Health

VISION for the Health Sector : Natural healing and pro-active health maintenance will combine with advanced technology to support healthy thriving people all over the world.

Danger : The profit-motivated health care industry is creating more dependence on drugs and less overall health. People are over-medicated, lack access to quality healthcare, and millions around the world are dying of preventable, and treatable, diseases.

Opportunity : Whole-systems approaches for prevention and healing are emerging, natural treatments and technologies have the potential to cure cancer, and meaningful health care reform can be achieved.

Critical Issues:

The Medical Establishment

by Foster Gamble

Danger: Sickness is Profitable

Our health care system has a fundamental flaw: more money is made when people are sick rather than healthy. Pharmaceuticals profit when they sell more drugs and doctors make more money when they see more patients.

How did we develop such a backwards system and why is there so much emphasis on treating sickness with pills? When I followed the money, I found that the same banking elite who control all major areas of human endeavor – such as oil, food, and education – are also behind the current health care system. The Rockefeller Foundation plays an integral part in funding universities to teach drug-based medicine. They then profit from investments in major pharmaceutical companies. At the same time, the American Medical Association (AMA) and major pharmaceutical corporations – also backed by the banking elite – lobby and fund politicians in Washington while suppressing viable health alternatives. You can learn more about this history of control and suppression in the “Follow the Money” section of the website.

How has this influenced the health care system we have today?

• The health-care industry profits more from sickness than from health – Pharmaceuticals are in the business of selling drugs. The more they can manage, rather than cure, disease, the more money they can make.
• Mainstream medical education emphasizes drug research and treatment – M.D.’s can only get degrees through universities that have been accredited by the AMA. The AMA sets the standards for medical education, which heavily emphasizes drug based treatment and research.
• Only patentable cures are of interest to drug companies – Natural remedies – such as lifestyle, diet, exercise, herbal supplements and remedies and homeopathy (which have all proven to improve health) – can not be patented and therefore are of little interest to drug companies. As a result, many people are unaware of these natural, viable, cheaper health solutions and doctors are not adequately informed about them either. Health insurance companies also do not cover many of these natural solutions, so patients seek out mainstream treatments in order to save money.

What’s wrong with the Pharmaceutical industry?

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most powerful, profitable, and influential industries in the world. Here are some of the key problems:

• Pharmaceuticals have giant lobbying teams – Pharmaceuticals were the largest lobby in Washington in 2007, spending more than $168 million. [1]
• Pharmaceuticals fund political campaigns – From 1997-2005, the pharmaceutical and health products industry gave almost $150 million in campaign contributions.[2]
• Pharmaceuticals fund research and education – The drug industry has increased spending on doctor education from $302 million in 1998 to $1.2 billion in 2006. The result is that we have clinics and hospitals staffed with people who are educated primarily in the drug-treatment paradigm, prescribing medications that are often produced by the funders of their education.[3]
• Pharmaceuticals wine, dine, and compensate doctors – A study done by the New England Journal of Medicine found that 94% of doctor’s have ties to the drug industry, 80% accept free food and drug samples, and 28% were paid for giving lectures, signing patients up for clinical trials, or consulting.[4] Most of the time this isn’t disclosed to patients so they’re unaware of their doctor’s conflicts of interest.
• Pharmaceuticals patent life and exploit indigenous knowledge – Pharmaceuticals are gaining a monopoly over biological diversity. Approximately 90% of the world’s biological resources are in developing countries, yet 95% of patents on life are held in industrial countries. [5] Large pharmaceuticals often consult with indigenous people in order to learn about beneficial plants. They then patent the plant (or the beneficial organism within it) without acknowledging or compensating indigenous people for their shared knowledge. This patent gives the pharmaceuticals exclusive rights – also known as Intellectual Property Rights – to develop and profit from the sale of commercial drugs. If indigenous people or others use or sell the patented plants, they can be tried in court for violating the patent, which has already happened many times.
• Pharmaceuticals promote the use of more drugs –Pharmaceuticals are in the business of pushing more drugs. You see them in commercials, advertisements, doctor’s offices, conferences, universities, health publications, journals, and more. When a drug’s patent is about to expire, pharmaceutical companies who own the patent will often market a “new” drug that is essentially the same, it’s just re-branded and re-named.
• Pharmaceuticals run aggressive marketing campaigns – For example, in 2005 for every dollar Pfizer spent on scientific research, it spent $2.28 on marketing and administrative costs. [6]
• Prescription medications can be harmful – In 2003, Americans purchased 2.8 billion prescription drugs, an average of almost 10 prescriptions per person. In the U.S. our population is dramatically overmedicated, and sometimes the consequences are deadly. Prescription drugs are a leading cause of death in the U.S. – experts estimate that at least 100,000 Americans die every year from prescription drugs, or about 270 people every day.[7]

