You can now find the videos at the following website where you can also download and view the slide presentation.

http://www.nuganics.com.au/2007/07/06/jerry-brunetti-food-as-medicine/

Related posts:

1. Dr. John Cannell on the Importance of Vitamin D
2. The Key Ingredient of All Medicine
3. Baby Formulas Spread Malnutrition and Death of Babies

Unnecessary surgery exposed! Why 60% of all surgeries are medically unjustified and how surgeons exploit patients to generate profits

Every year millions of Americans go under the knife, but many of them are enduring great pain and shelling out thousands of dollars for surgeries they don’t really need. In fact, the only people who seem to really benefit from these unnecessary medical procedures are the medical professionals who stand to make exorbitant amounts of money from performing them.
An estimated 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed each year, writes Gary Null, PhD., in Death by Medicine. Rather than reverse the problems they purport to fix, these unwarranted procedures can often lead to greater health problems and even death. A 1995 report by Milliman & Robertson, Inc. concluded that nearly 60 percent of all surgeries performed are medically unnecessary, according to Under The Influence of Modern Medicine by Terry A. Rondberg. Some of the most major and frequently performed unnecessary surgeries include hysterectomies, Cesarean sections and coronary artery bypass surgeries.

Coronary bypasses are the most common unnecessary surgeries in America

In a nation plagued by heart disease, it often seems that the knee-jerk reaction of American doctors is to treat heart problems with surgery. However, many of the heart surgeries performed each year are unnecessary procedures that could be putting the patients’ lives at greater risk. “(W)hen faced with heart disease, doctors recommend a bypass. By so doing, we think, they bypass the real problem. Bypasses are the single most commonly performed unnecessary surgery in the country,” write Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Mark Liponis in Ultraprevention. In fact, according to Burton Goldberg, author of Heart Disease, most coronary artery bypass surgeries and angioplasties produce no real benefit to the patient and dangerous side effects like stroke or brain damage may result from the operations. “Coronary artery bypass surgery is called an ‘overprescribed and unnecessary surgery’ by many leading authorities,” Goldberg writes. “Complications from such treatments are common and the expense to the health care system is extraordinarily high. In 1994, an estimated 501,000 bypass surgeries at $44,000 each were performed on Americans, 47 percent of which were done on men.”

Women are at an especially high risk of unnecessary surgery

Women may be at an especially high risk for unwarranted operations, since hysterectomies and Cesarean sections also top the list of “overprescribed and unnecessary” surgeries. Of the approximately 750,000 hysterectomies performed each year, 90 percent are unnecessary, writes Goldberg in Alternative Medicine, making the removal of a woman’s uterus one of the most commonly performed unnecessary surgeries. And the risk that comes with an unwarranted hysterectomy is high. “Each year 750,000 hysterectomies are performed and 2,500 women die during the operation. These are not sick women, but healthy women who go into the hospital and do not come out,” says Dr. Herbert Goldfarb, a gynecologist and assistant clinical professor at New York University’s School of Medicine, in Null’s Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing.
Women are also frequently subjected to Caesarean sections they don’t really need. With an estimated 920,000 Cesarean births performed each year, the Cesarean has become the “most common major surgery in America” and it is four times more likely a woman will give birth via cesarean section today than it was in 1970, according to The Medical Racket by Martin L. Gross. Women are also at special risk for receiving unwarranted surgeries because of the results of a mammogram, since the high rate of false positives in mammography often leads to invasive procedures. Women who do not even have cancer to begin with are treated for breast cancer, Goldberg writes. That’s right: These women’s bodies are carved up and altered and they aren’t even sick. So why does this happen?

Needless surgeries mean higher profits for doctors and hospitals

It may seem unfathomable to think a doctor could be so careless as to perform an operation that doesn’t need to be done, but it has been happening for years, from the more minor routinely- performed tonsillectomies of the past to the invasive heart procedures, hysterectomies, back surgeries and more of today. “(T)he reality is that unnecessary surgery, whether performed by doctors who operate out of ignorance, self-delusion, or simple greed has long plagued medicine and today still reaches epidemic proportions.” writes Gross. It may be hard to stomach the idea that doctors are capable of operating out of greed for more money, but some feel that is exactly what is happening. “American physicians are generally way too eager to use the surgeon’s knife to carve up and chop out whatever they think is ailing you, at great expense to you and great profit to them and the hospitals they work for,” write Earl Mindell and Virginia Hopkins in Prescription Alternatives.
When it comes to heart surgeries, Heart Frauds author Dr. Charles T. McGee writes, “As Harvard professor Braunwald predicted, a financial empire has developed around surgical procedures on the heart. With so many powerful vested interests involved, it will be difficult to change how American doctors treat patients with coronary artery disease. No one who is currently gaining from the system has any incentive to try to stop the unnecessary costs and suffering.” In other words, surgery makes money and surgery is what medical professionals are trained to do, so rather than exert the time and energy to try more conservative treatments that could threaten their very careers, medical professionals often turn to surgery as their most immediate and financially logical avenue. “The economic incentive for a physician to operate on you is great. Surgeries make doctors a lot of money. Doctors are human beings and they are not immune to the lure of bigger profits,” according to Prescription Medicines, Side Effects and Natural Alternatives by American Medical Publishing.

One extreme case involving a doctor knowingly reaping the financial benefits of unnecessary surgeries occurred in California, where an ophthalmologist managed to bill Medicare $46 million over four years for unwarranted operations he performed on his patients. “According to the government, he created a ’surgery mill,’ in which he falsified patient records to justify numerous unnecessary cataract and eyelid operations. In addition to this wholesale theft, he put his patients through unneeded pain and worry,” writes Gross. It is also important to note in all of this that unnecessary surgery is not considered medical malpractice, according to Rondberg in Under the Influence of Modern Medicine, which makes it even more important for patients to protect themselves by looking into all possible avenues before going under the knife.

If you imagine for a moment being knocked out, sliced open and having a part of your body removed for no logical reason, it sounds more like a nightmare than a visit to the hospital. But that’s what is happening to millions in American hospitals every year. We are having organs and body parts removed without reason, and for what? Why are we so willing to give our bodies over to a person wielding a very sharp knife and some very strong drugs? Maybe it’s because we trust that our doctors will do what is best for us, since, after all, we don’t have the medical training they do. But when it comes to your body and your health, it’s okay to be skeptical and to want all the information you can get. The bottom line is: Surgery is not something to be taken lightly. When confronted with the suggestion that you need to go under the knife, it’s important to remember that you have a choice. Don’t just trust one doctor to know what’s best for you. Get a second opinion. It could mean the difference between life and death.

The experts speak on unjustified surgery:

A definitive review and close reading of medical peer-review journals, and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million.

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 10

Annually, between 20 million and 25 million surgical procedures are carried out among all the specialties except plastic surgery. This study determined that between 15% and 29% were unnecessary. For example, 27% of the women who had hysterectomies, the second most common surgery, didn’t need the operation!

Health In The 21st Century by Fransisco Contreras MD, page 212

Despite what appears to be an attempt by the medical profession to keep that kind of information from the public, a few reports have surfaced which show clearly that the problem with unnecessary surgeries is not a thing of the past. In a 1995 report issued by Milliman & Robertson, Inc., titled “Analysis of Medically Unnecessary Inpatient Services,” researchers David V. Axene, FSA and Richard Doyle, M.D., concluded that “the level of medically unnecessary use may actually be closer to 60%” (than their previously projected 53%). This included a variety of surgical procedures as well as associated services. That same year, the federal government’s Agency for Health Care Policy Research (AHCPR) concluded that most back surgery was unnecessary. Back surgeons immediately began a campaign to abolish the agency. Other reports confirm this frightening statistic.

Under The Influence Modern Medicine by Terry A Rondberg DC, page 132

Women with urinary incontinence are often advised to get bladder surgery, even hysterectomies. But this drastic approach may be completely unnecessary, according to Dr. Hufnagel, who says that women need to be educated about more conservative treatments for this common everyday occurrence.

Womans Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Dr Gary Null, page 26

The Harvard University School of Public Health estimates that as many as 1.3 million Americans suffer disabling injuries in hospitals yearly, and 198,000 of those may result in death; 7 out of 10 of which were preventable (48% from faulty surgery), and 1/3 from negligence.

Anti-Aging Manual by Joseph B Marion, page 100

Almost thirty years ago, in 1974, the Congressional Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce held hearings on unnecessary surgery. They found that 17.6% of recommendations for surgery were not confirmed by a second opinion. The House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations extrapolated these figures and estimated that, on a nationwide basis, there were 2.4 million unnecessary surgeries performed annually, resulting in 11,900 deaths at an annual cost of $3.9 billion.

