In yet another fascinating example of the wisdom of nature, entrepreneurs are now manufacturing and selling vastly superior wound bandages made from chitosan, a substance found in the shells of shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans. Chitosan, of course, is very popular as a fat-absorbing nutritional supplement. The chitosan fiber absorbs fat molecules, allowing them to pass through your digestive tract without being digested. As a result, chitosan supplements are extremely popular as weight-loss
supplements or for those wishing to avoid the negative effects of unhealthy
oils (like hydrogenated oils). But now, with this new
technology, chitosan bandages are showing their superiority as medical devices.
In fact, they're being used by the U.S. Army right now in Iraq and they are saving lives. They do that by sealing massive bleeding wounds very quickly -- in 30 seconds. That's far less time than required by conventional bandages, and the chitosan bandages don't leak blood after they seal up the wound, either. How does it work? In effect, the positively charged chitosan material bonds with red blood cells and forms an artificial clot that stops hemorrhaging. In time, of course, chitosan biodegrades, making it a fully biodegradable bandage.
The company making the bandages is called Hemcon of Portland, Oregon. It has signed a $29 million contract with the Department of Defense to provide such bandages through 2008. What's fascinating is that this is breakthrough medical technology that once again derives its superiority from nature. Nature really knows best when it comes to healing wounds and healing the human body, and when researchers and scientists are looking for solutions to specific medical problems, nature often has the solution readily available -- if we are just willing to look for it.
Interestingly, there has been other news about substances from nature that can stop dangerous wound bleeding. Recently I reported on an extract from the aloe vera plant that, when injected into wounded patients who have experienced extreme blood loss, greatly enhances their odds of survival by allowing oxygen to more easily diffuse from their remaining blood supply to the organs that need blood (such as their brain, heart, liver, and so on).
In effect, this aloe vera extract makes the blood they have left in their body work more effectively. If you combine this aloe vera extract with these chitosan bandages, you have what I call outstanding battlefield first aid derived from nature. If a soldier is wounded and bleeding profusely, his bleeding can be stopped with these chitosan bandages and the blood he has remaining in his body can be put to much greater use through the injection of this aloe vera extract.
So here we have succulents and shrimp working together to save human lives. And it's not just on the battlefield; it can also be used in first aid all over the country -- in emergency rooms, ambulances, and first aid stations at schools and industrial locations. In fact, every U.S. hospital emergency room should be carrying these bandages and aloe vera extracts.
Kudos to the researchers who were willing to take a look at nature and imagine a medical solution that could be derived from such sources. If more medical researchers would look to nature and respect the wisdom that nature has provided rather than trying to dominate nature through chemistry, we would all be a lot better off. Health solutions would be more readily available, far less expensive, and countless lives would be saved each year.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In mid 2010, Adams produced NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Friday, August 06, 2004
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