An Epidemic of Disease

Take Control of Your Life

How to Heal with Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals, & Supplements

News & Research

Natural & Organic Healing Products

Treatments by Disease or Condition

Disease & Medical Industry Statistics

Shop for Natural & Organic Foods

Shop for Healthy Personal Care, Cleaning, & Household Products

Health Resources

Natural Practitioners

AGENT ORANGE RELATED LINKS/RESOURCES:

The Story of Agent Orange

Agent Orange Talking Paper

Agent Orange is the name now loosely given to all herbicides used during the Vietnam War to contaminate water and defoliate crops and jungles to deprive the enemy of food and cover, named after the orange stripe on the drums in which the Agent Orange herbicide was stored.  The herbicides contain tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD), often referred to as simply dioxin.  

18 million gallons of Agent Orange were reported to have been used in South Vietnam, where over 6,250 square miles still cannot be farmed 30 years later due to the contamination.  Agent Orange wasn't alone.  There was a rainbow arsenal of herbicides, including Agent Blue (which contained arsenic), Agent Pink, Agent White, Agent Green, Agent Orange II (Super Orange), Agent Purple, Silvex, Dinoxol, Trinoxol, Diquat, Bromacil, Tandex, Monuron, Diuron, and Dalapon.

Although the herbicides were widely used in the U.S., they usually were heavily diluted with water or oil.  The military sprayed herbicides in Vietnam that were 6 to 25 times the rate suggested by the manufacturer.

To make matters worse, to destroy large areas of forest and jungle with fire, the military started dropping incendiaries on defoliated areas.  What they didn't know was that burning cancer-causing dioxins significantly further increased their toxicity. The American soldiers in Vietnam, South Koreans, and Vietnamese continued to live in a chemical mist -- they slept with it, drank it in their water, ate it in their food, breathed it in, and bathed in it.

Laboratory tests later revealed that as little as 2 parts of dioxin per trillion in the bloodstream was sufficient to cause death and abnormal births; many GIs were returning home from Vietnam with 50 parts per trillion and more in their bloodstream.  Dioxin was still found in the sperm of men who fought in Vietnam over 20 years later.

Thousands of U.S., South Korean, and Vietnamese veterans of the Vietnam War and civilians are now suffering from various lifelong chronic medical problems after being exposed to defoliants such as Agent Orange (2,4,5-T), which were contaminated with carcinogenic dioxin.  Studies have indicated that dioxin poisoning and its effects are also able to pass to offspring.

Common medical problems include an abnormally high number of soft tissue cancers such as lung cancer, Hodgkin's disease, liver cancer, stomach cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, nasal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, prostate cancer, and other cancers, nervous system disorders, immune system damage, liver dysfunction, painful skin conditions like chloracne, systemic injury, chronic pain, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, fibromyalgia, multiple myeloma, wild mood swings, anxiety, chemical sensitivities, and birth defects.  Living with these medical conditions makes it difficult for a person to function as a productive member of society, often leading to unemployment, isolation from family, homelessness, hunger, and a host of other problems.  (For severe cancer sufferers, consider purchasing a copy of the book The Cure for All Advanced Cancers containing a  natural program with a 95% success rate.)

On a cellular level, Dioxin, like many other chemicals, drugs, antibiotics, and toxic elements can attach to receptors for transport into cells where it can damage the nucleus, DNA, and mitochondria, where 90% of the body's energy is produced, leading to an inability to properly process and use nutrients, neural dysfunction, lack of oxygen delivery to the body, a weakened immune system, and many other related problems.  In a dysfunctional and toxic body with a weakened immune system, disease can flourish.

According to the Department of Defense, as of Nov. 22, 2004, 21 percent of the 361,226 active duty soldiers who have deployed and returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan since January 2003 have reported medical concerns relating to mental health, dermatological, and pulmonary ailments, and many were concerned by the environmental exposures they experienced in the field.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War have experienced undiagnosed illnesses they believe are linked to the war, according to Congress' auditing arm. These ailments include chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, diarrhea, migraines, dizziness, memory problems, and loss of balance.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi's panel found that more recent studies suggest the veterans' illnesses are neurological and apparently are linked to exposure to neurotoxins such as the nerve gas sarin, the anti-nerve gas drug pyridostigmine bromide and pesticides that affect the nervous system.  "Research studies conducted since the war have consistently indicated that psychiatric illness, combat experience, or other deployment-related stressors do not explain Gulf War veterans illnesses in the large majority of ill veterans," the review committee said.

