Author: Health Freedom Idaho

  • Holiday Happiness: Toasted Coconut Cheesecake

    Holiday Happiness: Toasted Coconut Cheesecake

    The holidays tend to be filled with many food related gatherings. Doctor Rosie Main started the season off this past week when shared her keto cheesecake at a Thanksgiving Recipe exchange. It is beyond extra-ordinary. Our family loves to purchase fresh produce and perishables from the farmer’s market and local market store. We use Thrive Market for our pantry staples. Be sure to scroll down to see the Thrive Market offer for 25% off your first order. Thrive offers some of the best selection, quality and prices on healthy foods, and they have a great giving back ethos that you are sure to appreciate this holiday season.

    SEE Doctor Rosie’s Step – by – step recipe video.

    Toast Coconut (unsweetened shredded and flaked): Spread thin layer on cookie sheet; toast in oven at 325 degree for 5-8 minutes. Left over, store in glass container in pantry for 1 month or can be frozen.
    Powder Xylitol: Can be done in a blender by giving it a few quick whirls until the consistency is like powdered sugar (I do extra and store for future use). Someone mentioned this can be done in a coffee grinder too. Give it a whirl.
    INGREDIENTS:
    CRUST
    •1 cup pecans
    •1 cup finely shredded coconut, unsweetened
    •3 tbsp powdered xylitol
    •1/4 tsp salt
    •2 tbsp melted butter
    FILLING
    •1 & 1/2 lbs cream cheese (3 8-ounce packages), softened
    •3/4 cup powdered xylitol
    •3 large eggs, room temperature
    •2/3 cup full fat coconut milk (canned), room temperature (I warm on stove to blend it, remove from stove measure and let cool before adding as not to “cook” the ingredients before going into oven)
    •1/2 tsp vanilla extract
    •1/2 tsp coconut extract

    INSTRUCTIONS:
    Crust:
    1. Preheat oven to 325F
    2. In a food processor, nuts on high until coarsely chopped. Add coconut, sweetener and salt and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs
    3. Add melted butter. Stir to combine well. Press mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom a 9”springform pan
    4. •Bake 12 to 14 minutes, or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove and let cool.

    Filling:
    1. Reduce oven temperature to 300F.
    2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on medium until smooth. Beat in sweetener until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl and beaters as needed. Then beat in coconut milk, vanilla extract and coconut extract until smooth.
    3. Brush the sides of the springform pan with a little melted butter and then pour the filling over the cooled crust.
    4. Place springform pan on a cookie sheet and place on the center rack on the oven. On the rack below, place a large baking dish filled with water.
    5. Bake 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, or until edges are set and center just barely jiggles when shaken. Remove and let cool completely. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and remove sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least j3 or 4 hours.
    Add whip cream layer and toasted coconut flake topping

    Coupons

    Thrive Market offers the best-selling natural and organic products at wholesale prices through a $60/year membership. Think Costco meets Whole Foods online, and for every paid membership Thrive donates one membership to a low-income American family. Health Freedom Idaho members can sign up to receive 25% off and free shipping off their first order through this link.

    Amazon is showing off their Whole Foods acquisition with this offer. Until November 26th, Amazon Prime members can get 20% off their Thanksgiving turkey at Whole Foods markets. Our Boise store is a valued destination for natural food lovers.

    Jovial Foods is giving 25% off on Cyber Monday for their ancient heirloom non-hybridized Einkorn wheat products and gluten-free foods. (Code: CYBERMONDAY17)

  • What about Herd Immunity?

    What about Herd Immunity?

    Herd
    immunity is a lie used to scare you into taking dangerous vaccines. 3 out of 4 people are unvaccinated and thus herd
    immunity doesn’t exist.
    The sound bites of “herd immunity” are over simplification of a deeply complicated topic.

    More information from Suzanne on herd immunity. https://youtu.be/8GDQwYFZnCk

    4 Reasons Why Measles & Herd Immunity Isn’t Working https://youtu.be/GBzJHXrrDB8

  • A Nourishing Thanksgiving

    A Nourishing Thanksgiving

    It’s one of our favorite holidays of the year. A day dedicated to giving thanks, practicing more gratitude, sharing and relishing the bountiful blessings that we have been afforded. Although Thanksgiving in America has migrated away from its Pilgrim roots and has turned into something of a feast-fest, the act of eating wholesome things with others, in gratitude, is still a meaningful tradition.

    Since we’re all about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness here at Health Freedom Idaho, we have gathered some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes for a cornucopia of nourishing epicurean delight.

    If you like pretty pictures to help motivate you, Food52’s Thanksgiving Menu Maker is a welcome distraction and idea-generator.

    Be sure to scroll down to see the Thrive Market offer for 25% off your first order. Thrive offers some of the best selection, quality and prices on healthy foods, and they have a great giving back ethos that you are sure to appreciate this Thanksgiving.

    The Turkey

    It’s not just the recipe, it’s the quality of your turkey that can make a world of difference. That’s why we recommend buying organic, heritage or humanely raised turkey for your family’s health and to support sustainable food sources.

    The classic: Good Eats Roast Turkey is a wet-brining-and-scientifically-predicated-temperature-masterpiece. Pretty foolproof if you follow the directions to a T.

    The newcomer/old-world technique: Dry-brining has gotten the attention lately, boasting more flavorful and tender meat, shorter cooking times and better protection from overcooking due to the use of coarse sea salt during the thawing / brining process. Healthy Home Economist’s “dry brine any meat” recipe may become your next staple turkey and meat recipe. Note that it takes days to achieve this result, so start accordingly!

    Better Bone Broth

    We love a good bone broth to flavor our stuffing and gravy. Dr. Rosie’s recipe is nourishing and delicious. May as well make the Thanksgiving essentials more nourishing.

    Or, if you’re short on time, many brands have emerged with bone broth offerings. Epic Foods’ turkey cranberry sage bone broth is Thanksgiving in-a-jar.

