If you’re not up to speed on the common ingredient Glyphosate, a systemic weed killer used for decades and the basic active component of Roundup, this enlightening hour-long documentary from Aljazeera entitled The Price of Progress: How safe is European food production? will give you all the relevant context you need.

This article isn’t about whether Roundup or Glyphosate is safe or not. While this is clearly a question that needs to be urgently addressed, as the compound ends up in most of the food we eat and is used across the globe as our primary weed killer, there is a clear and growing consensus that there is in fact trouble in paradise and that the world’s favorite weed killer may not just be killings weeds.

The inflexible scientist

To understand how science can get things wrong, let’s turn to more current events and a disclaimer before we start. Science, good science, is critical to our survival. Without it, we’d be pottering around in the dark still, hitching horses to sleds with no wheels. Science is however a tool, and its one that is subject to our human tendency to assume we know everything, even when science tells us exactly the opposite. It’s this human tendency for certainty that causes problems. That and our proclivity for harnessing good for bad.

Take the SARS-CoV2 virus. The WHO categorically stated in March of 2020 that the virus could not become aerosolized or airborne. Six foot was all you needed and a face covering. Droplets. Not fine particles. For nearly a year, American-based scientists argued with the WHO, telling them they were making a massive mistake. They had proof that the virus could in fact “float about” for extended periods in the air, just like the measles and TB virus.

After a year of vocal and very public outrage by a growing number of scientists, the WHO capitulated. They agreed that the virus was in fact airborne and that the only real protection was a proper, well-sealed N95 grade mask and proper ventilation. They had been wrong, spectacularly so and the evidence and the science they’d been shown was ignored. Why? Their inability to question accepted scientific dogma in the face of new research cost lives.

You cannot argue this, it is fact. The advice the WHO issued led to many of the policies that engaged close-quarter lockdowns for many across the globe. Had the world been put on notice earlier, we may have been able to avert many deaths. It didn’t happen and not because science was wrong, but because WHO scientists and experts had become fixated in their beliefs, inflexible, and unwilling to listen without prejudice to new research. 

The WHO based their advice on data that was over 80 years old and they wilfully ignored new data, new research, and new information.

You can read more about this particular story here in a fantastic piece on Wired. It’s a fascinating indictment of our scientific regulatory systems and the people that decide our fates. It also exposes exactly how certain mechanisms employed by groups like the WHO and EU regulatory bodies can compromise, discount, and dismiss out of hand, honest and open scientific exploration. 

There is a maximum in science that institutionalized scientists choose to willfully and arrogantly ignore. Never say never.

The influence of the mighty dollar

To what extent is grift involved in this process, the direct or indirect enrichment of individuals, projects, and organizations by the very companies that regulators are asked to police? Hugely so, it’s an open secret, widely known and largely glossed over as the part of the game politics, science and big corporations engage in. Again, the public is the inevitable victim of the gatekeeper’s complicity.

Companies like Monsanto budget hundreds of millions of dollars annually for lobbyists. Individuals who operate in the shadows, quietly influencing political policy, legislation, and the passing of corporate-friendly bills. In the halls of political power in Brussels, these lobbyists have become permanent fixtures, as have their colleagues across the water in Washington, filling the coffers of politicians and influential individuals from a bottomless pit of wealth.

It’s not just companies like Monsanto who pursue this practice. Big Pharma, energy companies like Shell and Enron, and almost every sector of big business is accounted for. Grift is how you oil the wheels of progress and science ends up on the losing end. We end up on the losing end. It’s a simple question of logic. Any act or business dealing that requires financial lubrication to enable its deployment, is by its very nature questionable. If you see a lobbyist, it’s a sure bet a potential crime or cover-up is afoot.

The losers are you and I, our children, our environment, and most importantly, our health. It is, without doubt, the one single mechanism that contributes most to the growing list of ailments Americans and their global counterparts suffer from. Mothers, who now question the wiseness of being able to breastfeed their children, as their breastmilk is contaminated with dangerous toxins, antibiotic-resistant super bacteria, and skyrocketing levels of cancers, obesity, diabetes, and conditions like autism. We are being systematically poisoned and our scientists and governments are complicit.

They achieve this by circumventing processes put in place to protect us and the practice of good science leads this list. We establish risk and identify dangers with science, data science, and unimpeded, transparent research. Lobbyists seek to undermine all these processes or, ideally, bypass them completely.

It happens with companies like Shell promoting and exploiting fossils fuels at the cost of the environment, with pharma pushing the envelope of what is legally licensable and suppressing that which it cannot profit from, chemical companies polluting our rivers and water tables and in instances like Monsanto, questionable products are whitewashed and rubber stamped. There are, quite literally billions to be made, and everyone demands a slice of the pie.

