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Ricin Is Deadly Poisonous A news item caught my eye, about attempted attacks on President Obama and others, using the castor oil bean toxin called ricin. I wrote about this years ago (1993) in my book of that year The Complete Guide to Food And Environmental Allergies, which was published by Thorson’s, now an imprint of Harper Collins. Here’s an extract from that writing:Nature has seen fit to endow a number of plants with the capacity to synthesize substances that are toxic to humans and other animals. Humans are probably only able to tolerate the majority of foods because of the discovery of fire, which cooks away toxins (although several plant toxins are heat-stable). Farmers and veterinarians have known for years that animals become sick if they graze on certain types of plant (for example, bulls become enraged if they eat loco weed – ‘loco’ being Spanish for crazy). Many plant substances are toxic to humans in quite small quantities, including deadly nightshade, acorns and hemlock. Ricin, the toxic principle in caster seeds (Ricinus communis), is one of the most deadly poisons known: a minute drop on the tip of a needle was used in an infamous political assassination on the streets of London in 1978. The fact is that all plants, including edible ones, contain quantities of poisons. Carrots, for example, contain a nerve toxin: caratotoxin. And someone once pointed out that if cabbage had to undergo the tests that drugs are now subjected to before being pronounced fit for humans, it wouldn’t pass. Obviously, most often the amounts of poison in foods are tolerable. Toxicity is a matter of degree.

I wonder why they keep testing to see if omega-3 fatty acids are healthy for us. Can anyone enlighten me? It’s been a done deal since ever I was a budding physician. If you couldn’t wait for the “modern” science, there is always the simple demographic, that eskimos never died of heart disease or stroke. Their diet was hugely fat based, including plenty of fish sources (DHA and eicosapentanoic acid). Case closed. Well, they did another study, just to be sure! (we’ll come to the real reason in a moment). Basically, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, found those subjects with the highest levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) had the lowest levels of mortality [April 2, 2013 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine]. All-cause mortality fell by 27%, with most of the benefit due to a reduction in cardiovascular death. The rate of arrhythmic death, in particular, fell by nearly one-half. This translated into an average of about 2.2 extra years of life, just from this one nutritional intervention. Such cardiovascular-outcome effects are consistent with abundant evidence from laboratory and clinical studies that omega-3 intake may benefit heart rate, blood pressure, myocardial contractile function and electrical stability, and endothelial, autonomic, and hemostatic function, write the study’s authors, led by Dr Dariush Mozaffarian. Bit of a mouthful, but you get the point. Here’s what the average quack… sorry, doctor, will miss out on: docosahexaenoicacid (DHA) gave more benefit than eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA); but both together had the greatest effect of all (I could have told them that, from 40 years of clinical practice).

I wonder why they keep testing to see if omega-3 fatty acids are healthy for us. Can anyone enlighten me? It’s been a done deal since ever I was a budding physician. If you couldn’t wait for the “modern” science, there is always the simple demographic, that eskimos never died of heart disease or stroke. Their diet was hugely fat based, including plenty of fish sources (DHA and eicosapentanoic acid). Case closed. Well, they did another study, just to be sure! (we’ll come to the real reason in a moment). Basically, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, found those subjects with the highest levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) had the lowest levels of mortality [April 2, 2013 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine]. All-cause mortality fell by 27%, with most of the benefit due to a reduction in cardiovascular death. The rate of arrhythmic death, in particular, fell by nearly one-half. This translated into an average of about 2.2 extra years of life, just from this one nutritional intervention. Such cardiovascular-outcome effects are consistent with abundant evidence from laboratory and clinical studies that omega-3 intake may benefit heart rate, blood pressure, myocardial contractile function and electrical stability, and endothelial, autonomic, and hemostatic function, write the study’s authors, led by Dr Dariush Mozaffarian. Bit of a mouthful, but you get the point. Here’s what the average quack… sorry, doctor, will miss out on: docosahexaenoicacid (DHA) gave more benefit than eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA); but both together had the greatest effect of all (I could have told them that, from 40 years of clinical practice).

