirely new and highly contagious,” Chan scolded rich countries at the time for hoarding the “lion’s share” of the global H1N1-vaccine supply.

Six months later, Chan’s admonitions seem prescient. Rich countries’ hoards have become massive surpluses, and many nations are now trying frantically to cancel pending orders of vaccines or transfer them to poorer nations. France, which had ordered enough of the vaccine to inoculate its entire population of 60 million, has so far used only 5 million doses and now wants to cancel 50 million doses and sell millions more. Similarly, the Netherlands has a 19 million–dose order for sale to other countries, while Germany is in talks with drug manufacturers to halve its order of 50 million doses and sell off millions of others. Switzerland, Spain and Britain are also considering giving away or selling the millions of doses of the vaccine they have received or have on order. The U.S., which has so far distributed 160 million of the 251 million doses it purchased to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers across the country, has yet to make a decision on whether it will have an overflow and what it will do with any surplus. (Watch TIME’s video “Chicken Eggs and Antigens: How the H1N1 Vaccine Is Made.”)

The excess in many countries occurred partly because health officials initially thought the vaccine would require two doses instead of one, and many countries signed contracts with manufacturers under that assumption; it turned out that a single dose was enough to build immunity. But the main reason for the surplus is simply that demand for the vaccine fell far short of what was originally expected. Now, after governments have spent billions of dollars on vaccines that were not needed – France alone spent $1.25 billion – some politicians and health professionals are looking to hold someone accountable.

“WHO advised us falsely. They raised a false alarm,” says Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, who served in Germany’s parliament until September, faulting the U.N.’s global health agency for relying on an inadequate definition of a pandemic. (See what you need to know about the H1N1 vaccine.)

Wodarg notes that the agency declared the H1N1 pandemic based only on the new virus’ transmissibility and did not take into consideration the severity of the strain. Wodarg blames the WHO for raising the alarm over a virus with little destructive potential, leading countries to embark on expensive mass-vaccination programs. He has organized a public parliamentary hearing on behalf of the Strasbourg-based human-rights group Council of Europe, titled “The Handling of the H1N1 Pandemic: More Transparency Needed?” The hearing, scheduled for Jan. 26, will explore the question of whether the WHO and governments overreacted to the threat of H1N1.

Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s special adviser on pandemic influenza, who will head a delegation to the Strasbourg hearing, counters that the WHO’s definition of influenza pandemics has always been based on transmissibility and has never had anything to do with the lethality of a virus; it was no different with H1N1. In response to accusations of overreaction to what has amounted to a mild disease, Fukuda says that once the 2009 H1N1 pandemic had been declared, “WHO consistently made it clear that it could not predict the future course of the pandemic but consistently provided sober, balanced and scientifically supported information and guidance.” (See how not to get H1N1 flu.)

Fukuda says also that claims that H1N1 is a mild pandemic are wrongheaded. “There have been over 14,000 deaths that have been laboratory-confirmed, many in young, previously healthy people. Who is going to tell their families that the virus is mild?” Fukuda wrote to TIME in an e-mail.

Indeed, it is not difficult to imagine an alternate scenario in which critics would now be accusing the agency of failing to warn countries properly of the H1N1 threat. Hugh Pennington, a microbiologist at the University of Aberdeen who has advised the British government on past public-health crises, says the WHO was obligated to raise the alarm as soon as H1N1’s spread matched the medically accepted definition for a pandemic. He points out also that early news reports from Mexico and the U.S., where the virus first emerged, suggested a highly lethal disease. (See the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2009.)

Still, Pennington says there are lessons to be learned. He says the vaccine surplus in many cases can be ascribed in part to countries’ own pre-existing pandemic-preparedness plans. Many such plans, which were put in place in the mid-2000s, were based on the worst-case-scenario assumption that the next pandemic virus would be some variation of the highly lethal H5N1 bird-flu virus, which has so far killed 263 people. The U.K.’s plan, for example, which was automatically enacted when the WHO declared the H1N1 pandemic, predicted between 50,000 and 750,000 deaths from a flu pandemic. So far, there have been 400 British deaths from H1N1.

As part of their plans, many governments lined up multibillion-dollar advance-purchase agreements with pharmaceutical companies to buy vaccines during a pandemic. When the WHO declared H1N1 as such, governments were locked into these contracts, if not legally then politically – amid news reports of a new and potentially lethal virus spreading around the globe, governments could not responsibly pass on the option for vaccine. In this context, governments may have felt the only prudent course was to err on the side of caution.

Pennington says that to avoid similar situations of oversupply in the future, governments may want to plan a range of responses for the next flu pandemic, based on a virus’ severity. But such evaluations of deadliness of an emerging disease are much harder to carry out than one would hope – if not impossible. And delaying action in response to an unpredictable new virus could potentially mean an increase in preventable deaths. “I think all countries recognize the desirability of flexibility in implementing pandemic plans. But exercising flexibility is really hard especially when large and complicated events like pandemics are often very confusing, and the expectations of populations can swing dramatically over short periods of time,” says Fukuda.

The current glut of vaccines in rich nations may at least prove useful to the 95 countries in the developing world that have no access to vaccines, 86 of which have written to the WHO requesting help obtaining supplies. The WHO already has 200 million doses for such countries, and the first doses of that stockpile arrived in Mongolia and Azerbaijan this month. These doses will be supplemented by bilateral deals: France, for example, plans to sell 2 million vaccine doses at cost to Egypt and 300,000 to Qatar, according to a report in the Parisien newspaper.

It appears that even in developing nations, however, the need for vaccines is not overwhelming. Despite fears that H1N1 would hit developing nations hardest, the pandemic is unfolding in those countries “in a similar pattern” to that in the developed world, says Fukuda – which is to say with relatively few deaths. In fact, some developing countries, particularly in West Africa, are reporting lower rates of infection than in the developed world. “Based on the current H1N1 strain, there are higher health priorities in the developing world,” says Sandra Mounier-Jack of the Communicable Diseases Policy Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, citing illnesses such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

Mounier-Jack’s comment echoes the basic question that Wodarg and other critics of the WHO are aiming to pose at Tuesday’s hearing: Given that other health problems were more deserving of the billions of dollars spent tackling H1N1, how do the WHO and governments explain their decisions?

The U.S. government, for its part, still wants to vaccinate as many people as possible against H1N1. Although it has indeed been a mild flu season so far, says Jeff Dimond, a spokesperson at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “our message right now is that people should get vaccinated. We are aware that a third wave of infections is possible, so we aren’t making any decision yet on whether we will use our full capacity of 251 million doses.”

Read “The H1N1 Pandemic: Is a Second Wave Possible?”

See the top 10 everything of 2009.

