Citric Acid Derived from Black Mold

Just what is your food made of, anyway? Try industrial synthesis, genetically modified mold secretions, hydrochloric acid, mercury-contaminated caustic soda, ferrocyanide… and, of course, lots of GMO corn.

If common ingredients like “citric acid” and “ascorbic acid (vitamin C)” sound normal and familiar enough that you practically conjure up an image of the flourishing orchard they were grown in – then think again.

Picture instead an industrial factory, carrying out protocols developed in a lab, produced with enough winding nozzles, tanks, valves, pipes and other thinga-ma-jiggers to create a meandering and disorienting Dr. Seuss story. Because, after all, these common –nearly ubiquitous – ingredients don’t come from where you might assume (i.e. simply, citrus fruits).

Instead, mass produced citric acid and ascorbic acid are hidden GMO ingredients that reportedly set off allergenic responses for some sensitive consumers. Further, both are known accomplices to the creation of benzene – a known human carcinogen – inside food and drink products alongside sodium benzoate.

Feel free to peruse these blogs and forums for complaints about citric acid from those allergic or intolerant to citric acid itself, mold & yeast and/or corn. Food intolerance to citric acid, or the components of its production, can trigger such symptoms as: stomach pain, reactions in the mouth, headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, cramping, hives, dark circles under the eye and/or blotchy skin.

Nevertheless, most people are not allergic to citric acid, and have no identifiable negative effects from eating it. But it does serve as a poignant reminder that what we eat comes from food products – constructed as if from tinker toys, with multiple, highly processed ingredients that virtually no one would recognize and few know anything about.

Otto Von Bismarck famously quipped back in the 1800s that “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” But today there is an endless array of foods that would baffle or disgust consumers if they saw them made. Industrial food processes have rendered entire grocery stores filled with food products whose ingredients would be even less recognizable than the contents of sausage.

Citric acid: in practically everything on the shelf

Citric acid is common enough to find in foods of virtually every kind, due to its use as a preservative – extending shelf life and preventing spoilage – as well as to enhance flavor with its acidic and slightly sour taste, which gives all manner of “natural”-ish and completely artificial foods and beverages a “refreshing” kick. Despite being a known hidden GMO, it is even frequently found in certified “organic” foods – and the USDA and FDA allow it to be in there.

Citric acid isn’t becoming a controversial foodie’s food-to-avoid, but instead trending for its ability to bring out the pucker-inducing and tangy tastes in popular foods. It is increasingly celebrated for helping to bring a balance of “all five flavors” to countless restaurant dishes and prepackaged processed foods – indispensable to even celebrity and TV contestant chefs.

Like MSG, the widely used ingredient that enhances ‘savory’ flavors and induces cravings, citric acid is widely used not only as a preservative but as a “fairy dust of flavour amplification” by enhancing and intensifying other flavors present in the recipe.

MSG and citric acid are essentially enablers to modern America’s food frenzy addiction – making even bland foods not just palatable and tasty, but downright delectable and captivating. With so many ingredients raising red flags, piling on sugar, synthetic chemicals and calories while contributing to obesity, diabetes, heart conditions and even cancer – MSG, citric acid and their peers make manufactured food products possible.

Both are used industrially to make even bland foods taste better and last longer on the shelf, regardless of nutritional value. But like many other common food additives, the science behind their production would probably take away from their (artificial) palate appeal.

Manufacturers and distributors of citric acid – as well as the larger food industry who use it as an ingredient in practically everything – benefit from the public’s assumption that citric acid comes from fruit. While this natural appeal is frequently used in food marketing and product imagery (as this chemical manufacturer clearly does), the reality of large scale, mass production of citric acid bears little to no resemblance. Ignorance-based marketing: This chemical company uses the “fresh” image of citrus fruit to market its citric acid – with no mention that it is most likely derived from genetically modified black mold grown on GMO corn syrup.

As the Globe and Mail succinctly puts it:

Citric acid occurs naturally in such fruits as limes, pineapples and gooseberries. The dry, powdered citric acid used as an industrial food additive since the early 19th century, however has a less appetizing source; it is manufactured using a mould that feeds on corn syrup glucose.

Citric acid does in fact occur naturally in citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, grapefruits in significant quantities … in fact, as a product of the Kreb’s Cycle, it is present in most living things. But industry would find it simply too costly and … well, simple to derive their preservative ingredient that way.

Actually, a cornered citrus market was already making this form of citric acid too expensive by the mid-to-late 19th century, making an alternative economically desirable even then. Authors Michael Mattey and Bjorn Kristiansen argue in their introduction to Citric Acid Biotechnology that “the science, though important, is secondary to the economics and politics of production” of citric acid.

Instead, since the early 1900s, the black mold Aspergillus niger has been used to ferment starches to derive citric acid. In 1893, a chemist named C. Wehmer discovered that citric acid could be produced with penicillium mold and sugar. Wartime disruptions in the Italian citric acid market paved the way for full-scale industrial production, after a food chemist named James Currie discovered that Aspergillus niger was even more efficient at producing citric acid. Currie also developed new methods for fermentation, and Pfizer hired him and launched a plant in 1917 to mass produce citric acid grown from mold in a sugar medium. Currie’s methods were also used by Pfizer to drastically increase the production of penicillin, credited with saving countless lives.

