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Morgellons Found in McDonald’s Food

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Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, purchased a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets from a McDonald’s restaurant in Austin, Texas.

Under carefully controlled conditions, he then examined the Chicken McNuggets under a high-powered digital microscope, expecting to see only processed chicken bits and a fried outer coating.

However, the Chicken McNuggets were found to contain strange fibers that some people might say even resemble so-called “Morgellons.”

Microscopic photos reveal an alien-like landscape with weird shapes and fibers

Here are the some of the photos from the Natural News Forensic Food Lab:

WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!

Everyone Should Watch Out For These 8 Signs of Parasitic Infection!

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Parasites have been an incessant source of health-related issues for humans ever since the beginning of human existence. Nowadays, the occurrence of health problems associated with parasites has significantly decreased as health standards are much higher than they used to be in the distant past. Nevertheless, not even our highly advanced world with its highly advanced technology can completely eradicate these pesky critters. Therefore, even today, parasites can be found everywhere!

Dyes, PCBs, asbestos, benzene, and various heavy metals are all common pollutants, which may impair the function of our immune systems, thereby inhibiting our bodies’ proper response to parasites. When this happens, the occurrence of a parasitic infection is almost inevitable.

Although infection with parasites might be life-threatening, this is not so in all cases. There are parasites that may not put your life at risk, however, dreadful symptoms may arise even from these. As parasitic infections are dangerous, we strongly advise that you watch out for the following eight symptoms.

Watch Out For These 8 Symptoms of Parasitic Infection

Skin Conditions

Parasitic mites are tiny creatures which are related to ticks. These parasites burrow into your skin and lay eggs, often triggering allergic reaction with symptoms like rashes, bumps, eczema, and hives. Alarmingly, several studies suggest that 4 out of 5 American homes have detectable levels of mites. Mites usually thrive in carpets, linings, and drapes.

Fatigue

Dr. Leo Galland, M.D., a board-certified internist and a world leader in integrated medicine, has found the reason behind the chronic fatigue experienced in most of his patients was the presence of internal parasites. In most cases, the main cause is the protozoa class of parasite, which often reside in drinking water.

Insomnia

A common reason for the occurrence of insomnia is roundworm infection. These parasitic worms reside in soil and can enter your body through your mouth or skin, and then infest your gut. Roundworm infection is commonly accompanied by insomnia, as these parasites may wreak havoc on your organ by destroying the ‘good’ bacteria.

Anemia

One of the most common blood disorders in the United States is anemia, a condition which is characterized by lack of red blood cells in the blood. This disorder often occurs due to hookworm infection.

Hookworms are another type of parasitic worms, which infiltrate the body through skin and feed on blood. This causes reduction in your red blood cell count, which can further cause anemia.

Joint Pain

According to research published by the journal Rheumatology, polyarthritis is a major symptom of parasitic infection.

Moreover, research from the journal Parasite Immunology links the presence of parasitic infection with the occurrence of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn’s disease.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Research has found that a parasite known as blastocystis hominis resides in almost 50% of all patients suffering from IBS. This type of parasite is usually spread through oral-fecal contact. Therefore, if a chef fails to maintain proper hygiene and doesn’t wash their hands thoroughly after using the bathroom, they might expose the customers to this infection.

Poor Digestion

As Dr. Oz explains, the main culprit of severe digestive symptoms, such as abdominal pain and cramping, is the presence of intestinal parasites.

This type of parasites include tapeworm, ascariasis, and pinworm.

Weight Issues

According to the findings of a recent study, the protozoan class of parasites may cause metabolic syndrome. One of the major symptoms of this issue is obesity.

Do you have any of the above symptoms? If you do, it is best to consult your doctor right away and prevent any further complications.

Scientists Warn Of Mysterious New Epidemic Called Disease X That Could Wipe Out Millions

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Scientists Warn Of Mysterious New Epidemic Called Disease X That Could Wipe Out Millions

Well at least they are letting us know what they could possibly have planned for all of us in the near-term future.

This is either predictive programming, to get us use to the idea that many of us may become very ill with some unknown pathogen and die, never suspecting that the controllers were behind it.

Or…could it be the old Hegelian Dialectic of problem, reaction, solution (in the form of a vaccine)???

From The Drudge Report:

An unknown and deadly new illness dubbed Disease X has been added to the list of potential global epidemics that could kill millions.

Each year scientists with the World Health Organisation (WHO) create a list of the most likely diseases to break out into a worldwide pandemic.