View this article on Time.com

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Chronic Lyme Disease Treatment With Samento, Cumanda and Burbur

http://www.bionatus.com/nutramedix/pdfs/L-townsendapr07.pdf

Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007

The Effectiveness of Samento, Cumanda, Burbur and
Dr. Lee Cowden’s Protocol
in the Treatment of Chronic Lyme Disease
by
Suzanne Arthur, Lyme Disease Research Database
The annual number of new cases of Lyme Borreliosis disease occurring in the United States is
unknown due to many factors, mainly under-diagnoses and misdiagnoses. Harvard researchers and
Lyme-literate physicians believe that as many as 200,000 new cases of Lyme occur in the U.S.
annually, and that the number of people infected grows each year. As reported in the Townsend Letter
article from July 2004, What Makes Lyme Disease Tick and How Samento Eliminates It,1 Samento was
the only herbal antimicrobial recommended for treatment of Lyme Borreliosis. Nutramedix now offers
many additional products, some of which are currently undergoing clinical evaluation for effectiveness
in the treatment of Lyme disease. Dr. Lee Cowden considers the use of Samento, Cumanda, Burbur,
Quina and other products to be a fine-tuned antimicrobial approach that addresses fungus and other
problems that accompany Lyme disease.2
Dr. Lee Cowden suspects Lyme Borreliosis to be root cause of many chronic illnesses;
recommends detox program and herbal antimicrobial protocol
Although many Lyme patients have had success with long-term antibiotics, Lee Cowden, M.D.,
integrative medical researcher and physician, believes many patients being treated with antibiotics have
recovered hundred percent for months or years only to suffer a recurrence.
“Lyme disease is an epidemic in this country,” says Dr. Cowden. He believes most of the diseases “that
are considered incurable by conventional medicine have some kind of Lyme component.” Many
chronically ill people have Lyme as a factor. Dr. Cowden not only suspects Lyme bacteria as a root
cause for autoimmune diseases, he also lists neuro-degenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases,
cardiac-arrhythmias, gastrointestinal diseases, MS, ALS, Parkinson’s, ADDHD, and autism. “I’ve found
that if you can start working on the Lyme and the toxins, then a lot of these labels go away,” he says.
Dr. Cowden says that through the studies he has discovered that “antibiotics do seem to work fairly
well in a lot of patients. But, if they’ve had the illness for longer than six weeks, the chance of
antibiotics getting rid of the infection, in my experience, is pretty unlikely, pretty remote. So, they’re
basically just guaranteeing that they’ll stay on antibiotics for the rest of their life.
“The problem with staying on the standard pharmaceutical antibiotics longterm is that you kill off the
friendly bacteria in your gut, and you cause an overgrowth of fungus in your gut, so then you trade one
problem for another.
In the pilot study in 2003, we used Samento quite a bit, and still use it. But we’ve found that there are
some other herbal therapies that have been brought from Peru by Nutramedix that work just as well or
better than Samento.
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
Cumanda is an extremely powerful anti-Lyme treatment, as well as an excellent anti-fungal. And also
is a pretty good anti-viral, and anti-parasitic. So you eliminate a lot of different bugs with one therapy.
It’s a different philosophy than the philosophy used by conventional medicine, which is one bug, one
drug. So if you have six bugs, you have six drugs.
Now, besides Cumanda we have Banderol, which is a very powerful herbal antimicrobial from Peru
also through Nutramedix, and Quina, which has been used in Peru for many centuries for treatment for
malaria, but is also an excellent anti-Lyme treatment as well as a pretty good anti-fungal and antiparisitic.
I guess the most important thing we’ve learned since the pilot study is that if you don’t continue to work
on getting the physical toxins out of the body, the few remaining microbes that can survive the
aggressive therapy with herbals or pharmaceuticals, or whatever is used, those surviving microbes will
usually regrow and form a completely new population of Lyme-related microbes in the body because
of the toxins stimulating their regrowth.
So, it’s so critically important, in my opinion, to work as hard on getting the toxins out of the body as
on working on getting the microbes out of the body.”
“The worst culprits usually are the heavy metals,” says Dr. Cowden. “The most common source for
heavy metals that I see usually is mercury from the silver mercury amalgam fillings in people’s teeth.”
The simple act of chewing releases mercury back into the body, where it stimulates the growth of
Borrelia and other microbes, and where, additionally, it “blocks the release of other toxins, including
other metals, pesticides, solvents, herbicides and so on,” says Dr. Cowden.
Dr. Cowden urges Lyme patients to have amalgam fillings removed “in a very cautious and methodical
way. Then, once the mercury is removed from the teeth, the patient must gear up the detoxification for
mercury, so that the mercury can be removed from the body over time.”
Mercury is just one issue that predisposes patients to microbial growth and poisons their systems. Other
metals such as aluminum, boxite, and copper are also found in high levels in Lyme patients. Pesticides
from household use and from conventionally-produced meats, and petroleum by-products from skin
care products and cosmetics represent further challenges.
“Once you get a lot of that toxic load out, then it becomes easy to get rid of the microbes,” says Dr.
Cowden.
“The other thing we’ve learned since the study is that enzymes are critically important in breaking up
the fibrin that covers over the bugs and hides them from the immune system. The fibrin is a protein
produced by the body in response to infectious illnesses. And those bugs can hide very well if the fibrin
is coating them over, but if you give a proteolytic enzyme about thirty minutes before food with water
only, a couple of times a day, enough of that enzyme gets absorbed and breaks down the fibrin coating
on the surface of the bug so that the immune system can find them and get rid of them.
In addition to that, the fibrin that is being produced gets plastered up against the capillary walls, the
blood vessel walls and restricts the movement of oxygen into the tissues. So the tissues become oxygen
starved, and start producing lactic acid and go into anaerobic metabolism and create all kinds of other
trouble from that. So the proteolytic enzymes have been very helpful to resolve that.
I use bromelain as a proteolytic enzyme. Bromelain is derived from pineapple. And also I use
Carnivora, which is derived from Venus Flytrap. These two seem to be fairly well-tolerated and not
likely contaminated and not very allergenic. A lot of the other enzymes that are on the market are either
contaminated or allergenic. But those two work really well.
We’ve found that if you rotate remedies, that you’re less likely for the microbes to develop a sensitivity
or resistance to the treatment, and less likely for the patient to develop an allergy or sensitivity to it.”
In 2001, Dr. Cowden co-developed a technique to remove toxins using the principle of complex
homeopathy and laser, called cold laser therapy. “That’s been a great advent in getting the toxins out of
the body, and the doctors I’ve taught how to do that are very impressed with their results,” he says.
“Unfortunately, there are so few doctors in the country that are trained in that technique, that there are
more people wanting it than doctors who can deliver it.”
Dr. Cowden currently leads seminars for physicians who want to learn how to use cold laser therapy for
faster detoxification.
Dr. Andrew Wright treating CFS and Lyme disease with Samento and Cumanda3
Dr. Andrew Wright sees patients in his private clinic in Bolton, near Manchester, UK. For the past
fifteen years he has specialized in the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He believes that CFS is
mainly a chronic bacterial infection, and that Borrelia is one of the bacterias that can cause CFS.
“Clinically, CFS is identical to chronic Lyme disease in many ways,” says Dr. Wright. “I think there
are several reasons for why we should think that bacterias are the main causes of these illnesses. The
symptoms are similar to bacterial illnesses. The gene expression, in very carefully selected CFS
patients, appears to be identical to that found in Lyme disease. Many patients are positive for Borrelia. I
do microscopy and I find spirochetes in many people.”
Dr. Wright has treated five hundred or more patients with Samento, which he says is safe, and welltolerated
by most people. He believes that for treatment of CFS and Lyme Borreliosis, the best choice
is an integrated program if the patient can afford it.
“Often it comes down to what patients can afford,” he says. “Many of my patients are on pensions and
Social Security and can’t afford to pay for lots of herbs and supplements. They go for cheap antibiotics.
Some of them get better.”
Dr. Wright says that because Samento works very well in at least two thirds of his patients who choose
alternative therapies over antibiotics, it remains his first choice in treatment with Lyme Borreliosis.
Eighty percent of his patients who are on the antimicrobial treatments respond positively, with about
sixty percent of the patients declared clinically cured after a period of one or two years. He now uses
other Nutramedix products as well, particularly Cumanda, Quina, Burbur and also Amantilla.
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
In general, Dr. Wright says, he tries Samento first. If patients don’t respond he puts them on Dr.
Cowden’s protocol. He finds that about half the patients who don’t respond to Samento will respond to
the protocol. Some people simply do not respond, which, as he points out, is typical for any type of
treatment including conventional antibiotics.
The results of Samento treatment are varied due to patients’ spectrum of tolerance, in Dr. Wright’s
experience. “In general,” he says, “it is very well-tolerated. It’s very rare for someone to have to stop
treatment.” Some people are very sensitive and can only begin with one quarter of a drop. Others have
a greater tolerance and can build up their dosage more quickly, thus achieving quicker results. “The
fastest I’ve seen it work is in six weeks,” he says.
Dr. Wright typically recommends a dosage of five to ten drops, three times per day, working up to that
dosage over a period of a few weeks. Occasionally, he has put patients on sixty drops a day. In his
experience, if Samento is going to work, the patient sees a reduction in symptoms within three months.
“Certainly, Samento causes fewer side effects than antibiotics, such as gastritis, rush or irritable bowel
syndrome, and so forth,” says Dr. Wright. The only side effect from Samento that his patients have
experienced with any frequency is diarrhea, which subsides after about one week.
Dr. Cowden comments on why patients have fewer problems with herbal antimicrobial treatments than
with conventional antibiotics. “Fungal overgrowth can be just as bad a problem as Lyme disease,” he
says. “The herbal treatments we’ve been using don’t tend to cause that problem, because they kill the
funguses as much as they kill the Lyme-related bacteria and protozoa, without, in many cases, killing
the friendly bacteria in the gut.”
In treating CFS and Lyme, Dr. Wright would ideally employ a “combination of therapies,” he says,
“including Samento, nutritional supplements, dietary change, stress management, the whole thing,
because this is a holistic illness. I think we need to do more research, because long-term effectiveness
of these therapies is yet to be determined.”
Clinical Study currently evaluating effectiveness of Samento, Cumanda, and Burbur
In Fall 2006, pharmacist Philip Kielman of the Netherlands, began a year-long, random double-blind
placebo controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of Samento, Cumanda and Burbur in the
treatment of Chronic Lyme disease.4This is a follow-up to the pilot study conducted with Samento in
2003. The twelve week preliminary report shows a sixty five percent reduction in symptoms in the
treatment group, and a twenty percent reduction in symptoms in the placebo group. EMPHASIS ADDED