Today, it is not only true that nearly all citric acid is made through mold fermentation with GMO corn, but that it is produced by some of the biggest of Big Ag food producers, both in the U.S. and in China.

The three biggest domestic producers of citric acid – Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and Tate & Lyle Americas (actually a British company) – have been recently involved in suits over import duties and trade turf against Chinese firms, including Shandong TTCA Biochemistry, battling for market share in America.

Think of all the times citric acid shows up on the ingredients label in things that you or those you love eat. We already know it isn’t as simple as squeezing a lemon or lime, but what the hell is it, anyway?

Judge for yourself, with a glance over this “simple” formula:

THE PROCESS: How Citric Acid is Synthesized from Genetically Modified Black Mold

Citric acid production has become a refined and highly prized industrial process. Numerous scientific studies discuss revisions and improvements to the efficiency. But there are definitely some constants to this often competitive and secretive process:

Engineering the mold: Aspergillus niger is a naturally occurring black mold that commonly appears on fruits and vegetables, as pictured on the onion above (source: S.K. Mohan, Creative Commons license). However, significant modification of A. niger has taken place over the past several decades to increase production of citric acid and decrease the production of unwanted byproducts. This has resulted in countless generations of genetically modified mutant variants, now specialized for industrial-scale economics. Two of the main types of modification are:

• Gamma radiation has been used to modify strains of A. niger mutants, resulting in multiplied or increased production through genetic improvement.
• Further genetic modification in the lab has taken place through the engineering of the glycolytic pathway, resulting in a metabolic-streamlining that facilitates greater citric acid production from sugar, while shutting off side avenues of glycolysis.

Further genetic modification and “improvement” of A. niger are an object of ongoing study and industrial practice.

Producing the Sugar Medium: Nearly all industrial citric acid begins with a highly processed glucose corn syrup that is derived from corn wet milling (other parts of the corn residues go to other processes). Other industrial sources include beet sugar and cane molasses, and occasionally also fruit waste.

But it’s hard to beat the economics of subsidized corn – the vast majority of which is the unlabeled, genetically modified, high starch (yellow dent #2) variety – that can synergistically contribute to ingredients like citric acid as well as ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, dextrose (corn sugar), maltodextrin, corn oil, corn meal, ascorbic acid (labeled as vitamin C), MSG and other free glutamates (such as ‘hydrolyzed vegetable protein’), malic acid, baking powder, vanilla, xantham gum and perhaps hundreds of others. Often times, hydrochloric acid is employed in the corn-conversion process.

To transform corn or other plant starches into by-products that can be used to create these ingredients, some serious chemistry must be employed. (click on images to enlarge)

After wet milling corn to separate the starch, the production of many of these ingredients then involves a bath in strong bases, where lyes are used to break down the plant material further. Sometimes this means autolysis, when yeasts or bacteria ferment the material, and other times hydrolysis is used – which vary depending upon the type of additive, and the most efficient and cost effective established processes.

As with other common food ingredients, there is an ongoing issue with mercury cell technology – an outdated model still used in several major chlor-alkali plants – that have a known issue with mercury contamination during the application of caustic soda (to neutralize work with acids). Among hundreds of food ingredients that are potentially contaminated by mercury, studies show the three most common are high fructose corn syrup, sodium benzoate and, yep, citric acid.

A 2009 study published in Environmental Health analyzed the level of mercury contamination from the chlor-alkali process, resulting in numerous grabbing headlines warning about the mercury content in high fructose corn syrup. Although citric acid didn’t make the news, it too is processed in the same way:

Mercury cell chlor-alkali products are used to produce thousands of other products including food ingredients such as citric acid, sodium benzoate, and high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is used in food products to enhance shelf life. A pilot study was conducted to determine if high fructose corn syrup contains mercury, a toxic metal historically used as an anti-microbial. High fructose corn syrup samples were collected from three different manufacturers and analyzed for total mercury. The samples were found to contain levels of mercury ranging from below a detection limit of 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms mercury per gram of high fructose corn syrup.

Medium preparation: Various proprietary combinations of acids and heat are used to remove impurities and sterilize the corn syrup or other substrate, including: decationization (to alter the charge of ions), thermodynamic hexacyanoferrate clarification (pertaining to an ion exchange using an iron/cyanide compound) as well as boiling – that’s right, they use cyanide.

Meanwhile, the sugar substrate is diluted in preparation for fermentation.

Inoculation, itself a complicated step: Through a careful process, the spores or cultures of the fermenting agent is introduced, mixed and multiplied. In nearly all current industrial processes, a genetically modified mutant strain of Aspergillus niger (black mold) is then used to ferment the corn sugar syrup into citric acid over the course of several days. (click pictures to enlarge)

Careful control is applied to the pH of the mixture; in various modifications to the process, different types of acids (including hydrochloric acid) are used to increase the productivity of Aspergillus niger and prevent other unwanted products, such as oxalic acid. Subsequent genetically mutated strains of A. niger have been developed to allow the “non-production” of oxalic acid at a higher pH of 5 with the presence of manganese, whereas some production facilities have required a pH as low as 2 to prevent the formation of oxalic acid at the expense of citric acid production. 