This year, among the familiar Ebola, SARS, and Zika viruses is the new name of Disease X.

And unlike the other pathogens, it is not known what causes Disease X or how doctors could try to treat it.

Researchers said that they added Disease X to the threat list to recognise the fact that the next deadly pandemic could be started by an illness that has not caused any problems before.

The WHO is warning doctors and scientists to do more to prepare for the next pandemic to sweep the world (Image: Moment RF)

“Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease.”

Norwegian scientist and WHO adviser John-Arne Rottingen said that it was likely the next outbreak would be “something we have not seen before”.

“It may seem strange to be adding an ‘X’ but the point is to make sure we prepare and plan flexibly in terms of vaccines and diagnostic tests,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

One of the biggest threats is a disease or virus which scientists have not yet identified (Image: PA)

Disease X could even be man-made, rather than a fluke of nature. There are growing fears that the use and development of chemical and biological weapons are on the rise. In Syria’s bloody civil war chemical bombs have been dropped on civilians on numerous occasions.

And closer to home, the police have confirmed that a nerve agent, probably created in a lab by state-sponsored scientists as a targeted weapon, was used to attack the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury this week.

Last year North Korea is believed to have used the nerve agent VX to assassinate the half-brother of dictator Kim Jong-Un in an airport in a Malaysian airport.

Mr Rottingen said that the man-made viruses and diseases were especially dangerous because humans have not built up any resistance over time to them, leaving them free to sweep across the globe before governments and doctors can catch up.

Disease X could come about through state-sponsored chemical weapons, which have caused devastation in places like Syria (Image: AFP)

“Synthetic biology allows for the creation of deadly new viruses. It is also the case that where you have a new disease there is no resistance in the population and that means it can spread fast.”

But it was just as possible that Disease X could spring up from the natural world, just as previous deadly epidemics such as Spanish Flu or HIV.

“The intensity of animal and human contact is becoming much greater as the world develops. This makes it more likely new diseases will emerge but also modern travel and trade make it much more likely they will spread,” the WHO adviser Professor Marion Koopmans told The Daily Telegraph.

Some of the proven killers on the list, such as Zika or SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) caught the world by surprise when they first arose and killed hundreds or even thousands before they were brought under control. Before scientists became familiar with these threats, they to would have been considered a Disease X.

Disease X could be as dangerous as Zika, which causes microcephaly in newborn babies (Image: REUTERS)

The WHO hopes that formally adding a future Disease X to the list will push countries and researchers to redouble their efforts to create protections against unknown epidemics.

But more common diseases could also cause devastation. Yesterday, the WHO warned that the next global flu epidemic could begin “tomorrow” and kill as many as 33 million people in just 200 days.

Jonathan Quick, chairman of the Global Health Council and a project leader for the World Health Organisation, has written a new book, Ending Epidemics: The Looming Threat To Humanity And How To Stop It.

Hundreds of Spanish flu victims in Kansas (Image: www.alamy.com)

Giving a stark warning, he said: “With disrupted supply of food and medicines and without enough survivors to run computer or energy systems, the global economy would collapse.

“Starvation and looting could lay waste to parts of the world “It’s a disaster movie night. Yet it is waiting to come true thanks to ­influenza, the most diabolical viral killer known to humankind.”

Exactly 100 years ago the Spanish Flu outbreak swept around the world, killing about 100 million people around the world, more than the four years of the First World War which had only just finished.

Victims of 1918’s devastating Spanish Flu outbreak are buried in mass graves (Image: www.alamy.com)

Celebrities and oridinary citizens were struck down alike. In America, which was hit particularly hard, so many people died there was no space left in morgues and families often had to dig their own graves.

Quick said that while there were lots of precautions governments could take to stop future epidemics, most countries were ignoring the threat.

“The good news is that there is much we can do to prevent this. The bad news is that much of it is not being done. We are just as vulnerable now as we were 100 years ago.”

Spanish flu killed 100 million and a similar epidemic is set to strike again (Image: www.alamy.com)

Dr Greg Poland, an expert in viruses as the Mayo Clinic, another global flu crisis was “100 per cent” certain.

He said: “We will have another pandemic. What’s unpredictable is the severity of it.

“When you begin to feel comfortable, you’re well on the road to bad things happening.”

Lab-Grown Meat Now Coming To Restaurants Near You: Is Your Stomach Prepared???

