COVID-19 PREVENTION AND IMMUNITY BOOSTER

Here's the outline...there's still time to launch this on a war footing before situation goes out of control like in Italy.. 

1. THE BEST DEFENSE FOR any flu is to strengthen our Immune System year round. And Vitamin D3 does precisely that! Luckily in India, D3  (Cholecalciferol) “Arachitol” injections in 7.5mg (300,000 IU) and 15mg (600,000 IU) are available on prescription at most hospitals in India and doses of 100,000–300,000 IU have been administered intramuscularly 6-monthly or once-yearly quite safely.

A single therapeutic annual intramuscular injection of 600,000 IU (15mg) cholecalciferol is currently being used to treat vitamin D deficiency in India and Canada, and its safety has previously been evaluated. Read this linked Research on "Annual intramuscular injection of a megadose of cholecalciferol for treatment of vitamin D deficiency: efficacy and safety data". 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15992330/

In the US, D3 60000 iu Caps from Biotech Pharmacal is good. Dr. John Jacob Cannell MD of Vitamin D Council, USA states "As I weigh 220 pounds (100 kg), I would take 200,000 IU per day for seven days if I thought I had an infection with a 1918-like influenza virus."

In India, that's 1,400,000 IU or about equivalent of two Injections of Arachitol 15mg (600,000IU). And I believe each injection costs a measly Rs.30/- ! Everyone can easily afford it!

2. Here's a presentation from Dr. Seheult, MD 'Vitamin D may aid in prevention of COVID-19": watch from 2:04...

https://youtu.be/gmqgGwT6bw0

3. Outline of the Campaign:

What?

"COVID-19 Prevention and Immunity booster" Community Campaign 

Where? 

Any gated community for starters or a designated area/ territory. 

When? 

Immediate on a war footing.

How? 

Campaign strategy 

1. Collect/gather updated Demographic count for all households within the community 

Elders 60+

Adults 21 to 60

Children/Teen upto 21

(this data should be available with the community administration) 

Conduct Vitamin D3 lab tests thru tie-up with Thyrocare, LabCorp and similar...to segregate vitamin D deficiency cases. 

2. Procurement:

For India:-

 a. Arachitol 3L/6L injections from Abbott and 

 b. Calcigen D3 1x4 softgel capsules from Cadila in bulk, quantity based on demographic data. 

As this is for a social cause, their CSR initiative may deliver free. 

For USA :-

D3 60000 iu Caps from Biotech Pharmacal 

3. Assign lead Doctor and several nurses for the Campaign. Announcement to residents of staggered dates of administrating Arachitol block wise. 

4. Arachitol 3L/6L injection administration Through Mobile Ambulances, Nurses can administer intramuscular. 

5. Distribution: of Calcigen D3 60kiu softgel capsules; pack of 5 per family.

Residents can take a D3 lab reTest after 8 weeks.. 

Close monitoring of the gated community for any further spread of the Sars-Cov-2 virus or if its being contained within.

______

Some research papers for the Doctors review..

1: Vitamin D for Prevention of respiratory tract infections... 

https://www.who.int/elena/titles/commentary/vitamind_pneumonia_children/en/

2: Vitamin D and the Immune system.. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/

3: Forget C, D may be the vitamin for cold and flu protection. Study... 

https://www.nutraingredients.com/Article/2009/02/25/Forget-C-D-may-be-the-vitamin-for-cold-and-flu-protection-Study

4. COVID-19 Coronavirus can most likely be fought by Vitamin D... 

https://vitamindwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page_id=11580#Why_How_Vitamin_D_both_treats_and_prevents_Coronavirus

Suggested Injection and Capsules:

Arachitol, Arachitol Nano

Mfr: Abbott India 

https://www.abbott.in/about-abbott/abbott-in-india.html

https://www.1mg.com/drugs/arachitol-6l-injection-323178

Calcigen D3 Softgel by Cadila 

https://www.cadilapharma.com/?s=Calcigen+

4. Living Example on Toxicity :

In the US, Author's 25(OH)D test at LabCorp USA resulted in a dangerously low 12.2 ng/ml. Over the following 8 weeks, he inadvertently consumed a total 2,260,000 IU over 56 days averaging daily to about 40,000 IU ! His subsequent LabCorp test result was 239 ng/ml ! Its very high when one considers the normal range between 32-100 ng/ml and some may even call this beyond toxic!! Truth is, he never felt any better!