Fermentation in the Reactor: The mold-glucose solution is fermented inside in an industrial reactor, generally constructed of stainless steel tanks or towers (to mitigate past manufacturing issues that have occurred in the industry with corrosion and leaching [p. 4 submerged process] and also contain manganese [useful in controlling the production of citric acid]). The reactor includes a sophisticated aeration system that maintains the desirable level of dissolved oxygen, which fluctuates during different stages of the fermentation process.

The process of fermentation leads to the catabolism of glucose sugar by the Aspergillus niger, leading to its secretion of citric acid into the culture broth.

Spore levels, temperature and pH are all tweaked over the course of several hours or days as production of citric acid increases, peaks, then planes off.

Broth separation: After fermentation, the “culture broth” must be separated so the citric acid can be obtained. The processes vary and, again, are closely guarded trade secrets. Some processes cut the fermented broth using a solvent extraction method, while most modern citric acid production utilizes a process known as “calcium citrate precipitation.”

Calcium citrate precipitation: The fermented broth is neutralized by calcium hydroxide, converting/precipitating much of it to calcium citrate. This is then filtered out of the solution, and sulfuric acid is then used to convert the calcium citrate to citric acid and calcium sulfate. The calcium sulfate is filtered out and evaporation for crystallization begins.

Crystallization: Another secretive step is the exact process for converting the final substrate of citric acid into the crystalline white powder that is sold to food manufacturers and consumers. An entry in Volume 17 of Biotechnology and Bioengineering published in 1975 describes the process: “The filtrate is concentrated under vacuum at a low temperature to give crystals of citric acid. Details of both fermentation and crystallization procedures are closely guarded trade secrets.”

The process is likely even more refined, specialized and high tech today. A Wikispaces entry for Citric Acid describes putting the isolated citric acid through additional steps with “activated carbon, cation and anion exchange resins in fixed bed reactors” before evaporation. It then describes both a hot and cold process of crystallization, with the former producing anhydrous citric acid, and the latter producing monohydrate citric acid.

Finishing for Market: The products then can undergo centrifuging, fluidized bed drying and classification (by grain size) before reaching the market.

Sodium Citrate: A related ingredient that is commonly used in foods as an acidulant, as citric acid is, and as an emulsifier in cheese products, is sodium citrate. It is typically created in the same facilities where citric acid is produced, by adding caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, a.k.a. lye) to citric acid, neutralizing it into a weaker citrate salt. Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland and Tate & Lyle are all major producers of sodium citrate.

If the use of caustic soda involves a mercury-cell chlor-alkali plant (see above diagram), further mercury contamination could occur, though membrane-cell technology is replacing it in most plants.

An additional issue with citric acid pertains to its use as a common preservative alongside other ingredients that could cause known carcinogens, like benzene, inside food products:

Citric Acid and Sodium Benzoate “Fizz-ion”: A Carcinogenic Contaminate 

the Soda Companies Have Known About For Decades

Academic studies emerged in the early 1990s about a potent combination of ingredients that was frequently showing up in soft drinks, sports drinks and artificially flavored citrus beverages: the presence of sodium benzoate had the known potential to break down in benzene, a known human carcinogen, when in the presence of heat, or in particular, either citric acid or ascorbic acid. Studies proved that this could happen right inside the drink containers – while in transport, on store shelves or waiting for consumption in consumers’ homes.

Yet nothing was done about it, until the scandal reemerged in 2005 when the FDA was confronted with studies conducted by a private citizen! Numerous European studies in Germany, Belgium and elsewhere backed up the data, and things slowly began to change.

Afterwards, many diet soda brands, sports drinks and citrus-flavored beverages voluntarily removed the troubling ingredient sodium benzoate (though some laughably replaced it only with potassium benzoate, which has the same potential to create benzene).

However, many other brands have done nothing at all, and the FDA allows them to continue using this dangerous mixture of ingredients, despite clear data on the matter. Foods and drinks containing the potentially harmful combination of sodium benzoate and citric acid can STILL be commonly found on store shelves, perhaps especially with generic brands.

Start reading ingredient labels on the brands that you shop for – and those you already know best to avoid – and take note of just how many products contain the hidden GMO ingredient citric acid. We recommend simplifying your diet by eating fresh produce – better if they are grown by someone you know/trust or are “organic” – and foods with as few ingredients as possible.

How many times have you glossed over this seemingly natural ingredient – despite the fact that it is a highly processed and synthetic food additive?

Nevertheless, the FDA has –like practically everything else – “Generally Recognized [it] as Safe” (GRAS). For the record, here is the FDA’s chapter on the oversight of the process of citric acid fermentation by Aspergillus niger:

TITLE 21–FOOD AND DRUGS
CHAPTER I–FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
SUBCHAPTER B–FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (CONTINUED)
PART 173 — SECONDARY DIRECT FOOD ADDITIVES PERMITTED IN FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION 

Subpart C–Solvents, Lubricants, Release Agents and Related Substances
Sec. 173.280 Solvent extraction process for citric acid. 