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Natural News| There have been tremendous leaps in the field of food science over the past few decades, and it doesn’t look like the rate of progress is going to slow down any time soon. But while there are a lot of positive outcomes from the research studies that have been conducted on food and how to best improve it, there is at least one thing in particular that kind of brings the field into what some might call murky territory. That is none other than lab-grown meat.

While lab-grown meat has already been available for quite some time now, it still hasn’t been deemed acceptable for mass consumption. But that could soon change, according to a new report, with at least one company moving to capitalize on its existence on the open market.

Just, which is described as a “controversial food company” that already had to change its name once, has methods to grow meat inside their labs using nothing but cells, incubators, and certain nutrients that these cells need to grow.

It is said that there is a whole industry of meat-growing food startups that are looking to get a piece of the eventual lab-grown meat market pie. For its part, Just is aiming for a late-2018 release of a yet unspecified food product, which still hasn’t been sold before. And it is with this that the company hopes to convince consumers that their meat is just as good, if not better, than real, conventional meat sourced from animals.

The success of Just’s effort to own the lab-grown meat space could dictate pretty much how the entire world reacts to artificial meat products. Of course, that would depend on a number of different factors, such as the taste and smell of their meat, how it feels in the mouth, or even if they can make it in time before the year ends, as they said on their own schedule. It may all seem like an inevitability — the existence of artificial foods that will aid in feeding the majority of the world’s population — but there is much more to it than you think.

There are some people who think lab-grown meat can pave the way for a better planet, but the truth is that there is very little data to back that idea up.

According to official beef industry statistics, the U.S. alone consumes 26 billion pounds of beef every year. This is a massive industry where one small change could have wide-reaching effects, not just on the food industry but on society as a whole. So something as huge as being able to grow meat from nothing but a sample of meat cells could be game-changing.

According to Mike Selden, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Finless Foods, a lab-grown food startup that focuses on fish meat, there is potential in artificial foods to feed more people than would otherwise be possible.

“Theoretically from one little piece of meat you can create an unlimited amount,” he said. “In practice, it doesn’t work the first time — you’ve got to try a bunch of different things to get it to work.” But there are methods to make it happen, although they’re still nowhere near perfection.

It might look like real meat, smell like real meat, or even taste like real meat, but the truth is that artificial meat might simply be never as good as actual, animal-sourced meat. Not just in terms of how palatable it is but also in terms of nutrients. The availability of lab-grown meat could also displace millions of workers whose livelihoods depend on the meat industry, which is doing just fine, by all accounts. Never mind the taste, there could be other consequences of lab-grown meat that are too hard to stomach.

Fukushima Has Now Contaminated Over 1/3 Of The World’s Oceans (And It’s Getting Worse)

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Most people do not realize the repercussions that disasters like the Fukushima nuclear meltdown have on the world. When it happens the media is all over it, and then soon they trickle off and nobody ever thinks about it again.

But the fact is, even though nobody is talking about it, it does not mean that the trouble is gone. Quite the contrary actually, the Fukushima disaster is still affecting the world today. Almost one-third of the globe is thought to have been contaminated from the leak out from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.

More than 80% of the radioactivity from the damaged reactors ended up in the Pacific Ocean, far more than reached the ocean from Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. Of this, a small fraction is currently on the seafloor, the rest was swept up by the Kuroshio Current, a Western Pacific version of the Gulf Stream, and carried out to sea where it mixed with the vast volume of the North Pacific.

These materials, primarily two isotopes of cesium, only recently began to appear in the Eastern Pacific. For example, in 2015 we detected signs of radioactive contamination from Fukushima along the coast near British Columbia and California. While these amounts are trace, the danger of radioactive material in any amount cannot be underestimated. Every possible exposure, in any small amount, adds up.

So what should we take from this? That it is incorrect to say that Fukushima is under control when levels of radioactivity in the ocean indicate that the leaks are ongoing. More than 1,000 tanks brimming with irradiated water stand inland from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Each day 300 tonnes of water are pumped through Fukushima’s ruined reactors to keep them cool.

The company that owns the plant, TEPCO, has deployed a filtration device that has stripped very dangerous isotopes of strontium and cesium from the flow. The water in the tanks still contains tritium and isotope of hydrogen with two neutrons. Tritium is a major by-product of nuclear reactions and is difficult and expensive to remove from the water.

Now, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has launched a campaign to convince a skeptical world that dumping up to 800,000 tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean and is a safe and responsible thing to do.

I say, that any further dumping is done, the IAEA and Tokyo Electric Power Co., need to consider the impact that it is having on the environment. Entire livelihoods could be affected as well as the long-tern health of the region and eventually the global community.