Veterans have also frequently been exposed while in the military to a large number of foods that have been irradiated to prolong their shelf life, and these irradiated foods are making their way into our grocery stores.  Although a small radiation label is now required on many of the foods, the marking is intentionally deceptive, made to look as if it represents something natural, in the shape of a green circle with what appears to be a flower inside of it.

And of course there are fumes from trucks, choking smoke from oil fires, dust from demolished buildings, and so on -- many sources of toxic health hazards, yet none likely as hazardous as the rainbow arsenal of herbicides.  

Although Veterans and others have been fighting for years for recognition of their conditions, treatment of their resulting health problems, and compensation for their injuries and suffering to little avail, for those who received treatment, the treatment may be worse than the disease itself.  Chemotherapy and other forms of radiation, drugs, invasive surgery, and other unnatural therapies do more harm to the body than good.  One of the leading causes of death in this country is from orthodox medicine, whether it be from physician error, drug side effects, or from other related causes.  

This web site is intended to provide valuable information and resources that will show you how you can help your body heal itself naturally.  There is no magic pill, but there are many lifestyle, diet, and natural treatment options that will help move you in the right direction quickly after years of cumulative damage and help stop the damage from progressing.  It may seem like a lot of changes to make, but the dietary and lifestyle changes quickly become habit.  

Read the following and explore all the links and your options first to ensure that you have a good understanding and are able to make an informed decision.  Most people don't realize that they are continuously taking in large amounts of cumulative toxic elements in their food and water that can hinder recovery.  You can make great progress without much money through a strict non-toxic diet and lifestyle, but if you do have money, take advantage of the potent supplements available and proven natural treatments from naturopathic practitioners.  If you take no action, odds are you will get worse.  The proof will be in how you feel.  Most people improve quickly by adhering strictly to the following guidelines, especially eliminating toxic ingredients they have been ingesting:

1.  NATURAL HEALTH CARE.   If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford it, consider alternative and complementary natural medical treatments from professional practitioners.  For those who have difficulty getting out, some doctors will treat remotely, such as Dr. Alex Strande of Simply Healing Clinic in California. 

2.  REMOVE ALL TOXINS AND DON'T PUT MORE TOXINS IN.  This means not just residue of toxins remaining in your body, but don't put any more toxins in your body.  Many people don't realize how many toxins they continue to put in their bodies from food and other sources that prevent the body from healing.  This is not a diet, but how we are meant to eat naturally, and how we should eat for life to repair and sustain the body.

• Remove toxins using binding foods (foods that grab toxins stored in fatty tissue and remove them), such as whole grains , foods with high fiber, and organic (chemical-free) vegetables and fruits.  Detoxification supplements with natural plant binders can also be purchased that will help cleanse the body.
• Eliminate toxic intake and exposure.  Follow this link for a list of toxins in foods and your environment to avoid.  Also, if possible, wean yourself off of all toxic drugs slowly to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms and stop exposure to radiation treatments, but if you must take drugs while taking herbs, vitamins, or supplements, refer to the drug/herb interaction chart.  If you work around chemicals and must breathe them, change jobs.  If you use chemical-containing cleaning products and other chemical products in your home, throw them out and use natural alternatives.  
• No alcohol, no tobacco, no caffeine, no drugs, no diet products, no processed sugars, no white products, no tap water.  Cigarettes, drugs, tap water, processed sugars, diet products, and processed white products contain many harmful chemicals and toxins, and alcohol and other sugars feed yeast and bacteria in the body and hinder healing.  Diet products containing aspartame and other neurotoxins are deadly to the body.  When quitting processed sugars, white flours, and other chemical-containing foods, you may feel worse before you feel better.  This is because your body typically will experience withdrawal symptoms for a week to 10 days after being addicted to the drugs in foods.  Side effects of quitting may include headache, nervousness, depression, and worsening of your symptoms temporarily, but it will pass quickly.  Read all food labels for any chemical additives.  Only buy products that contain basic food ingredients you understand, and preferably nutrient-rich organic foods.

3.  BUILD UP THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.  Natural immune system builders include fresh organic garlic, selenium-containing foods such as naturally-raised eggs (free of steroids, antibiotics, and other chemicals), organic cottage cheese, natural low-fat white chicken meat (free of steroids, antibiotics, and other chemicals), whole grains (whole spelt, oat, rye, quinoa, and sprouted grains-- avoid wheat products for now as diseased bodies often become sensitive to gluten), at least 6 servings of organic vegetables and fruits daily, brown rice, wild rice, brazil nuts, organic apples, raw thymus, sunflower seeds, vitamin C (high doses - 3,000-5,000 mg a day), cat's claw, and Hoxy formula, which also helps dissolve tumors.  Try to buy organic foods as much as possible. You may also want to purchase a potent supplemental immune system formula.