A solvent extraction process for recovery of citric acid from conventional Aspergillus niger fermentation liquor may be safely used to produce food-grade citric acid in accordance with the following conditions: 

• (a) The solvent used in the process consists of a mixture of n-octyl alcohol meeting the requirements of 172.864 of this chapter, synthetic isoparaffinic petroleum hydrocarbons meeting the requirements of 172.882 of this chapter, and tridodecyl amine.
• (b) The component substances are used solely as a solvent mixture and in a manner that does not result in formation of products not present in conventionally produced citric acid.
• (c) The citric acid so produced meets the specifications of the “Food Chemicals Codex,” 3d Ed. (1981), pp. 86-87, which is incorporated by reference (Copies may be obtained from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20418, or may be examined at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.), and the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon specifications of 173.165.
• (d) Residues of n-octyl alcohol and synthetic isoparaffinic petroleum hydrocarbons are removed in accordance with good manufacturing practice. Current good manufacturing practice results in residues not exceeding 16 parts per million (ppm)n- octyl alcohol and 0.47 ppm synthetic isoparaffinic petroleum hydrocarbons in citric acid.
• (e) Tridodecyl amine may be present as a residue in citric acid at a level not to exceed 100 parts per billion.

Source: Eat Local Grown

You ARE What You Eat!

image source

Dan and Sheila Gendron, Contributors

Activist Post

(This article has generated a lot of attention, testimony to this is the times it has been cut and pasted, as in this blog too!)

___________________________
First of all, let me say here that we are not offering medical advice. The information here is simply our opinion, based on our own research and experience.

If you are wondering how it has been so easy for TPTB to have turned the overwhelming majority of American population into sheep who believe everything they are told and comply with outrageous demands and actions, it is partly because they have for decades been replacing our good, healthy, natural foods with foods laced with poisons.

Why would anyone take pleasure in adulterating the food supply? Try this theory – if TPTB can make the masses believe that the cheap crap they get fed (butter substitutes from hydrogenated oils, sugar substitutes, flavor substitutes, etc.) is actually good food, then the less the peons need to have money and the more money is available for TPTB to harvest.

The assault has been revved up in the recent past with MSGs (monosodium glutamates – of whatever name they call it, and there's a list a mile long), HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), Artificial Sweeteners, GMO (genetically modified organisms), Canola Oil, Hydrogenated Oils and emasculating Soy products among the worst, as well as fluoride in the water.

Do some research yourself on these, but here are the highlights of what we have learned:

MSG – is an excitotoxin, which speeds up the body's absorption of other toxins, like mercury. It is addictive, so that your body craves more of the foods containing it, whether those foods are nutritious or not.

ALL of the list below are types of MSG or contain MSG:

• Glutamate
• Glutamic Acid
• Monosodium Glutamate
• Monopotassium Glutamate
• Yeast Extract
• Yeast Food
• Yeast Nutrient
• Autolyzed Yeast
• Autolyzed Yeast Extract
• Torula Yeast
• Autolyzed Soy Protein (any protein that is autolyzed)
• Hydrolyzed Protein (any protein that is hydrolyzed)
• Hydrolyzed Whey Protein
• Hydrolyzed Pea Protein
• Hydrolyzed Corn Protein
• Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten
• Calcium Caseinate
• Sodium Caseinate
• Textured Protein
• Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
• Natrium Glutamate (natrium is Latin/German for sodium)
• Gelatin
• Carageenan
• Malt Extract
• Malt Flavoring
• Barley Malt
• Maltodextrin
• Soy Protein Isolate
• Soy Sauce
• Soy Sauce Extract
• Soy Protein
• Soy Protein Concentrate
• Bouillon
• Broth
• Stock
• Spices* (may contain between 30% to 60% MSG)
• Natural Beef Flavoring
• Natural Chicken Flavoring
• Natural Pork Flavoring
• Ultra-Pasteurized
• Whey Protein
• Whey Protein Isolate
• Whey Protein Concentrate
• Protein Fortified Anything
• Flavor(s) & Flavoring(s)* (may contain between 30% to 60% MSG)
• Natural Flavor(s) & Flavoring(s)* (may contain between 30% to 60% MSG)
• Pectin
• Protease
• Protease Enzymes
• Enzymes Anything
• Anything Enzyme Modified
• Anything Protein Fortified
• Anything Fermented
• Seasonings (the word “seasonings”)
• Fish Sauce Extract

HFCS – besides the corn from which it is made being GMO, these super sugars wreak havoc with the pancreas, speeding the road to obesity and Type II Diabetes.

Artificial Sweeteners – Aspartame, Sucralose, etc. all fool your pancreas into acting as if you really ate sugar. It sends out extra insulin to gobble up the sugar that is actually in your blood, causing you to be more hungry when your sugar levels dip. So instead of helping you lose weight, it can cause you to eat more.

