Autism Student Voted Out Of Class By Other Kindergartners

A Melissa Barton says Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo had her son's classmates say what they didn't like about 5-year-old Alex. She says the teacher then had the students vote and voted Alex who is being evaluated for Asperger's syndrome -- an autism spectrum disorder -- out of the class by a 14-2 margin.

My Comment:
I'm... speechless. Why in the world is this person a teacher and why do they still have a job?

If the video doesn't play below, then try this link:
http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=dbf1f64b-7187-4bbe-a3e4-ae567c2f0cc9

How Drug Companies Market Medication

The New York Times reporter Melody Petersen concludes that selling prescription drugs - rather than discovering them - has become the industry's obsession. Watch this Bill Moyers PBS video.

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My Comment:

If you have ever been prescribed a medication, you need to watch this video.

The closing comments by the author sums it up nicely:

MELODY PETERSEN: The system is so out of whack the way it is today, you really have to be careful. Don't take any drug without understanding the risks that it could have. Find the doctor who has thrown the sales reps out of his office, who has said 'I'm gonna do what's right for my patients'. And there's a growing number of doctors who feel that way and think the thing that could do the most good is to have a law that bans doctors from taking money from drug companies. We need our doctors to be our independent advocates again.

I have not read the book yet, but it is available on Amazon:

Vaccine, autism link explored

Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News

Fears that shots may cause condition push parents to action. The Scheers, like a small but growing number of American families, believe vaccines may have triggered autism in their 7-year-old son, Gannon, and that avoiding future shots could spare their other children the same fate.

read more digg story

My Comment:

Click on the "read more" link above. It's a great article that appeared in today's Detroit News.

Do vaccines cause autism? No.

Can they trigger autism? Yes.

How?

It all starts with an imbalance of gut flora and a damaged gut. If a baby has gut issues: colic, milk allergy, lactose intolerance, constipation, diarrhea, gassy, etc, and/or has used antibiotics, then this should be something that is addressed prior to getting any shots. Kids need to have a rock solid immune system before getting a vaccination. If they don't, then you are flirting with disaster.

When you get the shot, the immune system gets sent into overdrive. The child will experience a fever. When you have a fever, the blood brain barrier opens. If you have a compromised gut (bad bacteria, infection, damaged gut lining, etc), then some bad stuff (bad bacteria, infection, mercury), can travel into the brain. If the kid has healthy gut flora and is in good health, then the risks are lower. That said, I don't think many kids are strong enough to handle multiple vaccinations at the same time.

Bottom line: Do your homework. Don't blindly follow the recommended vaccination schedule. And above all, don't get the shots when the gut is compromised and the immune system is not at 100%.

Be sure to take the Detroit News Cyber Survey on the topic of vaccines and autism:
http://info.detnews.com/redesign/cybersurveys/index.cfm

Using a cell phone while pregnant can seriously damage your baby

Study of 13,000 children exposes link between use of handsets and later behavioral problems. Women who use mobile phones when pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with behavioural problems, according to authoritative research.

They found that mothers who did use the handsets were 54 per cent more likely to have children with behavioural problems and that the likelihood increased with the amount of potential exposure to the radiation. And when the children also later used the phones they were, overall, 80 per cent more likely to suffer from difficulties with behaviour. They were 25 per cent more at risk from emotional problems, 34 per cent more likely to suffer from difficulties relating to their peers, 35 per cent more likely to be hyperactive, and 49 per cent more prone to problems with conduct.

read more digg story

My Comment:

When something, like cell phones, is ubiquitous, there is a sense of safety. However, McDonald's is ubiquitous too. Whether or not you believe cell phones are harmful or not, when dealing with pregnancy, it probably isn't bad to error on the side of caution.

Vitamin D Protects Women From Breast Cancer

A study involving 1,394 breast cancer patients and an equal number of healthy women after menopause was surprisingly clear: Women with a very low blood level of Vitamin D have a considerably increased breast cancer risk.