What’s wrong with the American Medical Association?

The AMA is the largest association of physicians and medical students in the U.S.

• The AMA is a major lobbying force – The AMA spends big money on lobbying. In 2009 it was revealed that the AMA uses the same lobbyists as big pharmaceutical companies. One of the AMA’s top lobbying firms, the McManus Group, also lobbies for PhRMA, Eli Lilly & Co, Merck and Pfizer.[8] In 2010, the AMA spent nearly $22 million to influence the passage of federal health care reform.[9]
• The AMA enforces the status quo through its Journal, JAMA –  JAMA is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. It receives major funding through its advertisers, many of which are pharmaceuticals. It also has a heavy emphasis on pharmacology.
• The AMA suppresses alternative treatments and cures – The editor of JAMA is very influential, and has historically played a significant role in suppressing alternative health treatments. Morris Fishbein, editor of JAMA from 1924-1950, was directly engaged in suppressing Royal Rife’s cancer cure.

Pharmaceutical corporations – such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis – and the AMA have a partnership to enforce allopathic medicine and suppress alternatives. They receive support and funding from the banking elite who are largely responsible for our current health care system and they continue to profit from it.

Opportunity: Whole-Systems Healing

The human body is designed to thrive. Being healthy is its natural state. When you introduce unnatural substances, our bodies become unbalanced.  This realization has led many people to take a more holistic approach to healing that addresses not just physical symptoms, but also thoughts, emotions, lifestyle, nutrition, and loving relations.  This acknowledges that the human body is a whole integrated system equipped with a powerful immune system to fight off sickness and disease.  Alternative practices — such as naturopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine — assist the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Most holistic healing practices are not covered by health insurance. This makes it nearly impossible for low-income individuals to get alternative care. As we consider new health care systems, this should be considered and addressed so that everyone has a choice in the type of care they receive. To learn more about this, you can check out the THRIVE solutions strategies.

Contributing Authors: Claire Darling and Kimberly Gamble

[1] Top Pharmaceutical Lobby Spenders in 2007 by the Center for Public Integrity: http://projects.publicintegrity.org/rx/images/Chart_1.jpg

[2] Checkbook Politics by Victoria Kreha: http://projects.publicintegrity.org/rx//report.aspx?aid=720

[3] For more details on how this is achieved, check out a study by the Journal Sentinel: Drug Firms’ Cash Skews Doctor Classes investigating the University of Wisconsin’s drug ties: http://www.jsonline.com/news/42064977.html

[4] The New England Journal of Medicine. A National Survey of Physician-Industry Relationships. April 26, 2007.  Volume 356: 1740-1750, Number 17. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/17/1742

[5] Biopiracy: A New Threat to Indigenous Rights and Culture in Mexico by Global Exchange. April 2001: http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/mexico/biopiracy.pdf

[6] Melody Petersen. Our Daily Meds. New York: Picador, 2008. (p. 155)

[7] Lazarou, et al. Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients. The Journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 279 No. 15. April 15, 1998.

[8] Political Correction: A Project of Media Matters Action Network. The AMA’s Lobbyists and Political Contributions. June 11, 2009. http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/200906110008

[9] NPR. Doctors Were Big Spenders on Health Lobbying in 2010 by Bara Vaida. January 27, 2011. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/28/133278997/doctors-ama-were-the-big-spenders-on-health-lobbying-in-2010

Codex

By Foster Gamble

Danger: International Food Code Threatens Consumer Health and Protection“If you control food, you control the population.”
- Henry Kissinger

Have you ever heard of the Codex Alimentarius Commission? If not, you’re not alone. Most people are unaware of this powerful trade commission, but it is a key organization that sets international food standards for all food products, including vitamin and mineral food supplements; health claims; organic foods; genetically modified foods; food labeling; advertising; food additives and pesticide residues. These regulations impact everyone’s health and will likely determine the future of food and agriculture.