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 19

One surprising discovery in recent research is that smoking is the cause of 28 percent of urinary incontinence in women. Studies indicate that surgery and the use of pharmaceuticals are often unnecessary; other methods that have proven effective are behavioral techniques and biofeedback, Kegel exercises, which strengthen pelvic muscles, electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor, and acupuncture. A natural treatment, according to one study, can be extracted from the plant marshmallow; this helps incontinence by treating inflammation of the genito-urinary tract.

Womans Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Dr Gary Null, page 26

Unfortunately for millions each year, this may not be the case. They may instead be victims of powerful medical propaganda that makes every operation seem essential. But the reality is that unnecessary surgery, whether performed by doctors who operate out of ignorance, self-delusion, or simple greed has long plagued medicine and today still reaches epidemic proportions.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 176

The unnecessary surgery figures are escalating just as prescription drugs driven by television advertising. Media-driven surgery such as gastric bypass for obesity “modeled” by Hollywood personalities seduces obese people to think this route is safe and sexy. There is even a problem of surgery being advertised on the Internet.76 A study in Spain declares that between 20 and 25% of total surgical practice represents unnecessary operations.

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 19

In his book, “Health Shock,” journalist Martin Weitz reported that a 1974 Senate investigation into unnecessary surgery found that “American doctors performed 2.4 million unnecessary operations, causing 11,900 deaths and costing $3.9 billion.” In 1982, Robert G. Schneider, M.D., calculated that between 15 and 25% of all surgeries were unnecessary — with that figure rising to 50-60% with some types of operations. In the case of tonsillectomies and hysterectomies, the percentage was as high as 40-80%.

Under The Influence Modern Medicine by Terry A Rondberg DC, page 131

Some studies suggest that almost 40 percent of surgical operations in the United States are unnecessary.

When Healing Becomes A Crime by Kenny Ausubel, page 333

A 1987 JAMA study found the following significant levels of inappropriate surgery: 17% of cases for coronary angiography, 32% for carotid endarterectomy, and 17% for upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy. Using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) statistics provided by the government for 2001, the number of people getting upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which usually entails biopsy, was 697,675; the number getting endarterectomy was 142,401; and the number having coronary angiography was 719,949.13 Therefore, according to the JAMA study 17%, or 118,604 people had an unnecessary endoscopy procedure. Endarterectomy occurred in 142,401 patients; potentially 32% or 45,568 did not need this procedure. And 17% of 719,949, or 122,391 people receiving coronary angiography were subjected to this highly invasive procedure unnecessarily. These are all forms of medical iatrogenesis.

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 20

Your best defense against an unnecessary hysterectomy? Information—and a second opinion, says Nora W. Coffey, president of Hysterectomy Educational Resources and Services, an educational organization in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Educational organizations can supply information about the surgery.

Woman’s Encyclopedia by Denise Foley, page 219

Overlapping of statistics in Death by Medicine may occur with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) paper that designates “medical error” as including drugs, surgery, and unnecessary procedures. Since we have also included other statistics on adverse drug reactions, surgery and, unnecessary procedures, perhaps as much as 50% of the IOM number could be redundant. However, even taking away half the 98,000 IOM number still leaves us with iatrogenic events as the number one killer at 738,000 annual deaths.

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 10

When in doubt about the diagnosis or recommendation, don’t hesitate to get a second opinion —or a second diagnostic test. Your best defense against an unnecessary hysterectomy is obtaining information before you meet with the doctor. Read books, find people who’ve had the surgery (or the alternatives), contact support groups, locate medical literature. And then show them to your doctor, says Nora W. Coffey, president of Hysterectomy Educational Resources and Services in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. “That’s the way to get a doctor’s cooperation, and not hostility.” And take control in making the decision, she encourages. Get comprehensive information about the condition you have, your options and the risks and dangers of the options.

Woman’s Encyclopedia by Denise Foley, page 222

Stressors create a field of disturbance in the energetic web of the body. These fields of disturbance are most often in the head, because the mouth is where we most readily allow thoughtless or unnecessary surgery, excessive procedures, and implantation of foreign materials. The results of the disturbance can be felt anywhere in the body and can virtually block any treatment’s effectiveness.

Whole Body Dentistry by Mark A Breiner DDS, page 159

Unwarranted Surgery and Heart Related Problems:

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DIE: Angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery are frequently unnecessary and produce no benefit to the patient at all. Some people endure multiple operations (one patient whose case is discussed in this book underwent 14 angioplasties) without result or their condition returns later. In addition, bypass surgery is dangerous, many people suffering strokes or other damage to their brain as a result of the operation.

Heart Disease by Burton Goldberg, page 10

The bottom line is this: when patients are advised to have a coronary angiogram, chances are eight out of ten that they do not need it. The critical factor in whether a patient needs coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty is how well the left ventricular pump is working, not the degree of blockage or the number of arteries affected. The left ventricle (chamber) of the heart is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood through the aorta (the large artery emanating from the heart) and to the rest of the body. Bypass surgery is only helpful when the ejection fraction (the amount of blood pumped by the left ventricle) is less than forty percent of capacity. Up to ninety percent of all bypass procedures are done when the ejection fraction is greater than 50 percent, which is adequate for circulatory needs. In other words, as many as 90 percent of all bypass procedures may be unnecessary.

Encyclopedia Of Natural Medicine by Michael T Murray MD Joseph L Pizzorno ND, page 243

Dr. Whitaker views most of the current therapies available to heart disease patients as needless and unjustified. Most are ineffective in terms of actually stopping and/or reversing the deterioration that has begun by the time the patient seeks treatment. Catheterization, for example, has insufficient scientific basis in Dr. Whitaker’s opinion, yet thousands of catheterizations are done almost routinely. Catheterizations are used to detect arterial blockages and to open them up, often in conjunction with a balloon angioplasty or a bypass. The angioplasty technique, as explained earlier, is an invasive method of trying to force open blocked spots within the arteries, while bypass surgery involves severing the artery before the blockage and rerouting the blood flow through an unblocked vein taken from the leg.

Get Healthy Now by Gary Null, page 411

Recent clinical and laboratory studies have seriously questioned the validity of the theory that a blocked coronary artery is the primary cause of a heart attack. The angiogram, an invasive test to evaluate coronary artery blockages, poses significant risks, and has often been discredited. In many cases, bypass surgery is considered unnecessary and dangerous.

Healing Myths by Donald M Epstein, page 69

A team of conservative cardiologists in Brigham Hospital, Boston, evaluated 88 patients that had been scheduled for cardiac bypass surgery. They advised against surgery for 74 of the 88. Among those 74, 60 accepted a second opinion and didn’t have the operation. These patients were followed for a period of two years plus. Only two had minor attacks that could be treated conservatively, an outcome comparable to that of the 14 (scared not to take the advise of the conservative specialists) patients that underwent open-heart surgery. In short, a vast number of patients are submitted to unnecessary procedures by cardiologists.

Health In The 21st Century by Fransisco Contreras MD, page 212

A second opinion clinic was opened in Boston in 1982. The first published study from the clinic involved 88 patients who had been advised to have cabbage surgery elsewhere on the basis of ordinary angiograms. Some had been referred by insurance carriers who were hoping to get out of paying some large bills. Large insurance companies are well aware that about 85 percent of cabbages are unnecessary, and teach this fact during private seminars for their executives. However, they don’t make this public.

Heart Frauds by Charles T McGee MD, page 36

On the brighter side, several studies have confirmed it is possible to evaluate heart patients with non-invasive means and identify people who will do well with medical management alone. In the best of all worlds, this should become the wave of the future. But this will never occur as long as these crises situations remain under the control of people who are becoming rich by doing unnecessary surgical procedures.

Heart Frauds by Charles T McGee MD, page 39

Three of these studies were published in leading medical journals. No efforts were made to attract media attention to the embarrassing results. If the media had picked up the story they could have accurately reported, “The diagnostic test used to scare the pants off heart disease patients and coerce them into billions of dollars of unnecessary surgical procedures is a scam.” The information was ignored by physicians and never picked up by the press.

Heart Frauds by Charles T McGee MD, page 14

I have attacked myths about heart disease that cost Americans billions of dollars per year in unnecessary surgical procedures, as well as untold suffering. The list of abuses can start with the widespread use of inaccurate angiograms that are used to plan surgical procedures. People are conditioned to expect to live longer if they have cabbage surgery, but survival rates are not improved with surgery. The system encourages doctors who are learning to do balloon angioplasties to practice on people who don’t need any surgical procedure. Long term survival after balloon angioplasty has never been studied. The cholesterol theory is an empty shell. These approaches to our number one killer disease represent a fraud against the people more often than not.