Kielman says, “When we check with the Western Blot or ELISA and we get a negative result for the
disease, and there are no symptoms remaining, we conclude that it works. Of course, some people are
skeptics. They will say, yes, but you can’t cure one hundred percent of the people.”
“But I’m a pharmacist,” he continues. “And I know that I can’t cure anyone with any disease, one
hundred percent with ‘normal’ medication. When you have a thirty percent success rate with
pharmaceutical medication, everyone shouts ‘wow, that’s great, we have a new drug.’ But when there is
a natural product and people who have been given no hope with conventional therapy succeed at a rate
of fifty or sixty percent, well, I think that’s great.
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
Jean Reist, R.N., treats Lyme patients with help
from detox formulas Burbur and Parsley5
Jean Reist, RN, has treated over a thousand people diagnosed with Lyme disease in her Pennsylvania
clinic, Journey to Wellness. Nutramedix products Burbur and Parsley are in her arsenal of herbal
therapies for treatment because of their effectiveness in lymph drainage, which she considers critical in
healing Lyme. Reist believes that the most essential ingredient in her patients’ therapy is diet and
lifestyle changes.
“Lyme Borrelia will thrive in the presence of fungal elevation. Therefore, sugars, grains, can definitely
make the inflammatory situation a lot worse. Sugars will suppress the immune system. But what’s more
damaging, in our experience, is that Nutrasweet and Splenda are like poison and you want to avoid that
like the plague. Splenda will actually dry up the thymus and effect your T-cells in a way that you
cannot afford if you have Lyme disease. So, stay away from those artificial sweeteners. Just don’t do
it.” For her patients, Reist recommends Stevia as an alternative sweetener.
Bea Mistich6, success with herbal antimicrobial therapy
Bea Mistich of Colorado Springs, Colorado, spent nearly a decade dealing with serious health
challenges and was hospitalized and treated for pain, but not tested for Lyme disease until years later.
She now believes that many, if not all, the health problems that plagued her over the course of nine
years were caused by Lyme. During that time Bea underwent neck surgery for herniated discs, she
suffered back issues, cellulitis, depression, as well as severe flu symptoms. She also believed that she
was experiencing strokes.
For pain relief, Bea tried many types of therapies including acupuncture, with little success. Eventually
she received a positive diagnosis for Lyme from IGeneX in Palo Alto, California. She began a course
of Doxycyline prescribed by her Colorado Springs physician. In spite of an entire year of treatment, she
remained symptomatic. As her health declined, a friend who had heard about Dr. Cowden and
Nutramedix products urged her to look into it. Initially reluctant to try yet another purported remedy,
Bea eventually considered her friend’s advice, went to see Dr. Cowden and began his protocol. Since
then, Bea has become progressively healthier.
Dr. Cowden and his associates told Bea that she would start to feel better in about two months. She
reports that she had to increase the protocol slowly, at the rate of one drop per every five to seven days.
Although she had doubts and feared disappointment in the herbal therapy, she was impressed with the
results.
“Within three weeks, I was one hundred percent better. It was incredible. It was wonderful,” she says.
As most Lyme patients are, Bea was well aware of the magnitude of effect that her illness was having
on her loved ones. “My husband threw a party on my birthday recently, and announced to our friends
the party ‘wasn’t necessarily just to celebrate Bea’s birthday,’ as he said, ‘it’s to celebrate getting my wife
back, and getting her healthy again.’ It was great.”
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
Johnny Asia7 speeds his recovery from long-term illness after switching to natural protocol
Johnny Asia is healing from Lyme disease after a long struggle, made more challenging by the fact that
he is a professional musician. For a time, memory loss and rheumatoid arthritis, profound muscle
twitching and crippling fatigue robbed him of his ability to perform and earn a living. Johnny says his
healing progress intensified when he started using herbal alternatives Samento, Cumanda, and Quina,
In 1995, Johnny knew he was very ill but was informed by a doctor who was not Lyme literate that he
did not have Lyme disease. Eventually, Johnny did receive a positive diagnosis and was treated with a
two week course of antibiotics. In spite of his doctor’s pronouncement that he was then Lyme-free, his
symptoms did not resolve, but plagued him for many years.
Because he believed was Lyme-free, Johnny could not understand the persistent symptoms.
Discovering that he was experiencing many symptoms of Lyme, he realized that he may have chronic
Lyme disease.
In his research he came across positive reports about Samento from people whose symptoms were
similar to his. After beginning treatment with Samento and other nutritional supplements, he
experienced the Herxheimer reactions created by the die-off of toxins. After a few months, his
headaches subsided. The eyelid twitching stopped completely.
Beginning in mid-2006, Johnny began Dr. Cowden’s protocol and is now taking Samento, Cumanda,
and Quina. He expects to be symptom-free within a year.
How is Lyme disease contracted and spread?
The question only seems to invite more controversy to a growing population of Lyme sufferers seeking
answers. However, one thing is becoming clear. “Only a very small percentage of those have
contracted Lyme disease through a tick bite, the way conventional medicine thinks,” warns Dr.
Cowden.
Dr. Wright agrees. “It’s not necessarily transmitted solely by ticks,” he says. “There is evidence for
other means of transmission in the research literature.” He lists congenital and sexual transmission. “I
think the incidence of Borrelia is much higher than just Lyme disease,” he adds.
Master Herbalist and author Stephen Harrod Buhner author of Healing Lyme: Natural Healing and
Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis and Its Coinfections8, reports that although transmission through a tick
bite is still believed to be the most common way of contracting the disease, he notes, “little research has
been conducted on other routes of transmission.” As he states it, “spirochetes are passed not only
through tick bites but also through other mechanisms. Once they infect people they can be found in
breast milk, in tears, in semen, and in urine. Babies have been infected in the womb.”
Buhner says that while gathering research for his book he expected to find that nonpharmaceutical
alternatives were not included in any mainstream medical discussion about treatment of Lyme disease.
But he was surprised by something else he discovered, which is “that a significant amount of reputable
research is being ignored by the mainstream medical community.”
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
COWDEN LYME DISEASE PROTOCOL
Causes: Borrelia burgdorferi bacterial infection and usually one or more of the following
microbial infections; Erlichia, Babesia, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, Coxiella, etc. Heavy metal
toxicity (usually mercury) plus pesticides, herbicides, petroleum byproducts and plastics make
