Arsenic, Rice Dream, and White Coated Tongue

So, we quit all rice products about 6 weeks ago.  My son would eat rice noodles, rice grain, bars with rice in them, and especially Rice Dream in his morning oatmeal.  Since quitting we've found it somewhat challenging to fill that gap - but we now rely more heavily on camel milk.  So we've used that to fill the gap.  I am extremely disappointed in how this whole thing has gone down - and while I appreciate the efforts that Lundberg Farms are making to be transparent and work with establishing a testing plan - I am not comforted by the FDA's advice to not change rice consumption habits.

Apparently, 2015 is the target for setting safe limits of arsenic in food.  It is amazing how slow that is - in comparison to say the explosive speed in areas like fracking approval.  Three years to establish safe limits.   That to me is total lobbyist bull-crap at its finest.  I'm not interested in establishing safe limits - in my mind, they've already been established (the water limits seem like a good benchmark - although they could probably be even more strict) - I care about getting it out of the food immediately.

So, until that time comes, we are doing our best to stay off of rice.  I'm sure there are other problems with other foods - but we can only make decisions about what we know at this point (my own way of talking myself off the ledge of obsessing).

At any rate, my son has had for the last several years, a pretty perpetually white coated tongue.  Of course the pediatrician said - "eh, it's just the way he is."  The Chinese Doctor said, "he's got greasy tongue."  And me - well I think it's not so good.  But I have not been able to clean it up.  Today, I noticed that his tongue is the clearest its been since I've noticed.  The only thing I can attribute it to is stopping the rice products and rice dream especially (since that is huge no-no for kids according to consumer reports). 

So then I looked up "arsenic white coated tongue," nothing came back as of yet - I haven't gone very deep in the research.  But one forum linked arsenic to candida issues (like arsenic, in all it's glory, can also contribute to candida issues).   And candida is linked to a coated tongue.  I'm not saying it's for sure, but it is really the only thing I've done differently in the last 6 weeks - dump rice from our diet - and now his tongue is clear.  Interesting.

Has anyone else quit rice and found any interesting things happen?

This inspires me to think further about the ALA detox - not moving on that yet, but it is in my sights for further research.

GuoLin Qi Gong for Cancer and Other Chronic Ailments

I have not written in awhile.  I've been working for the last year - super slowly - on a documentary about our healing journey.  I have amassed quite a few interviews and am now in the process of editing - and ultimately looking for an editor - to work on putting all this together. 

I have also been working to prepare to study some GuoLin Qigong.  GuoLin Qigong was designed to heal a body of cancer and other chronic illnesses.  Traditional Chinese Medicine views cancer as a chronic illness.   And I am noticing - as friends and family fall prey to its grasp - that it is everywhere.  We are poisoning ourselves it is certain.  What's more alarming than it's pervasiveness,  is the kind of "well what are you going to do about it" aka "you can't do anything" attitude that prevails.  A kind of cloud of "well everybody gets it eventually."  Not so - I don't remember it always being this way. 

So, in my quest for healing information, I am happy to say that in the coming months, I will be traveling with my son, mother, and father to meet and study with a GuoLin Qigong master.  She is one of the original, having learned from Master GuoLin herself.  And, she is a forty year terminal cancer survivor.  So I am excited to meet her and her club members, most of whom are cancer survivors.  I am hoping that some of them will agree to be interviewed, as well as the Master.

At any rate, I encourage you to research GuoLin Qigong.  It is a specific practice developed by Master GuoLin when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  She was basically told by the doctors that there was nothing left for them to do.  Apparently, her family had a lineage of Qigong masters, and she used her contacts, knowledge, and access to ancient texts, to create a Qigong practice designed to conquer her cancer.  Needless to say, after many months of practice she herself was clear of cancer.  She then went out to teach others, who then were also healed in great numbers.  Some practitioners used chemo therapy, some used Traditional Chinese Herbs, some used other methods - all in combination with the GuoLin Qigong practice - to outlive their prognosis' by decades.  Ultimately, Master GuoLin died of a stroke some 40 or so years after her terminal diagnosis. 