Heart Frauds by Charles T McGee MD, page 161

For example, bypass surgery for heart disease, at an average cost of $44,000 per operation, is “one of the most unnecessary operations of all,” says McTaggart. Heart surgeons have known since the 1970s that bypass does not improve survival except for patients with severe left ventricle coronary disease, while U.S. government statistics state that about 90% of patients receive no benefit. The “miracle cure” of beta blockers to lower high blood pressure (hypertension) also evaporates when you look at the outcomes, McTaggart says. A British study of 2,000 patients with high blood pressure showed that in barely 50% of the cases blood pressure dropped to a moderately healthy level as a result of taking hypertension drugs.

Heart Disease by Burton Goldberg, page 23

Yet when faced •with heart disease, doctors recommend a bypass. By so doing, we think, they bypass the real problem. Bypasses are the single most commonly performed unnecessary surgery in the country. Only two groups have been shown to benefit from bypass surgery: one, those whose arteries are so badly clogged that the heart can no longer beat adequately, and two, those with severe blockage in the main artery to the heart and signs of resulting poor blood flow.

Ultraprevention by Mark Hyman MD and Mark Liponis MD, page 68

Pierce now knew the research in the field of nonlocal medicine inside and out. She was amazed that many physicians ignored the evidence. Their reasons, she suspected, were rooted in the tendency of humans to hang onto what is familiar and comfortable. Many physicians, for example, continued to do coronary bypass surgery the old way, opening up the chest cavity, instead of using the new percutaneous fiberoptic methods that made open-chest surgery unnecessary.

Reinventing Medicine by Larry Dossey MD, page 184

The departments of health of each state should conduct a study, at least every two years, on the success of such common operations as bypass surgery and angioplasty, as does New York State. In addition, they should publish risk-adjusted figures on breast cancer recovery and other common illnesses, along with the rates of unnecessary surgery as compiled by an independent board of surgeons.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 99

Unnecessary Bypass Operations Coronary cirtery bypass operations have had a better record than the neck artery surgery. Earlier studies of the heart operation—in 1979,1980, and 1982—also showed some evidence of surgical mayhem. Fourteen percent of the surgeries were “inappropriate” or unnecessary, defined as “performing the procedure under circumstances where the medical risk exceeded the medical benefits.” The fourteen percent was high, but much less than the carotid surgical extravagance. But the unnecessary rate for bypass operations has now been reduced considerably by new techniques and better choices by patients.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 189

An outspoken critic is Thomas A. Preston, professor of medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle. Preston claims fully one half of all cabbage surgeries performed in the United States are unnecessary. He says that survival rates are basically the same as with medical management, except for a well-defined minority of patients, and in most cases cabbage surgery is no more effective than a placebo.

Heart Frauds by Charles T McGee MD, page 32

Race has been found to play a role in who gets cabbaged and who does not. Nationally the rate of having a cabbage surgery runs 27.1 per 10,000 whites per year, and only 7.6 per 10,000 blacks. Hospital admission rates for coronary artery disease for the two races are the same. The authors concluded that racial prejudice appears to influence cabbage surgery rates. There is another way of viewing this study. Black people with coronary artery disease are being spared a lot of unnecessary heart surgery because of racial discrimination.

Heart Frauds by Charles T McGee MD, page 35

These unusual treatments may make open-heart surgery unnecessary for many heart patients. If your doctor recommends angioplasty or bypass surgery for your angina, ask him about these new options before making a decision.

Natural Cures And Gentle Medicines by The Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 23

Unjustified Surgery – Hysterectomy:

Hysterectomy: A hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) is another risk factor for early osteoporosis, even if the ovaries are still intact. “This is because anywhere between 16% and 57% of all women who undergo uterus removal suffer from premature loss of ovarian function with its associated rapid bone loss,” explains Dr. Brown.24 Unfortunately, this surgery, a conventional medical solution for uterine fibroids and endometriosis, is all too common among premenopausal women. Every year in the U.S., 750,000 women undergo hysterectomies (many including ovary removal); about 90% of these are unnecessary.

Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 841

Hysterectomy may also be performed after cesarean section in cases of complications such as uncontrolled bleeding, gross infection, or cancer of the cervix. Once misused in the belief that removing the uterus (and often the ovaries) would control what were considered inappropriate sexual urges and ambitions, it is still the most common unnecessary surgery.

Britannica Encyclopedia Volume One, page 901

Nearly half of all hysterectomies performed in the United States are medically unnecessary. According to the People’s Medical Society, in 1970 one in twenty babies was delivered by Cesarean section rather than normal vaginal childbirth. Today, one in four babies is delivered by Cesarean section. (Interestingly, both surgeries are performed on women.)

How to get out of the hospital alive by Sheldon P Blau MD FACP FACR, page 142

Many people question the fact that over 650,000 hysterectomies are performed in the United States each year. Very few of these operations are performed because of a life-threatening situation, and it is likely that many of them are actually unnecessary. Per capita, half as many hysterectomies are performed in Great Britain as in the United States, and, statistically, American women show no health benefits for their higher incidence of surgery. Outside the United States, very few hysterectomies are performed for what doctors often term “quality of life” reasons.

Prescription For Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A Balch CNC and James F Balch MD, page 453

Obviously, despite the shortage of reports from the medical profession itself, the problem of unnecessary surgeries is still a serious one. Yet, ironically, unnecessary surgery normally is not considered medical malpractice. According to “Medicine on Trial,” a People’s Medical Society book: “When greed controls the impulse to operate when an operation is not called for, as is often the case in unnecessary surgery, such an operation is certainly a grossly unethical and immoral act, but not a medical mistake per se.” The ultimate solution is prevention. But when, as a last resort, surgery must be considered, patients need to have full and honest information about the risks and benefits involved in the procedure.

Under The Influence Modern Medicine by Terry A Rondberg DC, page 132

UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MODERN MEDICINE lions of unnecessary hysterectomies yet it is still the most frequent surgical procedure inflicted on females.

Under The Influence Modern Medicine by Terry A Rondberg DC, page 128

She also found that patients play a part in unnecessary surgery. When they voiced objections to a hysterectomy for such conditions as painful fibroids, doctors tended to change their opinion that the operation was necessary.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 182

One of the most outspoken critics of unnecessary surgery is Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen. “If a doctor immediately says, ‘Have a hysterectomy/ shop for a new physician,” he suggests. “You need tests to write off all the alternatives.”

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 181

Unwarranted Surgery – Cesarean Section:

In 2001, Cesarean section is still the most common OB/GYN surgical procedure. Approximately 4 million births occur annually, with a 24% C-Section rate, i.e., 960,000 operations. In the Netherlands only 8% of babies are delivered by Cesarean section. Assuming human babies are similar in the U.S. and in the Netherlands, we are performing 640,000 unnecessary C-Sections in the U.S. with its three to four times higher mortality and 20 times greater morbidity than vaginal delivery.105

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 25

Research has indicated that cesarean sections, as well as being associated with greater risks to mother and infant, are often unnecessary.

Get Healthy Now by Gary Null, page 706

Unnecessary surgery referred to the modern rash of cesareans as a “surgical epidemic.” Calling on understatement, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists admits that C-sections “are more common than they should be.” An actual estimate, made by the Centers for Disease Control, says that 349,000 of the cesarean surgeries were unnecessary. This is a serious situation. The operation is major surgery, and when inappropriate, carries two to four times greater risk to the mother than normal vaginal birth.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 184

This is a serious situation. The operation is major surgery, and when inappropriate, carries two to four times greater risk to the mother than normal vaginal birth. Public Citizen, which puts out a regular report on the rate of C-sections, believes the surgery is done almost twice as often as medically indicated, at a cost of an extra $1.3 billion and unnecessary pain and injury.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 184

Just as one surgical operation—like tonsillectomy—is shot down by intelligent criticism, another, like C-section, rises to take its place in the inventory of often unnecessary surgeries. It is now up to the profession—or if forced, the states—to stop the excess cutting stimulated by either greed, medical fashion, or ignorance. That is the only way to protect the unknowing patient public. Chapter VI

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 191

Women who have their babies without CNMs are also more likely to be denied room to walk around during labor to ease their discomfort, more likely to be denied the use of a bath or shower during their labor, and more likely to undergo unnecessary cesarean surgery.

Under The Influence Modern Medicine by Terry A Rondberg DC, page 125

Multiple Types of Surgery Mentioned:

In 1985 the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging found that unnecessary operations (most for hernias, hemorrhoids, gallstones, enlarged prostates, heart disease and similar conditions), far from helping patients were actually shortening their lives and wasting money — billions of dollars. The committee found that operations increased 130 percent after Medicare went into effect. The American College of Surgeons and the American surgical Association suggested that 30 percent of the millions of operations being performed each year were unnecessary with 50 percent of the remaining procedures beneficial but not essential to save or extend the patient’s life. In all, it was thought that the needless and dubious operations were causing an unnecessary thirty thousand deaths per year. The unnecessary expenses and deaths become noticeable when doctors are in short supply or go on strike. In such cases the death rate in an area can drop remarkably — much to the embarrassment of the medical community (when the facts can’t be covered up).