the patient more susceptible to these toxins.
For the first 3 days do only the following:
Mix the following 4 products together in at least a ½ cup (4 oz./120ml) of water and take 3
times daily immediately before mealtimes (whether eating a meal or not): BURBUR- 10
drops, AMANTILLA- 10 drops, PINELLA- 10 drops and TRACE MINERALS- 15 drops.
Continue this for the entire protocol unless the patient feels fairly well. If so, then the noontime
dose can be eliminated.
Then add the following……
Mix the following 3 products together in at least a ½ cup (4 oz./120ml) of water and take twice
daily 30 min before breakfast and supper: PARSLEY DETOX- 10 drops, TRACE MINERALS-
15 drops and CUMANDA – start with one drop adding a drop with every dose until reaching
30 drops. It should take approximately 15 days to reach the full dose of 30 drops. At the same
time take CARNIVORA- 4 capsules. If a dose of Carnivora is missed it can be taken at
bedtime when the other products are taken.
Mix the following 2 products together in at least a ½ cup (4 oz./120ml) and take twice daily
after mealtimes (whether eating a meal or not): ADRENAL SUPPORT- 20 drops and
BURBUR DETOX- 10 drops. If feeling toxic (headache, muscle ache, nausea, joint ache,
etc) take 10 drops of Burbur or Parsley in water or under the tongue every 10 min. until
feeling better and then resume the protocol.
Take 2-6 capsules twice daily of MAGNESIUM MALATE (only if kidney failure is not present)
with the liquid products before or after meals. Start with 2 capsules twice daily increasing the
dose until bowels move at least 2 times a day.
On day 18 of the protocol add the following products mixed together in at least a ½ cup (4
oz./120ml) and take once daily at bedtime: SAMENTO- 20 drops, PARSLEY DETOX- 10
drops, AMANTILLA- 15 drops and TRACE MINERALS- 15 drops. Every 3rd night take
ALGAS- 10 drops mixed with the Samento, Parsley-Detox, Amantilla and Trace Minerals.
After two months on full dose of Cumanda, start taking QUINA in place of Cumanda. Then,
alternate between Cumanda and Quina every two weeks for 4 months (some patients require
only 2 months of rotating therapy, but it may be more prudent to rotate for 4 months). Take
Cumanda for 12 ½ days stopping for 36 hours then, continue with the Quina for 12 ½ days,
stopping for 36 hours. Then, restart with Cumanda for 12 ½ days, etc. Most patients with
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
chronic, third stage Lyme Disease require four to six months of alternating treatment but
never less than two months.
If the patients suspects that a sensitivity or apparent resistance develops to either Cumanda,
Quina or Samento, BANDEROL can be substituted for any of these products.
For pain: CONDURA- 20 drops as needed placed under tongue and held for at least 2
minutes before swalllowing and apply topically on the site of pain using the number of drops
necessary to cover affected area. May be repeated every 10-15 min. as needed.
For Depression: AVEA- 15 drops three times daily 15 min. after mealtimes. If the patient
becomes suicidal, take Avea-15 drops and Pinella-10 drops every hour.
For Insomnia: AMANTILLA- 15-30 drops 15 min. before bedtime, can be repeated every 30
min. until patient falls asleep and if the patient wakes up at night. Amantilla can also be taken
every 15 min. for extreme anxiety or panic attacks.
Also recommended: Drink 3-4 liters (quarts) of water daily (clean mineralized, not
distilled or reverse osmosis), Avoid common food allergens- all cow milk and cow cheese
products, all corn products (corn oil, corn starch & corn syrup), peanuts and peanut oil (most
oriental foods), soy products (it is a common filler in fast food restaurants), black pepper,
white pepper, sugar (may substitute Nutramedix STEVIA) Take Proteolytic enzymes (such
as Carnivora)- 4 capsules two times daily- 30 minutes before food with water. Proteolytic
enzymes can be taken at the same time as Cumanda, Quina, Samento, Banderol. Consider
having silver (mercury) dental amalgams replaced with composites by a biological
dentist. Chlorella (if sensitive to Chlorella substitute with Spirulina)- build up to 1500 mg
daily before the mercury amalgams are removed and continue for 3-4 months after the
amalgams are removed. After all dental amalgams are removed, DMSA- 100-300 mg
depending on kidney function, age and body weight can be added every 3rd night for 2-3
months with 10 drops of Algas and 1500 mg of Chlorella or Spirulina.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The dosages recommended in this protocol are for an average size adult that weighs
between 120-170 pounds (55-77 kilos). Adjust the dosage according to weight; ie. a
patient that weighs 30 pounds would take one-fourth of the recommended dose.
Unless the protocol specifies that products can be taken exactly at the same moment,
it is best to separate the products by at least 10-15 minutes so that one does not clash
with another.
Unless otherwise specified mix all Nutramedix remedies with at least ½ cup (4oz. /
120ml) of water and wait at least 1-2 minutes before drinking. The products are most
effective when taken in water. The products can be taken directly in the mouth without
water, but this should only be done when water is not available.
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
13 PRODUCTS USED IN PROTOCOL WITH PRIMARY FUNCTION
Adrenal Support- replenishes the adrenal glands restoring normal function
Amantilla Relax- relieves stress and anxiety
Algas Metal Detox- mobilizes heavy metals out of the interior of the cells
Burbur Detox- aids detoxification of the liver, kidneys, lymphatic system and the ground
matrix
Carnivora- proteolytic enzyme that dissolves the fibrin coating around harmful microbes
helping the immune system to identify and eradicate them
Chlorella- binds heavy metals and boosts the immune system
Cumanda- anti-inflammatory, broad spectrum antiviral, antiparasitic, antibacterial and
antifungal- effective against Borrelia burgdorferi and the co-infections
Magnesium Malate- helps maintain normal cardiovascular, muscle, nerve, bone and cellular
function
Parsley Detox- aids detoxification of the liver, kidneys, lymphatic system and the ground
matrix
Pinella Brain/Nerve Cleanse- eliminates neurotoxins
Quina- anti-inflammatory, broad spectrum antibacterial and antiprotozoal- effective against
Borrelia burgdorferi and the co-infections
Samento- immune system modulator, anti-inflammatory, broad spectrum antibacterialeffective
against Borrelia burgdorferi and the co-infections
Trace Minerals Relax- restores depleted mineral stores in the body, helps correct tissue
acidity, aids in relaxation, aids in hydration, enhances the effect of the antimicrobials
Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007
Resources
Health care professionals can request product samples from Nutramedix, LLC, Suite 301, 900 East
Indiantown Road, Jupiter, Florida USA 33477; Tel. (800) 730-3130 or (561) 745-2917; FAX (561)
745-3017; Email: info@nutramedix.com ; Website: www.nutramedix.com.
For comprehensive scientific information about Nutramedix products and Lyme disease visit the
following two websites hosted by Bionatus Laboratories in Ecuador, www.nutramedix.cc and
www.samento.com.ec
For information about the author of this article and for access to audio interviews with Lyme literate
physicians on the Lyme Disease Research Database, please go to