Codex was created in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) “to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade.” When I investigated further, however, I found that it protects the interests of pharmaceutical and chemical industries and threatens consumer access to healthy, organic food and natural remedies, such as vitamins and minerals.

Codex regulations influence food laws around the world. The World Trade Organization looks to Codex as an international reference standard to resolve disputes. Codex claims to be voluntary, but it is actually widely used and adopted, giving it significant power in the international food policy arena.

What are the risks of Codex and how is it benefitting the pharmaceutical, chemical, and oil companies?

• Codex guidelines promote pharmaceutical drugs – Codex guidelines claim that pharmaceutical drugs are the only effective means of preventing, alleviating, treating, and curing disease. Codex does not recognize natural remedies.  This serves to protect and subsidize the drug industry.
• Codex does not protect consumers from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – Despite scientific evidence that GMOs are harmful to human health and the environment, they are still considered acceptable under Codex, and they are not required to be labeled.The WHO, FAO, and Codex have formed an Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnologies to develop GMO standards. They currently take no precautions to prevent dangerous GMOs from entering the food supply.[1]  This is convenient for multinational biotechnology companies such as Monsanto, who need to be able to sell their products on a global market. It also benefits oil companies – many of which are owned by the banking elite – because GMO crops require heavy input of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides.
• The Codex Committee on Food Labeling is attempting to water down global organic standards – The Codex meeting in Ottawa in May of 2006 revealed that the Food Labeling Committee was considering allowing potentially carcinogenic substances as additives for use in organic food production. They included sulfur dioxide, which is known to cause allergic reactions in some people; sodium nitrite, which does not occur naturally, as a color retention agent; carrageenan which may cause ulcers and cancerous tumors; “natural sodium nitrate” which is also potentially carcinogenic; and ethylene, which is used to ripen fruit and vegetables in transport.[2]  This goes against Codex’s stated mission to “protect the health of consumers.”

Given these policies, it appears Codex is working for pharmaceutical and chemical companies, rather than for the people and our health.

Opportunity: We Can Set Our Own Food Standards and Ensure Healthy Options

There are a variety of ways to oppose Codex. Here are some ideas:

Pass National Laws to Protect Nutritional Supplements – In 1994 Americans got Congress to pass the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) which classified nutritional supplements as food and prohibited dosage restrictions. This law takes precedence over Codex regulations. Other countries can do the same to make sure they have open access to vitamins and supplements.

Create GMO-Free Zones – We can stop Codex from allowing GMOs into our communities by setting up GMO-Free zones. This has already been done in India, Italy, and a number of other places. Visit our Critical Mass Action page to learn more about it.

Write Your Own Food Laws at the Local Level – An organization called the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund trains community organizers how to write their own laws to defend their rights and benefit local residents. They have had many successful campaigns to keep polluting corporations, factory farms, and mining companies out of small towns. Laws could also be drafted to prevent GMOs and other foods with harmful additives from coming into your community.

What Can I Do?

Share this information with others – Most people still don’t know about Codex. Share this article on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks to get the conversation started. If you know any medical students tell them about this and encourage them to put the pressure on the Regents and teachers of the medical schools. Student organizing can be impactful because their tuition is a major source of funding for the schools. You can also email this article by clicking the “mail” icon in the top right corner of this page.

Learn more about Codex– This article barely skims the surface. You can learn more about Codex at the following sites:

Natural Solutions Foundation – Committed and relentless peaceful warriors for natural food and supplement protection.

Stop Codex! -  An informative website by the Dr. Rath Foundation.

Encourage Funding of Rife Technology – If you have financial resources, or know someone with money to invest, urge them to fund alternative, non-patentable cures and resurrect Rife technology.