This is a powerful practice, that is not just any form of Qigong. 

My family and I will be learning specific elements of the practice to address our health issues.  We have communicated our health challenges to the Master, and will go over them when we meet.   She is going to then teach us specific regimes to help strengthen and heal our bodies.  I am very excited.
I will write and post links to any video as it transpires. 

Aresenic in my Rice Dream?

With dietary limitations, you come to count on certain products if only because they are are the only options available.  Rice milk and rice products have been mainstays for us for over 6 years now.

We drink rice milk, use products with rice syrup, eat rice noodles, rice crackers... rice - rice and more rice.  When the first reports came out about the arsenic - I was alarmed but then continued on - somehow blocking it out.  Part of me just couldn't deal with taking it out of the diet.  Then more articles came out and I have decided to cut our rice consumption way down - eliminating rice milk and rice as much as possible.

I called the Rice Dream makers to ask what testings or protections they have in place to deal with the arsenic contamination.  Here is the response I got - after many  many minutes (like 12) on hold:

So Hain Celestial DOES NOT TEST its product.  They are standing behind their products and they consider them safe.  My question - is how do they know that their rice milk is safe?  Seems more like they are ignoring - and just not dealing with it until they are forced.  And we all know how long that could take especially given that there are no regulations on arsenic levels in food (as far as I can tell).

My point is I pay on average $8.00/gallon for Rice Dream.  This is premium stuff.  And the operator, nice as pie, only had the company line about - the report being recent, the FDA not recommending any recalls, the company standing behind the product, the naturally occurring arsenic in the soil (not the problem)  - but the bottom line is for $8/gallon Celestial Hains does  NOT TEST THEIR PRODUCT.  I don't care about what the FDA says and whether or not they are being forced to recall or test.  I care that I pay a premium and I am getting a cheap unreliable product.

If you are going to charge a premium price - behave like a premium product - or else let's pay what it's really worth (if you want to chance it) - $.99/gallon seems more reasonable to me.  

In the meantime, I will be returning all my Rice Dream products and not buying any more.  Lundberg rice - on the other hand - has a plan for testing and has admitted to the levels found in their rice matching the EPA test results.  While I will continue to keep rice peripheral in our diet - I appreciate their effort and openness.  Although best case scenario I'd like to see is figuring out how to get the arsenic out of the soil so that rice is safer.

October 24, 2012

I did find a report of results of arsenic in rice products.  You can see what they tested and what the results are.  Sadly, rice dream, which I am horrified to think since my son drank lots of it in the last 5-6 years, is not recommended for children to drink at all.  So, if you are reading this and giving rice dream to your children - STOP.  We stopped all rice products about a month ago.  It's meant increased quinoa, wheat, and potato (not so in love with the wheat).  But with our limited diet - we are  not left with many options yet. 

On a high note.  Interesting article that warrants further study - linked elevated arsenic levels in children with allergy issues.  The children were detoxed using ALA (alpha lipoic acid) and other supplements.  After the detox, the allergic symptoms subsided, resistance to infection went up, basically the immune system somewhat rebalanced itself. 

Here is the link:  Alpha Lipoic Acid, A Novel Therapeutic Agent for Intervention of Childhood Allergies. 

I am now keeping ALA on my radar.  And I plan on getting  a heavy metal test done on my son - in the coming months.  An ALA detox is not something I would like to embark on without a trusted professional.  Further research necessary. 

Ovarian cysts, Chinese herbs, Lugol's Iodine

It has been about a month since starting the Chinese herbs.  And I just got my period - this time, without explosively painful cramping that has preceded the last several periods.  My pain is down - to nearly all gone.  Thankfully.

