Subversive Health

FEAR OF IODINE

CAUSE? One “experiment” in 1949 seemed to show that if rats were given “too much” iodine their thyroid collapsed.  This experiment was included in a review in the 1950s by the man who had conducted the experiment. 

RESULT:  all over the counter products health products containing iodine — of which there were many — were removed from drug stores, etc.

PROBLEM?  Iodine is essential for fertility, brain development, intelligence, and proper physical health.  And iodine levels in the soil vary considerably from region to region.  

FEAR OF VITAMIN D

CAUSE? In the 1950s in England there was a “scare” that too much vitamin D could result in facial abnormalities in infants.  The few cases of facial abnormalities found may have been genetic. At that time Vitamin D was being given in massive amounts to treat arthritis — 100,000 units — without any other problems noted.

RESULT:  Vitamin D which had been added to foods and milk — stopped being added altogether in Europe.  In the US it was still added in the milk.

PROBLEM?  Vitamin D is not just a vitamin.  It is actually more of a hormone that is essential for over hundreds of reactions within the human body.  Currently, 42% of the population is deficient and this is higher in the elderly, and those taking acid reflux medication, etc.

FEAR OF CHOLESTEROL / SATURATED FATS

CAUSE: Cholesterol was found in the blocked arteries of men
who died of heart attacks.

RESULT: The conclusion was that the cholesterol had caused the blockage and was dangerous. The word went out that it was to be removed from all diets. Butter was replaced with “healthier” margarine made from polyunsaturated vegetable oils.

PROBLEMS: It seems that cholesterol (and other saturated fats) is one of the primary components of the human brain and nervous system. In addition it works synergistically with Vitamin D to help with multiple reactions throughout the body. The polyunsaturated fats that replaced saturated fats were primarily omega 6’s that were chemically “slower” in reactive times. This was bad for neurological systems but great for food producers as products with slow fats could sit far longer on the shelf without going bad.

FEAR OF SUNLIGHT

CAUSE: A correlation between sun exposure and skin cancers especially melanoma.

RESULT: A widespread belief that sunscreen was essential to put on every time we are outside — and that it was especially important for children.

PROBLEM: Sunscreen does prevent our skin from making vitamin D from the sunlight. Sunlight is a very efficient way for the body to produce vitamin D especially in the young. See problems with insufficient vitamin D. And sunscreen does not protect against melanoma.

PROBLEM: generations of children growing up without even minimal vitamin D — which is essential for hundreds of bodily
functions.

FEAR OF SALT

FEAR: Salt causes high blood pressure.

RESULT: Salt content was lowered in baby food, restaurant food, packaged foods.

PROBLEM: Salt in the form of salt from the sea (or old ocean deposits) contains all the minerals that are in our blood stream and in exactly the same proportions. In the 1920s processed salt removed “impurities” and added aluminum to make it pour. That significantly reduced the minerals and trace elements needed by human bodies. Then this fear of salt as a cause of high blood pressure — a factor in maybe 10% of cases —again reduced the mineral content of food.

Food for Thought

In 2001 John le Carré published The Constant Gardener. In it the hero discovers that his wife’s murder was not random. It was part of a conspiracy. And he learns that the roots of the conspiracy stretch further than he could have imagined; to a German pharmawatch NGO, an African aid station, and, most disturbingly to him, corrupt politicians in the British Foreign Office.

In his afterward to his book, he writes that “by comparison with the reality, my story [is] as tame as a holiday postcard”