    Recipe: Cranberry Relish

    One of our favorite cranberry sauces is the simplest to make. Because the sauce is raw, the fruit and honey retain their natural enzymes, making this a great digestive aid and palette refresher.

    • 1 bag of organic fresh cranberries (rinsed)
    • 1 whole organic orange (cubed, large seeds removed)
    • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
    • 1/4 cup good quality raw honey

    Combine in a food processor bowl and pulse to desired consistency. Taste and add more sweetener, if desired. Chill until 30 minutes before the meal. This keeps well in the refrigerator for about a week.

    Healthier Rolls

    Einkorn Rolls are a fantastic way to enjoy einkorn, a non-hybridized ancient wheat, this holiday. For those avoiding gluten, and this Paleo recipe are wonderful pillows of baked-good-ness for your sopping pleasure.

    Karina’s Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls feature nourishing flours like millet, buckwheat and hazelnut to amp up the nutrition and satisfaction.

    Garlic Herb Paleo Dinner Rolls from Paleo Running Momma are full of flavor and feature almond flour and grass-fed butter or ghee.

    Non-GMO Stuffing

    If you are looking for healthier stuffing cubes, consider Berlin Natural Bakery’s certified non-gmo spelt stuffing. These make more nourishing and flavorful stuffing. They tend to soak up a lot of broth (perhaps due to density?) so amp up your broth by at least 25%.

    Elevated Potatoes

    Onions are a major boon to the standard mashed potatoes in this recipe: Whipped Potatoes with Three Onions.

    Seasonal Veggies and Squash

    We have a lot of squash growing in local gardens here in Idaho. Butternut, acorn, kabocha and banana squash are common and seemed to grow really well this year.

    Roasted acorn squash with chile vinaigrette is a very simple, yet palette-tingling shift out of traditional Thanksgiving flavors.

    Thrive’s Hasselback squash recipe utilizes a large butternut squash and some quick but fancy knife techniques to transform the 1700’s potato recipe into something even prettier.

    This Parnsip-Apple Puree is a sweet-light alternative to mashed potatoes.

    We like sides from the garden like this fresh-tasting Shaved Fall Vegetable Salad with Cider Vinaigrette as a light compliment to the heavier traditional dishes.

    Shaved Brussel Sprouts with Tangerines are one of our staff faves for texture and a sulfurous contrast to the rich and creamy vibes of Thanksgiving.

    Pie, Of Course

    For most of us, pie is a must – no matter what diet you may be on. We’ve curated a few traditional and creative takes on the sweet tradition.

    Coupons

    Thrive Market offers the best-selling natural and organic products at wholesale prices through a $60/year membership. Think Costco meets Whole Foods online, and for every paid membership Thrive donates one membership to a low-income American family. Health Freedom Idaho members can sign up to receive 25% off and free shipping off their first order through this link.

    Amazon is showing off their Whole Foods acquisition with this offer. Until November 26th, Amazon Prime members can get 20% off their Thanksgiving turkey at Whole Foods markets. Our Boise store is a valued destination for natural food lovers.

    Jovial Foods is giving 25% off on Cyber Monday for their ancient heirloom non-hybridized Einkorn wheat products and gluten-free foods. (Code: CYBERMONDAY17)

    From Health Freedom Idaho’s volunteer team and their families, to you and yours: a very Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Teens, Screens, and Mental Health

    Teens, Screens, and Mental Health

    Surveys show that today’s teens feel useless and joyless and there is an increase of teen suicide.Could it be access to smartphones and social media usage? Even if online time doesn’t directly harm mental health, it could still adversely affect it in indirect ways, especially if time online crowds out time for other activities. What are your thoughts? Could screens be toxic to our health?

    San Diego State Professor of Psychology writes this about teens, screens and mental health:

    Around 2012, something started going wrong in the lives of teens.

    In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large national surveys. Teen suicide attempts increased 23 percent. Even more troubling, the number of 13- to 18-year-olds who committed suicide jumped 31 percent.

    In a new paper published in Clinical Psychological Science, my colleagues and I found that the increases in depression, suicide attempts and suicide appeared among teens from every background – more privileged and less privileged, across all races and ethnicities and in every region of the country. All told, our analysis found that the generation of teens I call “iGen” – those born after 1995 – is much more likely to experience mental health issues than their millennial predecessors.

    What happened so that so many more teens, in such a short period of time, would feel depressed, attempt suicide and commit suicide? After scouring several large surveys of teens for clues, I found that all of the possibilities traced back to a major change in teens’ lives: the sudden ascendance of the smartphone.

    All signs point to the screen

    Because the years between 2010 to 2015 were a period of steady economic growth and falling unemployment, it’s unlikely that economic malaise was a factor. Income inequality was (and still is) an issue, but it didn’t suddenly appear in the early 2010s: This gap between the rich and poor had been widening for decades. We found that the time teens spent on homework barely budged between 2010 and 2015, effectively ruling out academic pressure as a cause.

    However, according to the Pew Research Center, smartphone ownership crossed the 50 percent threshold in late 2012 – right when teen depression and suicide began to increase. By 2015, 73 percent of teens had access to a smartphone.

    Not only did smartphone use and depression increase in tandem, but time spent online was linked to mental health issues across two different data sets. We found that teens who spent five or more hours a day online were 71 percent more likely than those who spent only one hour a day to have at least one suicide risk factor (depression, thinking about suicide, making a suicide plan or attempting suicide). Overall, suicide risk factors rose significantly after two or more hours a day of time online.

    Of course, it’s possible that instead of time online causing depression, depression causes more time online. But three other studies show that is unlikely (at least, when viewed through social media use).

    Two followed people over time, with both studies finding that spending more time on social media led to unhappiness, while unhappiness did not lead to more social media use. Athirdrandomly assigned participants to give up Facebook for a week versus continuing their usual use. Those who avoided Facebook reported feeling less depressed at the end of the week.

    The argument that depression might cause people to spend more time online doesn’t also explain why depression increased so suddenly after 2012. Under that scenario, more teens became depressed for an unknown reason and then started buying smartphones, which doesn’t seem too logical.