Attaining Medical Self Sufficiency An Informed Citizens Guide by Duncan Long, page 9

1974: 2.4 million unnecessary surgeries performed annually resulting in 11,900 deaths at an annual cost of $3.9 billion. 2001: 7.5 million unnecessary surgical procedures resulting in 37,136 deaths at a cost of $122 billion (using 1974 dollars). It’s very difficult to obtain accurate statistics when studying unnecessary surgery. Dr. Leape in 1989 wrote that perhaps 30% of controversial surgeries are unnecessary. Controversial surgeries include Cesarean section, tonsillectomy, appendectomy, hysterectomy, gastrectomy for obesity, breast implants, and elective breast implants.

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 19

Myriad of reasons—mix-up of X rays and patient charts, surgeons’ haste to “beat their time” doing a procedure, poorly trained surgeons, and unnecessary surgeries, especially hysterectomies (nearly half are unnecessary), coronary bypass operations (one out of every three may be unnecessary), and Cesarean sections. In addition, the area of the country in which you live plays an important part in the type of surgery you will undergo.

How to get out of the hospital alive by Sheldon P Blau MD FACP FACR, page 140

Hysterectomies. American Health also reported in April 1993 that the chance that a woman in Maine will undergo a hysterectomy varies from 20% to 70%, depending on where in the state she lives. Local preference, not science, explains the disparity. In general, the reason for most hysterectomies is to resolve symptoms related to benign uterine fibroids. New studies show that if they aren’t causing any serious and immediate symptoms, surgery is unnecessary. Cesarean sections. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that in 1991 some 349,900 unnecessary cesarean sections were performed, at a cost of more than $1 billion. The rate skyrocketed from 10.4% of births in 1975 to 24.5% in 1988. Again, the issue isn’t just money, although $ 1 billion would pay for a lot of health care for those who don’t have it. Surgery can lead to infections and longer hospital stays.

The Consumer Bible by Mark Green, page 70

On the other hand, studies show that particular areas of the country as well as specific hospitals within a community often are more likely to perform operations that may be unnecessary—such as tonsillectomies, hysterectomies, and cesareans—than others. If you’re assigned to a particular physician’s group or hospital where the standard of care mandates surgery rather than more conservative treatment, demand a second opinion.

How to get out of the hospital alive by Sheldon P Blau MD FACP FACR, page 194

Myringotomies are currently being performed on nearly 1,000,000 American children each year. It appears that the unnecessary surgery of the past, the tonsillectomy, has been replaced by this new procedure. In fact there is a direct correlation between the decline of the tonsillectomy and the rise of the myringotomy. Over 2 million myringotomy tubes are inserted into children’s ears each year, along with 600,000 tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies. These surgeries are unnecessary for most children.

Textbook of Natural Medicine Volumes 1-2 by Joseph E Pizzorno and Michael T Murray, page 1465

Unjustified Surgery due to Back Pain:

Unnecessary surgery waxes and wanes. First one operation, like tonsillectomy, is in fashion, then another, like C-sections. The most recent “in” technique is “back surgery.”

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 184

A forceful critic of much back surgery is Dr. Richard A. Deyo, professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He points out that most low back pain is caused by a simple muscle strain, which over time heals itself. It is not, he says, usually caused by herniated disks in the spine, which are the target of most surgeries. Dr. Deyo estimates that “diskectomy,” the name of such surgery, is performed on 300,000 people a year, and is often a wasteful, unnecessary activity. A diskectomy involves cutting through the bony parts of the vertebrae to remove the jellylike substance inside. The reason is that in herniated disks, the substance protrudes, putting pressure on the nerves.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 185

Dr. Deyo, writing in the journal Spine, says America is undergoing an unnecessary back surgery epidemic of such proportions that surgeons here perform diskectomies forty percent more often than other Western nations and five times more often than in England and Scotland. It also appears that the number of back surgeries relates directly to the number of appropriate surgeons available in the nation according to population. In the same publication, Dr. Deyo and others also studied hospitalization for back pain and found that from 1979 to 1990, nonsurgical hospitalizations decreased dramatically. Meanwhile, admissions for surgery increased.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 185

Orthopedic doctors, who specialize in injuries related to the muscles, joints, bones, tendons, and ligaments, are often inexperienced with conservative methods of treatment and are sometimes too willing to engage in unnecessary surgery. The problem is that surgery has limited long-range benefits and is completely unnecessary for many lower back pain sufferers. When confronted with pain caused by a factor that does not show up on an X ray, an orthopedist will generally refer the patient to another professional. If you are going to an orthopedic specialist for advice on back pain, it is recommended that you see one who does not reflexively advocate surgery or prolonged reliance on prescription drugs.

Complete Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Gary Null PhD, page 63

In 2001, the top 50 medical and surgical procedures totaled approximately 41.8 million. These figures were taken from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Using 17.6% from the 1974 U.S. Congressional House Subcommittee Oversight Investigation as the percentage of unnecessary surgical procedures, and extrapolating from the death rate in 1974, we come up with an unnecessary procedure number of 7.5 million (7,489,718) and a death rate of 37,136, at a cost of $122 billion (using 1974 dollars). Researchers performed a very similar analysis, using the 1974 ‘unnecessary surgery percentage’ of 17.6, on back surgery. In 1995, researchers testifying before the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that of 250,000 back surgeries in the U.S. at a hospital cost of $11,000 per patient, the total number of unnecessary back surgeries each year in the U.S. could approach 44,000, costing as much as $484 million.

Death By Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 19

They studied the surgical treatment for the common complaint of “low back pain,” and concluded that most of the operations were unnecessary. In fact, says the agency, the less treatment for these pains, surgical or medical, the better. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine, for instance, decried the use of corticosteroids as risky and of little value. The evidence, says the federal agency, shows that regular activity rather than bed rest reduces the chances of developing a chronic condition that leads to surgery.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 186

The findings of the MRIs are often misleading and lead to “unnecessary surgery and the results are not very good,” Froymeyer said. Another expert, Robert Boyd, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said, “surgery doesn’t put new backs in and it doesn’t give better long-term results. It is indicated when pain doesn’t respond to conservative treatment and is clearly associated with nerve root compression. Then the results of surgery are excellent.” But only a small percentage of people with back pain fall into this category, according to Boyd.

The Miracle Of MSM by Stanley W Jacob, page 102

Unwarranted Surgery due to Results of Mammography:

Mammograms Add to Cancer Risk—Mammography exposes the breast to damaging ionizing radiation. High Rate of False Positives—Mammography’s high rate of false-positive test results wastes money and creates unnecessary emotional trauma. A Swedish study of 60,000 women, aged 40-64, who were screened for breast cancer revealed that of the 726 actually referred to oncologists for treatment, 70% were found to be cancer free. According to The Lancet, of the 5% of mammograms that suggest further testing, up to 93% are false positives. The Lancet report further noted that because the great majority of positive screenings are false positives, these inaccurate results lead to many unnecessary biopsies and other invasive surgical procedures. In fact, 70% to 80% of all positive mammograms do not, on biopsy, show any presence of cancer. According to some estimates, 90% of these “callbacks” result from unclear readings due to dense overlying breast tissue. High Rate of False Negatives—Mammography also produces a high rate of false-negative test results. While false

Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 588

Breast Cancer type of abnormality found and the age of the woman. Usually the follow-up tests begin with the least invasive methods, such as an ultrasound or second mammogram, and progress, if necessary, to the more invasive methods, such as a needle or surgical biopsy. A biopsy should spare the tissue, removing just enough tissue to make a diagnosis without being unnecessarily invasive. A woman should not rush from one abnormal screening mammogram or clinical breast exam to a major, invasive surgical procedure or to treatment for breast cancer. Following the series of tests outlined below can ensure that the diagnosis is correct and assist in avoiding unnecessary procedures.

Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 30

Early detection is currently one of the primary strategies for prevention and successful treatment, which is why the breast self-exam is so important. The benefits of mammography are still a subject of debate. Questions that are still present include whether low-level radiation used in the test can contribute to cancer, whether equivocal results lead to unnecessary surgery, and the accuracy rate of test results.

Treating Cancer With Herbs by Michael Tierra ND, page 467

Equivocal mammogram results lead to unnecessary surgery, and the accuracy rate of mammograms is poor. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in women ages 40-49, there is a high rate of “missed tumors,” resulting in 40% false-negative mammogram results. Breast tissue in younger women is denser, which makes it more difficult to detect tumors, and tumors grow more quickly in younger women, so cancer may develop between screenings.

Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 973

Corruption and Unjustified Surgery ($):

Doctors and hospitals are paid more for doing more, largely without regard for evidence of improved health outcomes (examples are the rapid increase in the number of MRI machines, excess capacity for neonatology and invasive cardiac procedures that lead to excess use, and the approximately 12,000 deaths that occur each year as the result of unnecessary surgery). Health care providers that deliver high quality, efficient care are financially penalized for not delivering a higher volume of more intensive services, beneficial or not (referred to as the “perverse incentive”).

Overdosed America by John Abramson MD, page 256

We could do much more to lower costs, such as practicing scientifically based medicine, but it’s like combating an epidemic. There is such a strong incentive, as with the pharmaceutical industry and surgical subspecialists, to keep prices—and profits or incomes—high. It will likely require a major change in how we organize health care in America to effect any meaningful change. If we were really to practice scientifically based medicine, the cost savings would be great. We order and do so many unnecessary tests and procedures, and our prescribing patterns are illogical and expensive.

Health Care Meltdown by Robert H Lebow MD, page 57

Most health problems are not emergencies. To treat them as though they were chronic, recurrent emergencies, which is the way medicine is often practiced today, is costly, time consuming and generally ineffective. It causes many problems, often more than it relieves, and these are sometimes deadly. Side effects of medications kill more people annually than automobile accidents. Unnecessary surgery (heart disease and other conditions) has significant mortality while it also drives up health care costs. This approach to health care also takes the power and responsibility for your health out of your control.

The Vitamin Revolution by Michael Janson, page 200

Clinical care, which was improving, is now being subject to new rules, systems, and regulations from the outside, which punish both good medicine and good doctors. Surgery is still too often unnecessary. Medical fraud, always a small problem, has become near epidemic. American hospitals are adrift, struggling against empty beds, fierce competition, and massive confusion.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 254

Surgery is similarly a vastly lucrative practice, acting as the third financial mooring in the tripod of cancer treatments. The more radical the operation, the more costly. Since surgeons are rewarded monetarily for the magnitude of their handiwork, excess becomes a perverse incentive for financial success. The amount of unnecessary surgery is high. As early as 1953, Dr. Paul Hawley, director of the American College of Surgeons, stated matter-of-factly in an interview in U.S. News and World Report, “You’d be shocked, I think—we are—at the amount of unnecessary surgery that is performed.” The reason, according to Hawley? “Money.”

When Healing Becomes A Crime by Kenny Ausubel, page 268

This truth has been deliberately concealed from the general public. According to Dr. Gould, the reason for this conspiracy of silence is money. The public must continue to see the cancer establishment as a winner to continue providing money. One of the quoted scientists said that, with tens of thousands of radiologists and millions of dollars in equipment, one still gives radiation treatment even if study after study shows that it does more harm than good. Dr. Gould says patients who could be comfortable without medical treatment until their inevitable death are made miserable with medical treatment in a pointless attempt to postpone death for a few unhappy weeks. Of course, that is when most of the money is being made. Dr. Gould says doctors poison their patients with drugs and rays and mutilate them with unnecessary surgery in a desperate attempt to treat the untreatable.

The Natural Way to Heal by Walter Last, page 320

Unnecessary surgery: With appendicitis produced only two “false positives,” patients who did not have the disease. This is in contrast to the twenty percent proven to have healthy appendixes after surgery. The technique, called “Focused Appendix CT” or FACT, could eliminate this type of unnecessary surgery—at least in the hands of honest surgeons. Unlike other doctors, surgeons are not content to live on forty dollars per patient visit. Many still see the operating table as a chance for the brass ring—the new SL600 Mercedes coupe for $139,000, or even the down payment on a piece of land in Southampton or Malibu.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 180

Miscellaneous (tonsils/adenoids, prostatectomy, cancer, carotid endarterectomy, mastectomy etc):

Rufer and her husband sued Abbott Laboratories, UWMC, and the cancer specialist who treated her. UWMC and the doctor argued that they had relied on the Abbott test results. Abbott denied all responsibility, even though the literature distributed with its tests made no mention of the potential for false positives. What’s more, according to a court opinion, it turned out that “Abbott also had access to reports that false positive results on its assay led to unnecessary cancer treatment before 1998. It received over forty complaints of false positives, including multiple complaints of unnecessary chemotherapy and surgery before Jennifer Rufer’s first treatment in April 1998.

Critical condition by Donald L Barlett and James B Steele, page 63

Although it embraces new technology, the medical profession has a tendency to reject new ideas. Surgeons are willing to learn new ways of performing operations, although few seem eager to examine possible alternatives to surgery. Much of this can of course be explained by the fact that research into surgery is normally performed by surgeons. Their training and experience does not lend itself to looking into other options. Cardiac surgeons, for instance, would be unlikely to work at a project that would prove that most heart operations are unnecessary or dangerous. That conclusion would not only put their livelihood at risk, but also invalidate their entire vocation. The only people in the operating room who have a clear reason for wanting the truth are the patients on the tables. But if we wait until that moment to learn the truth, it might be too late.

Under The Influence Modern Medicine by Terry A Rondberg DC, page 131

Anesthesiologists benefit from bypass surgery. In medical slang anesthesiologists are called gas passers. Anesthesiologists use measured amounts of poisons to put surgical patients to sleep and, hopefully, wake them up. They bill patients by the hour. Each cabbage case may take about two to three hours of their time. They have nothing to do with the decision to do surgery, but you don’t hear any of them making waves by complaining about unnecessary surgery. To do so would jeopardize their standing in the anesthesia department and their livelihoods.

Heart Frauds by Charles T McGee MD, page 53

About 300,000 men per year have surgery to correct enlarged prostates, but many of those surgeries may be unnecessary. There are many natural remedies that you can find in health food stores that will shrink your prostate, if BPH is the cause. (Note: Only a doctor can tell the difference between BPH and prostate cancer, so get a firm diagnosis before you go ahead with natural remedies).

Proven Health Tips Encyclopedia By American Medical Publishing, page 136

But religious considerations aside, circumcision has caught on among non-Jews in the United States. The operation has been the center of a medical debate: Does it provide health benefits, or is it unnecessary surgery?

Healthcare Online for Dummies by Howard and Judi Wolinsky, page 200

Surgery has come under increasing criticism in recent years for a number of other reasons. Some doctors and patients hold that much cancer surgery is either unnecessary or excessive in its scope. The fiercest argument has taken place over the question of breast cancer, but the issues raised in this debate appear applicable to other forms of cancer as well.

The Cancer Industry by Ralph W Moss, page 49

Surgery is unnecessary when the risk is greater than the benefit, or when there is no strong evidence that the surgery will benefit most of the people operated on.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 186

Going under the knife. One explanation for high U.S. medical costs is that so much surgery is unnecessary. Ask for a plain-English explanation of the need for and alternatives to any surgery.

The Hope of Living Cancer Free by Francisco Contreras MD, page 114

The innocuous behavior of recurring tumors is a mystery. Some surgeons think that leaving a few cancerous cells to roam about after surgery is a deadly mistake. Others believe that these cells simply turn into tumors that can be removed without threatening the life of the patient. Still, many leaders in the field of oncological surgery, either out of fear or arrogance, continue to demand that more studies be conducted before modifying the traditional treatments. How many patients will become the innocent victims of this irrational posturing? The same tendencies have also been observed in other types of tumors. For example, sarcomas are tumors that generally form from muscle or fat in the extremities. Treatment of them always consists of an extensive amputation followed by radiation therapy, with the object of reducing the incidence of recurrence. After reviewing the experiences of numerous hospitals, one concludes that “a reduction of local recurrence does not mean a betterment of average life expectancy in the long run.” In other words, the frightening mutilations are entirely unnecessary. The same conclusions can be applied to melanoma a very aggressive skin cancer, which is generally treated with excessively radical surgery.

Health In The 21st Century by Fransisco Contreras MD, page 196

The indiscriminate, and often unnecessary, surgical removal of these glands does not solve the underlying immunological problem that caused them to be swollen and diseased in the first place. Often, after a short period of improvement, it leads to chronic allergy problems. If the microorganisms get past the tonsils and adenoids, ciliated microfilaments lining the upper passages of the lungs remove them in secreted phlegm; they do this in a wavelike fashion, much like firemen of an earlier time on a bucket brigade.

Viral Immunity by J.E, page 90

The common carotid endarterectomy surgery is designed to prevent a full-fledged stroke. But is it often overused and unnecessary, especially when there is insufficient diagnosis.

The Medical Racket by Martin L Gross, page 187

In fact, because of the high potential for false positive readings—where people are told they have cancer when they don’t—screening may only be increasing the number of patients mutilated through unnecessary drug treatment or surgery.

The Cancer Handbook by Lynne McTaggart, page 12

Doctors differ considerably in their approval of this “nontreatment.” Naturally the more surgery-prone physicians lean in the direction of early removal of the prostate, while the more conservative ones tell us that for any man whose life expectancy is less than 10 years, the surgery may offer only unnecessary discomfort and incapacity.