http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com

1 . Morton Walker, D.P.M. with Randall S. Walker. What Makes Lyme Disease Tick and How
Samento Eliminates It. Townsend Letter, July 2004.
2 . Cowden, W. Lee. Phone interview, August 2006.
3 . Wright, Andrew. Phone interview, January 2007.
4 . Kielman, Philip. Phone interview, January 2007.
5 . Riest, Jean. Phone interview, December, 2006.
6 . Mistich, Bea. Phone interview, October 2006.
7 . Asia, Johnny. Phone interview, November 2006.
8 . Buhner, Stephen Harrod. Healing Lyme: Natural Healing and Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis
and Its Coinfections. (White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2005).

Townsend Letter- The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, April 2007

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Cumanda herbal-effective against Lyme Disease, Aspergillus Niger, Inflammation

Cumanda herbal – A powerful antiinflammatory which can kill Lymes Spirochetes

What is CUMANDA? http://www.bionatus.com/nutramedix/pages/cumanda_what.htm

Cumanda is an herbal extract made from the bark of the Campsiandra angustifolia tree found in the Amazon basin. It has been used by indigenous groups in that region for hundreds of years.

Known medicinal properties include:

  • ANTIBACTERIAL
  • ANTIFUNGAL
  • ANTIVIRAL
  • ANTIPARASITIC
  • ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
  • ANALGESIC
  • IMMUNE SYSTEM MODULATOR

Cumanda is very effective in treating the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, and practitioners are now using it in conjunction with Samento to treat Lyme Borrelisosis. Lyme Borreliosis has been linked to hundreds of medical conditions; many researchers and physicians believe that Lyme Borreliosis may be a factor in most chronic conditions.

One of the most impressive benefits of Cumanda is its antifungal action. Physicians report that it is effective in treating many difficult to treat fungi including Mycosis fungoides, Candida krusei, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger, to name a few.

In May 2005, pharmacological studies were conducted in laboratory rodents at the University of Guayaquil in Ecuador . In an anti-inflammatory effect study the Nutramedix Cumanda inhibited inflammation by 97%. It was compared with Pfizer’s best selling and very toxic anti-inflammatory drug, Feldene (PIROXICAM), which inhibited inflammation by 98%.

In another pharmacological study conducted in laboratory rodents at the University of Guayaquil in Ecuador .  Nutramedix Cumanda was determined to be 86% as effective as aspirin as an analgesic.

There are no known contraindications, no known side effects and no known interactions with other drugs when using Campsiandra angustifolia products like Cumanda.  In May 2005, toxicology studies were conducted on Nutramedix Cumanda at the University of Guayaquil, Ecuador.  No toxic effects were reported even when laboratory rodents received 240,000 times the equivalent human dose.

Nutramedix, the U.S. manufacturer of Cumanda, utilizes a proprietary extraction and enhancement process that provides many benefits, including:

  • Efficient full spectrum extract
  • Clinically appears to cross the blood / brain barrier within 2 min.
  • Water / Alcohol extract that does not damage protein
  • Easy to use for all ages
  • Cost effective

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Massive Recall of Contaminated Tylenol

Apparently a warehouse pesticide odor permeated medications and nauseated patients

Johnson & Johnson issues massive recall of Tylenol

AP

FILE - This July 19, 2002 picture shows the Johnson & Johnson corporate AP – FILE – This July 19, 2002 picture shows the Johnson & Johnson corporate headquarters in New Brunswick, …

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By MARLEY SEAMAN, AP Health Writer Marley Seaman, Ap Health Writer Sat Jan 16, 1:10 am ET

NEW YORK – Johnson & Johnson issued a massive recall Friday of over-the-counter drugs including Tylenol, Motrin and St. Joseph’s aspirin because of a moldy smell that has made people sick.

It was the second such recall in less than a month because of the smell, which regulators said was first reported to McNeil in 2008. Federal regulators criticized the company, saying it didn’t respond to the complaints quickly enough, wasn’t thorough in how it handled the problem and didn’t inform the Food and Drug Administration quickly.

The recall includes some batches of regular and extra-strength Tylenol, children’s Tylenol, eight-hour Tylenol, Tylenol arthritis, Tylenol PM, children’s Motrin, Motrin IB, Benadryl Rolaids, Simply Sleep, and St. Joseph’s aspirin.

The FDA and Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare Products said they did not know the number of bottles recalled. It included caplet and geltab products sold in the Americas, the United Arab Emirates, and Fiji.

Consumers should check the full list at http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com to identify the recalled batches.

The FDA said about 70 people have been either sickened by the odor — including nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea — or noticed it.

The smell is caused by small amounts of a chemical associated with the treatment of wooden pallets, Johnson & Johnson said. The FDA said the chemical can leach into the air, and traced it to a facility in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico.

The New Brunswick, N.J., company said it is investigating the issue and will stop shipping products with the same materials on wooden pallets. It has asked suppliers to do so as well.

The FDA said McNeil knew of the problem in early 2008 but made only a limited investigation.

“McNeil should have acted faster,” said Deborah Autor, the director of the FDA’s Office of Compliance of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “When something smells bad, literally or figuratively, companies must aggressively investigate and take all necessary action to solve the problem.”

The FDA sent McNeil a warning letter for violating manufacturing standards and failing to report and investigate the problem in a timely way, Autor said.

Johnson & Johnson has 15 days to respond. The FDA says it wants an explanation as to why the problem was not made public sooner.

In November, McNeil recalled some Tylenol Arthritis Caplets due to the smell. Almost three weeks ago, the company expanded its recall to include more batches of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets.

There have been no reports of nausea related to the most recent recall, the company said. McNeil, however, said the expanded recall includes product lots that could be affected by the same problems of nausea.

The company said it is working with the FDA.

Also on Friday, federal prosecutors in Boston said Johnson & Johnson paid tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks so nursing homes would put more patients on its blockbuster schizophrenia drug.

The government’s complaint states that J&J gave special rebates to Omnicare Inc., the country’s biggest dispenser of prescription drugs to nursing homes, in return for recommendations from its pharmacists that patients be given Risperdal, in many cases when it was inappropriate.

J&J said in a statement it “will address the government’s lawsuit in court” and believes its rebates were “lawful and appropriate.”

Johnson & Johnson shares fell 54 cents to $64.56 Friday.

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Symptoms Reported by 48 Patients Exposed to Indoor Mold

Dr. Lieberman presented this information at  21st Annual International Symposium on Man and His Environment in Health and Disease, Special Focus, Innovative Aspects and Treatment of Molds, Mycotoxins and Chemical SensitivitySponsored by American Environmental Health Foundation and American Academy of Environmental Medicine

Explosion of Mold Cases in Homes, Workplaces and in Occupational Medical Practices

Allan D. Lieberman, M.D.

In practices all over the country, there has been an explosion of patients seeking help from alleged exposure to molds both in their homes and workplaces.  The severity of their symptoms and the multi-system spectrum of their complaints demands that physicians seeing these patients become more knowledgeable about the serious health effects of mold exposure.

Yet, we are told in a position paper1 published by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and peer reviewed by the Council on Scientific Affairs, that “mold growth indoors is undesirable but does not warrant the fear that is too often associated with it.  A careful review of the science suggests that irrational fear of indoor mold threatens responsible public policy more than indoor mold threatens public health.”2

On what clinical evidence is this opinion based?  Objective analysis requires you to believe in what you see and not see what you believe.

The case report is the gold standard in identifying the adverse effects of environmental exposures and it is the obligation of physicians to report these cases.  This presentation will do just that, summarizing the findings in 48 cases of mold exposure.