    What’s lost when we’re plugged in

    Even if online time doesn’t directly harm mental health, it could still adversely affect it in indirect ways, especially if time online crowds out time for other activities.

    For example, while conducting research for my book on iGen, I found that teens now spend much less time interacting with their friends in person. Interacting with people face to face is one of the deepest wellsprings of human happiness; without it, our moods start to suffer and depression often follows. Feeling socially isolated is also one of the major risk factors for suicide. We found that teens who spent more time than average online and less time than average with friends in person were the most likely to be depressed. Since 2012, that’s what has occurred en masse: Teens have spent less time on activities known to benefit mental health (in-person social interaction) and more time on activities that may harm it (time online).

    Teens are also sleeping less, and teens who spend more time on their phones are more likely to not be getting enough sleep. Not sleeping enough is a major risk factor for depression, so if smartphones are causing less sleep, that alone could explain why depression and suicide increased so suddenly.

    Depression and suicide have many causes: Genetic predisposition, family environments, bullying and trauma can all play a role. Some teens would experience mental health problems no matter what era they lived in.

    But some vulnerable teens who would otherwise not have had mental health issues may have slipped into depression due to too much screen time, not enough face-to-face social interaction, inadequate sleep or a combination of all three.

    It might be argued that it’s too soon to recommend less screen time, given that the research isn’t completely definitive. However, the downside to limiting screen time – say, to two hours a day or less – is minimal. In contrast, the downside to doing nothing – given the possible consequences of depression and suicide – seems, to me, quite high.

    It’s not too early to think about limiting screen time; let’s hope it’s not too late.

    http://theconversation.com/with-teen-mental-health-deteriorating-over-five-years-theres-a-likely-culprit-86996

  • Why diet, environment, toxin exposure and lifestyle MATTERS

    Why diet, environment, toxin exposure and lifestyle MATTERS

    Children are living with chronic illness. And those numbers are continuing to rise.

    1 in 6 have learning disabilities

    1 in 10 have asthma

    1 in 13 have food allergies

    1 in 20 have seizures

    1 in 68 have autism

    1 in 42 boys have autism

    HALF of our children have a chronic illness or are overweight.

    These symptoms are now considered the “new normal”. Are you concerned? We are!

    Their lives and that of their families are compromised to the point where continual hardships are experienced which continue to reduce quality of life. A child that experiences vaccine injury or death wasn’t just healthy one day and sick or dead the next. There is a preponderance of scientific evidence revealing how many of the symptoms children experience that are considered “normal” or “not a problem” by so many so-called health care professionals are in fact connected to their overall decline in health. These symptoms can and do lead to a diagnosis or pronouncement of something such as ASD (autism) or related disorder and/or death.

    As one example, there are dozens and dozens of papers concluding that those with autism have been observed to have gut deficiencies and compromise. Here are just a few of those papers:

    • The Journal of Pediatrics November 1999; 135(5):559-63
    • The Journal of Pediatrics 2000; 138(3): 366-372
    • Journal of Clinical Immunology November 2003; 23(6): 504-517
    • Journal of Neuroimmunology 2005
    • Brain, Behavior and Immunity 1993; 7: 97-103
    • Pediatric Neurology 2003; 28(4): 1-3
    • Neuropsychobiology 2005; 51:77-85
    • The Journal of Pediatrics May 2005;146(5):605-10
    • Autism Insights 2009; 1: 1-11
    • Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology February 2009; 23(2): 95-98
    • Annals of Clinical Psychiatry 2009:21(3): 148-161
    • Journal of Child Neurology June 29, 2009; 000:1-6
    • Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders March 2009;39(3):405-13
    • Medical Hypotheses August 1998;51:133-144 .
    • Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia January-March 1971;1:48-62
    • Journal of Pediatrics March 2001;138:366-372 .
    • Molecular Psychiatry 2002;7:375-382 .
    • American Journal of Gastroenterology April 2004;598-605 .
    • Journal of Clinical Immunology November 2003;23:504-517 .
    • Neuroimmunology April 2006;173(1-2):126-34 .
    • Neuropsychopharmacol Biol. Psychiatry December 30 2006;30:1472-1477.
    • Clinical Infectious Diseases September 1 2002;35(Suppl 1):S6-S16
    • Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2004;70(11):6459-6465
    • Journal of Medical Microbiology October 2005;54:987-991

    Gut compromise is now being widely recognized as a major cause and contributor to chronic health issues including auto-immune disease. ASD is a recognized auto-immune disorder. There are many medical and scientific professionals who believe this is true including Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, Kelly Brogan MD, Dr. David Perlmutter, M.D., Dr. Stephanie Seneff, PhD. Dr. Bob Sears Dr. Suzanne Humphries, MD, Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD. We recommend reading anything these individuals have written and learn more.

    Scientific papers and discussions by medical professionals showing the link between gut flora (bacteria) and auto-immune disease:

    Frontiers in Immunology

    GreenMedInfo (including multiple scientific references, sources and causes of disruption in gut bacteria as a contributor of chronic disease)Annals of Gastroenterology

    Amy Nett, MD (guest author on Chris Kresser)

    Autoimmune Disease

    Symptoms widely experienced by children which are indicative of some type of gut/brain and auto-immune compromise which could eventually lead to ASD or related diagnosis and/or death:

    • Colic and other gastrointestinal symptoms (bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, etc.)
    • Fussiness
    • ADD/ADHD
    • Motor or speech delays
    • Learning disabilities
    • Failure to thrive
    • Frequent infections
    • Back arching
    • High-pitched cry
    • Sensory issues
    • Head banging or other repetitive movement/activity
    • Cessation of eye-contact or lack of verbal communication/response
    • Auto-immune diseases including eczema, asthma, diabetes and others
    • Food intolerance/allergies

    Sources: Modern Alternative Health, Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Kenneth Bock, MD

    This information is on the cutting edge of medical discovery and information over the last 10+ years and is sadly being dismissed by the wider medical and health communities. Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, MD developed a healing healing protocol and research for literally hundreds of thousands of chronically ill children and adults. She has observed that the vaccine component is very likely the “straw that breaks the camel’s back”; that those with ASD had at least some of these symptoms and gut compromise prior to diagnosis. This explains why in some cases, some children seem to be “fine” while others have gone into full-blown ASD (autism).