The Prostate Cure by Harry G Preuss MD and Brenda D Adderly MHA, page 184

Alvsborg County Council felt the costs of a mass-screening program far outweighed any benefits, and that the money saved could be better spent helping those diagnosed with cancer. The council voted for the ban, following advice from the county’s chief physician, Dr. Christer Enkvist, who felt that the advantages of screening are “extremely marginal” and can lead to unnecessary surgery.

The Cancer Handbook by Lynne McTaggart, page 60

Friday, October 07, 2005 by: Alexis Black, citizen journalist.
http://www.naturalnews.com

Related posts:

1. Basic Facts to Know About Vaccinations
2. The Key Ingredient of All Medicine
3. Aspartame – A Sweet Misery

Research shows that the reason why more people report getting sick in the winter is possibly because of their lack of exposure to the sun.

Populations living in hotter regions where there is more exposure to sunlight might be at a greater advantage. This is the reason why in places such as North America it is important to get enough Vitamin D to avoid sicknesses that might be caused because of Vitamin D’s deficiency.

Dr. John Cannell explains this in more detail and why it could be a possible cure for flu and colds.

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2. Aspartame – A Sweet Misery
3. Baby Formulas Spread Malnutrition and Death of Babies

1. Vaccines are toxic.

*Vaccines contain substances poisonous to humans (i.e. mercury, formaldehyde, aluminum, etc.) Vaccine package inserts contain this and other information required by law to be disclosed to the public. Although these inserts are produced for consumers, doctors do not make them available to their patients.

*Vaccines are grown on and contain foreign tissue and altered genetic material of both human and animal origin.

2. Immunization (the act of injecting vaccines) depresses and disables brain and immune function. Honest, unbiased scientific investigation has shown vaccinations to be a causative factor in many illnesses including:

*Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (aka SIDS, crib or cot death)

*developmental disorders (autism, seizures, mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia, etc.)

*immune deficiency (i.e. AIDS, Epstein Barre Syndrome, etc.)

*degenerative disease (i.e. muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, cancer, leukemia, lupus, fibromyalgia, etc.)

3. The high rate of adverse vaccine reactions is being ignored and denied by conventional medicine.

*Prior to 1990, doctors were not legally required to report adverse reactions to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

*Adverse reactions are considered “normal”, are ignored or diagnosed as other diseases. Even with this poor system, reported damage is substantial.

*Despite their current legal obligation, less than 10% of doctors report the damage they witness to the CDC.

*Throughout history, many prominent medical and non-medical health professionals around the world have voiced their vehement opposition to vaccination calling it scientific fraud.

4. Mass Vaccination Programs systematically and recklessly endanger the public while disregarding our rights.

*Since vaccination breaks the skin, it is technically a surgery. All surgeries by law require informed consent. Informed consent is rarely attained before vaccines are administered.

*Doctors vaccinate the unwitting and uninformed. The vaccine manufacturers’ package inserts which contain biased industry claims and the bare minimum required by law to reveal are not routinely made available to consumers so that they can make a more informed choice.

*Double-talk and unethical enforcement such as threats, intimidation and coercion are used to ensure vaccination compliance.

5. There is no proof that vaccinations are safe or effective.

*There are no control group studies. Authorities consider that “to not vaccinate” is unethical and have refused to study unvaccinated volunteers. If control studies were done according ‘ to honest science, vaccination would be outlawed.

*Studies which have been done are not designed to eliminate the examiners bias. Authorities who compile and report disease statistics work closely with and have a vested interest in companies which produce the vaccines. In other industries, this kind of bias is not tolerated. Injuries and deaths in these studies are attributed to anything but vaccination to skew the results and make it appear that vaccines have some merit.

6. Laws allow drug companies to violate the public trust.

*In private vaccine damage suits, information is revealed condemning vaccines as deadly.

*Vaccine manufacturers use “gag orders” as a leverage tool in vaccine damage legal settlements to restrict the plaintiff from disclosing to the public the truth about the dangerous nature of vaccines. Our government has allowed these unethical tactics to be used which jeopardize public welfare.

7. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1987 is a pacifier.

*This compensation program pretends to acknowledge the existence of vaccine damage by making “right” the wrongs done. Nothing in this Act attempts to avert these adverse events from happening in the future.

*This Act is the result of vaccine producers pressuring the government to “immunize” them from private lawsuits which can run an average of $4 million per case.

*The fund is made up of tax added into the cost to the consumer of each vaccine, thereby making vaccine consumers pay for one another’s and perhaps their own injury; the vaccine manufacturers have made themselves quite “immune” from accountability. In recent years it has become even more difficult to be compensated through this program due to the parameters for determining vaccine damage changing and coroners now ruling out vaccine damage and charging the parents with Shaken Baby Syndrome.

8. Private insurance companies, which do the best liability studies, have totally abandoned coverage for damage to life and property due to:

*Acts of God

*Nuclear war and nuclear power plant accidents

*Vaccination

9. Vaccination is not emergency medicine.

*It is claimed that vaccines avert a possible future risk and yet people are pressured to decide on the spot. A doctor’s use of fear and intimidation to force compliance is not ethical. Vaccines are drugs with potential serious adverse reactions. Time and forethought should be given before a decision is made.

10. There is no law enforcing vaccination for babies or anyone else.

*Vaccination is linked with school attendance but is not compulsory. Exemptions from vaccinations, although restricted and monitored, are part of every state public health law and can be expanded by public pressure.

*Departments of Health, Education and the American Medical Association personnel profit from the sale of vaccines. They keep the existence of and details about exemptions relatively unknown.

Source: For more information on the harmful affects of vaccines please visit: http://www.vaclib.org

Related posts:

1. Aspartame – A Sweet Misery
2. Effects of MSG Monosodium Glutamate on Diet
3. Over 60% of Surgeries Are Unjustified

Because MSG is absorbed very quickly in the gastrointestinal tract (unlike glutamic acid-containing proteins in foods), MSG could spike blood plasma levels of glutamate. Glutamic acid is in a class of chemicals known as excitotoxins, high levels of which have been shown in animal studies to cause damage to areas of the brain unprotected by the blood-brain barrier and that a variety of chronic diseases can arise out of this neurotoxicity.

Dr. Vincent Bellonzi is a chiropractor and a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. He has been in practice for over 12 years. He received his Doctorate from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1991.

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1. Aspartame – A Sweet Misery
2. Cupping in Islam
3. Camel’s Milk May Treat Aids/Cancer

For those of us who don’t know what Aspartame is. It is really the technical name for some of the most famous non calorie brands out there. NutraSweet, Canderal and Equal are among the three most famous brands. These artificial and non calorie sweeteners are used as a substitute for sugar by diabetics and people trying to control their weight almost all over the world. It is also present in many other well known brands including sodas, chewing gum and candy bars.

Aspartame was actually accidentally discovered in 1965 by James Schlatter, while working in a chemical laboratory. As he was recrystallizing aspartame from ethanol, some of the mixture spilled on the outside of the flask and got onto his fingers. Later when he licked his fingers to pick up a piece of paper, he noticed aspartame’s sweet taste.

This discovery was then reported by the Journal of the American Chemical Society and later studies were conducted to test it’s safety for human use. In one of the tests conducted, Aspartame was fed to infant monkeys mixed with milk, one monkey died within 300 days and five others (out of seven total) had grand mal seizures. Other studies also conducted later caused brain damage in mice.

For this reason aspartame was not approved by the FDA  for eight years because of the seizures and brain damage it produced in lab animals. However, it was approved for use in dry foods only in 1981. Even after huge opposition, aspartame was finally approved for use in beverages as well, and now it is a common ingredient in many store products all over the world.

Aspartame is dangerous for many reasons other than the adverse addects on animals noted above. Aspartame is composed of 10% Methanol wood alcohol which is a deadly poison. This poison is slowly released in the small intestine after a chemical reaction with a specific enzyme. This gradual absorption can be sped up if aspartame is heated or stored improperly. Methanol is then broken down in the body and forms formic acid and formaldehyde, which are toxic. Hence, making methanol a strong toxic poison which has a very slow rate of excretion from the body.