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My Comment:

Vitamin D deficiency is rampant, especially in the northern states. To make matters worse, people slather toxic sunscreen to block the bodies ability to make Vitamin D. Do yourself a favor, the next time you're at the doctor, have them test your Vitamin D levels. Better yet, test the levels at least twice per year, or even once per season. It's a cheap and simple test. Call the doctor today!

Here's what the Vitamin D Council says:

• If you totally avoid the sun, recent research indicates you need about 4,000 units of vitamin D a day. Which means you can't get enough vitamin D from milk (unless you drink 40 glasses a day) or from a multivitamin (unless you take about 10 tablets a day), neither of which is recommended.
• Most of us make about 20,000 units of vitamin D after about 20 minutes of summer sun. This is about 100 times more vitamin D than the government says you need every day.
• The only way to be sure you have adequate levels of vitamin D in your blood is to regularly go into the sun, use a sun bed (avoiding sunburn), or have your physician administer a 25‑hydroxyvitamin D test. Optimal levels are around 50 ng/mL (125 nM/L).
• If you don't get vitamin D the way Mother Nature intended, from sunshine, you need to take supplemental vitamin D3 cholecalciferol. Since most of us get a lot more vitamin D from sunshine than we realize, most of us need about 2,000 units a day extra.

Non-Toxic Herbicide Weed Killer

When you have kids playing in your yard, the last thing you want is to spray your lawn with chemicals. However, if your yard is like mine, and the soil is nutrient depleted, then the weeds will overtake the grass. I watched my brand new lush sod turn into a field of weeds in a few short years.

I thought the automatic sprinkler would be the answer to a beautiful lawn. I was wrong.

My plan is to add nutrients to the soil to help the grass grow strong. I am using a natural fertilizer from http://www.chemicalfreelawns.com/

Also, I am going to cut the grass very high. The roots are as deep as the blades are tall. So if you cut the grass short, the roots are not going to be very deep. I was having a neighborhood kid cut my lawn, but he always cut it short. I bought a new lawn mower that the height can be set to 4.25".

Hopefully this plan will turn my lawn around. It may take a couple of years to replenish the soil and for my lawn to grow deeper, stronger roots.

In the meantime, I've got a yard full of dandelions. There are two natural approaches to weeds that I've found. The first is to make your own weed killer. The recipe is simple: 1 Gallon White Vinegar, 1 Cup Table Salt, 1 Tablespoon Liquid Soap. Mix well and apply to any plant you want to kill. I have not tried this yet, but I plan to use this for the weeds that grow in the cracks of the sidewalk.

I did find a GREAT dandelion solution.

It is called the Weed Hound. It looks like one of those made for TV products. I saw it at Home Depot and I thought it looked great, but I was sure that when I got it home, the thing would fail miserably. Boy was I wrong! The Weed Hound works great! It allows you pull dandelions, root and all, simply by stepping on the device and pulling up with your hand. It is designed that you do not have to bend over. It takes about 5 seconds to complete the entire process. The only thing that takes a bit of time is making sure the Weed Hound is centered on the plant.

Free GMO Shopping Guide

I just recieved the "Spilling the Beans" newsletter and they have a new document that you can freely download. It is a shopping guide to help you avoid Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs).

This guide will help you determine which products are made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) so you can make healthier non-GMO brand buying choices. GMOs are made by transferring genes from one species, such as bacteria, viruses, or animals, into the DNA of other species, such as corn.

Though most industrialized countries require labeling of GMOs, the U.S. does not. 9 out of 10 Americans want genetically modified (GM) foods to be labeled. Most people say they would avoid brands if labeled as GM.

This guide is produced by The Institute for Responsible Technology, your consumer safety partner and a world leader in exposing the health risks of GMOs. Look for our Non-GMO Shopping Guide coming in mid-2008. For more details or to make a donation, please go to http://www.responsibletechnology.org/.