    A child that becomes autistic “overnight” likely had some of these symptoms which were ignored or dismissed by the doctor. Doctors are trained to treat symptoms, prescribe drugs, and administer vaccines without understanding of the underlying causes of this widespread and mounting health epidemic. This is why so many children don’t improve and/or worsen until autism is officially “pronounced”, or in some cases, until death. It also explains why some children simply never progress beyond certain developmental stages and remain in diapers through adulthood and require 24 hour maintenance and watch. This trend is on the rise. There is no such thing as a genetic epidemic! We don’t have better diagnosis, we are witnessing a downward spiral of children that are becoming sick at younger ages, and who will require care for the rest of their lives.

    We must acknowledge that lifestyle matters, diet matters. Children cannot be conceived in a world without consideration of the mounting number of chemicals and environmental interference in their conception, development and growth. Under these toxic circumstances, we cannot expect their health to remain optimal.

    Medicalized practices impacting the health of infants before and after birth:

    Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, MD emphasizes the preponderance of medical interventions, toxins, and dietary issues which affect children’s well-being and growth and development:

    • Amniocentisis
    • Dietary / lifestyle habits of parents prior to conception, pregnancy and birth
    • Vaccines administered to the pregnant mother and infant after birth
    • Drugs administered to the pregnant mother and infant after birth
    • Formula feeding
    • Less-than optimal dietary support for the breastfeeding mother
    • Lack of breastfeeding
    • Chemicals in the infant’s environment including clothing, care products, upholstery, bedding
    • Electromagnetic pollution
    • The diet children consume which lacks real, organic and traditional foods, and products which are processed and highly toxic and processed.
    • Chlorinated and fluoridated water
    • Lack of moderate and regular sun exposure for the body to be able to produce Vitamin D3 (essential to developmental, immunity, gut and overall health)
    • Use of sunscreen to block necessary Vitamin D3 production
    • Lack of exposure to diverse bacteria and over-sterilization of the environment
    • Lack of exposure to outside time and dirt
    • Lack of pure, filtered water with minerals
    • Medicalized birth activities including ultrasound, induced labor, epidurals, c-sections, taking babies away from their mothers at birth, failure to delay cord clamping, wiping away the vernix at birth

    Source: Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride

    Dr. Kelly Brogan, MD discusses the health of the microbiome and effects of medicalized birth on infants. She agrees that these practices disturb and jeopardize the health of the microbiome. A paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reveals that colonization by Clostridium difficile at age 1 month was associated with wheeze and eczema throughout the first 6 to 7 years of life and with asthma at age 6 to 7 years. Home compared with hospitalized births are linked to a decrease in the following: asthma, allergic symptoms and food sensitization as compared with hospital birth.

    More proof that are children are being damaged by toxins and chemicals:

    Here are 50 scientific studies on health outcomes from the use of vaccines including anorexia, auto-immune conditions, increased death rates in infants, brain inflammation, behavioral disorders similar to autism, neurological damage, ovarian failure, febrile seizures, brain abnormalities linked to emotional and social developmental challenges, and more. These have been dismissed and ignored by the American Academy of Pediatrics:

    “There is a robust, worldwide body of published science from highly esteemed scientists questioning the safety of many different aspects of vaccines – how come we never hear from them? The majority of the most compelling science has been published since 2010. Below find 50 such studies to consider, sorted chronologically, and note that these studies only represent a portion of the published work implicating vaccinations in a wide variety of negative health outcomes.”

    http://vaccinesafetycommission.org/studies.html

    We need to take these factors into account, as many scientific professionals are and have been doing for some years. Children don’t become sick overnight and there is always more than one factor, and in fact, multiple factors, at play. These DO matter and they are significant in impacting our children’s health!

    Other factors:

    Fluoride

    Pesticide perspective: Eating organic. Should you care?

    3 Pesticide Realities

    GMOs (genetically-modified substances)

    For more information, check out these articles:

    Allergens and vaccines

    21 natural alternatives to the flu shot

    Food reduces brain inflammation

    Chemo failed her. Food healed her.

    Unvaccinated pose zero risk to the public

    Could micronutrients replace Ritalin as treatment for ADHD?

    Pineapple juice found to be 500% more effective than cough syrup

    Something has gone terribly wrong. Why are our children so very sick?

    There were 6 million vaccine reactions in one year. Would you consider it safe?

    For educational tools and support about how traditional diets support the growth and development of infants and children:

    Nourishing Our Children

  • Faith in Medicine: the 3rd Leading Cause of Death

    Faith in Medicine: the 3rd Leading Cause of Death

    The Legislature is being pressured by out of state vaccine advocate Paul Offit and local organizations with the intent is to create a law that would prosecute parents who choose alternative methods of treatment for their sick children. Health Freedom Idaho is grateful that our Legislators have said, year after year, that laws are already in place under Child Protective Services and mandated reporting are adequate to protect children from abuse. November 17, 2017 KIVI news reported that this topic will again be brought up again in the 2018 Legislative session.

    Health Freedom Idaho will be there again to address this topic. The legislation that has been brought to date, and voted down, proposed increased mandated reporting by Doctors and healthcare workers, increased CPS supervision of families, and a decrease in parental choice in health care options. <see Faith Healing Exemption>

    There are concerns by many citizens of Idaho that the Legislature will put in a place a statute that will increase false allegations of “abuse” and erode parental authority in the health choice of their children. Legislators have been reminded that receiving medical treatment at a doctor’s office or hospital does not ensure health or healing. It does not guarantee longevity or of lack of suffering. Millions of other parents hold faith in modern medicine, yet are not punished when a treatment fails and their child is subsequently injured or killed.

