Bizarre Side Effects Like Paralysis and Epilepsy

More than 1,300 girls in the United Kingdom have experienced negative reactions to the government-mandated Cervarix vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), according to adverse events reports collected from doctors by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

"When they introduced this new vaccine, we had major concerns about its safety," said Jackie Fletcher of Jabs, a support group for those negatively affected by vaccines. "The current statistics detailing adverse reactions -- including cases of epilepsy and convulsions -- bears out that we were right to be concerned."

Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, inoculates patients against strains 16 and 18 of HPV, which are believed to be responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. The British government began a program to vaccinate all secondary school girls in September 2008, and 700,000 have received the injections so far. The government's plan is to have all girls under the age of 18 vaccinated by 2011.

Critics have objected, however, that the government based its decision on studies of women under the age of 26, rather than studies conducted on school-age girls. In addition, while the vaccine has been shown to prevent against HPV infection in the short term, there is no evidence of its long-term efficacy or that it actually lowers cancer rates.

The MHRA reports show a total of 2,891 adverse events reported in 1,340 girls. The majority were minor and short-lived problems, such as swelling, rashes, pain or mild allergies to the vaccine. A number of cases were more severe, however, including 20 cases of blurred vision, four cases of convulsions, one case of seizures and one epileptic fit. Five cases of partial paralysis were reported, including Bell's palsy (face), Guillain-Barre syndrome (legs), hyopaesthesia (loss of sense of touch) and hemiparesis (severe weakening or paralysis of half the body).

"The government needs to look at the future of this program given the number of side-effects coming through," Fletcher said.

A simple tea, long used as treatment in traditional Nigerian medicine has shown great promise as a treatment for type-2 Diabetes mellitus. This tea is produced from an extract of Rauwolfia Vomitoria* (poison devil`s-pepper) and the fruit of Citrus aurantium (bitter orange). Researches have recently begun testing this tea on patients with type-2 diabetes and the results are promising.

A few other uses for Rauvolfia Vomitoria in African medicine include treatment for hypertension, to decrease heart rate, as an aphrodisiac, to stop bleeding, as an antidepressant and to get rid of worms and parasites. It is called poison because these same beneficial effects can lead to undesirable side effects in larger doses. Medicinal uses for the Citrus aurantium include treatments for nausea, indigestion, insomnia, nasal congestion and for weight loss. Bitter orange contains the chemical synephrine which is structurally similar to ephedra. The oil in the peel contains most of the medicinal compounds.

Researchers harvested the tea ingredients in Africa and produced it according to the exact recipe local healers use. The leaves, young stalks and fruit of the above plants are boiled, and then the mixture is filtered. The resultant liquid is then used as medicine.

(FROM DIDI: Rauwolfia Serpentina, native to India and Asia, is well known for its anti-diabetic qualities. It can be found in homeopathic, ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems)

This summer most people will attend a barbecue where they will be served grilled meat. Some will opt for chicken over beef due to their health conscious nature. However, the most dangerous element they will consume will not be the red meat or the white meat. The real dietary danger will be the black meat! Grilled meat contains one of the most potent carcinogens known: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), and the telltale signs are the black stripes from the grill. This article will provide information about this toxin along with ways to avoid it.

When fire directly touches meat the fat liquefies and drips into the fire, vaporizing and creating dangerous compounds that rise in the form of gas and reattach to the meat. While all substances have a temperature whereby they will vaporize, animal fats must be heated to extremely high temperatures in order to achieve this. When they do vaporize (as they do when they drip into the fire) they become not only toxic but easily absorbed by the body.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
The bad news is they are polycyclic. The good news is they are aromatic. It's like being bitten by a blood-thirsty, tasty shark. It turns out the most dangerous substance found inside vaporized animal fat is PAH. When scientists want to create cancer in a laboratory (something done to animals as a matter of course), they will often use PAH because cooked animal fats are known to be one of the primary causes of cancer. Throw in the hormones, MSG and sodium nitrate (which also fuse into various bad things at high temperatures) and it's obvious why about half of Americans develop cancer in their lifetime.

Cast Iron Skillet
Does this mean the fancy outdoor grill was a complete waste of money? Not exactly, for some have a working egg timer and foot massager. Plus, there is a fast solution to the problem: a cast iron skillet can be used on the grill to protect the meat from touching the flame (one just needs to watch out for the handles that get hot). Does this mean that meat can just as easily be cooked on the kitchen stove? Technically yes, but then nobody would get to smell butane while the head of the household dons a chef hat and thumps their chest.

Blackened Bread and Pan-Seared Meat
When bread cooks under a flame on a hot stone, the blackening it obtains is actually a powerful antioxidant (similar to activated charcoal). Also, when meat or fish blackens in a pan or under a broiler it's not as dangerous. In fact, this is a key used by most chefs to obtain certain textures and flavors and to sear in juice. One mainly wants to avoid having the fire directly touch the meat.

Blackened Seasoning
Nowadays many restaurants ask patrons if they prefer an item "blackened". A few years ago this meant flame broiled. However now "blackened" usually means blackened seasoning, an artificial flavor normally containing MSG along with cheap fillers. Should you inquire the wait staff will most likely know nothing about it and will resent your even asking. The wait staff will have to ask the cook who is likely to become equally annoyed. The cook must then read the ingredients on that giant container of powder on the shelf for the first time. Most won't be able to detect hidden forms of MSG such as Natural Flavoring, Casein, or Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, and some won't even know that MSG also goes by the name Monosodium Glutamate. They will say "no MSG". To make matters worse, a number of restaurants (even high end chains) don't make the ingredients of their spice blends available to the chef (or on their web site).

For a great MSG-like flavor try the following blend in equal parts:
* Celery salt
* Dill
* Turmeric
* Cayenne pepper
* Paprika.

Summary
Ideally one will limit meat consumption, choose naturally raised meat and either pan-sear or slow-cook meat in a cast iron skillet.

There is still hope for the renegade types like comedian Denis Leary who only eat red meat from cows that smoke. Studies have shown that many foods can help detoxify PAH, namely apples, cherries, sage, rosemary, garlic and olive oil.