Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
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 For instance, in one cutting-edge study of 1,000 women living in California, researchers found that those who ate the most refined and sugary foods experienced up to a fourfold increase in birth defects compared to women whose diets consisted mainly of unprocessed whole grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, and some dairy products. It appears that the mother's high blood sugar can overwhelm the embryo in the early stages of pregnancy, particularly before its pancreas develops. And experts believe that the hypoglycemia that often accompanies a sugar spike also could cause birth defects. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 What's especially frightening about this program is that it may include the dosing of pregnant women with prescription drugs that we now know increase the risk of birth defects. We also know from clinical trials and experiments involving mice that children who grow up on antidepressant drugs have a much higher risk of being depressed as adults whether or not they continue taking those drugs. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Despite years of public health campaigns telling women of child-bearing age to take enough folic acid every day to prevent birth defects, the message doesn't seem to be getting through.
NUMBERS ARE DROPPING
The number of women in the US taking folic acid supplements dropped from 40% in 2004 to 33% in 2005, according to a report from the March of Dimes.
A daily supplement of 400 micrograms (meg) of folic acid, a vitamin crucial for proper cell growth, can dramatically reduce birth defects of the brain and spine, such as spina bifida. |
Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.
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 Folate, or folic acid, has gotten a lot of well-deserved attention lately for the role it plays in preventing birth defects. The most common birth defects involve the nervous system, and both folate and vitamin FJ12 are essential for the formation of the nervous system's intricate patterns. Recent studies have found that babies with neural birth defects, such as meningomyelocele (an open spine), hydrocephalus, or anencephaly, frequently have elevated homocysteine levels. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 However, this effect is related to the fact that a small fraction (< 1 %) of women have antibodies to folate that can cause birth defects in their babies. Is it safe and effective to give extra amounts of folate to everyone to prevent this problem in this small number of women with antibodies to folate? The answer is probably not.
Although the effects of massive administration of folate to the general population are not fully known, studies from animals are worrisome. David
Schwartz, M.D. |
| They are mostly used by bodybuilders, and can cause hepatitis, loss of sperm, liver tumor, atherosclerosis, increased lipids, masculinization, and birth defects.
Androstenedione, a precursor of testosterone that is marketed over the counter as Andro, is promoted as an energy booster but is actually used by many athletes to build muscle mass. Andro can cause a loss of fertility and other side effects similar to those of the other anabolic steroids.
Testosterone and its precursors and derivatives are anabolic steroids that promote the buildup of muscle mass. |
Devra Davis
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 Peter Infante, a young public health researcher for the state of Ohio, told reporters for the NewYork Times in 1975 that babies born to people living near factories producing vinyl chloride from 1970 to 1973 had higher rates of birth defects. The wife of one worker remembered that since her husband had begun working with vinyl chloride, she'd had three miscarriages.11 Before that, she'd given birth to two healthy children.
By then, however, millions of dollars were at stake. To the manufacturing companies, it made sense to fight any effort to restrain production. |
| Children born to workers had greater numbers of birth defects. Some of them even had higher chances of developing cancer within the first five years of life. Groups of men with well-documented exposures showed up with well-documented cases of leukemia.
In 1970, Bernard Goldstein, a young investigator working at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at New York University, was asked by the American Petroleum Institute to examine the world literature on benzene, including all experimental and workplace studies and case reports. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 It's designed to teach expecting moms how to nourish their babies to maximize their health and avoid birth defects.