My protocol
Stopped proteolytic enzymes after about 2 weeks - cannot explain why
Continue Chinese herbs
Started lugol's iodine - about 1 week ago - 5 drops in about 8 oz of water first thing in the morning on empty stomach.  I try to not eat for an hour after the dose.  Definitely noticed a difference in my energy level and I feel that it put the lid on the pain - pretty much bringing it down to it's present nearly non-existent level.

MRSA and Vitamin C

This entry is the responses that I posted to a question

Can lypospheric vitamin C help with MRSA?

Janice
I just read your post on my blog – and absolutely I do think that the lypospheric vitamin C will help with MRSA. It did for me. As you know, I had MRSA on my face – and the doctors told me that I had a 50% chance of a recurrence. In fact, it seems it is very common to get the MRSA over and over again. My face is clear – although if I stop the lypo – I get new pimples. I think I have to do a 3-6 gram regimen to completely clear it. But I have not yet.

Look at the Levy book – Curing the Incurable. He is the doc who is behind the lypo stuff. I swear by it. It is very expensive and when I get more time I plan on making my own – because from what I can tell if you are treating an infection – you could really take 3, 6, 10 plus – grams a day.

The theory behind the vitamin C – which is a Linus Pauling – is that most people in the developed world have sub-clinical scurvy – which reduces the immune systems ability to fight infection. And when you compare humans to all other animals – like a goat for example. A goat produces something like 10 grams (10,000 mg) of vitamin C when they are not under stress or illness. And the RDA for humans is 400mg (which is not enough in my opinion to help fight infection).

In my opinion – and my experiences – when my 6 year old son had a flu that after 7 days spiked a fever of 102 and really rich cough I gave him 6 grams (6,000 mg) of vitamin C (it was Saturday and we were trying to buy time until pediatrician opened on Monday) for about 2-3 days. Actually at the end of the first day – about 18 hours into it, he was already turning a corner and getting over the illness – the cough was down significantly, apetite returned, fever broke… By Monday – he was fine and we did not go to the doc. I split – 3 grams of lypo and 3 grams of ascorbic acid (the aa I administered as 250 mg every 1/2 to hour) in between the lypo. Lypo I gave every 3-4 hours. In about 2 days, he was back on his feet. I tapered about 1 gram every 2 days. He is on maintenance of 1 gram a day of lypo. I am on 1 gram of lypo a day – but if I miss I get break out starting on my face – as I mentioned. I probably need to do a week or so of 3-6 grams a day to knock this out of my system. I am probably just keeping it at bay.

In my opinion – I would order several boxes of the lypo. Call the company, but I believe Dr Levy recommends 1 gram per year beyond 1 year of age. But call them to confirm. Then try giving that maximum dose. My sense is you will see a phenomenal difference – within 24-48 hours. And then, after things level off – I would try to read up and be prepared to make your own. Because the lypo stuff is basically $1/gram. So it gets pricey. I order on Amazon from a vendor that I have called the company to verify is an approved reseller. Or you may find it cheaper directly from the company.

I am not a doc – only a mom sharing – but we have seen such amazing results – I am super confident you will too – and it is so rapid. There are studies with vitamin C and kids with hyper-IGE – but bear in mind some of these studies were administering 500 mg – again, right medicine, way too low dose – in my opinion. I have given my son 500mg of vitamin C and seen no results. The lypo stuff is the most powerful. Plus I always think in grams now – how many grams until I see a turn around.

My next goal is to make my own. Sorry for rambling. Please let me know what results you see if you do this.

Good luck – I am rooting for you and Moses and your husband. In my opinion this can help boost his immune system significantly.

Denise

Denise said:   
August 25, 2012 at 10:23 pm

Also, FYI – primates, humans, fruit bats, and guinea pigs – do not produce their own vitamin C. Every other animal does at levels – 20 plus times higher than RDA for humans. In fact, Linus Pauling said in one of his speeches – the RDA for chimps in labs exponentially higher than the RDA for humans. The reason – if you are doing your work and spending money on lab chimps – you want to keep them healthy and alive for the duration of your work.

