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elizabeth muncey

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The cost of pharmaceutical interventions for the body and mind to society and to the environment.

You may have seen the new pharmaceutical breakthrough for arthritis sufferers. I understand it is plant based in origin, somthing to do with flowers. It is more effective and kinder to the body. Opiate paiin killers are derived from plant materials and there is a crossover in the application of certain medications for pain management and psychiatric disorders. The body has problems excreting these compounds and long term nerve and organ damage results. I would like to debate if it is worth investigating traditional sources of stimulants and relaxants for the appropriate pharmaceutical intervention and the monitoring for toxicity given the known genetic weaknesses in humanity. As a specific example I would like cite the long term nerve damage caused by diabetes. The incidence of type 2 diabetes might be reduced by using honey instead of sugar. Honey contains compounds with anti-fungal properties that sugar derived directly from plants does not. I would encourage people to think about natures filters both within our own bodies and in the environment.

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    Aug 3 2012: Yes Debra Smith please see my response to you on another thread. Manuka honey is especially potent but as yet research has not exactly pinpointed why. As far as I am concerned the Brazilian rainforest is a giant medicine chest and the contents are being thrown away., Aspiriin comes from willow tree bark. What else do we yet have to discover in the eco-systems the trees support. Have already posted my ideas about why the rainforest is so rich. In the northern hemisphere the mountains are the filters and condensers. In the southern hemisphere excessive dust and insects are filtered by the rainforest and turned into something useful. The Pacific Ocean also filters and condenses and we do not know what role the whale plays in the oceanic eco-system. Whale song literally travels for miles, what does it all mean. All this knowledge is already out there it is a matter of tying it all in. Think about saving the rainforest and maybe think about South Africa as a micro version of the same problem. Look at the fruit South Africa now produces. Think of the medicinal properties of apples and apricots, think of the antioxidant properties of grapes. The anwers are in the concentrations. Not T.B. but B.C.G. vaccination. Not smallpox but Edward Jenner. It is in the concentrations and we are throwing away the medicine chest.
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      Aug 3 2012: Please direct me to which thread because I got no notification. It might have been to the talk on bees because it is the only other place I mentioned it. Thank you. I struggled not to ask a question. I need to work on that. I did know about asprin and i have hopes for rainforest advancements too.

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