The case reports presented derive from workers in a bank, industrial plants, teachers in schools, and people in their homes.  All were knowingly exposed to molds that were professionally evaluated, identified, and quantified.  Most exposures were long-term lasting weeks to months.  Moisture was the universal cause precipitating the growth of the indoor mold.  The mold species identified varied but the most common were:

Aspergillus

Penicillium

Cladosporium

Stachybotrys

Multiple systems were affected confirming the multi-system injury that mold exposure can produce.  The spectrum of signs and symptoms in descending order of frequency included:

Muscle and/or joint pain                         71%

Fatigue/weakness                                  70%

Neurocognitive dysfunction                    67%

Sinusitis                                                65%

Headache                                             65%

Gastrointestinal problems                       58%

Shortness of breath                                54%

Anxiety/depression/irritability                  54%

Vision problems                                     42%

Chest tightness                                      42%

Insomnia                                               40%

Dizziness                                              38%

Numbness and tingling                           35%

Laryngitis/hoarseness                            35%

Nausea                                                 33%

Rashes                                                 27%

Tremors                                                25%

Heart palpitations                                  21%

Bronchitis/pneumonia                             21%

Nose bleeds                                          13%

Nasal Septal Perforation                                      2%

Mold and mycotoxin antibody titers:

23 out of 29 or 80% of patients tested showed positive antibodies to molds and mycotoxins.

Trichothecene                                       38%

Aspergillus                                            34%

Cladosporium                                        31%

Penicillium                                            28%

Stachybotrys                                         28%

Conclusions:

The findings of 48 cases of serious health effects from mold exposure suggests that mold is a significant cause of illness, impairment and disability.

References:

1.                   Hardin, B.D., Kelman, B.J., Saxon, A., ACOEM’s evidence based statement on the Adverse Health Effects Associated With Molds In The Indoor Environment.  ACOEM’s report. Oct/Nov/Dec 2002.

2.                   Brunekreff, B., 1992. Damp Housing And Adult Respiratory Symptoms.  Allergy 47:498-502.

3.                   Brunkreff, B., D.W. Dockery, F.E. Speizer, J.H. Ware, J.D. Spengler, and B.G. Ferris. 1989. Home Dampness And Respiratory Morbidity In Children.  Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 140: 1363-1367.

4.                    Dales, R.E., H. Zwanenburg, R. Burnett, and C.A. Franklin. 1991. Respiratory Health Effects Of Home Dampness And Molds Among Canadian Children. Am. J. Epidemiol. 134:196-203.

5.                   Packer, C.N., Stewart-Brown, and S.E. Fowle. 1994. Damp Housing And Adult Health: Results From A Lifestyle Study In Worcester , England . J. Epidemiol. Community Health 48:555-559.

6.                   Firhonen, I. , A. Nevalainen, T. Husman, and J. Pekkanen. 1996. Home Dampness, Molds And Their Influence On Respiratory Infections And Symptoms In Adults In Finland . Eur. Respir. J. 9:2618-2622.

7.                   Platt, S.D., C.J. Martin, S.M. Hunt, and C.W. Lewis. 1989. Damp Housing, Mold Growth, And Symptomatic Health State . Br. Med. J. 298:1673-1678.

8.                   Engelhart, S. et al, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2002, P. 3886-3890.

9.                   Bornchag, CG. et al.  Indoor Air, 2001 June 1 (2): 71.

10.               Beebe, Glenn. Toxic Carpet Three. 1971.

11.               Andreissen, J.W., B. Brunekreff, and W. Roemer. 1998.  Home Dampness And Respiratory Health Status In European Children.  Clin. Exp. Allergy 28:1991-1200

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Commercially Available Tests Can Determine Whether Patients Suffer Mold Neurotoxicity from Sick Building Syndrome

Many previous toxic tort defendants attempted to deceive courts, juries and the public by minimizing or dismissing mold neurotoxicity dangers, in water damaged buildings.  Landlords, property insurers and other defendants deceive patients and the public by attempting to portray dangers from indoor mold contamination as limited to more obvious allergic and pulmonary impairments, while ignoring more dangerous inflammatory, circulatory and hormonal effects, which alarmingly have severe effects on the central nervous system, where fat soluble mycotoxins are most concentrated.

These results indicate that neurotoxicity was measured in 100 percent of ill patients exposed to water damaged buildings.  Mold neurotoxicity closely correlated with deficiency of the anti-inflammatory alpha Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (MSH); excessive levels of the MMP 9 protein inflammation carrier and circulation defects produced by VEGF  abnormalities, despite essentially no correlation with immunoglobin E mediated allergy and only a weak correlation with impaired pulmonary function.

(Shoemaker and House, 2006) found Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test (FACT) deficiencies in all twenty six participants in a study of ill patients exposed to toxins in water damaged  buildings.   Alpha MSH deficiency was found in 25 of 26 patients (96%); excessive Metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) was found in 22 of 26 patients (84 %); Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) abnormalities were found in 14 of 26 patients (54 %); leptin abnormalities were found in 13 of 26 patients (50 %).  Abnormal pulmonary function was found in 7 of twenty six patients (27%) while excessive Immunoglobin E was only found in 1 of 26 patients (3.8 %).  The Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test is highly sensitive for neurotoxicity, with a 98 percent specificity.

(Shoemaker and House, 2006) Sick building syndrome (SBS) and exposure to water-damaged buildings: Time series study, clinical trial and mechanisms. Neurotoxicology and Teratology
Volume 27, Issue 1, January-February 2005, Pages 29-46

The inexpensive VCST (FACT) test is 98 percent specific for neurotoxicity and can be obtained for $18.00, at www.chronicneurotoxins.com If you believe you might suffer from Sick Building Syndrome, in a water damaged building, the FACT vision test is the starting point to determine whether your health is being affected.  If you fail the FACT test, the next test to perform is the fairly inexpensive MMP 9 test, which is offered by Labcorp.

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Mold in Water Damaged Buildings Can Cause Insomnia, Fatigue, Visual Impairments, Sinusitis, Brain Lesions

The more common Aspergillus and Penicillium mold toxins, can be inhaled in bioaerosols and Penicillium produces one of the highest levels of  mycotoxins. Unfortunately, less common Stachybotrus chartarum (black mold) still receives the most media attention, alth0ugh Aspergillus can produce fatal Ochratoxins and Aflatoxins.

Urine mycotoxin tests have recently become available and hopefully will help patients more accurately determine their toxic mold exposure.  HLA DR DQB genetic testing can determine whether patients are in the 24 percent of the population, which clears mold neurotoxins over 400 times slower than the other 76 percent of the population. Most patients with genetically transmitted hypersensitivity to mold neurotoxins will not test positive for Immunoglobin E sensitivity to molds.

Steven Sponaugle, Research Director, Florida Detox and Wellness Institute

www.floridadetox.com


Toxic Mold – The current addition to Environmental Toxins

THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION TO SERVE YOU BETTER. THANK YOU.

STACHYBOYTRS CHARTARUM (atra)

Toxic mold appears to be gaining a great deal of public exposure as more individuals are coming forward with not only their symptoms but theirs concerns.  It is fast becoming one of Canada’s most notible indoor, air compromising, environmental issue today to affect public health and safety.  It has also earned a place on the list of “environmental toxins” for it’s ability to create toxic by-products causing and creating illness and/or complicating exiting illnesses.  It’s name is “Stachyboytrs Chartarum”.   But this greenish black, microscopic intruder may not be alone in it’s endevor to reap havoc in our bodies.  Other fungi such as Aspergillus and Penicillium, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Fusarium and Alternaria can accompany it and in some cases, alone or in combination can significantly amplify the potential for even greater health risks.  It is equally wise to note that Aspergillus and Penicillium are known pathogenic (meaning causing and capable of causing disease. Stachyboytrs itself has been linked to tumors.