Denise said:   
August 25, 2012 at 10:39 pm

Janice – One more thing – if you can find a doctor who would administer intravenous vitamin C. That too can be a most miraculous turnaround. But that is very challenging to find.
Denise


Update as of Sept 3
Janice informed me that her son has G6PD deficiency - and so for him high dose vitamin C can cause hemolytic anemia.  Therefore it is contraindicated.  I will try and find other suggestions for her to use in her arsenal against MRSA  - but at this juncture vitamin C is a no-go - sadly.

I write this to affirm that it you always need to do your own research - and I am not a doctor, nor is my blog a substitute or attempt at medical advise.  I know this disclaimer sounds like I am distancing myself from what I write.  I am not.  I go back to my thought that we are all anecdotes - and as such we all need to do what will work best with our individual constitutions and situations.   

Painful ovarian cyst, Chinese herbs, and proteolytic enzymes

So the pain continued despite the ACV.  I went last week to see my TCM herbalist.  She switched recipes.  This new recipe has helped to diminish the pain greatly.  I am on a schedule of 3 days per package of herbs and 2 days off.  She advised me to drink everyday once my period arrived.

My period arrived yesterday - painfully.  And the pain in my side has been pretty much there the entire day.  But I am hoping that this is the final clingings of this cyst and that the herbs wash it out, or make it pop, or encourage my body to absorb it.
 
I'm an animal.  I'd like to gnaw my own ovary off and be done.  It's not excruciating pain - which it's been in the past - it's just there most of the time.  Reminding me of its presence.  Freaking me out with worry.  Whispering to me of the craptastically long wait at the county hospital with the robotic doctors who by the time they get to you - you are so worn down with waiting you are eagerly submitting to whatever treatments they are rotely prescribing.  UGH.  Tiny teeth chomping on the cyst tasking it away.

I'm also taking between 9-12 Wobenzym N tablets - hoping that the enzymes will assist in my body's reabsorbing this thing.

I'm fantasizing about poking this cyst - kind of the way you pop a blister on your foot.  And then it hurts for a day or so, but it's gone.  I actually punched myself in the gut hoping to pop it.  Not hard really but with enough force that I felt it.  I opted not to punch myself a second time.

Two interesting things have come up in my  research regarding the cysts.  One brings me back to ACV - potassium and the second one is iodine.  I read that ACV has potassium - and that low levels of potassium are associated with ovarian cysts.  In fact, low levels of potassium can be linked to many things - kidney stones, hypertension, osteoporosis, stroke...  If you read Linus Pauling Institutes assessment of potassium here you will see the great deal of significance it has - even on a cellular level.   What's so interesting is that Gerson also discusses the potassium thing.  And both Gerson and Linus Pauling admit that the Western diet is several times higher in sodium than potassium, while native diets are the opposite. 
 
What does this mean for us - well I've now started to make an effort to reduce sodium - even though before we were eating sea salt.  We're cutting down significantly.  We've also begun to look out for sodium in any processed foods we eat.  Conversely I've tried to pay more attention to getting potassium into our diet - baked potatoes, fresh squeezed orange juice...

Iodine - something that I am not going to go into to detail today - but needless to say - it too is something that has come up in the ovarian cyst realm.  And interestingly enough - something Gerson too writes about.  For those of you who don't know - Max Gerson is founder of the Gerson protocol - a rigorous vegan diet, supplement, and coffee enema approach to healing cancer and other chronic diseases.  I am contemplating ordering some Lugol's iodine and adding it my diet. 