His humble role in this is simply to provide comfort of confidence both to the medical fraternity and the citizens as a Living example of a person who has consumed very high levels with no side effects or toxicity and he has LabCorp USA test results to back it up.

LabCorp, USA, is a leading global life sciences company that is deeply integrated in guiding patient care through its comprehensive clinical laboratory and end-to-end drug development services.

5. On Toxicity : Mayo Clinic Research:- Vitamin D toxicity is rare in people taking supplements.. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150430134852.htm

Above rounded research data validation should satisfy the Medical fraternity advising the Govt for implementation of the campaign in densely affected areas. If administering Arachitol injection intramuscular is an issue, providing higher dosage of D3 capsules supplements will also help. 

Meanwhile, due to the emergent nature of the situation and the probability of exponential escalation, it would be helpful to the society at large, if you can initiate a "COVID-19 Immunity Boister" mailer to your Twitter/FB groups participants with this post link. This will also be a timely initiative!

Stay safe, stress free and warm. God bless all. 

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By opening up retail, Indians may end up consuming cheap, low grade, mass-produced, industrial quality produce like Americans. So which way do we go?

LINK

India's FDI retail saga: From Wal-Mart to Agarwal-Mart?

By opening up retail, Indians may end up consuming cheap, low grade, mass-produced, industrial quality produce like Americans. So which way do we go?

Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | Sep 29, 2012, 08.15PM IST

WASHINGTON: "I actually did vote for the $ 87 billion (war funding) before I voted against it," was a line that destroyed John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004. He could never live down the flip-flopper reputation after opponents simplified his statement to "I was for the Iraq War before I was against it." Subtle nuances and elegant explanations, not to speak of a possible change of heart after things went south, were lost in the verbal melee in an atmosphere where you were either "for it or against it."

Something similar is happening in the debate in India about foreign direct investment in the retail sector, in which the American superstore Wal-Mart has become the figurehead. You are either for FDI or against FDI; Wal-Mart is all good or pure evil. Look, look ... says one distinguished opposition leader now in his twilight years, even Americans (or New Yorkers) are against it. Of course, some Americans are against Wal-Mart; many are for it. Many Americans are also pro-outsourcing. And anti-globalization. And pro-China. And, anti-China. It's never black and white.

In fact, as the popular Facebook-era metaphor goes: It's complicated. As someone who divides his time between US and India, here's my $0.02, or Rs 1.06 at the current exchange rate, about the FDI/WalMart debate: I am against Wal-Mart in America, and for Wal-Mart in India. How's that for a $2 Made-in-India flip-flop — or "double standard" as a colleague put it? I am also mostly vegetarian in the US, but have no problems eating non-vegetarian in India. And there's a connection between the two.

The simple explanation for all this is the US and India are at different stages of market economics, especially in the in production, distribution and marketing of food produce. The US has made some awful mistakes in embracing its current food cycle, the same way it has erred espousing a mindless automobile revolution. So while adopting the "good" that FDI retail/Wal-Mart can offer, there is no compelling reason for India to follow the US model to the T; it need not make the same mistakes. Call it retail revolution with Indian characteristics, if that is possible.

Let's break it down with examples by first looking at the "good" that the proposed retail revolution can bring into India, some of which has been articulated by ardent votaries of FDI. First off, it will improve supply chain logistics, including cold storage, and broadly bring India further in tune with 21st century western style market economy. It will save the 30 per cent wastage of perishables that we have been moaning about for 30 years. Of course there is always the question about whether it is better to eat fresh produce never mind the wastage, or whether to can the waste and eat preserved food. We'll come to that later — the simple answer could be it is better to eat something than nothing at all ...

Initially at least, the so-called FDI revolution in retail will provide better prices and returns to farmers through better yields, productivity, and distribution. It could also offer more choice, better quality, greater uniformity, improved display and packaging. All this is not a given and will not necessarily improve your health or quality of life. In fact, it could be the other way around. Here's how it has panned out in America.