    This leads to three important points:

    • A study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers points to medical error as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. 1
    • Looking to malpractice figures in Idaho, we see hundreds of doctors and nurses have erred in providing care to patients resulting in license suspension and revocation. Other research has revealed that, medical error by pediatric hospital staff is as high as 67%. 2
    • Idaho has no program in place to report adverse events and medical errors. Without the tracking of these vital statistics, Idaho doctors and hospitals can shield their fatal lapses in care, diagnostic mistakes, and dosage errors from public scrutiny. Some of these errors are FATAL.

    When a child died after being given the wrong dosage of medicine by St. Lukes Hospital in Idaho, the nurse was NOT prosecuted because his intent was not to kill the child.

    Why would the State want to hold parents to a different standard when parents choose alternative means of care (including prayer) when treating their child’s illness?

    Third Leading Cause of Death MEDICAL ERROR

    A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine says medical errors should rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States — and highlights how shortcomings in tracking vital statistics may hinder research and keep the problem out of the public eye.

    The authors, led by Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Martin Makary, call for changes in death certificates to better tabulate fatal lapses in care. In an open letter, they urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to immediately add medical errors to its annual list reporting the top causes of death.

    Johns Hopkins study conservatively estimates that more than 251,000 Americans die each year from medical errors. On the CDC’s official list, that would rank just behind heart disease and cancer and in front of respiratory disease.

    Medical mistakes that can lead to death range from surgical complications that go unrecognized to mix-ups with the doses or types of medications patients receive. But no one knows the exact toll taken by medical errors. In significant part, that’s because the coding system used by CDC to record death certificate data doesn’t capture things like communication breakdowns, diagnostic errors and poor judgment that cost lives, the study says.

    How does this affect Idaho?

    Idaho doesn’t track medical errors. In fact, it took a special task force called by the Governor to track the causes of death in infants and children in the past several years. Medical errors can be easily covered and ignored by hospital administration, staff and left hidden from the public.

    Occasionally a heart breaking story is revealed that leaves one to question our society’s unwavering ‘faith’ in modern medicine. 4

    St. Luke’s: Nurse’s Medication Error Resulted in Child Fatality

    One week after confirming an infant died at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center after receiving the wrong medication, hospital officials said Oct. 2 the 7-month-old died when he received a dose of saline solution infused with potassium phosphate intended for an adult patient.

    A family attorney revealed the child’s name as August Elliot.

    “One of our nurses prepared the adult patient’s medication solution at the nurse’s station,” the hospital said in the statement. “Sometime later, another nurse mistook that prepared bag as the one to be used for the child, took it into August’s room and administered it. Approximately 10 minutes later, August went into cardiac arrest and we began resuscitation efforts. Thirteen minutes into that effort, another nurse read the label on the bag and realized August was receiving the wrong medication.”

    Hospital officials wrote in a statement: “We missed at least one part of the standard procedure of administering medication,” and they were tightening their internal processes to minimize any chance of human error in the future.

    DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE FATAL DOSE WAS GIVEN IN ERROR – The nurse wasn’t charged with a criminal act. (Which brings into question the legislative need to criminalize the behavior of parents who do not intend on doing harm to their children when they choose alternative course of treatment (including prayer) for their children’s illness.

    The Twin Falls Times-News reports the findings from the hospital’s investigation have been forwarded to the nation’s top hospital accreditation board and the Twin Falls County Coroner.

    1. 3rd Leading Cause of Death Medical Error https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/05/03/476636183/death-certificates-undercount-toll-of-medical-errors

    https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2139.full

    Pediatric Staff admits errors as much as 67%
    from the Nursing Certification review Manual Continuing Education Resource Clinical Practice Resource

    2. Stratton, Biegen, Pepper and Vaughn 2004 conducted a descriptive study that surveyed a convenience sample of 57 pediatric-care and 227 adult care hospital nurses regarding medication errors reported on their units, examining why medication error occur, and why medication errors are not always reported. This study primarily focused on pediatric data with a comparison of adult acute care nurses. Pediatric nurse indicated that a higher proportion of errors were reported compared with adult care. 67% pediatric care errors compared to 56% adult care.)

    3 http://www.thornton-health.com/articles/drs_cause_death.shtml

    This information is a followup of the Institute of Medicine report the data was hard to reference as it was not in peer-reviewed journal. Now it is published in JAMA which is the most widely circulated medical periodical in the world.

    The author or the originally reference studies Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health and she describes how the US health care system may contribute to poor health.

    4 http://www.kmvt.com/content/news/Prosecutor-will-not-file-charges-in-infants-death-at-St-Lukes-Hospital-367063101.html

    FOLLOW UP: http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/family-sues-nurse-healthcare-company-after-babys-death-at-st-lukes/311329841

  • New CDC Guidelines: 5 Year-Old Can Receive up to 19 Vaccinations in One Month

    New CDC Guidelines: 5 Year-Old Can Receive up to 19 Vaccinations in One Month

    CDC has launched a vaccine ‘catch-up schedule’ that has NOT been tested for safety, requiring a five year old to receive 19 vaccines in one month. This includes 6 doses of aluminum-containing injections! Neither manufacturers, nor the CDC has tested for safety to determine the immediate or long-term risk of neurological or immunological damage.

    On November 2, 2017, Neil Z. Miller made an online announcement that was guaranteed to shock thousands of parents worldwide.

    In a post, written on the popular social media platform Facebook, Miller exposed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recently hatched a plan to ensure that ALL children were up to date with their scheduled vaccinations, whether they were vaccinated or unvaccinated . He revealed that the CDC had launched a catch-up program which could cause an unvaccinated 5-year-old to receive as many as 19 vaccinations in one month.