Hens Teeth and independent researchers

They’re a dying breed, the independent researcher, a rare beast that hasn’t been corrupted by the ever-present influence of corporate reach. Research isn’t cheap and the best paying jobs don’t reside in academia. Most researchers cut their teeth in laboratories funded or directly owned by Monsanto or their peers. Universities are the feral breeding ground of conscription, where generous donations ensure a constant feed of new young minds, grist for the mills of profit-based research.

While this shouldn’t appear to be a major problem on the surface, after all, individuals are entitled to go where their purse strings draw them, when it comes to appointing or recruiting staff for regulatory bodies, conflicts of interest abound. To try and find, for instance, a scientist to work on agricultural pesticides, who hasn’t at some point in their career, been indentured to either Monsanto or one of their competitors, becomes challenging, to say the least.

The end result is far from ideal, with the opportunity for past relationships, friendships, loyalties, and a host of other factors to impinge on open and transparent research. To sway opinion and research. In some instances, as suggested by the documentary above, companies like Monsanto enjoy such close relationships with regulators they forward their own prepared documents for simple rubber-stamping by the regulators, who then issue the statements as their own.

Clearly, a problem exists and one that isn’t going to simply resolve itself. There are also serious questions that require addressing when it comes to the mindset displayed by supposed science-based institutions like the CDC and WHO, where scientists have arguably exchanged their white mantles of science for the darker cloaks of politics and profit. 

When these individuals are no longer able to question their own beliefs and firmly held opinions in the face of incontrovertible evidence, then science is the loser, humanity suffers and our health becomes forfeit. Accountability matters, transparency matters. The pursuit of truth and real science cannot and must not be impeded by anything as mundane as profit or politics. To allow this to continue is to doom the very society we seek to protect.

The post Monsanto, Roundup, and Glyphosate. Whose Side is Science on and Why it Matters to Us? appeared first on Medika Life.

With so many voices and so much energy being pushed forth to reopen the schools and get the kids back into the classroom, we have to begin to ask several fundamental questions. And these do not concern the Covid-19 virus pandemic.

Question one, which would never have occurred to us in the past, is whether there is clean, lead-free, bacteria-free water in the fountains, the sinks, the toilets, and the showers in the schools.

We take it for granted that schools are safe places for our children and we assume that any water they will be drinking will be good for them. But that’s not necessarily the case.

In a low-income area on the West Coast of the United States, one of the teachers who has the youngest children in her classes was shocked to discover the water was not safe to drink. What could she do?

She did the only thing that teachers in low-income area schools have done and continued to do; she reached out for help. The help she sought was at a charity that provides materials, supplies, special seating, computers, and many other things to teachers in need. The teachers send in their requests, explaining why they need these things, and people worldwide contribute.

Before this charity came to being, the usual course was that teachers reached (and still do) into their own pockets to provide the supplies that our children need and which should have been supplied by their school systems. What are some of the supplies the teachers buy? How about chalk, pencils, and paper?

Why are teachers expected to pay for needed educational materials? They do not make sufficient salaries to meet their needs on anything but a marginal basis. It is discrimination without question. These are public schools, not private ones where everything is there for students, and teachers cannot carry the load for supplies.

The second question parents need to ask is about the safety of the water supplied to the students in the schools. It is assumed it’s healthy, but that is questionable.

Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

An Associated Press investigation found that contaminants have surfaced at public and private schools in all 50 states — in small towns and inner cities alike.

But the problem has gone largely unmonitored by the federal government, even as the number of water safety violations has multiplied.

Water in schools isn’t safe in only small towns across the United States but in places like Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Los Angeles, where dangerous lead levels were discovered. The major culprit? The plumbing system in the schools may be old and contaminated. Now it stands unused for months, without periodic flushing, and the dangers increase.

Empty Schools Increase the Health Problems

What plans have local schools devised to handle the potential threats present in the water of isolated schools? One hotel in Spain had a solution to their 27-stories hotel’s 1,400 pipe taps; flush every five days. How many schools have done anything near that type of protection during times when schools are closed?

The CDC emphasizes how to minimize the risk of Covid-19 infections, but what about the water systems? The lack of care in maintaining school facilities in lower-income neighborhoods is well-known, but this virus places an additional layer of danger on top of the existing ones.

In 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 46% of public schools had conditions that contribute to poor indoor environmental quality, according to a Harvard University study. Asbestos, lead paint, unsafe drinking water, and insufficient heating and cooling are fixtures of public school districts nationwide.

But we needn’t go back eleven years to see that our schools are in dire need of changes, both in architecture and educational planning. There have been efforts to monitor water quality in schools, but when did you last hear of one?