Since virtually nobody in the conventional medical industry has bothered to tell mothers the truth about nutrition, we thought it was time that an energetic, compassionate non-profit got the job done. We'll use donations to hire a project manager who can coordinate the educational efforts with birth centers around the country. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 This is mercury brought into your home, and if you break a fluorescent light in your home, you are releasing a powerful neurotoxic heavy metal in your home! birth defects, neurodegenerative diseases, developmental disorders, dementia... these have all been linked to mercury exposure. It's not even debated in the scientific literature. Even doctors readily admit that mercury is extremely toxic to the human body. |
Marshall Editions
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 Vitamin A consumption should not exceed 10,000 IU or it may cause birth defects. However, it is essential to take some vitamin A to prevent lung defects in the fetus and to avoid pre-eclampsia, a condition that involves swelling, sudden weight gain, headaches, and changes in vision, in the mother. Vitamin C plays a major role in the formation of collagen, a major protein found in the connective tissue, cartilage, and bone. It also helps with nerve health, healthy gums, and 796 teeth. Take 75-250 mg a day. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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| Eating fish is good for your heart, but beware of eating a lot of fish high in mercury (a pollutant that gets into fish), like swordfish, tuna, and other large oceangoing fish, during pregnancy, as they can cause birth defects. Foods that are a part of the Mediterranean diet, like fish, olive oil, and nuts, increase "good" HDL cholesterol and reduce "bad" LDL cholesterol. These foods are high in omega-3 fatty acids [like docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)] and low in omega-6 fatty acids. |
Bottom Line Health
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| However, in September 2005, the FDA issued a warning about possible birth defects in infants born to women who took Paxil during their first trimester. A number of studies have also shown that approximately 20% to 30% of babies born to women taking SSRIs in late pregnancy will develop "neonatal complications," which can include jitteriness and respiratory difficulties, Chambers says. In addition, a small study found that newborns whose mothers had used SSRIs during their pregnancy were at an increased risk of experiencing withdrawal symptoms. |
Ray D. Strand
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 Dosages as low as 5,000-10,000 IU are believed to have caused birth defects.10
I never recommend taking straight vitamin A in supplements. We can meet the need for vitamin A within the body by simply taking beta-carotene and the mixed carotenoids. These are very safe, and the body is able to turn beta-carotene into vitamin A as the need arises without any risk of toxicity.
Beta-Carotene
Beta-carotene has been used in high doses over several years without a single reported adverse effect. |
Bottom Line Health
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| A daily supplement of 400 micrograms (meg) of folic acid, a vitamin crucial for proper cell growth, can dramatically reduce birth defects of the brain and spine, such as spina bifida. Such problems occur in approximately 3,000 pregnancies every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Getting that much folic acid isn't difficult—you can take a single vitamin pill or you can get it from folate-rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables and citrus fruits, or from folate-fortified foods, including enriched breads and cereals. |
| Warning: Topical or oral retinoids are not recommended for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant because they can cause serious birth defects.
•Vitamin D analogues, such as calcipotri-ene (Dovonex), are synthetic forms of vitamin D. These creams, typically used along with a steroid, reduce skin inflammation and inhibit cell proliferation.
PHOTOTHERAPY
Ultraviolet light (UV) from the sun or artificial sources can slow cell proliferation and reduce inflammation. Light therapy is a good choice for psoriasis that doesn't respond to—or is too extensive for—topical treatment. |
Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
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 Folate is needed so your body can replicate DNA properly (that's why it helps protect against birth defects). And the rays can damage your eyes—the subject of our next chapter.
How do UV rays cause damage? One way is through connective-tissue breakdown. UV radiation causes the structural protein of our skin, collagen, to break down and disables our ability to repair damage. Another way sun ages our skin is through the formation of free radicals—those aggressive charged compounds that damage cells and break down collagen as well. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Diabetes rates would plummet, mental health would greatly improve, birth defects would be sharply reduced and, most of all, the national health care bill would be slashed to a fraction of current costs.
And that, of course, is exactly why these ideas can never be allowed to pass. The profit-minded medical industry would lose billions. Hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the continuation of disease to provide job security would find themselves out of work. |
Ann N. Martin
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 He wrote, "Chemicals such as BHA, BHT which can initiate birth defects, and damage to liver and kidneys are commonly used preservatives."4 These preservatives are also found in the human food chain, however, you must remember that we are not ingesting them at every meal as our companion animals may well be if they are eating the same processed pet food daily.
Ethoxyquin is another antioxidant preservative that has since been proven to be highly toxic to animals. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Low doses of BPA lead to a range of health problems, including birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems in laboratory animals. Despite the growing evidence of risk to human health, there are no limits on the amount of BPA allowed in canned food.
The tests found that pregnant women and infants who eat even a single serving of some canned foods are exposed to unsafe doses of BPA. Of the foods [recently tested for BPA contamination] -- which included many of the canned foods eaten most often by women of childbearing age -- BPA levels were highest in canned pasta and soup. |
Hyla Cass, M.D.