So far - now 4 days into my period the pain has gone down enough that I can, for the first time in over a month, lie on my right side without intense pain.  We'll see - I am feeling good about this batch of herbs - last one did not help so the TCM doc created a new one.  I've included a picture of the current mixture.  I rinse, add 5 cups of H2O, and boil down to about 8 ounces (about 2-3 hours of cooking).  Then I drink.  The taste is really awful - like sour, muddy, dirty - herby - but like a taste that reminds me of the drinks we would make as kids when we we're bored at weddings or parties my parents too us to.  It was the throw everything into the glass until it was brown and chunky - then each kid would take turns sipping to see who could drink the most.  Yuk - I keep muttering to myself - the ovarian cysts is diminishing, disappearing, gone - as I drink it.  Then I gag, make faces, a swig some water as a chaser.  My herbalist said, to drink this for 2 months and go back for another ultrasound and the cyst will be gone.  Here's to it being so.

Traditional Chinese Herbs for Ovarian Cyst

5 alternative healing MUST HAVES

I get overwhelmed lots of times with the amount of 'alternative' therapies there are out there to try.  But here are 5 that I have tried and can vouch for.

1. Apple Cider Vinegar -     A couple of years ago I had gotten plantars warts on my foot.  Needless to say, I thought they we're callouses so I buffed them, only to spread them to cover the entire ball of my foot and my middle finger.  After $800 in dermatologist payments (I had good insurance at the time), 6 months, and lots of freeze, cut, freeze, cut...PAIN, the warts persisted.  The derm recommended localized chemo injections.  I declined.  I tried banana peels, duct tape, potato... you name it.  Then I discovered online - apple cider vinegar kills warts.  So I tried it.  Soaked a cotton ball, put it on with bandage, changed every 24 hours.  In about 3 weeks all the warts were gone.  Just a warning, although this didn't happen to my friend, it burned like HELL for about 3 days.  Not just burned, but throbbed  from my foot to my knee, and my finger to my wrist.  Ow! - But yes, apple cider vinegar killed the shit out of the warts.  My son had a stubborn one on his face - that eggplant managed to get down a little, but not all the way.  Apple cider vinegar-ed it for about 10 days - gone.
    ACV for ovarian cysts - now this is something I just starting.  I've been having intense, waxing and waning, chronic pain in my right side.  An ultrasound today revealed a "dominant follicle."  I am following up with a gyne next week to further discuss.  But, my understanding is that it is a type of cyst.  Needless to say - I have been, over the last several days, drinking 1 tblspn of ACV in water 3-4 times a day - and as crazy as it sounds it's actually reduced the pain.  I'm hoping that it helps completely resolve it.  But in the meantime, having some pain relief is a welcomed respite.  


2. Probiotics -     I'm not that old, but old enough to have some joint pain. Mainly in my elbows, wrists - probably from computer working.  If I take 1 packet of VSL a day for about 5-10 days the pain will disappear.  I do this as needed.  Rock on - very expensive, but well worth it


3. Garlic Pills -       Now, I would not have discovered this had I not had MRSA.  And I must confess - for me the garlic pills did not attack the MRSA - not even the super expensive Allicin.  But what I noticed while on the garlic pills was that my digestion improved.  I still continue digestive enzymes - but I found that I can now skip digestive enzymes and digest food without them.  Which for me is huge.  At my high point - I was taking 2 garlique pills with each meal.


4. DMSO  -       Prior to receiving my the Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang and vitamin C, I used one last doxycycline dissolved in a tiny amount of DMSO to eradicate a  budding boil on my face.  3 days of saturating the boil in the making with the mixture - and it was gone.  Way less meds than orally - although without the systemic effects.


5. Vitamin C -     I really can't sing the praises of vitamin C enough.  We do use the lypospheric stuff around my home - for now -  until I can squeeze enough time from my already stretched schedule to make our own encapsulated vit C in an ultrasonic cleaner.  But for now we have used it to clear a nasty flu, nasal congestion, asthma cough, and keep bacteria at bay.  Although I am breakout free, I will get little pimples occasionally on my nose if I skip lypo C for a couple days - I suspect these to be MRSA.  1 gram of lypo C a day keeps me breakout free.   I am contemplating experimenting with upping my dose to 2-4 grams daily for a week or so and then cutting it off to see if I can just knock the MRSA out of me totally.  But I have not yet done so.