A few facts about Aspartame:

• Methanol can cause serious vision problems.
• Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen which interferes with DNA replication, and causes birth defects.
• Humans are more toxic to methanol than animals because of the absence of some key enzymes that are usually present in animals but not human bodies.
• The recommended daily use of methanol by the EPA is 7.8 mg/day yet a one liter carbonated beverage contain 56 mg of aspartame.
• The small amounts of methanol present in fruit juices is never alone, but accompanies ethanol which reverses any adverse reaction caused by methanol alone.
• Aspartame causes slow damage in those  who do not immediately have a bad reaction to it and continue consuming it.
• Aspartame can mimic the symptoms and/or worsen diseases such as: Alzheimer’s disease, Diabetes, Birth defects, Brain Cancer, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lymphoma, Lyme Disease, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Depression, and other such physical and psychological diseases.
• Amongst the many symptoms of Aspartame are: Abdominal pain, anxiety attacks, asthma, bloating, edema, burning eyes or throat, chest pains, chronic cough, diarrhea, depression, excessive thirst or hunger, weight gain, impotency, muscle spasms, insomnia, inability to concentrate, burning in urination, rapid heart beats, poor memory and irritability.

So why was Aspartame approved by the FDA and why is there a continual use of it without any checks. This fact could be explained by this simple quote. In 1969, former Commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Herbert L. Ley was quoted as follows (Griffin 1974):

“The thing that bugs me is that people think the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is protecting them — it isn’t. What the FDA is doing and what the public thinks it’s doing are as different as night and day.”

References:

1. HolisticMed.com -Provides references to some of the materials used in this article.

2. Sweet Misery -A Documentary about aspartame and interviews with some of its many victims.

3. DoorWay.com – History of Aspartame (with references and links)

4. Griffin, G. Edward, 1974. “World Without Cancer,” America Media, Westlake Village, California. Quote from “Autopsy On The A.M.A.,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 2, 1970, page 42.

5. Aspartame – What you don’t know can hurt you: Aspartame is by far the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods.

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1. Camel’s Milk May Treat Aids/Cancer
2. Effects of MSG Monosodium Glutamate on Diet
3. Basic Facts to Know About Vaccinations

Imporper Formula Feeding Spreads Malnutrition, Death in Third World – Babies: More than 1.5 million die each year becuase of campaigns that discourage mothers from nursing, health officials say.

Los Angeles Times

By MICHELLE FAUL, ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Six-month-old Jhym had withered away to skin and bone by the time doctors first saw him. The diagnosis: malnutrition caused by improper formula feeding.

The doctors said Jhym would survive. But UNICEF estimates that more than 1.5 million other Third World babies die each year because aggressive promotion of infant formula persuades their mothers to bottle-feed rather than breast-feed.

Indiscriminate dumping of large quantities of free or cut-rate powdered baby foods has been an ongoing disaster for babies in the developing world, where many families live without electricity, clean water and refrigeration to easily sanitize and preserve formula. Abidjan is one of the continent’s most modern cities, with skyscrapers and six-lane highways, but 30% of the population does not have running water at home.

Improperly prepared, mixed with dirty water or over-diluted, formula-feeding can lead to malnutrition, diarrhea, dehydration and death.

Babies in the Third World fed exclusively on infant formula are 16 times more likely to die in infancy than babies fed only breast milk, said Dr. Mark Belsey, head of the World Health Organization’s Maternal and Child Health Division.

Those fed a mixture of formula and breast milk are four times more likely to die than babies fed breast milk alone.

Ivorian doctors say their efforts to control the distribution have brought retaliation from Nestle, the Swiss-based food giant, which now refuses to donate any formula at all. Nestle contends that it cut off supplies as part of a government-sanctioned study on the impact of withdrawing free formula.

Ivory Coast’s main hospital, once flooded with free samples, now has a shortage and cannot afford to buy enough to feed abandoned babies or those whose mothers are ill.

The situation poses a moral dilemma for Africa’s cash-strapped hospitals, said Andoh Joseph, head of the pediatric service at Abidjan’s state-run University Hospital Center.

“No, we don’t want them handing out their products to mothers and persuading them against breast-feeding. But we need their products for mothers who have no choice,” he said. “Does this mean hospitals should start paying? It’s a difficult question.”

The lack of free formula can be a problem, but its presence can be deadly.

Formula companies have waged intense publicity campaigns to persuade mothers that formula-fed babies are strongest, happiest, healthiest–tantalizing promises in countries with astronomical infant-mortality rates.

“The publicity convinced them it was the easiest and healthiest way to nourish their children. And it has become ‘la mode’ (fashionable) because the formula comes from abroad,” said Taye Gbaou Georgette, a pediatric nurse who helped start the Ivorian branch of the International Baby Food Action Network, a Geneva-based organization that promotes breast-feeding.

Conditions among illiterate peasants are duplicated in towns where more and more women are working outside the home and leaving babies with uneducated relatives or maids.

Jhym’s parents are middle-class white-collar workers. Embarrassed by their son’s condition, they asked that their names not be used. They said they left him with his illiterate grandmother so his mother could return to her secretarial job.

Nurses said the grandmother fed Jhym insufficient amounts of formula and that he lost more than half his body weight before his parents took him to the clinic, a U.S.-financed oral rehydration center opposite Andoh’s office.

The baby looked like a famine victim, belly bloated, stick-like limbs, a tiny skeleton clearly visible through a stretch of skin. Most of his hair had fallen out, and what was left had turned orange, a sign of severe malnutrition. While other children at the clinic were being fed with spoons of oral rehydration liquid, Jhym was so weak a drip had to be attached to his nose for the fluid to be pumped in with a syringe.

“It’s scandalous,” Taye said. “Formulas are over-diluted or not diluted enough, and usually mixed with unclean implements. Babies get constipation, diarrhea, malnutrition. Some die.”

Medical staff have colluded with the formula food companies, Taye said, promoting a particular brand in exchange for gifts.

Her organization and the Ivorian government Institute of Public Health, where she works, this year began sensitizing medical personnel. A nurse at a center treating malnourished victims said one of her colleagues was so angered by the sorry state of children ill-fed on formula that she nearly came to blows with another nurse she accused of promoting formula.

Andoh said he was trying to persuade working mothers to pump out their breast milk and have baby-sitters feed it to babies with bowls and spoons to avoid the difficulty of having to sanitize feeding bottles and nipples.

Cost is a factor for the formula, which usually is imported to Third World countries short of foreign currency. UNICEF estimates that it costs 50% to 140% of what the average person makes in a year to formula feed a baby in Africa.

Mother’s milk, on the other hand, is free, sterile and warm. It contains the perfect nutrients for optimum brain growth and natural antibodies that help protect babies from a wide range of diseases, a boon for Africa’s vulnerable infants.

Activists promoting breast-feeding in Ivory Coast have successfully fought formula advertising. But Taye said they have to be ever-watchful.

“Recently, Nestle has started advertising its Cerelac baby cereal on television again,” she said.

Nestle, the largest manufacturer of cocoa products in the world, is well entrenched in the Ivory Coast, which is the world’s third-biggest cocoa producer.

“I tried to boycott Nestle, but it is near impossible here because they dominate the food market,” said UNICEF program officer Grace S. Hemmings-Gapihan.

She was responding to the International Baby Food Action Network’s charges that Nestle was continuing to push its formula food at Third World hospitals–a practice the company promised to stop in 1984, giving in to a seven-year worldwide boycott.

Last year, the baby food network renewed the boycott, charging that Nestle was not keeping to World Health Organization guidelines on advertising and distribution.

Hospital staff refused to be specific about visits by baby food manufacturing representatives. But, Taye said, “They (Nestle representatives) visited hospitals as recently as January, though their visits are becoming rarer and they have stopped handing out free formula.”

Nestle spokesman Francois Perroud in Geneva stressed that Nestle abides by WHO code and by additional national guidelines and laws.

“Our policy is clear. We are willing to give free supplies where products can be helpful. But . . . because we are fundamentally committed to breast-feeding, we want to make sure that free supplies are only used for babies that have to use infant formula,” he said.

“Nestle is committed to efforts aimed at the support of breast-feeding and improving the health of women and children.”

Other companies that have not agreed to the WHO guidelines have rushed to fill the vacuum, Taye said.

Andoh said he has banned representatives from leaving their samples and pamphlets in waiting rooms and wards.

“We have said they should not stop coming, but that they must work through us, that we must decide which children need artificial feeding because the mothers do not know the dangers,” he said. “Our new policy has cost us our (free) supplies.”

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This article is taken from Islam-qa website and we found it to be a good introduction to cupping in Islam. Read and Enjoy~!:)

Hijaamah comes from the root al-hajm, which means “sucking”, and is used for the action of draining the breast when an infant is suckled. Al-hajjaam is the name given to the cupper, and hijaamah is the name given to this profession. Al-mihjam is the name given to the tool in which blood is collected, or to the knife used by the cupper.

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Healing is to be found in three things: drinking honey, the knife of the cupper, and cauterization of fire.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/136).

According to a hadeeth narrated by Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If there is any good in your medical treatments, it is in the knife of the cupper, drinking honey, or cauterization with fire, as appropriate to the cause of the illness, but I would not like to be cauterized.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/139)

According to a hadeeth narrated by Anas ibn Maalik, may Allaah be pleased with him, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I did not pass by any group on the night when I was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’), but they said to me, ‘O Muhammad, tell your ummah to do cupping.’” (Reported by Ibn Maajah; it has corroborating evidence which strengthens it).