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 Anticonvulsants are a problem in pregnancy since they are known to cause major birth defects. Some evidence suggests that anticonvulsants may raise risk of suicide or suicidal thinking. Stopping these medicines suddenly can cause withdrawal symptoms that include anxiety, nausea, pain, sweating, and insomnia— and seizures.
Nutrients depleted: The drug phenytoin depletes biotin, calcium, folic acid, and vitamins D and K, plus vitamins Bl and B12; primidone depletes biotin and folic acid; and valproic acid depletes carnitine. |
Dr. Sharon Moalem
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 When a pregnant woman has too little folic acid, the fetus is at significantly higher risk for serious birth defects, including spina bifida, a deformation of the spinal cord that often causes paralysis. And as we said, ultraviolet light destroys folic acid in the body. In the mid-1990s an Argentinian pediatrician reported that three healthy women all gave birth to children who had neural tube defects after using indoor tanning beds during their pregnancies. Coincidence? Probably not.
Pregnancy isn't the only time folate is important, of course. |
| Study after study has shown that folic acid supplements reduce birth defects that can cause damage to a developing brain or spinal cord. The connection is so strong that the government required grains to be fortified with folic acid much as drinking water is fortified with fluoride. And there's been a corresponding decrease in diseases, such as spina bifida, that are related to folic acid deficiency in pregnant women.
That's a wonderful thing—but it may not be the whole story. Our understanding of epigenetics is so immature we have to be wary about unintended consequences. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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| In fact, women who might get pregnant should not take multivitamins that have any vitamin A or beta-carotene in them even at lower doses, given their known association with birth defects. The average woman already gets 120% of required vitamin A from diet alone, so there is no need for supplementation. For men who eat a balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables, there is no need for vitamin A supplementation.
Based on these studies, doctors such as Dr. |
Devra Davis
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| Together they found that children of Brio had three to four times more birth defects than those born in other areas.
By 1994 the ATSDR had a new, earnest administrator, Barry Johnson, a career public health service officer who took the agency's mandate seriously. A courtly, amiable man, Johnson asked the group I headed up at the NAS for advice about Brio and towns like it. How meaningful was Johanson and Buffler's study? How likely was it that their findings were tied to pollution in the town? More generally, what methods could be used to examine the health impacts of hazardous wastes? |
J. Douglas Bremner
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| It can also cause birth defects when given to pregnant women.
VANCOMYCIN
Vancomycin, which inhibits bacterial cell-wall formation as well as synthesis of bacterial ribonucleic acid (RNA), is effective against methicillin-resistant staph areus (MRSA). Vancomycin can cause deafness and kidney damage and therefore should be used with caution. (The exact number of patients affected by these side effects is not known.) It can also cause potentially fatal anaphylactic reactions. For these reasons vancomycin should be taken as a last resort. |
Devra Davis
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| If they had assumed that the other unsampled areas had rates similar to the one that they studied, the rate of birth defects would have been four to eight times higher than normal.
Johanson died of kidney cancer shortly after completing this study. None of this work at Brio was ever published.
Because public attention to the issue was high and people had been told that their children had been harmed, there was much angry rabble-rousing when the University of Texas report was first released. |
Ron Garner
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 Information has been available in scientific literature for many years regarding studies that have demonstrated how cancer and birth defects can develop in animals when they are exposed to nickel. Dr. Huggins points out that dentists often call the nickel alloy used in dentistry stainless steel, as it sounds better.5
Chelation—Removing Heavy Metals from the Body
Metals in tooth fillings and crowns can be removed and replaced with non-conductive composite materials. |
| Damages chromosomes, thereby altering dna structure and genetic code, which can cause birth defects in offspring. þAttaches to red blood cell hemoglobin binding sites, thereby reducing oxygen-carrying ability of red blood cells, which then leads to chronic fatigue.
Can kill or change the function of friendly bowel bacteria, which allows Candida to proliferate and dominate.
Seriously reduces immune function; white blood cell counts increase significantly, as is the case with leukemia.
Interferes with the body's endocrine system. |
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