[1] You can check out the FAO’s stance on biotechnology here: http://www.fao.org/biotech/stat.asp

[2] Codex: What is it and How Does it Affect Your Health? By Paul Anthony Taylor. October 2006. Dr. Rath Foundation: http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/THE_FOUNDATION/Events/codex-whatisit.html

Suppression of Natural Remedies

By Foster Gamble

Danger: The "War on Cancer" is Failing

Since President Nixon launched the “War on Cancer” in 1971, we’ve spent almost $200 billion – through taxes, donations, private research and development – to find a cure for cancer. But not much has been accomplished for treating the most common forms. It seems that the more money spent on the War on Cancer, the more cancer occurs.  In fact, “ the annual death toll has risen 73% — over one and a half times as fast as the growth of the U.S. population.” [1] More than half a million Americans continue to die from cancer every year.

How could this be? There are many reasons. However, I found that it mainly has to do with suppression of natural health alternatives (discussed more below) and the enormous amount of money made in the cancer industry. The reality is that research, technologies, clinics and expensive drugs are making some people a lot of money. Cancer is a very profitable industry.  There is vast financial incentive not to have a cure.

As Clifton Leaf, Executive Director of Fortune Magazine and cancer survivor himself pointed out in a 2004 investigative report, the current approach to treating diseases such as cancer is extremely flawed. Some of the problems include:

• Our approach to R&D supports incremental improvement in medicine rather than genuine breakthroughs. This is partly because most clinical trials are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies who seek FDA approval for new drugs. The focus lies in creating replicable trials that show new drugs are better than old ones. Preventive care, natural approaches, and paradigm-shifting possibilities are not given much opportunity within this structure.
• The overwhelming majority of cancer research is focused on tumor shrinkage, even though 90% of the time people die from metastasis (the spreading of cancer cells throughout the body), not from localized tumors.
• Funding for research is usually granted to very narrow studies that are seeking to publish findings rather than find a cure for cancer. For example, less than .5% of the grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) dating back to 1972 focused primarily on metastasis (the main killer of people with cancer) and of the 8,900 NCI grants awarded in 2003, 92% didn’t even mention metastasis.

In addition to these problems, the medical establishment is actively engaged in suppressing natural cancer cures. Since the early 1900s, the AMA has protected pharmaceuticals, claiming any un-patentable, natural solutions for treating cancer are “unscientific”, “illegitimate”, or “quackery.” However, as far as I can tell, the AMA’s accusations are false and there appear to be viable, effective and natural cancer cures that just need to be further developed. You can check out these exciting possibilities below.

Opportunity: Natural Cancer Cures Exist

There are multiple natural treatments that hold enormous potential for curing cancer. Most people haven’t heard about them because they were suppressed by those whose money making abilities and control were threatened – namely the American Medical Association, the FDA, pharmaceuticals, and influential private Foundations – Foundations which also get their money from the same people who own the pharmaceuticals.

The opportunity to spread these treatments far and wide still exists. We can put pressure on the major health agencies, help fund further research and development, and share information with family and friends. They could hold the key to eliminating one of the most deadly diseases of our time.

The treatments include:

Dr. Royal Raymond Rife’s Frequency Technology

In the 1930s Dr. Rife – a brilliant bacteriologist and former student of John Hopkins University – developed a machine that could neutralize disease-causing micro-organisms, including cancer cells, with the use of frequencies.  In 1934 at the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, Southern California, Rife conducted clinical trials on 16 terminally ill cancer patients, and successfully cured all of them.  A team of medical specialists – including Dr. Milbank Johnson, Chairman of the Special Medical Research Committee of USC; George Fischer of the NY Children’s Hospital; and Dr. Wayland Morrison, the chief medical officer of the Santa Fe Railway – confirmed the findings.  Through the efforts of Morris Fishbein, head of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Rife was essentially shut down and ruined, his brilliant and promising work all but forgotten.  Rife’s technology has largely been forgotten but the opportunity remains to replicate his findings and treat millions of people who continue to suffer from cancer.