Stachyboytrs Chartarum is one of the foremost fungi invading our homes, workplace, hospitals, and schools.  If the right conditions exist, it can reproduce itself by the thousands within a forty-eight hour period of time.  Because it enjoys a warm, dark and moist environment, add a touch of leaking, a flood or two, poor ventilation and the lack of knowledge in how to properly attend to these situations and the formation of an environment suited to mold growth is created. This toxic menace can also lay dormant for several years before rearing it’s ugly head.   Just imagine how it would enjoy feeding off your body, consider thousands of it’s toxic spores invading your lungs – a dark, moist and nutrient rich environment where it could sustain it’s life while adversely affecting yours – causing breathing difficulties, chest tightening, coughing, asthma etc.  Then imagine a combination of these toxic molds, invading your body and major organs, causing system breakdowns resulting in diseases of the heart, brain, lungs, liver, kidneys etc.  When considering any form of toxin, it would be wise to educate yourself on it’s potential to cause or create illness(s). Unlike cigarette packages, toxic mold does not come with a warning label.

Not so widely knows is the fact that mold spores can also become air-borne, classifying them as “bioaerosol” contaminants.  This means that they not only have the potential of contaminating their immediate area, but can also branch out to contaminate the surrounding areas as well.  Aspergillus and Penicillium are among the list of bioaerosol contaminant molds – leaving humans at a greater risk from their potentially pathogenic (causing or capable of causing disease) and carcinogenic (cancer causing) affects when these two are also found in higher concentrations indoors than out.  They don’t even have to be in substantially higher concentrations, any level indoors can create potential health risks.

Stachyboytrs Chartarum equally has the potential to become a bioaerosol contaminant as it’s live or dead spores can become attached to your every day indoor dust particles.  This toxic menance then has the means to find new spawning grounds and/or contaminat other areas.  And did you know that the dead spores are just as toxic as the live ones – this presents even more serious issues when considering overall contamination, and greatly amplifies the potential for health related illnesses; especially for those with existing or underlying health problems. This particular type of fungi has been documented to cause lesions of the brain – and if one colony is left behind during a remediation process it has the potential to re-populate and spread just it had before. Keep in mind that a single colony can fit on the head of a pin so just imagine how easily these could be missed during a basic remediation process.

Stachyboytrs Chartarum is rapidly surfacing in a substantial amount of buildings. Although this fungi is nothing new to environmentalists, to everyday folks,  this slimy black, microscopic fungi can unknowingly be hidden beneath your floors, inside your walls, ceilings, attics and basements.  Where ever there is excess moisture, warmth and cellulous rich materials; such as drywall, ceiling tiles, tub-surrounds, floor boards, insulation backing and wallpaper, just to mention a few, it can create a potential environment for this fungi and others.  With these moisture laiden, cellulos rich materials, this fungi has the essential nutrients it needs to reproduce.  Once attached to it’s building host, this fungi secretes enzymes, which aids in the digestion of the materials.  Once digested, the fungi then produces a metobolic by-product called “mycotoxins”.  These mycotoxins can cause potential health risks to humans and are considered to be immonsuppressive (suppressing the immune system response) and toxinogenic.(poisonous).

“Mycotoxins” can create mild to severe reactions in humans because of their toxic composition.  The mycotoxins produced by this fungi, when inhaled, ingested or in physical contact with, can create a multitude of symptoms and health related illnesses.  But just as equally and perhaps more important for some inidividuals, is their potential to amplify and add to any already existing/underlying medical condition.   Please refer to our Health site for more information.

The affects of Stachybotyrs Chartarum have actually been noted as similar to those found in Alzheimer patients as it has been documented to have a profound affect on the brain and other major organs.

This toxic mold is reported to cause brain cell damage and pulmonary disease (lung disease).  Among the many symptoms associated with exposure to Stachyboytrs Chartarum, the following may present themselves at the top of the list,  memory loss, inability to concentrate or focus, serious breathing difficulties and digestive problems.

It is believed by many researchers, that environmental conditions can be linked to Alzheimer Disease and as such it would be highly advisable that any individual suffering from this disease should be living in a “mold-free” environment as the cause and affect of continued exposure may greatly amplify existing symptoms and conditions.

Asthma, another chronic disease, has been duly documented to become worst or triggered by exposure to mold.  Such exposure to toxic molds could in effect cause additional swelling and inflamation of the bronchial tubes, as well as form excess mucus which would only amplify the already constricted airways.

Again, it would stand to reason, that should you be in contact with an allergen/immunosuppressive such as toxic mold, then the possibility of an amplification in your symptoms or condition is quite possible.  Be sure that your home is “mold-free”.

It is also noteworthy to say, that should you have confirmed Stachyboytrs Chartarum in your indoor environment, that you should vacate the premises during the mold inspection, mold collection and mold remediation processes. If you research into buildings that have been contaminated with this particular type of toxic mold, you will find that in each case, the building(s) are closed.  It make sense from a health stand point, although there are some mold remediators out there that do not share this enlightened view. Perhaps they lack the knowledge surrounding the serious health affects with exposure to “toxic mold”, whatever the case, be informed, get informed, afterall it is your health.

In laymans terms, if it makes you sick – then stay away from it and toxic mold is something that has the potential to do just that – make you sick.

PENICILLIUM:

The spores produced by this fungi have one of the highest concentrations of mycotoixins (poison), and it is equally possible for their vegetative portion to also contain the same toxins.

Even the remains of dead spores from this fungi can contain mycotoxins, and so it doesn’t necessarily have to be living in order to create potential health risks.  Such as the case with Stachyboytrs Chartarum which can still pose a health risk when the spores have died.

This toxic mold is noted as causing Pulmonary Infections (lung), Urinary-Tract Infections, Otomycosis (infection due to fungus in the external ear canal, with symptoms of scaling, itching and pain), and Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (recurrent episodes of fever, chills, dry cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties).

The symptoms associated with exposure to Penicillium are:

Irritated/Hoarse Throat, Asthmatic Symptoms, Ear Infections, Sneezing, Allergic-like Symptoms, Runny Nose, Headaches, Flu-like Symptoms,

Fog/Disorientation Symptoms,  and Insominia (inability to sleep)

This toxic mold enters the body by inhalation and is noted in clinical studies to cause further debilitation to the immune system, especially those individuals already with compromised or existing immuno-suppressed systems.  At various stages of this mold’s existence it has been noted to create VOC’s (Volatile Organic Chemicals).

Like other toxic molds, Penicillium should be eliminated from your indoor environment, but as this species is common to the outdoors, finding its point of entry and reason for indoor population may be a difficult task.   Air quality testing would be highly recommended in this situation.  Again be informed, get informed.

ASPERGILLUS:

This species is also typically commonplace in buildings with water problems. It has several types of toxigenic species, some of the more common types are A. flavus,  A.parasiticus and A.fumigatus; toxins are produced by each of these types, and there has been some substantial studies carried out on Aflatoxin which is a common mycotoxin produced by A.flavus and Aflavus.  These are two of the most toxic substances known and are equally known to be severely toxic to the brain, liver, kidneys and heart and in the case of  consistent exposure, they can become detramental carcinogens (cancer causing) of the liver.

It is also noted for Sinus Infections, Ear Infections, Skin Infections, Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections.  The symptoms associated with exposure to Aspergillus are:

Asthma, Flu-like Symptoms, Cough, Dizziness, Headaches, Nausea/Vomiting, Chronic Fatigue (unexplained fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, lymph node swelling and malaise (body discomfort)).and Chronic Illness overall (long-term, persistent illness, a continued disease process).

This toxic mold enters the body by inhalation and is noted in clinical studies to cause Inflamatory Disease, Fungus Balls (lumps in the lungs), Eye Infections (may lead to blindness), in acute cases damage to the Heart, Lungs, Brain and Kidneys.  Individuals already suffering from CS (chemical sensitivities) or MCS (multiple cs) generally have allergies to mold since infancy and would also be greatly affected by exposure.