GMO – yes, these do affect your genes as well! See the video, Genetic Roulette. Canola Oil – was first developed as a cheap machine oil. It has been shown to scar arteries and is made from a GMO “rapeseed” plant, which was originally used to keep deer away from other crops. Canola is short for Canadian Oil Co.

Hydrogenated Oils – this is a process in which natural oils are mixed with water to the point that the fat cells are broken down so that they actually emulsify with the water molecules. The detrimental effect is that now those fat cells can be absorbed through the intestines and get more fat and cholesterol into the bloodstream. This is also true of Homogenized milk. Milk is splatted against a steel wall so that the fat breaks down to be evenly distributed throughout the milk (hence, no more cream at the top of the milk carton). Again, this makes it easier for the fat to get into the bloodstream.

Soy Products – virtually all soy is GMO and soy raises estrogen levels – in men as well as women.

Fluoride – fluoride is a toxic waste product of the aluminum manufacturing process. “Hey, why not feed it to the people! Let's put it in their water! After all, it's only a heavy metal and would go straight to their brains!”

Caring about what you eat is now classified as a mental illness – “orthorexia”. We knew someone who was a cook for one of the “elite.” He told us that his boss would eat NOTHING that wasn't grown on his own farm (meats included), and that this was the case with all of the other “elites” he was in contact with. But if one of the “peons” cares about what they eat, they are labeled a kook and told to take Prozac.

All we know is that since our family is more careful to eat as little of these detrimental foods as possible – we spend hours reading labels before we buy anything – we feel better, are healthier and have more vitality than before and our minds are sharper.

Speaking of reading labels, don't let a big splashy “Organic” on the front of a package fool you. It is now legal to call a food “organic” if only ONE ingredient in that food is actually organic! Foods that are labeled “organic” can contain any of the above foods to avoid as well, again, as long as ONE ingredient is truly organic. Bring your glasses to the grocery store and READ THE LABELS!

Unfortunately, it is IL-legal to mark non-GMO foods as such. According to the government, it would be unfair to the producers of GMO foods to let the consumer know what they are about to eat. Heaven forbid they give the consumer a fair choice!

Regarding eggs, having your own chickens is the ultimate, or at least buying farm fresh eggs in smaller, local markets. Commercial eggs can be 3 months old before they get to the grocers' shelves, and can contain high levels of salmonella, listeria and e-coli.

A word about the new onslaught into the marketplace of “freeze-dried storage foods” for survivalists... Please read the ingredients of those foods and compare them to the lists above. Some may say “No added MSG”, but that doesn't mean they don't contain MSG. Also, with the amount of soy products they contain and at least 85% of soy being GMO, it's hard to believe it when they tout their products as “NO GMO”. “Single-syllable” storage foods – wheat, rice, beans, etc. – are still the best way to go.

Our diet consists mainly of whole, organic grains (wheat that we grind into our own flour and brown rice), proteins from lentils and beans, farm fresh eggs from our own chickens, sea salt, raw sugar and vegetables from our own garden. We do eat meat occasionally.

For most of you, eating nutritious food that you prepare yourself will be a new experience. Because you will actually be eating food that contains nutrients your bodies need and not just empty calories, you will find that you have to eat less to be satisfied and will lose some weight in the process.

Read other articles by Dan and Sheila HERE.

Dan & Sheila are the authors of Surviving Survivalism – How to Avoid Survivalism Culture Shock, and hosts of the free podcast, Still Surviving with Dan & Sheila. For questions about space in their Intentional Survivalist Community or other survivalist issues, they can be reached at surviving@lavabit.com

"The Hundred-Year Lie" - A Book of Truth

Randall Fitzgerald compiled a powerhouse of information of what governments/individuals are doing to alter our food supply in some monetarily beneficial way to them but at the loss and suffering of the majority. Fitzgerald labeled his book The Hundred-Year Lie because the lie began in earnest in 1906, the year the US Congress enacted the Pure Foods and Drugs Act, the first law of its kind giving the public a false sense of security about the safety of its foods and medicines. He goes on to expose what "natural flavors" really mean, the harm in vaccines, the ludicrousness of supplements as being beneficial rather than the chemical harming substances they really are. He discusses in detail about how fluoride got dumped into our water supply, which resulted in the company getting paid by the government for preventing tooth decay in people rather than paying $8,000 a truckload to haul off and dump their toxic waste somewhere (p. 130-1).

Fitzgerald gave data from a variety of valuable sources that I want to follow up on for my own and further knowledge. Some books he cited that are valuable about teaching about man's inharmonious relationship to the environment are Marla Cone's 2005 book, The Slow Poisoning of the Arctic, Schlink's 100 Million Guinea Pigs: Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics, and the ethnobotanist Plotkin's Medicine Quest. Other books he introduced relate to health, for example, Fitzgerald introduced the The Saccharine Disease by Cleave a British physician, Revolution at the Table by Levenstein who presented a history of food including the complex wizardry of food chemists, and Blaylock's Excitotoxins which exposes the dangers of MSG, aspartame and other chemical concoctions. 