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was treated with cupping, and he paid the cupper his fee.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/124; Muslim 1202).

Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah was treated with cupping by Abu Tayyibah. He commanded that he should be given two measures of food, and he spoke with his tax-collectors, who reduced his taxes. He said, “The best treatment you can use is cupping.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 10/126; Muslim, 1577)

With regard to the times when cupping is recommended:

It was reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best times to be treated with cupping are the seventeenth, nineteenth or twenty-first [of the month].” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 2054; the isnaad is da’eef).

It was reported from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever wants to be treated by cupping, let him do it on the seventeenth, nineteenth or twenty-first, lest the blood flow too copiously and kill him.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 3489; there is some weakness in the report).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever is treated with cupping on the seventeenth, nineteenth or twenty first, will be healed from all diseases.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 3861, and al-Bayhaqi, 9/340. The isnad is hasan).

Although the ahaadeeth quoted above are from different sources and may be weak to some extent, they give strength to one another.

Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

“These ahaadeeth coincide with what the doctors agree on, that cupping should be done in the second half of the month, and that the third quarter of the month is better than the beginning or the end. But if cupping is done out of necessity it is beneficial at any time, even at the beginning or end of the month. Al-Khallaal said: ‘Ismah ibn ‘Isaam told me: Hanbal told me: Abu ‘Abd-Allaah Ahmad ibn Hanbal would be treated with cupping whenever his blood increased, no matter what time it was… They disliked having cupping done on a full stomach, because that could lead to obstruction and grievous diseases, especially if the food was heavy and bad… Choosing the times mentioned above for cupping is an extra precaution, to be on the safe side and to protect one’s health, but when it comes to treating disease, whenever it is necessary it should be used.

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “According to the doctors, the most efficacious cupping is that which is done at the second or third hour, after having intercourse or taking a bath, etc., and neither on a full nor empty stomach. With regard to specific days for administering cupping, it was reported in a hadeeth narrated from Ibn ‘Umar by Ibn Maajah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Administer cupping, may Allaah bless you, on Thursdays, and administer cupping on Mondays and Tuesdays, but avoid cupping on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.’ It was reported with two da’eef isnads, and there is a third version, also da’eef, reported by al-Daaraqutni in al-Afraad. He also reported it with a jayyid isnaad from Ibn ‘Umar but it is mawqoof (the isnad stops at the Sahaabi). Al-Khallaal reported that Ahmad disliked cupping on the days mentioned, even though the hadeeth was not proven. It was said that a man was treated with cupping on a Wednesday and he developed leprosy because he ignored the hadeeth. Abu Dawood reported from Abu Bakrah that he disliked cupping on Tuesdays, and said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Tuesday is the day of blood, and on that day there is an hour when blood does not stop.’ The doctors are agreed that cupping in the second half of the month, especially in the third quarter, is more beneficial than cupping at the beginning or end of the month. Al-Muwaffaq al-Baghdaadi said: The body fluids (humours) flow heavily at the beginning of the month and calm down at the end, so the best time to let the blood flow is in the middle of the month.”

It is clear from the above that the ahaadeeth which specify a particular time, when taken as a whole, indicate that there is a basis for this, especially since the words of the doctors are in agreement with it. If the seventeenth or nineteenth or twenty-first of a hijri month happens to be a Thursday, this is the best possible time for cupping, but this is not to say that it is not good to do it at other times. As a form of medical treatment, cupping should not be restricted to any particular time; it should be done as needed by the patient.

It is essential to make sure that you do it properly; cupping should be done by one who is experienced and he or she should use instruments that are properly cleaned and sterilized. The cupper must also ensure that no blood reaches the stomach of the patient.

We ask Allaah to help us and you to follow the Sunnah. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

See: Fath al-Baari by Ibn Hajar, 10/149; Sharh al-Zarqaani ‘ala al-Muwatta’, 2/187; al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah, 1/184; al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim, 4/60.

Islam Q&A

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

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Interesting research found about Camel’s Milk. The benefits of Camel Milk are clear in many Prophetic traditions. This story from back in 2004 gives a little more light to it.

By Eman Al Baik
28 December 2004 SHARJAH — A research body here is seeking global tie ups to produce drugs to treat deadly diseases including Aids from the unique antibodies found in camel’s milk.

The Arab Science and Technology Foundation that is working on a project to produce recombinant RNA from antibodies found in camel’s milk to treat several diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s and hepatitis C, apart from Aids, plans to approach American and European pharmacological organisations, said a top official.

“We are optimistic about finding investors to sponsor the project as laboratory tests have proved the milk component’s efficiency in treating different types of diseases through such medicines. Despite the tremendous curative efficiency of the camel milk on a range of diseases, we will focus on its potency of curing Alzheimer’s, Aids, cancer and hepatitis,” Imad Ghandour, the foundation’s business development director, told Khaleej Times.

The production process of any medicine costs up to $800 million, said Ghandour, adding: “Translating an idea (to produce a medicine) into a project and finally having the medicine on pharmacies’ shelves is very costly. Money is needed not only to manufacture the medicine from herbs or natural materials but also to get the approval for it from American and European health organisations.”

Besides, the experimental phase of any drugs takes between eight and 10 years, according to Ghandour. The drug producers have to ensure the product has no side effects. To guarantee a 100 per cent curative effectiveness and clearance from side effects, huge capital is needed.

“An American company — which produced a medicine that later showed dangerous side effects and caused fatalties after two years of hitting the markets — is facing real troubles,” he pointed out.

The concept of using camel’s milk was initiated by Dr Sabah Al Jasim of the Shaikh Zayed Medical Herbs Centre. He conducted a series of laboratory tests, proving  the curative efficiency of the milk on different chronic and serious diseases. Dr. Al Jasim then submitted his research to the foundation to apply for patent and manufacture it.

Dr. Al Jasim’s proposal is based on the discovery of a large number of viral antibodies in camel’s serum and milk. The antibodies show exposure to diseases by which they are not infected. A fact proven by the fact that camels are unaffected by diseases like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) that affects other cattle, according to the research.

Microbial diseases including leptospirosis, glanders, epizootic ulcertaive syndrome, lymphangitis, mastitis, pasteurellosis, paratuberculosis, tetanus, botulism, gas gangrene clostridia, the plague and the rickettsias also appear to be of very minor importance to the camel in comparison to other domestic animals, according to Dr. Al Jasim.

The relatively low molecular weight of the camel’s heavy chain antibodies and certainly the recombinant VHH derived from these heavy chain antibodies, confer a big advantage here compared to common human antibodies.

The camel antibodies have the same antigen affinity as normal antibodies consisting of light and heavy chains, but are much smaller. Moreover, the comparative simplicity, high affinity and specificity and the potential to reach and interact with active sites, camel’s heavy chain antibodies present advantages over common antibodies in the design, production and application of clinically valuable compounds.

This makes them good candidates to penetrate dense tissues to reach the antigen, where larger proteins cannot.

“The first step is to find sponsors for the project. Then, two years will be needed to prove curative effectiveness of drugs generated from camel milk on human beings. Results on volunteer patients will then be submitted to American and European organisations for approval on its manufacture — a process that usually takes up to eight years,” Ghandour elaborated.

The foundation aims at adopting the project to promote science in the Arab world, by mediating among Arab scientists, innovators, Arab businessmen and investors. By facilitating the interaction among them sharing the goal of improving scientific capability building inside the Arab world, noted Ghandour.

Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2004/December/theuae_December790.xml&section=theuae&col=

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There are certain traits and characteristics that distinguish a Muslim doctor from others. These traits affect his way of treatment and dealing with his patients as a whole and must be sought after by every Muslim doctor, nurse or practitioner.

I will list 10 of these Must Have characteristics in this article and then InshAllah (God-willing) expound upon them one by one in my later posts. So lets begin..

1.  Intention and seeking reward from Allah alone.

2.  Honesty and proficiency in his field of work.

3.  ‘Ihsaan’ or trying to seek perfection and understanding ‘Muraqabah’ that Allah is watching over him. We will expound upon these two words later insh’Allah.

4.  Purification of the self and ‘Muhasabah’ or taking account of oneself.

5.  Constant seeking of knowledge.

6.  Good manners and outstanding character:

• Humbleness
• Truthfulness
• Compassion
• Justice

7.  Cooperation with others and a love of helping others and wanting good for them.

• Modesty
• Patience and endurance

8.  Respecting the rights of the patient.

9.  This is particularly an important one: Having knowledge of the fiqh (rulings) of medicine in Islam, in general and especially in the doctor’s particular field of knowledge.

10.  Giving each individual his or her rights.

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