In fact, Health Canada has issued a Material Safety Data Sheet/Infectious Substances bulletin for Aspergillius spp.  They note in their MSDS that it is considered pathogenic.  Many of the foremost fungi are considered pathogenic.  A specific test utilzing potassium hydroxide and monitoring for symptoms will confirm or deny infection from Aspergillius spp. There is a treatment method, however, there is no form of immunization to ward off the possible contraction of infection from this fungi.

Health Canada Web-site:  www.hc-sc.gc.ca

At the Fungal Research Group Inc., under Introduction by Eckardt Johanning, a doctor highly profiled and documented as one of the foremost professionals in the field of fungi research and the affects on humans, has written:

“The possible pathological consequences in humans and animals of exposure to bacteria and fungi fall principally into the categories of infection, allergy, and toxicity (Husman, 1986 Johanning 1999). In clinical practice the overlap of these pathological reactions of fungi  is quite common.  This may explain the wide variety of medical presentations and findings and why so many different medical specialties are involved in the care of such patients.  Many medical providers, however, still have very little knowledge and training about air contamination problems and building-related diseases.  This leads to delays in proper diagnosis and almost always treatment failure, because the underlying causes are not recognized or evident problems with the IAQ – Indoor Air Quality (or now redefined as : Indoor environmental quality (IEQ)) are not corrected.”

“The true impact of these natural disasters and mold problems on the public health in these areas has not been systematically studied, although this would be an important project for prevention.”

“Nevertheless, several diseases of great public health importance are known to be either strongly associated, caused or substantially aggravated by exposure to fungi and microbial by-products, although the exact pathological mechanisms are still under investigation and often difficult to prove”. Once of these diseases is asthma, or more specifically occupational or environmental type asthma (Peat et al. 1998).

The research is now starting to come forward and soon the process for linking environmental conditions and symptoms, whether indoors or outdoors will be a serious consideration for medical professionals when considering any diagnosis.


There are a multitude of web-sites relating to toxic mold, its causes, affects and removal, here are a couple that we found to be informative:

www.mycotoxicosis.com
This site is highly informative in the area of symptoms, causes and affects of mold.

www.pinchin.net/faq/mouldbldg.htm
This site is highly informative and Pinchin is known well in the business of mold.

www.cwilson.com/pubs/insurance/npk9/app-a.htm
This site references legal actions taken against mold in Canada.

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New Weight Loss Supplement, Oligonol, Available

New Study Shows Lychee Extract May Trim Belly Fat

By Sylvia Anderson, IH Editor — Published: December 24, 2009

There is big news for those that can not seem to shed that spare tire around the middle. A new Japanese study suggests that an extract from lychees might reduce abdominal fat in those with metabolic syndrome and cause overall health improvements.

Results from this New Study

The researchers recruited 18 adult volunteers that had a waist circumference exceeding 85 cm. The subjects were between 24 and 59 years of age. Volunteers were randomly divided into two groups. One of the groups received a daily Oligonol dose of 50 milligrams. The other group received a placebo.

After 10 weeks of study:


“In this study, we demonstrated the effect of Oligonol on metabolic syndrome using clinical parameters characterized by abdominal visceral fat area and insulin resistance,” wrote the researchers. “We revealed that Oligonol reduced BMI and subcutaneous and visceral fat volumes, and improved insulin resistance,” according to the researchers from Hokkaido Information University, Sapporo Bio-S, and Amino Up Chemical Company in Japan in the Journal of Functional Foods.

The researchers noted that the reduction in visceral fat areas that was observed was remarkable. As a result the researchers believe that the Oligonol would be very beneficial in preventing and improving the metabolic syndrome, particularly in pre-diabetic hyperinsulinemia.

“In particular, remarkable reduction of visceral fat areas was observed,” they noted. “These findings strongly indicate that Oligonol would be a beneficial supplement for prevention and improvement of metabolic syndrome, especially in the stage of hyperinsulinemia often seen during pre-diabetic conditions,” added the researchers.

MetS, also known as Metabolic Syndrome, is a condition distinguished by central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. MetS has been linked to increased risks of both type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers concluded that the enhanced presence of oligomerized proanthocyanidins in Oligonol evidently provide a wide range of benefits in food products, pharmaceutical preparations, and dietary supplements alike.

US Availability

The Maypro Group in the US has made the ingredient available. In 2007 the New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) status for the proprietary lychee extract was secured. Maypro states that the ingredient is unique because it uses a patented technology that boosts polyphenol bioavailability and therefore enhances anti-oxidant performance.

Maypro says the high molecular weight of many polyphenols frustrates their absorption by the body. The company’s affiliate supplier in Japan , Amino Up Chemical, has developed a production process that shortens polyphenol polymers into monomers and oligomers for increased bioavailability. This is very encouraging for those that have battled the tummy bulge without success!

Oligonol(R) Lychee Fruit Polyphenols Attains Self-Affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) Status

    Offers functional food manufacturers unique 'superfruits' opportunity

    PURCHASE, N.Y., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Oligonol(R) Lychee Fruit
Polyphenols has attained self-affirmed GRAS status. An independent panel of
scientists declared Oligonol(R) GRAS after a comprehensive evaluation of
research and toxicology data. Oligonol(R) was found to be safe for use in
food products and supplements. Oligonol(R), which features low-molecular
weight polyphenols, is manufactured by Amino Up Chemical Co., Ltd.,
headquartered in Sapporo, Japan and available in the United States from
Maypro.

    "We're very excited that Oligonol(R) has achieved GRAS status," said
Steve Yamada, president of Maypro Industries. "Food products in Japan
ranging from functional drinks to cookies have included Oligonol(R) based
on its beneficial properties and we're excited to now offer it to food
companies in the United States."

    Oligonol(R) is a unique, proprietary form of lychee fruit extract with
significantly improved bioavailability. For centuries, lychee fruit has
been a well-known beauty remedy throughout Asia. Lychee was the favored
fruit among the Tang Dynasty in China where it was utilized by the Emperor
and his concubines for longevity and beauty. With a polyphenol
concentration second only to strawberry, lychee fruit is a potent
antioxidant that has proven beneficial for a number of health conditions.
Clinical studies with Oligonol(R) have demonstrated benefits for skin
health through improving blood flow to the subdermal layer protecting it
from damage caused by UV light and free radicals. Other studies with
Oligonol(R) have shown improved cardiovascular function, reduction of
visceral fat as well as reduction of exercise fatigue.

    Oligonol(R) has been successfully marketed in Japan as a functional
ingredient for supplements, cosmetics and food. In 2007, Oligonol(R) was
approved as a New Dietary Ingredient by the FDA where it was launched as a
nutritional supplement soon after. For more information about Oligonol(R),
contact Maypro Industries at (914) 251-0701 or visit its Web site at
http://www.maypro.com.

    About Maypro

    Serving the nutritional industry for 30 years, Maypro Group is a
privately held, global supplier of nutraceutical ingredients to the
nutritional supplement, sports nutrition, pet & veterinary, cosmetic,
functional food and fine chemical industries. Maypro also has received a
minority investment form Marubeni America Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary
of one of the five largest Japanese general trading companies with total
revenues of more than US $75 billion and 125 offices worldwide. Maypro is
headquartered in Purchase, N.Y., and has offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo and
Shanghai. Maypro represents some of the world's largest nutraceutical
ingredient manufacturers and supplies high-quality ingredients in the U.S.,
Japan, Europe, Latin America and throughout Asia. Maypro has established
itself as an industry innovator. It was the first to introduce such leading
ingredients as Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), chondroitin, glucosamine, alpha-lipoic
acid and AHCC(R) medicinal mushroom in the U.S. market and launched the
leading U.S. and European patented, branded ingredients in Japan. For more
information, visit the Maypro Web site at http://www.maypro.com.

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