    He wrote that:

    “The CDC has just launched a program that will calculate a catch-up schedule for children who were not vaccinated on schedule. A 5-year-old child who was not previously vaccinated would be required to receive 19 vaccines in one month, including 6 doses of aluminum-containing injections! This catch-up schedule was NOT tested for safety to determine the immediate or long-term risk of neurological or immunological damage.” (own emphasis)

    Following the links provided by Miller, it appears that the CDC table of vaccinations required in their catch-up program had been approved by the following organizations:

    Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices – ( www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip)

    American Academy of Pediatrics – ( www.aap.org)

    American Academy of Family Physicians – ( www.aafp.org)

    American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – ( www.acog.org)

    See tables here.

    Combining Childhood Vaccinations in One Visit is Potentially Life-Threatening

    In September 2016, Miller and his co-author Goldman published a paper titled Combining Childhood Vaccines at One Visit Is Not Safe.

    Using data taken from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) website, Miller was able to prove that the more vaccines a child received at any given time, the more likely an adverse reaction could occur.

    They wrote that:

    “… Of the 38,801 VAERS reports that we analyzed, 969 infants received two vaccine doses prior to the adverse event and 107 of those infants were hospitalized: a hospitalization rate of 11%. Of 1,959 infants who received three vaccine doses prior to the adverse event, 243 of them required hospitalization: 12.4%. For four doses, 561 of 3,909 infants were hospitalized: 14.4%.

    Notice the emerging pattern: Infants who had an adverse event reported to VAERS were more likely to require hospitalization when they received three vaccine doses instead of two, or four vaccine doses instead of three.”

    The researchers continued:

    “… Of 10,114 infants who received five vaccine doses prior to the adverse event, 1,463 of them required hospitalization: 14.5%. For six doses, 1,365 of 8,454 infants were hospitalized: 16.1%. For seven doses, 1,051 of 5,489 infants were hospitalized: 19.1%. And for eight doses, 661 of 2,817 infants were hospitalized: 23.5%. The hospitalization rate increased linearly from 11.0% for two doses to 23.5% for eight doses.”

    In other words, the more vaccines that an infant received, the more likely they were to suffer an adverse reaction.

    Miller and Goldman explained that:

    “Of the 38,801 VAERS reports that we analyzed, 11,927 infants received one, two, three, or four vaccine doses prior to having an adverse event, and 423 of those infants died: a mortality rate of 3.6%. The remaining 26,874 infants received five, six, seven, or eight vaccine doses prior to the adverse event and 1,458 of them died: 5.4%.

    The mortality rate for infants who received five to eight vaccine doses (5.4%) is significantly higher than the mortality rate for infants who received one to four doses (3.6%), with a rate ratio(RR) of 1.5 (95% CI, 1.4-1.7).

    Of infants reported to VAERS, those who had received more vaccines had a statistically significant 50% higher mortality rate compared with those who had received fewer.”

    To read more on Miller’s paper, see my article: New Study Warns of the Dangers of Multiple Vaccinations.

    Once again the CDC is recommending vaccines in a schedule for our children without safety testing. Health Freedom Idaho joined 55 organizations respectfully requesting the US Department of Health and Human Services to provide confirmation that certain obligations regarding vaccine safety required under the 1986 Act have been fulfilled or will forthwith be fulfilled. Read the entire notice at HHS Vaccine Safety Responsibilities and Notice Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-31

  • 7 Wonderful Oregano Benefits

    7 Wonderful Oregano Benefits

    The impressive health benefits of oregano include its ability to protect the immune system, prevent the onset of chronic disease, improve digestion, detoxify the body, strengthen the bones, improve heart health, increase energy levels, and even protect against diabetes. From adding flavor to dishes to killing antibiotic resistant infections, oregano has many uses in the kitchen and beyond.

    • Oregano is a popular herb that many people think of as merely a spice to improve or enhance the flavor of their food, but in reality, this perennial herb, with the scientific name of Origanum vulgare, has a treasure of health benefits that most people don’t realize at all. Native to southwest Eurasia and the Mediterranean area, oregano has been a valuable part of both culinary and alternative medicine treatments for thousands of years. Oregano is actually closely related to mint, and its genus is actually in the same family as Mentha. For this reason, the two share many similar organic components and have many of the same health benefits. The leaves of oregano are the most commonly used part of the plant, but strangely, the aroma and flavor of the leaves are far greater when the herb is dried than when the leaves are fresh, which is somewhat unusual for an herb.

    • Here are culinary use tips:

      • Add it toward the end of the cooking process for maximum flavor
      • The smaller you chop or grind it, the more flavor will be released
      • Start with a small amount, as too much can make the food bitter
      • One teaspoon of dried oregano is equivalent to one tablespoon of fresh oregano

    • It is available dried or fresh in grocery stores, or you can grow it in a pot on a windowsill or balcony or in the garden. It is a perennial, which means it can grow all year.

      In folk medicine and herbal remedies from Australia to Egypt, oregano has developed a popular following as a veritable cure for many health concerns, but the research to back up all of those claims is ongoing. However, there are some potent active ingredients in oregano that have been intensely studied, and their effects on the body are redundant.

    Oil of oregano is an extremely concentrated form of oregano and is used to treat some conditions, but it should always be diluted, as it is very potent. In culinary applications, where it is most commonly seen, it is used to flavor everything from soups, sauces, and curries to meat dishes, pizza, pasta, vegetables, and even salads. Now, let’s dig a little deeper into the diverse and impressive health benefits of oregano.

    Health Benefits of Oregano

    Health benefits of oregano include:

    Boosts Immunity

    Two of the most important components of oregano is rosmarinic acid and thymol, both of which are powerful antioxidant compounds that have been closely linked to reducing oxidative stress in the body. Free radicals are the destructive by-products of cellular metabolism that can cause cancer and other chronic diseases. Thus, adding oregano to your diet by sprinkling it on your meals can improve your immune health and keep your body safe from some of the most dangerous and silent killers.

    Oregano is an herb with an estimated 4 times the concentration of antioxidants as blueberries and offers a wealth of additional health benefits. – Natural Society.com

    In 2014, food scientists discovered that the popular culinary herbs oregano, rosemary, and marjoram contain compounds that may have the potential to manage type 2 diabetes in a similar way to some currently prescribed drugs.