This is what Prof’s really been doing these last few weeks and your invitation to join me! I’ve virtually joined the movie industry! I’ve shot over 20 videos so far and double that to come. This is all about my latest and greatest marvel creation, my “Diet Wise Academy”. Come and join us! Don’t make the mistake of one of my friends, thinking this is just about slimming dieting (hey, what does she know?) This is a whole revolutionary new medical paradigm, all about unburdening the body defence systems and getting miracle new states of health. Nature heals and we just set the stage. Think you are healthy? Well, as one of the early videos states clearly, if you don’t leap out of bed every day with a wild abundance of energy, brain sparkling bright, on fire with enthusiasm, looking a decade or more younger than you really are… then you are NOT fully healthy as I define it.

This is what Prof’s really been doing these last few weeks and your invitation to join me! I’ve virtually joined the movie industry! I’ve shot over 20 videos so far and double that to come. This is all about my latest and greatest marvel creation, my “Diet Wise Academy”. Come and join us! Don’t make the mistake of one of my friends, thinking this is just about slimming dieting (hey, what does she know?) This is a whole revolutionary new medical paradigm, all about unburdening the body defence systems and getting miracle new states of health. Nature heals and we just set the stage. Think you are healthy? Well, as one of the early videos states clearly, if you don’t leap out of bed every day with a wild abundance of energy, brain sparkling bright, on fire with enthusiasm, looking a decade or more younger than you really are… then you are NOT fully healthy as I define it.

I mean, duh! Still, I found it interesting reading. The old dodos at least admitted they didn’t know much. But that’s because they haven’t been listening to doctors like me! For almost 40 years I’ve been pointing out that omega-3s reduce inflammation and zinc speeds up wound healing. Only last week I wrote a report […]

I mean, duh! Still, I found it interesting reading. The old dodos at least admitted they didn’t know much. But that’s because they haven’t been listening to doctors like me! For almost 40 years I’ve been pointing out that omega-3s reduce inflammation and zinc speeds up wound healing. Only last week I wrote a report […] The post Hey, Nutrition Helps Healing (They Just Discovered!) appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

If it needs re-enforcing, here is the main medical message all over again: don’t smoke and live a healthy lifestyle! If you don’t smoke, you’ll live longer and are less likely to die of heart disease and cancer. We all know that (yawn…) But if you are a non-smoker or gave up smoking, a good […]

If it needs re-enforcing, here is the main medical message all over again: don’t smoke and live a healthy lifestyle! If you don’t smoke, you’ll live longer and are less likely to die of heart disease and cancer. We all know that (yawn…) But if you are a non-smoker or gave up smoking, a good […] The post Ramming Home Healthy Lifestyle Again and Again! appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

I have been meaning for some time now to write a book with an overview of all dieting (weight-loss) methods. It seems to me that I am uniquely suited to do it, since I don’t sell or push any particular methods. Plus, I have a far deeper insight into the complex role that foods play […]

I have been meaning for some time now to write a book with an overview of all dieting (weight-loss) methods. It seems to me that I am uniquely suited to do it, since I don’t sell or push any particular methods. Plus, I have a far deeper insight into the complex role that foods play […] The post Weight Loss Overview – 1 appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

My regular friends (readers) will know I often denounce calcium in no uncertain terms. While other doctors dole it out as necessary or “advisable”, I have been in print many times to say calcium is the last thing you want much of in your body. Stupid (I mean REALLY stupid) science supposedly showing that osteoporosis is caused by lack of calcium and all you have to do is pump calcium into the blood and the bones will magically fill up again and go hard is as crazy as it sounds! Osteoporosis, as a matter of fact, is caused by a number of things, none of which are lack of calcium! Magnesium deficiency is a much more significant contributor. But really, osteoporosis is a whole-body nutritional disease, with no one single factor to blame. If it could be boiled down to just one substance, then I think I would pick on boron. Women taking 3 mgs a day of boron need never fear osteoporosis (unless it is already present). But calcium deficiency? Definitely NOT. Yet doctors go on pumping this stuff into trusting patients, in blyth disregard of the fact that in almost all other situations, calcium is dangerous! Seriously!