Source: The Awareness Act

Court Decision Could Lead to EPA Banning Water Fluoridation

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A federal court has denied an attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to ban the use of fluoride under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

In a victory for water fluoridation opponents, a judge in the Northern District of California has denied a motion by the Environmental Protection Agency that sought to limit the information available to the court while making their decision on whether or not to ban water fluoridation. The lawsuit was brought forth by Food and Water Watch Inc. and a coalition of health organizations and individuals concerned about fluoride. Under section 21 of The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) citizens are allowed to petition the EPA to regulate or ban individual chemicals. Food and Water Watch filed the lawsuit after the EPA rejected a citizen petition calling for the EPA to ban the addition of fluoride chemicals to the drinking water supply.

As the lawsuit proceeded the EPA interpreted the language of the law to mean the judge should be limited to reviewing the information the EPA provided when it decided to reject the petition on February 17, 2017. “The disagreement is whether, in reaching its own decision, the court can consider information that the EPA did not have access to e.g. expert testimony, new studies, documents obtained in discovery, etc.,” Michael Connett, the attorney representing the coalition told Bloomberg Environment before the ruling.

National Law Review reported on the ruling:

In denying the EPA’s motion, the court specifically held that the phrase “de novo proceeding” indicates that Congress intended a broad scope of review because the word “proceeding” encompasses all regular activities of a lawsuit, including discovery beyond the administrative record. Because the purpose of the TSCA is to protect the public from chemicals that pose unreasonable risks to health and the environment, the court held that “[a] de novo proceeding in district court modeled after traditional trial-like proceedings would not conflict with the purpose of the TSCA, but would instead effectuate it.”

The court’s ruling means that the trial will now have larger implications for the legality of water fluoridation. If the coalition of fluoride opponents is successful in their lawsuit, the EPA may be forced to reconsider the petition to ban water fluoridation.

What is Fluoride?

The substances added to municipal water supplies known by the name fluoride are actually a combination of unpurified byproducts of phosphate mining. In the United States thousands of tons of fluorosilicic acid is recovered from phosphoric acid plants and then used for water fluoridation. During this process the fluoride ion is created.

This process of taking waste from the phosphate industry and putting it into drinking water has long been criticized for its effects on human health and the environment. It is well known that water fluoridation has led to dental fluorosis for millions of children. This discoloring of the teeth was called “cosmetically objectionable” by the Centers for Disease Control.

Beyond the cosmetic effect there have been several studies indicating overwhelming health issues related to fluoride, especially for children. Another study found a connection between exposure to water fluoridated at relatively low concentrations and a reduced IQ among children.

As recent as September 2017 the journal Environmental Health Perspectives published the study “Prenatal Fluoride Exposure and Cognitive Outcomes in Children at 4 and 6–12 Years of Age in Mexico,” examining the results of prenatal exposure to fluoride and the potential health concerns. The researchers called the study “one of the first and largest longitudinal epidemiological studies to exist that either address the association of early life exposure to fluoride to childhood intelligence or study the association of fluoride and cognition using individual biomarker of fluoride exposure.” The study was funded in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The researchers found that higher prenatal fluoride exposure was associated with lower scores on tests for cognitive function at age four, and between ages six and twelve. The researchers acknowledge that their results are “somewhat consistent” with past ecological studies which indicate children living in areas of high fluoride exposure have lower IQ scores than those in low-exposure areas.

A study published in the journal General Dentistry warns that infants are at risk of dental fluorosis due to overexposure from fluoride in commercially available infant foods. The researchers analyzed 360 different samples of 20 different foods ranging from fruits and vegetables, chicken, turkey, beef, and vegetarian dinners. Chicken products had the highest concentrations of fluoride, followed by turkey. The New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation (NYSCOF) reports that the fluoride levels were due to pesticides, fertilizers, soil, groundwater, and/or fluoridated water. The high levels found in the chicken and turkey can be attributed to “fluoride-saturated bone dust” involved in the process of mechanically separating the meat.

Another study published in Environmental Health found a potential connection between fluoride exposure and the prevalence of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The researchers studied data on ADHD among children age four to seventeen collected in 2003, 2007 and 2011 as part of the National Survey of Children’s Health, as well as state water fluoridation data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collected between 1992 and 2008 . It is the first study to analyze the relationship between exposure to fluoridated water and ADHD prevalence.