However, the nine-hundred-page book, Diagnoses in Assyrian and Babylonian Medicine (2005), which demonstrated a wise and in-depth knowledge of anatomy and physiology and complementary, holistic medical treatment caught my attention. The author deduces that the following revelations of an advanced society existed 4,000 years ago.

• "Ancient physicians were trained as specialists in dentistry, neurology, gynecology, pediatrics, and other areas of medicine, and they utilized the medicinal properties of more than three hundred Mesopotamian plants in their treatments.
• Careful observation and experimentation produced treatments that evolved over hundreds of years. Some of these ancient treatments are still in common use today within Western medicine, one being the practice of surgically draining fluid from between the lungs and chest of pneumonia patients by making an opening in the fourth rib and inserting a drainage tube.
• These ancient doctors were able to measure pulse rates and used metal hammers to tap below the knee to test reflexes, just as we do today.
• They cleaned surgical wounds using bandages treated with ginger and cedar, both antiseptics; they treated blindness with raw liver, which we now know corrects the vitamin A deficiencies that cause night blindness; they used marijuana to treat pain and nausea, just as we do for cancer patients today; they treated women with irregular monthly cycles using a medicine made from date pits, which we now know contains estrogen."

The ancients had great understanding of healing, and Fitzgerald showed that the Bible's New Testament in "The Gift of the Magi", and that the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh given to Joseph and Mary 2,000 years ago was in total the gift of life, and that these items were the most essential medicines of the ancient world! Myrrh is a tree resin and prized as an antibiotic, which was used by physician healers in Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome to clean and dress wounds. Frankincense, another resin, is both an anti-inflammatory and antifungal, and like myrrh, it is also a powerful pain-reliever.

At the end of his journey to discover and write about the chemicals used in our world so blindly today, Fitzgerald ended up at the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida where he went through their full three-week detox program. Before going to HHI to detox, he had his blood drawn and sent off to Accu-Chem in Dallas for a reading of the chemicals in his body. The test cannot test the occurrence of all the drugs in the world as there are just too many, with thousands more added to the list every year, but the tests Fitzgerald underwent tested a few hundred, and many of them were present in his body, some at alarming levels.

For three weeks, Fitzgerald did multiple therapies - magnetic, hydro, colon cleansing, etc - used no deodorant, shampoos, make up (haha), cologne (perfume, body lotions, etc), and he drank highly purified and then remineralized water, toxin removing wheatgrass, raw fruits and vegies (heat kills enzymes and HHI is a totally raw food lifestyle center). At the end of three weeks, Fitzgerald retested with Accu-Chem and discovered a drastic drop in his toxicity levels in his body.  

He pretty much concludes his book promoting prevention of diseases through lifestyle change and living in harmony with the planet we humans seem so determined to destroy. If we truly want to prevent illness and speeded aging, we shouldn't wait to fix our rooves in the rain ... his astute conclusion.

Collodial Silver and Candida

Candida and Colloidal Silver
(source of this article borrowed in full) 

"Yeast and mold infections are among the most difficult to treat of human ailments. Some of them are also among the most debilitating, such as candida yeast. Candida yeast will readily grow in any moist area of the body, such as the mouth ("thrush"), groin ("jock itch"), vagina ("yeast infection"), and intestines. Candida yeast is found naturally in the body, but is normally kept under control by friendly bacteria, such as acidophilus. But candida yeast often gets out of control following the use of antibiotics. The antibiotic kills off the friendly acidophilus and aerobic bacteria but does not affect the yeast. Without the friendly organisms such as the multiple strains of acidophilus to control it, candida grows fast.

The excess sugar of diabetes will also provide food for yeast, causing it to proliferate. Diabetics are therefore especially prone to this type of problem.

The intestines form perfect breeding grounds for candida. If the condition becomes bad enough, eventually the candida irritates an area of the intestine so much that their toxins penetrate the intestinal wall into the blood stream, where they can break down the immune system. Soon the candida infection itself passes through the intestinal wall and the white blood cells are consumed in their struggle to control the infection, further destroying the immune system. Thus, candida is a common contributor to many diseases and conditions, such as AIDS, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, colds, flus, etc.. Almost all disease and health problems are greatly aggravated by candida.

Candida can sometimes be controlled by increasing the acidity of the body, especially the area the yeast is growing in. This can be done by eating acid foods, such as vinaigrette salad dressings, and by applying vinegar mixed with water to the problem area. The best antibiotic commonly used to treat this condition is Nystatin. But Nystatin is only marginally effective against yeast, and remember that the problems probably started with the use of antibiotics to begin with.

Normally the body can handle minor yeast infections. However, when the yeast reaches the infectious stage wherein it is poisoning the blood and the immune system grows weak, such infections as athlete's foot, vaginal yeast infections, and fungus infections under the nails cannot be fought off.

A common treatment for the general infection is a diet completely free of all sugars, even fruit and starches along with taking Nystatin. However, anyone who has tried this treatment will tell you that this very strict diet is almost impossible to follow and does little more than keep the infection from proliferating.