4.  REPAIR CELLULAR DAMAGE.  This is more complicated.  Many have claimed this is not possible, but studies in rats have shown that mitochondria can be rejuvenated using the essential amino acids alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine.  Also, high-dose coenzyme Q10 improves cellular oxygenation, and Essiac formula is an excellent cancer fighter that additionally helps promote cellular repair.  If you can afford it, a new spectroscopic test is now available from Spectracell Laboratories that detects abnormalities in white blood cells and can determine what specific deficiencies  exist in your body.  Guaifenesin has been said to effectively treat muscle pain in fibromyalgia sufferers by reinforcing the cellular wall and blocking the further entry of toxins into the cell, thus helping mitochondria to continue making adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -- where our body gets 90% of its energy, and which is used in large amounts by the muscles.  Since you can usually only get Guaifenesin in sinus medications with side effects, I would recommend all-natural Herbal Expec available from Naturade, as it has a potent but all-natural formula.    

5.  TREAT YOUR BODY BY DISEASE OR CONDITION.  Click here to look up a specific disease, condition, or symptom that you would like to target and treat naturally.  Since cancer is a frequent side effect, consider reading the book The Cure for All Advanced Cancers (even advanced, late-stage cancers) and consider treatment with the Hoxy Cancer Formula that has been used to dissolve tumors.

If you choose to purchase complete formulas from health stores, choose ones that are preferably in liquid extract or tincture form that absorb quickly under the tongue rather than get degraded in the stomach, build the immune system, purify the blood, fight cancer, detoxify the body, contain antioxidants, bind and remove fats that contain toxins such as with soy protein binder, and add vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids that are lacking in our food supply.  

Since our soil is damaged and depleted from the use of yet more chemicals, our produce does not often contain sufficient minerals and nutrients to sustain our body in good health, thus it has become critically important, even if well, to take at least basic supplemental multivitamins with minerals and other nutrients for life.  Also, since a diseased body does not easily absorb nutrients, and many nutrients are lost in the gut, eat foods with, or buy supplements that contain, fatty acids (EPA/GLA) to help aid absorption.  Fatty acids are naturally found in organic flax seeds, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, black currants, organic butter, borage, and fish and fish oil such as from cod (only buy small deep-sea northern ocean fish to avoid mercury and other chemicals).  Also, keep your pH balance in mind when selecting your diet.  Many people eat diets that make their body overly acidic and encourage disease.  Chewing well also helps your body absorb the most nutrients directly into the blood stream before the food reaches the gut and helps maintain a pH balance.

6.  AVOID RADIATION AND ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY SOURCES THAT CAN FURTHER ALTER DNA AND INTERFERE WITH HEALING.  Sources of electromagnetic energy and other forms of radiation are very dangerous.  Think natural.  Throw out your microwave oven, Teflon-coated cookware, and hair dryer.  Put radiation screens on your computer.  Keep electrical items unplugged when not in use.  Don't get x-rays or other body scans unless they are unavoidable.  Avoid Chemotherapy.  Avoid high-power lines.  Limit cellphone use and use radiation neutralizers (that convert harmful DNA-mutating frequencies into natural frequencies that do not harm the body) on cellphones, televisions, hair dryers, and other electrical appliances whenever possible.  I have seen brain scans of people exposed to these devices for only short periods of time versus a normal brain, and the effect on the brain is alarming.

7.  EXERCISE, BREATH, AND MAINTAIN A POSITIVE ATTITUDE.  Walking or moving even just your arm or leg for only 5 minutes will help, and build up as you feel able to.  Even the slightest increase in blood circulation, which delivers healing properties throughout the body, will boost the immune system and help your body heal itself.  You will increase oxygen intake, which can destroy bacteria and viruses that do not thrive in oxygenated environments, and you will relieve stress.  Breath in deeply and slowly through the nose, and out more forcefully through the mouth.  Walking, biking, hiking, or just relaxing in outdoor environments is best with sunshine and fresh oxygen from trees.  Unless you can afford a whole-house cleaner and fresh-air ventilation system, when indoors crack open windows as much as possible to limit exposure to indoor stagnant environments that lack fresh oxygen and are actually more polluted with thousands of household chemicals that outgas, molds, and other contaminants.