    Antibacterial Activity

    On a more basic immune system note, oregano also has clear antibacterial properties, which is again due to the presence of thymol and carvacrol. These important organic compounds can defend the body against a wide range of bacteria that can affect the skin, the gut, and other parts of the body. Oregano is also a slightly stimulating agent, which can increase the production of white blood cells and speed up the metabolism, resulting in the faster recovery of common illnesses.

    The herb has shown antimicrobial activity in a number of studies. One group of researchers found that Origanum vulgare essential oils were effective against 41 strains of the food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.

    Another team from India and the United Kingdom (U.K.) reported that the essential oil of Himalayan oregano has strong antibacterial properties that may protect against the hospital superbug, MRSA.

    “We have done a few preliminary tests and have found that the essential oil from the oregano kills MRSA at a dilution 1 to 1,000. The tests show that the oil kills MRSA both as a liquid and as a vapor and its antimicrobial activity is not diminished by heating in boiling water.”

    Prof. Vyv Salisbury, the University of the West of England, Bristol

    Aids Digestion

    Oregano is packed with fiber, so despite its small size, it can have a major impact on your digestive system. Fiber is an essential element of a healthy digestive system, as it can increase the bulk of your stool and stimulate peristaltic motion, which moves food through the digestive tract and excretes it efficiently. Also, fiber helps to maintain the health of the gut and increases nutrient uptake, so the food you eat does more for you!

    Improves Heart Health

    Oregano is a natural form of omega-3 fatty acids, the beneficial type of cholesterol that actually improves your heart health. Furthermore, omega-3 fatty acids help to re balance your cholesterol levels and reduce inflammation in the cardiovascular system, thereby helping to prevent atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and strokes!

    Detoxifies the Body

    The nutrient-rich oregano, with a high content of manganese, calcium, iron, vitamin K, fiber, and a wide range of other organic compounds, makes this an ideal herb for detoxifying the body. Research has shown that oregano can help liver function and speed up the process of toxin elimination.

    Improves Bone Health

    As we get older, our bones begin to weaken and break down, so ensuring that we get enough vitamins and minerals in our early years is important. Calcium, iron, and manganese are some of the most crucial minerals for bone health, and oregano has significant amounts of all of them, making it great for people who want to protect themselves against osteoporosis later in life.

    oreganoinfo

    Increases Energy Levels

    By improving the functionality of the metabolism, thanks to B-vitamins and its unique organic composition, the body is rejuvenated and energized. The increase in circulation, due to the presence of iron and increased levels of hemoglobin, helps to fully oxygenate the cells and muscles of the body, thereby increasing energy and strength.

    Word of Caution

    Although some people who are allergic to mint and other herbaceous perennial plants may experience some discomfort while eating or touching oregano, it is not commonly known as an allergenic substance. Also, the symptoms of an allergic reaction to oregano are very mild. Toss some oregano into your next meal and see just how beneficial it can really be!

    Our Favorite Herb Resources:
    Organic Facts.net
    Learning Herbs.com
    BeHealthy.Today

    References

    1. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cmc/2004/00000011/00000011/art00008
    2. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10412905.1994.9698321
    3. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-4514.2000.tb00715.x/abstract
    4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032959204001189
    5. http://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/PDFs/39(2)/PJB39(2)609.pdf
    6. http://www.apjcn.org/update%5Cpdf%5C2006%5C1%5C107%5C107.pdf
    7. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.01259.x/abstract
    8. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814603002632
    9. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1523-5408.2002.05503.x/abstract
    10. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266259.php
    11. https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/oregano.html
    12. http://naturalsociety.com/oregano-4-times-antioxidants-blueberries/#ixzz5LT2g94Br
    13. https://behealthy.today/a-z-herbs-healthier-you/
  • Allergens and Vaccines

    Allergens and Vaccines

    Have an egg allergy? CDC has decided that a flu vaccine contaminated with eggs is ok. CDC, the doctors nor the pharmaceutical company isn’t liable if your child suffers a reaction from the contaminated vaccine. In the vast majority of cases, the flu is not a big deal for healthy children. Whereas anaphylactic food allergies kill thousands of children every year.

    Philadelphia weatherman Adam Joseph shares that his son, who is allergic to eggs, is having an adverse reaction to the flu shot.

    Several nurses have posted that, unlike in years past, the CDC now says it’s okay to give the flu vaccine to children with egg allergies, and that “even with the reactions, getting the vaccine is still better than getting the flu.” These nurses are so blinded by dogma that they have forgotten their first responsibility, which is to be an advocate for the patient. Instead, they are now simply salespeople for vaccines, spewing the misinformation from the CDC.

    The CDC owns 57 vaccine patents and buys and sells (at a hefty profit) nearly $5 Billion worth of vaccines every year. Taking advice from The CDC on vaccines safety is like believing everything a used car salesman tells you about that “little beauty grandma only drove to church on Sunday.”
    Adam asked for advice.

    Marcella Piper Terry’s response:
    I did not have an egg allergy until after getting my one and only flu shot – which put me in the hospital for a total of 31 days; five of which were in Neuro-Intensive Care in a medical coma. Injecting food proteins into the blood stream is THE WAY to cause food allergies.
    Many vaccines are cultured on food proteins, including eggs, cow’s milk, and yeast. Food proteins are supposed to go through the gut, where they are broken down by the gastric juices. When they are injected, they quickly make their way into the blood stream, where the body sees them as foreign invaders attacking the system. This is especially true when those food proteins are paired with neuro-immune toxin like mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde (ingredients in vaccines).

    Vaccines are the source of many food allergies. Anaphylactic peanut allergies were basically unheard of until vaccine manufacturers started using peanut oil as an adjuvant in the 1960s-1970s. An adjuvant is something that is added to the vaccine to cause an increased inflammatory response. Unfortunately, that response primes the immune system to recognize that substance as toxic, and the immune system responds violently when re-exposed to that substance later on.