The team discovered that children living in areas with a majority of the population receiving fluoridated water from public water systems “tended to have a greater proportion of children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. ” The researchers concluded that:

this study has empirically demonstrated an association between more widespread exposure to fluoridated water and increased ADHD prevalence in U.S. children and adolescents, even after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES). The findings suggest that fluoridated water may be an environmental risk factor for ADHD.

Previous studies have shown rats exposed to fluoride chemicals also exhibit ADHD-like symptoms.

In addition to these studies related to fluoride and children, dozens of other studies have indicated a variety of health problems. A recent study published in the Journal of Analytical Chemistry indicates that fluoride ions found in fluoridated water and toothpaste may lead to an increase in Urinary Stone Disease (USD). The study was conducted by chemists from Russia and Australia, led by Pavel Nesterenko at the University of Tasmania. The team studied 20 urinary stones from patients at a Russian hospital and discovered fluoride ions in 80% of the stones. This could be due to high levels of fluoride in patients’ urine, possibly from drinking water containing fluorides and ingesting fluoride toothpaste.

A study published in the BMJ’s Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health confirmed fluoride’s negative effect on the thyroid gland and a possible connection to depression, weight gain, and other negative health effects. Researchers with the University of Kent in England examined thyroid activity for those in areas with fluoridated water and those without. The team examined 95 percent of the English population in 2012 and 2013 and found that high rates of underactive thyroid were 30% more likely in areas with high fluoride concentration. An underactive thyroid can lead to depression, weight gain, fatigue and aching muscles.

About the author: Derrick Broze is an investigative journalist and liberty activist. He is the Lead Investigative Reporter for ActivistPost.com and the founder of the TheConsciousResistance.com. Follow him on Twitter. Derrick is the author of three books: The Conscious Resistance: Reflections on Anarchy and Spirituality and Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion, Vol. 1, Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion, Vol. 2 and Manifesto of the Free Humans. Derrick is available for interviews. Please contact [email protected]

Source: Activist Post

Hundreds Of Birds Suddenly Fall from the Sky In Mexico

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Hundreds of birds, normally flying in large swarms in the city center, suddenly fell from the sky just in front of the State Government building of Parral, Mexico, baffling onlookers and officials, who have no ideas what just happened in front of them on February 25, 2018.

The official version is a mysterious disease. Well can you explain how this ‘virus’ would kill all of a sudden hundreds of birds at once in less than 30 seconds? Witnesses, say it looked like a horror movie with dozens of birds being crashed by cars on the road. (source)

Via DAHBOO77:

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Newly Invented Eyedrops Could Replace Glasses Altogether

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RT| A revolutionary eyedrop invention from a team of Israeli ophthalmologists has been found to heal damaged corneas and improve the vision of pigs. Clinical trials for humans are expected to begin later this year.

The recently patented ‘nanodrops’ developed by a team at Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials improved both short-sightedness and long-sightedness in tests on pigs.

If the drops are found to improve human vision when clinical testing begins later this year, the nanoparticle solution could eliminate the need for eyeglasses, according to the Jerusalem Post, citing ophthalmologist Dr. David Smadja, leader of the research team.

Dr. Smadja revealed the breakthrough when speaking at Shaare Zedek’s second biennial research day on Wednesday. Held in the Jerusalem medical center’s Steinberg Auditorium, the conference is attended by some of its 350 physicians and nurses.

Smadja says the new concept could revolutionize ophthalmological and optometry treatment of patients with myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and other refractory conditions, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Prospective patients would use a smartphone app to scan the eyes, measure their refraction, create a laser pattern, and then apply a “laser corneal stamping” of an optical pattern onto the corneal surface of their eyes. While the synthetic nanoparticle solution has been found to correct vision problems, the doctor did not specify exactly how often the drops would have to be applied in order to replace glasses entirely.

ALERT: Dog Food RECALL After Euthanasia Drug Found

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A popular brand of dog food has been recalled after one dog died and number got sick from ingesting sodium pentobarbital. That’s one of the three drugs in a “death row” cocktail shot used to euthanize humans and pets.

According to IFL Science, several brands of dog food have been voluntarily recalled after several dogs got sick and one dog died after eating “Hunk of Beef Au Jus” dog food, according to Food Safety News. The problem is not limited to this particular brand of dog food, and the FDA has issued an alert about contamination of several different products.

The ingredient found in the dog food is a barbiturate that forms part of a three-drug cocktail used in executions, so not something you’d want to find in your dog’s meal or treats. The drug is very commonly used in the euthanasia of pets, including cats and dogs. The FDA  has issued warning signs to look out for if you had fed your pet the “Hunk of Beef Au Jus” dog food.

