The Poison We Eat...... and other industrial age problems- boy are we being schooled....

I used to do Education Policy for Eagle Forum and EdWatch  with a primary focus being opposing mental health screening and coerced drugging  in government schools. I also used to consult for the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology.   For that work, I gave a few speeches around the country on the issues of the intersection of psychiatry/psychology and education which included discussing topics such as ADD/ADHD which is one of the disorders that children are drugged for in school in order to better 'manage' their behavior.   I was fortunate to work with Dr. Karen Effrem   in those efforts who is the nationally recognized expert on mental health screening and coerced drugging issues.
 
In my talks I addressed about 8 reasons why children might behave in such as a way to receive the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD. 

They included:

neurological poisoning from food additives, preservatives and coloring agents found in almost all processed food ( the basic diet of the American child)

psycho-emotional problems with peers and family members,

boredom in school ( I differentiate between schooling and education with the latter being indoctrination into an unhealthy command and control system  and the former being learning to think, reason, relate and understand the world one lives in in all of its complexities in an organic and self-driven manner),

evolutionary adaptive need for the species that small numbers of it bore easily and seek novelty, 

over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system from the electronic world

Lack of proper nutrition and exercise

and others.  


Add to that fact that our industrial food supply is causing neurological impairments in our young people then our medical/psychiatric industrial complex comes to the rescue to fix it with their magical psychoactive drugs thus creating a whole new set of neurological problems.

Potential dangers of Ritalin

AMA Serves Pharma Marketing Priority/ FDA To Add Warnings on ADHD drugs--Concerta, Ritalin, Strattera, Adderall

Mother's Little Helper - The History of Amphetamine and Anti-Depressant Use in America

Hearing on "Protecting Children: The Use of Medication in Our Nation?s Schools and H.R. 1170, Child Medication Safety Act of 2003?
Kids on ADHD drugs: A dangerous path to addiction


Prescription 'Mind Meds' Pose Dangerous Threat to College Students



Disclaimer: As I used to say in my speeches, my comments are not aimed at anyone person or family, since I do not know anyone's story, but aimed culturally and socially.   My speeches were basic critiques of the industrial systems in which we live not necessarily at any one person or specific institutions.  Most people are good and try to do the best they can do with the limited information and time that they have in their lives.

Being an avid reader of all things alternative, I have been fortunate to come across information and research that challenges the dominant thinking of our industrial systems such as in  education, food and medicine which I discussed in my speeches.

A few good resources for alternative thinking in health, food  and medicine would include:

Townsend Letter
Well Being Journal
Life Extension
Natural Life
Global Medicine Hunter  ( good friend, and I was on the Health Medicine Forum  board with her and  Len Saputo MD  and other great health practitioners in the mid-90's)
Weston A Price Foundation
Organic Consumers Association

A few good resources in alternative thinking in education would include:

Education Revolution  ( I have consulted with them in the past, run by Jerry Mintz )
John Taylor Gatto
Encompass  ( old friends Ba and Josette Luvmor)

The education sources above are a good start in trying to understand why are education system is both a success and a failure.  It is a success in creating consumer/serfs and a failure in helping to create thoughtful, rational, emotionally whole and interesting people.  John Gatto is a wonderful source for understanding the former and the other two for understanding the latter.

I have also been fortunate to work with some very good thinkers on these type of issues. I mentioned Dr. Karen Effrem  earlier.   In food for instance, I have learned a lot ( almost as a mentor) from Jim Turner  who fought against aspartame before its introduction into our food supply  and more recently challenging the safety of Splenda   I used to do government affairs with Jim's group Citizens for Health  but now I just consult for Jim on many of his projects.  Jim has a new book that he co-authored with Lawry Chickering entitled:

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: The Transpartisan Imperative in American Life


Not only do some of the additives, preservatives and coloring agents added to our processed food cause ADD like symtoms in children but they can also lead to major neurological disorders and other health related problems such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Food Additive Excitotoxins and Degenerative Brain Disorders by Dr. Blaylock

the truth about aspartame - Dr Russell Blaylock

I first ran across Dr. Blaylock's work from  Phyllis Schlafely, the most anti-feminist feminist I know.  I worked with Phyliss at Eagle Forum doing education policy. She has more energy.  Its amazing.  I then came across Dr. Blaylock's work in one of the issues of the Journal of the American  Physicians and Surgeons    I recently signed up for his newsletter called the Wellness Report.  He is not the only sources of information on the poisons we put in our food that I use but he serves as one of my primary sources.

The good news is that we can detoxify ourselves and in many if not most cases return our bodies to a healthier level of functioning if not a return to optimal functioning.    I learned a lot about detoxification when my wife what in graduate school studying integrative health sciences. 

A lot of her focus in graduate  school was learning not only how the body became imbalanced from environmental toxins, poor  nutrition, lack of proper oxygen, chronic stress,etc but how to assist it in returning to a better state of functioning.   Part of that included a good detoxification program.   It is not as simple as just detoxing  i.e. using a special food preparation or using a sauna, etc since the bodies organs of detoxification need to be running properly or the detox itself can become problematic.   I liked the approach that she was taught since it was comprehensive and had both short and long terms aspects to the program. 

The first thing anyone can do though  is stop buying into the propoganda from the government and the industrial food system.  Read, research and question everything including everything I have written.  The second thing is to stop ingesting poison into the body.  The less crap in, the less crap in.  As is said, what you dont crap out becomes you.