Vitamin B17

Vitamin B17, also referred to as laetrile or amygdalin, has proven to cure thousands of cancer patients.  In the 1970’s, Doctor John A. Richardson conducted clinical trials prescribing terminally ill cancer patients with laetrile, a vegetarian diet, and other vitamins and minerals.  The results were astounding: most patients fully recovered and went on to lead healthy lives.[2]

Researcher G. Edward Griffin has thoroughly investigated the potential of vitamin B17 and explains that it is being suppressed and withheld from the public because it’s a naturally occurring substance that can’t be patented by the pharmaceutical industry. It’s not a moneymaker, so it’s not available. Vitamin B17 is a naturally occurring molecule in food, such as apricots, apples, peaches, and cherries. It is made up of 2 parts sugar, 1 part cyanide, and 1 part benzeldahyde. When it comes into contact with cancer cells it releases the cyanide and benzeldahyde which break down the cancer cells. This is a very different way to treat cancer – it’s a preventive approach that seeks to eliminate the cancer before it becomes a malignant tumor.  This suggests that some forms of cancer may be caused from a deficiency of vitamin B17.  It also suggests that people may be able to avoid getting cancer by eating a healthier diet that includes more vitamin B17.

Essiac

Rene Caisse was a Canadian nurse who, in the early 1920s, discovered the health benefits of Essiac, a blend of herbs with cancer fighting properties.  Caisse successfully treated dozens of patients, but because she offered the natural herbal formula for free, she struggled to gain the support of the medical establishment.

Harry Hoxsey’s Treatment

Harry Hoxsey popularized a cancer cure that his father, a veterinarian, had successfully developed. The Hoxsey treatment is herbal and consists of both a topical paste and an internal tonic. Hoxsey made believers out of skeptics by curing dozens of patients. In 1936, he established the largest independent clinic in the country in Dallas, Texas. The Journal of American Medical Association attacked him viciously. Hoxsey sued the journalists who attempted to expose him as a fraud, and Hoxsey won.

Max Gerson Therapy

In the mid 20th century Dr. Max Gerson developed an alternative dietary therapy that he called the Gerson Therapy. He claimed it could cure cancer and most chronic, degenerative diseases. Gerson published patient results from the dietary therapy in A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases. Despite several hundred articles (domestic and foreign) confirming the diet’s therapeutic value and effectiveness against tuberculosis, diabetes, and other degenerative diseases, the Amercian Medical Association and the American Cancer Society dismissed Gerson’s work. He was effectively “blacklisted” by the medical establishment.

What Can I Do?

Share Information – Most people are still unaware of natural cancer cures. Spread the news through social networks and talk about it with friends and family.

Consider Investing in Research and Development of Natural Cancer Remedies

Donate to the Gerson Institute: The Gerson Institute is a non-profit organization located in San Diego, California, dedicated to providing education and training in the alternative, non-toxic treatment of cancer and other disease, using the Gerson Therapy.

Donate to the Cancer Cure Foundation - The Cancer Cure Foundation was formed in December of 1976 as a non-profit organization dedicated to research and education in alternative cancer therapies. One of their main goals is to provide individuals with information about the availability of treatments, doctors and clinics and to assist them in gathering the information they need to make the best decision for their particular situation. You can find out more about funding and how their money is spent here.

Related Links:

ReneCaisseTea.com: This organization pledges to do all it can to "help ensure that present and future generations will never lose the knowledge of Essiac, and that they will be able to grow their own herbs, and make and take their own Essiac -- in peace and for wellness!"

Essiac Facts: Frequently asked questions about Essiac Tea.

Essiac Canada International: Company based out of Canada that sells and distributes the Essiac formula worldwide.

The Gerson Institute: dedicated to education and training of the Gerson therapy.

Related Movies:

Cancer: The Forbidden Cures: Informative, important documentary on natural cancer cures.

The Rise and Fall of a Scientific Genius: The forgotten story of Royal Raymond Rife.

The Gerson Miracle: Documentary on Dr. Max Gerson’s vision for natural healing.

[1] Fortune Magazine Article. Why We’re Losing the War on Cancer and How to Win It. Clifton Leaf.  March 22, 2004.

[2] Griffin, Patricia Irving , R.N. and John A. Richardson, M.D. Laetrile Case Histories: The Richardson Cancer Clinic Experience. Westlake Village, CA: American Media, 2005.

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