Of course, the situation in Flint, Michigan, comes to mind, but that’s an entire town and the egregious actions of local politicians. But we’re talking about the entire United States and school water systems. Water pipes are the breeding grounds for more than Legionnaire’s Disease.

Who’s taking steps in your area to ensure the safe return of students to classes? What are they doing about the water well before the students return, and what are their plans for the future?

There are no Federal regulations related to adequate testing and maintenance of school water systems. School systems may decide to conduct water testing or not.

The post Schools May Foul the Drinking Water, Endanger and Damage Children appeared first on Medika Life.

Atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, is a non-contagious inflammatory skin condition. It is a chronic disease characterized by dry, itchy skin that can weep clear fluid when scratched. People with eczema also may be particularly susceptible to bacterial, viral, and fungal skin infections.

A note to patients or parents seeking help and advice for themselves or their children. Our Medika Forum will offer a broad range of advice on Eczema. It’s free to use, but you’ll need to register for a free account first on Medika. Please, please keep the following in mind when dealing with eczema.

Five different eczema patients can present with identical rashes and each may have a different underlying cause for the rash. It could be stress, diet, allergies, environmental irritants, or other medical conditions. For this reason, there is no cure-all for Eczema, don’t pin your hopes on a product simply because it’s helped another person. It may work for you or it may not.

Possibly the best advice we can offer you is that you identify, if you can, the underlying cause for the rash. It can help you avoid the irritant if it ingested or environmental. It also means narrowing down the treatments that may or may not work for you. Some hit it lucky after two treatments, others struggle through twenty, and yet others find that their skin develops a resistance to a product that was helping. To assist with this there are links in the article below to proper exclusion diets and advice and information.

Eczema can be one of the most frustrating conditions to deal with. It requires patience and empathy, particularly when you’re dealing with children. It’s one of the reasons we use the Forum to allow people to interact with fellow sufferers, both for support and for sharing advice. This page is a good starting point if you’re just starting to learn about eczema. We’ve linked to a few resources on Medika that we have created in an effort to help you resolve your condition or at least, live comfortably with it.

Causes & Strategies for Prevention

A combination of genetic and environmental factors appears to be involved in the development of eczema. The condition often is associated with other allergic diseases such as asthma, hay fever, and food allergy. Children whose parents have asthma and allergies are more likely to develop atopic dermatitis than children of parents without allergic diseases.

Approximately 30 percent of children with atopic dermatitis have food allergies, and many develop asthma or respiratory allergies. People who live in cities or drier climates also appear more likely to develop the disease.

The condition tends to worsen when a person is exposed to certain triggers, such as

• Pollen, mold, dust mites, animals, and certain foods (for allergic individuals) 
• Cold and dry air 
• Colds or the flu 
• Skin contact with irritating chemicals 
• Skin contact with rough materials such as wool 
• Emotional factors such as stress 
• Fragrances or dyes added to skin lotions or soaps.

Taking too many baths or showers and not moisturizing the skin properly afterward may also make eczema worse.

Skin Care at Home

You and your doctor should discuss the best treatment plan and medications for your atopic dermatitis. But taking care of your skin at home may reduce the need for prescription medications. Some recommendations include 

• Avoid scratching the rash or skin. 
• Relieve the itch by using a moisturizer or topical steroids. Take antihistamines to reduce severe itching. 
• Keep your fingernails cut short. Consider light gloves if nighttime scratching is a problem. 
• Lubricate or moisturize the skin two to three times a day using ointments such as petroleum jelly. Moisturizers should be free of alcohol, scents, dyes, fragrances, and other skin-irritating chemicals. A humidifier in the home also can help. 
• Avoid anything that worsens symptoms, including 
  • Irritants such as wool and lanolin (an oily substance derived from sheep wool used in some moisturizers and cosmetics) 
  • Strong soaps or detergents 
  • Sudden changes in body temperature and stress, which may cause sweating 
• When washing or bathing 
  • Keep water contact as brief as possible and use gentle body washes and cleansers instead of regular soaps. Lukewarm baths are better than long, hot baths. 
  • Do not scrub or dry the skin too hard or for too long. 
  • After bathing, apply lubricating ointments to damp skin. This will help trap moisture in the skin. 

These Eczema resources may be of benefit to you

• The Different Types of Eczema
• Exclusion Diets – Identifying Allergens
• RAST Allergy Testing
• Skin Patch and Skin Prick Allergy Testing
• Avoiding Environmental Irritants
• Eczema and Stress
• Steroid Creams and Skin Care
• Alternate Health treatments for Eczema
• Epipen® and why carrying one may save your life.
• Wet Wrap Therapy for Eczema
• Which Doctors are best trained to deal with Eczema?
• Cycling Eczema Treatments
• The truth about Water and your Skin

The post Eczema or Atopic Dermatitis appeared first on Medika Life.