    Look at the ingredients in vaccines, and also research the childhood infections they are designed to protect against.
    Doing a cost-benefit analysis is something we should all be doing, if we are to be informed consumers.

    Here is a list of vaccine ingredients (from the CDC website):
    TinyURL.com/ExcipientList

  • KIVI6 Interviews Health Freedom Idaho on Vaccine Exemptions

    KIVI6 Interviews Health Freedom Idaho on Vaccine Exemptions

    Each of these parents are advocates for informed consent, which starts with researching vaccines. Executive Director Miste Gardner-Karlfeldt along with Board Member Dr Rosie Gallegos-Main, and Executive Committee Member/Toxicologist Ashley Cates were interviewed by KIVI 6 On Your Side – ABC Boise/Nampa, Idaho regarding vaccine exemptions.

    Unfortunately, KIVI edited out the science that toxicologist Ashley Cates shared with the interviewer. Ashley’s ‘motherly intuition’ lead her to deeply research vaccines and what she found was shocking.

    I immersed myself in the world of vaccines and what people were saying and sharing about them. I read stories of vaccine injury, I learned about ingredients, I found out how common it is that parents are treated poorly by doctors for their hesitation to vaccinate, and so much more. Some of what I saw posted in these groups was shocking to me, upsetting, and most of the time sounded ludicrous. There were times I rolled my eyes and assumed the information I just read was nothing but a hoax – and then I realized later that it was true.

    What information did this toxicologist use to make an informed vaccine decision for her children? It’s all right here: Researching Vaccines: Where to Start

    Learn more about vaccines from Ashley’s un-aired interview with KBOI.

    <Links to the science backing up her statements can be found here>

    “Whether you’re pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine, or fall somewhere in the middle, the questions you need to ask yourselves are as follows: Do you want to live in a world, where you cannot freely refuse a medical procedure that carries risk of injury or death? I’m not questioning your comfort level with today’s vaccine schedule, because today’s vaccine schedule will change. New vaccines and additional doses are added all the time. Children today receive as many as 49 doses of 14 vaccines before they reach age six, which is roughly 12 times higher than the number of vaccines administered to children back in 1940.

    With more than 220 new vaccines in the developmental pipeline for children and adults…and no end in sight..the question you must ask yourself is ARE YOU CERTAIN you will be 100% comfortable with vaccines that are added to the mandated list in the future?

    If you say that yes, you’re comfortable, then you’re either:

    a) not expecting to be a parent or grandparent

    b) don’t have to worry about it because your kids are grown and out of the house

    c) lying to prove a point.

    No critical thinker, no honest person, would ever sign off on the sight-unseen vaccine schedule of the future. And yet that’s what you’re doing when you condemn the people who are fighting for your right to refuse. YOU have the right to refuse, should you ever choose to use it, because the very “anti-vaccine” people you demonize have been fighting for us all.

    Right now, the burden of “herd immunity” falls on small children, but that is changing. Vaccine manufacturers see an untapped market in adult vaccines and are coming for you next. <Learn the FACTS about herd immunity>

    What will you do if your state, your employer, or your insurance company forces you to get a vaccine that you simply don’t want? It hasn’t happened to you yet, but if the right to refuse is eroded, it will happen to you sooner than you might think.

    Who then will you turn to? Your legislators who get campaign donations from pharmaceutical companies? The CDC that has former pharma executives sitting on the board? Who will you turn to if you ever want to say no? There will be no one.

    Once we enter the slippery slope of removing and individual’s right to refuse medical procedures that carry a risk of injury or death, once we remove an individual’s right to speak for him/herself and his/her children, we open ourselves up to an insidious new era, where other drugs and other procedures can be mandated.”
    – by Magnolia Crawford

    There’s more information on other aspects of the vaccine issue, such as the lack of proper testing of vaccines, the major flaws with the studies performed by the manufacturers, and their lack of liability. There’s the issue of waning protection or having no protection at all (vaccine failure)… There’s post-vaccination viral shedding and asymptomatic transmission, antibodies not indicating immunity, germ theory vs. terrain theory, Th1 and Th2 immune responses, etc. You will come across all of this if you can make it a priority to invest the time. CONS OF VACCINATING

    Ingredients:

    CDC List of Ingredients by Vaccine

    List of Ingredients Explained – Some of the ingredients listed on the CDC chart are not clarified. E.g. “WI-38”, which is aborted fetal tissue.

    ________________________________

    Side Effects:

    Vaccine Package Inserts – Information supplied by the manufacturer of the vaccine, which includes potential adverse effects following vaccination.

    ________________________________

    Government Websites:

    Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS)

    National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

    ________________________________

    Other:

    National Vaccine Information Center – Comprehensive website that provides information on vaccines.

    Here are some of the other comments from the KVIV facebook page. What do YOU have to add?

    Shalee Brindley

    Are any of you who are advocating for vaccines aware that most vaccine inserts state..
    “This vaccine has not been been evaluated for its carcinogenic ,(cancer causing), mutagenic, (ability to mutate genes) potentials, or for impairment in fertility.

    Doesn’t sound like they have been proven safe to me. So what happens when an entire generation of children can no longer reproduce. Sorry, they said they were safe? Will that somehow make it better? Tread lightly. You advocate for mandatory vaccination and you will not have a choice when they decide to add whatever vaccines to the schedule they deem necessary. You may be fine with the schedule now, but wait until they add a few more. Wait until your grandchildren are receiving over 100 vaccines before their 18th birthday. 74 doses is already too much for me. I will not set my child on fire to keep yours warm.

    SimonaMona
    Thank you for opening up this discussion. Looking forward to a balanced story. Informed Consent is the cornerstone of medicine, we must advocate for this.

    Melodie Brown
    California made it mandatory for vaccines 2 years ago. Thank god I don’t live there. This is a slippery slope….This means you have no freedom of choice for your child’s health and wellness.


    What are YOUR thoughts?