The most effective tools against yeast infections of all kinds are acidophilus (yogurt), colloidal silver, and upper colonics. Combined, they can rid the body of yeast infections about as fast as the body can dispose of the toxins from dead cultures. However, disposing of these toxins can be a real problem, for two reasons. First of all, if the intestinal infection is killed off too sudden, it is possible for the intestines to become blocked. Obviously this can be serious and sometimes requires professional treatment to clear the bowels. Second, the body tends to dispose of toxins from the blood through the skin, which causes an itchy rash when the process is too fast. Toxins from dead spores can also strain the liver and kidneys. Therefore, it is wise to take as much acidophilus as is convenient, but to build up the use of colloidal silver gradually, usually starting with four oz. of colloidal silver a day, of about ten parts per million, or the equivalent. This is usually increased by about one oz. per day until a breaking out appears or the conditions are relieved. [The blogger is copying directly these obviously incorrect numbers. Sorry for the confusion.]

The colloidal silver provides a three-fold attack on the problems of candida. First, the colloidal silver kills off anaerobic bacteria and virii wherever it comes in contact with them. Therefore, the colloidal silver virtually provides a secondary immune system against all types of disease and infections, while treating the candida. Thus much of the problems of candida are treated immediately, before the candida can be cleaned out of the system. Second, colloidal silver is unusually effective in treating the candida infection itself. And third, colloidal silver has a strange and dynamic way of healing injured and damaged tissues fast. Since yeast infections of all kinds usually attack and consume the living tissue, a healing process is badly needed, and colloidal silver has a very unique way of healing these tissues fast.

Users continually report that colloidal silver will cure athlete's foot, vaginal yeast infections, as well as candida infections of the skin very quickly and then heals the damaged tissues. However, these are often signs of an inner infection. Until the yeast infection within the body is cured, external infections keep on returning. That is no reason not to treat these conditions. But if they return, it is time to look to the source of the problems as being inward. One can, of course, find explanations for the sources of the reinfection. However, a healthy body seldom succumbs to these infections.

Colloidal silver used internally and locally is the most effective treatment available today for all of these conditions. (refer to "The Candida Problem under Health")"

[News Article written by Marvin Robey (Marvin Robey is one of the premiere researchers in the field of Colloidal Silver.)]

OTHER (ABRIDGED) SOURCES ON COLLODIAL SILVER

Holistic Health Talk with Cynthia Perkins, MEd

"Colloidal silver is a popular choice for many people in their arsenal against candida. It is believed to work not by attacking the pathogen, but rather deactivating enzymes that are responsible for the metabolism of the organism ... as I just don’t feel comfortable ingesting a metal for a long period of time. However, I would use it intermittently with other products ... BTW, a condition know as Argyria, a permanent discoloration of the skin – blue-gray, has occurred in people who ingest too much for too long. Although this is extremely rare. There’s a lot of controversy even in the health field about the use of silver. Some people swear by it’s healing properties, while others think it holds too many risks. ... That said, many people find colloidal silver to be very effective against not only candidiasis, but viruses and bacteria as well. It is touted to relieve everything from acne to yeast infections, from boils to strep throat and believed to be effective against over 650 organisms. I’m sorry I can’t give you a personal opinion on whether it’s effective or not, because I haven’t been able to take the product. When I’ve tried taking even 1/16 of a teaspoon it gives me a migraine within 20 minutes. I’m not sure if that is a result of die off or a reaction to the silver itself ..."

Collodial Silver Candida Treatment

"Two popular and natural means to rid the body of Candida infections are to change the body's PH through diet, or to treat the affected area either topically or internally, using a colloidal silver Candida treatment ... The colloidal silver Candida treatment fights fungi on contact both internally and externally. Topically, colloidal silver is safely applied without worry of adverse affects. Recommended applications are two to three times per day until the symptoms subside. Internally, colloidal silver dosage should be small at first, about 1 tablespoon a couple of times per day. It should be noted that when a person begins treating Candida internally, the release of toxic waste by the abundant dying fungus can cause a person to feel initially worse. This is referred to as Candida die off. For this reason it is suggested to begin treating the internal infection gradually at first, with small amounts of colloidal silver, in order to keep the waste substances to a level that is manageable for the body to expel ...  Colloidal silver naturally leaves the body via the urine so that there is no buildup in the body. It is one of the oldest forms of medicine that our civilization has used to treat a myriad of health issues."

Treating Candida Infections with Collodial Silver

"The main theme of Candida infection treatment is strengthening of the human immune system. Colloidal silver is the right choice in this regard as it is well known for its capability of fighting against fungus infections. Colloidal silver is nothing but very fine particles of pure silver, suspended in water. Colloidal silver has antimicrobial properties. A lot of research has been done recently on its functioning. Certain bacteria are essential to healthy body function, such as acidophilus. Several researchers claim colloidal silver only attacks the unfriendly pathogens and will not harm the friendly bacteria. But one must wonder how it can possibly differentiate. One explanation is that the friendly bacteria are aerobic, while unfriendly bacteria are anaerobic. Also, it is said that the silver does not attack bacteria directly, but rather decomposes certain enzymes the anaerobic bacteria, viruses, yeast, and molds require. The silver acts as a catalyst and is not consumed in the process. It is probable that the reason the bacteria cannot develop a resistance to silver, as they do to antibiotics, is because silver does not [affect] them directly, but rather destroys the enzymes they depend on. This is in quite contrast to normal antibiotics, which kills friendly bacteria as well.