“Pets that eat pet food containing pentobarbital can experience drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance, nausea, nystagmus (eyes moving back and forth in a jerky manner) and inability to stand. Consuming high levels of pentobarbital can cause coma and death,” it said in a statement. “Any detection of pentobarbital in pet food is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act—simply put, pentobarbital should not be in pet food.”

Only about 50 percent of a cow can be sold for human consumption, according to FDA rules, for example, so the rest of the meat is used in pet foods. Slaughterhouses can send the other parts (deemed not fit even for cheap sausages) to a rendering plant, to be ground down by an industrial-sized grinder. Cows and other livestock aren’t the only things that get ground up in these plants, however. Roadkill, expired meat from grocery stores, zoo animals, diseased livestock (whole) and, even euthanized petscan all get ground up in the rendering plant.

The FDA is investigating how the drug got into the supply line, but it’s possible that it got there because it was present in high quantities in the euthanized rescue dogs that were ground up in a rendering plant, and then sent out to be used in dog food.

According to Food Safety News, the problem is not limited to this particular brand of dog food, and the FDA has issued an alert about contamination of several different products as well.

Source:  The Daily Sheeple

Over a Million Children Under the Age of Six are Currently on Psychiatric Drugs in America

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Natural News| Psychiatric drug use is on the rise in the U.S., with one out of every six Americans now taking some type of medication in this category. This is highly concerning given the scary side effects and poor effectiveness of many of these drugs, but there is one particularly disturbing aspect of this trend that seems to get glossed over, and that is the extraordinary number of children who are taking such drugs.

Mental health watchdog group Citizens Commission on Human Rights is drawing attention to the concerning fact that more than a million kids younger than six in our nation are currently taking psychiatric drugs.

While around half of these children are four to five years old, an incredible 274,804 of them are younger than a year old. That’s right: babies are being given psychiatric drugs. The number rises for toddlers aged two to three, with 370,778 kids in this category taking psychiatric drugs overall.

Data from IMS Health shows that the situation only gets worse as kids get older, with 4,130,340 kids aged 6 to 12 taking some type of psychiatric drug.

You might be forgiven for assuming that most of these statistics are made up by kids taking ADHD drugs given how common that approach seems to be nowadays, but it really only accounts for a small portion of it, with 1,422 of those younger than a year old and just over 181,000 of those aged four to five taking ADHD drugs.

Antidepressants and antipsychotics put forth some surprising figures, but the biggest category of psychotic drugs given to children appears to be anti-anxiety drugs. Just over 227,132 babies under one and nearly 248,000 of those aged four to five take these medications.

These numbers are even more shocking when you consider the fact that experts believe these estimates are far too low and the real numbers are actually much higher, due in part to the tendency for some doctors to hand out psychiatric medications for “off-label” uses. This risky practice entails giving out a drug to treat something that it is not indicated for, and the long-term effects of such an approach are completely unknown.

Safer alternatives to giving kids mind-altering meds

When adults choose to take psychiatric medication, it may be ill-advised in many cases, but it is still their choice to make. Children, on the other hand, lack the cognition to fully understand the lifelong impact of such a choice, and this essentially amounts to forced medication. We already know that many doctors have a financial incentive to get young people to start taking these drugs, but why are their parents so willing to get on board? Many of them are also taking psychiatric medications, of course. In fact, it has practically become a way of life in our nation and many people think of these meds as harmless.

The side effects of these drugs are nothing to scoff at, however, with antianxiety, antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs linked to heart attacks, psychosis, suicidal ideation, diabetes, stroke, mania and sudden death. As if that weren’t bad enough, there’s also the fact that many of the high-profile public shootings in recent years were perpetrated by young people on such drugs, so not only do kids have the risk of dying when they take these meds, but they could also take out a whole classroom or movie theater with them.

Psychiatric medications affect a child’s brain chemistry and could impact their development in irreversible ways, so it’s important for doctors and parents alike to reserve them as an absolute last resort. Some degree of anxiety is normal in children as they start to understand the way the world works. Life is full of ups and downs, and children who learn coping strategies when they’re young will have a valuable skill that can serve them well throughout their lifetime. There are lots of good coping mechanisms that can help children with depression, anxiety, and those who have been labeled with ADHD, including yoga, art therapy, breathing exercises, and physical exercise, to name just a few.