The germ fighting properties of colloidal silver has been adopted in soap making and such soaps are in vogue. Regular use of such soap not only helps in keeping the skin clean and healthy but also enhances the body immune system, thus preventing further infections of Candida. Even dermatologists recommend soaps with colloidal silver for the patients with candida infection. However, one must be selective while purchasing such soaps. Soaps containing colloidal silver with 20 ppm are considered the best for daily usage and they have optimum effect on fight against Candida infection."

Cancer, Candida and the Effects of Collodial Silver

"Heavy metals are bad for you. I’ve done a lot of research, and I’ve learned that the metal-based chemical toxins that you should avoid are aluminum, cadmium, carbon monoxide, chlorine, copper, fluoride, hexavalent chromium, industrial and agricultural chemicals, lead, mercury, nitrates and nitrites, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, synthetic and chemical drugs, and tobacco smoke. Silver, gold, and titanium are not on that list. Silver, gold, and titanium are HEALTHY TO INJEST (at the colloidal/monoatomic level), and they are actually EXTREMELY GOOD FOR YOU!!! Silver actually helps the body remove heavy metals through a chelating process!

One cup of 30ppm colloidal silver per day for a month can cost around $1000. Rich people fed their babies with silver spoons because they knew that it was good for them. The British royal family didn’t get the plague at a time when they were eating off of 100% silver plates. One cup of 30ppm colloidal silver per day for a month WILL get rid of the candida in your body, and then the cancer will fall like a house of cards when someone opens a window.

And you can monitor the progress with “the spit test”.

Pau D’Arco is also good against candida, but you never know if the brand you’re buying has enough of the active ingredient. And even if you buy Pau D’Arco tablets that have enough of the active ingredients, the tablets come in gelcaps (aka gelatin capsules). ALL gelcaps have MSG. MSG is an excitotoxin which actually provokes cancer growth. Many great cancer fighting herbs come in gelcaps, and the gelcaps cancel or weaken their effect.

Garlic is a good fighter against candida, but colloidal silver is the best. Well, colloidal titanium is the best, but I don’t know how long you take that. Silver it’s a month at one cup a day.

It’s important to use a high quality colloidal silver product. There are cases of people who used improperly made or home-made colloidal silver and ended up turning themselves BLUE (Argyria). This is not a side effect of colloidal silver, but a side effect of improperly made colloidal silver. Always be confident in the sources of any products that you choose to use."

Anti-inflammatory Kimbap

Kimbap (Korean) or sushi (Japanese) - call it what you will, but this version has different oils and different ingredients for filling so it's not the "traditional" seaweed laver rolls found in Asia. Typically laver rolls are made with white rice - inflammatory as it's a processed starch that quickly converts to sugar in the body - and the rice is deliciously flavored with sesame seed oil, an inflammatory oil, at least for people with problems of inflammation, for instance, people with rheumatoid arthritis, SLE (lupus), MS and other related autoimmune diseases. Then the vegies inside are typically pickled - very inflammatory! Strips of highly processed meats are added - processed meats are loaded with sulfites! And then processed salts, which most often include MSG are then added. Yikes, but I react to it all! So I made my own version of kimbap, an anti-inflammatory version.

Anti-inflammatory Kimbap (almost raw)

1 sheet unoiled, unsalted seaweed laver

1/2 cup sticky brown rice, cooked

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

sea salt

1-2 mustard leaves

1-2 kales leaves

1/4 ripe avocado

2-3 cherry tomatoes

1 thin strip cucumber

Mix the cooked brown rice with the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic and a little sea salt. Then spread the mixture out on a sheet of seaweed laver. The oiled and salted seaweed laver of course tastes better BUT it has been oiled with corn oil (inflammatory) and salted with processed salts which likely include MSG and certainly contains chemicals from the processing. The unoiled, unsalted laver isn't as tasty but the good side is that it doesn't tear as easily when spreading the moist rice mixture AND my eyes won't burn afterwards as a reaction. Also when spreading the mixture, leave a 3/4-inch strip of laver free of rice. After rolling the laver roll this strip will adhere to the roll, making the roll retain its own shape.

 

After the rice has been spread out thinly and evenly, pile the vegies on the lower area of the riced section. Don't pile it too high or the roll will be too fat to role and will tear.

 

Next, role the vegies tightly to make a roll. A little moisture could be added if necessary to the strip of exposed laver at the end to make it seal.

With a very sharp, serrated knife, cut the laver roll into 1/2 - 3/4" rounds and lay them on a plate. Serve with a little extra garnish - tomato, wedge of avocado or even on a decorative bed of greens.

Unfortunately, because I have to watch my carb intake in order not to feed the evil bacteria in my system too much and gradually "starve" it, I can't eat more than one kimbap roll at a time. That's a bummer because they taste so good!