The corporatization of the food chain has its upside — and downside. Farmers are coaxed — or forced — to improve yields, attain the kind of quality and uniformity that corporate interests demand, and as a result may get more remunerative prices, at least in the beginning. But it also edges out the small and marginal farmer, vastly reduce farm labor (with increased mechanization), and result in mediocre but commercially viable produce. In fact, this prospect brings home the very malaise that more "advanced" western societies are starting to realize and wanting to avoid or reverse. This is where you want to continue buying from the neighbourhood push-card vendor in India who's bringing in fresh produce to your doorstep from a local grower rather than the retail chain with its stock of mass produce whose provenance and vintage is unknown. This is where more and more westerners, at least those who can afford it, are switching to shopping at farmers market with local produce even though it is much more expensive than supermarkets.

So why is it produce cheaper (or will eventually become cheaper) in the supermarkets, you ask? Because, the economies of scale make big chain produce much cheaper. They also have deeper pockets to suffer initial losses and eliminate competition, as Wal-Mart has demonstrated in many countries.

What modern retail in the west has done is introduced food produce not just on an industrial scale but on an industrial quality too. And this is where my "prefer vegetarian in US but okay with non-veg in India" choice kicks in. That massive ten-pound pack of chicken breast at dirt cheap price ... we really have no idea of its origins or vintage. Wait ... we do have a rough idea. It was raised in a massive chicken farm owned by a corporate monopoly in methods and circumstances that will make you puke. Chicken (or cattle) that are cooped up in the dark, medicated, and force-fed continuously so that they attain maximum weight in the minimum time with minimum movement and metabolism. That's how corporates maximize profit. In India, you still have to the option of seeking out the healthier free-range or home-grown chicken, fresh locally grown- or sourced vegetables and fruits. You could be saying goodbye to all that (or at least end up paying much much more) with the FDI fiesta.

On a recent trip to the great American outback, your correspondent saw visual evidence of what this corporatization and industrialization of food production — widely seen as inevitable once the retail FDI gates are open — can do to the landscape and population. Thousands upon thousands of acres of farmland, typically owned or leased by corporates or large farming interests, grew bounteous harvests of corn (even in a drought year). This was not the corn, the "bhutta" from the push cart vendor that you eat with relish. It is mostly genetically modified, tasteless, industrial-grade rubbish that is aimed at maximizing yield. When it is not used as animal feed, it is turned into corn syrup which is used sweeten almost everything you see in the supermarket, including that sugary soft drinks you guzzle.

The result is all too visible in much of the US, nowhere more than the heartland of the country, where people come in large, economy size, with consequent health issues (obesity linked diabetes and heart disease). Much of this comes from eating cheap, low-quality, industrial grade food — from mass-produced breads and meat. There are few places in the world is where food available as cheaply (relative to income) as America. Till a couple of decades ago, Americans spent up to 15 per cent of their income on food; it is now below ten per cent and still dropping. It is now an accepted fact that the poorer the state in America, the more obese people are, because they are eating cheap, mass-produced food of the kind offered by fast-food chains. That dreadful burger and pizza and cola that you are wolfing down from the retail assembly line ... it's the cheapest and the worst kind of food you could be eating.

So here's the equation. If you allow the kind of retail revolution that has overtaken America, you could end up consuming cheap, low grade, mass-produced, industrial quality produce. Of course, it is easy to sniff down at all this from the high vantage point of those who have money in the pocket and the luxury of choice. But what about those with limited means who cannot afford to spend as much on fresh produce as corporatization of the food chain takes hold? So should be just reject the American/western way and stick to our current way, as many of those opposed to the Wal-Mart way are recommending? Then what happens to the farmers who seek better market access and greater returns, who want to eliminate waste and spoilage. Isn't FDI retail lucrative for him — at least to begin with, before predatory practices set in. Which way should we go? Will we, to paraphrase John Kerry, end up being "for it, before we turn against it?"

The answer, without it sounding like a cop-out, is to embrace the middle way. We need all the systems and logistics that FDI retail will bring, but we need to tweak it to make sure we don't go the American way. In some ways we should be reassured by what has happened already: the arrival of American retail food chains such as KFC, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut, did not destroy Indian eateries or Indian eating habits. We took the best practices from them, and today many Indian food outlets have the same look and feel of their western counterparts while continuing to serve the Indian palate. So the arrival of Wal-Mart may just herald the birth of the Agarwal-Mart.

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Vitamin D3 or Disease, Disability and Death! UPDATE

Photo Courtesy Natural News

My first post Vitamin D3 or Disease, Disability and Death! needs an update! So here it is -

Over the last 3 year since the first post, there has been such a tremendous outburst of Vitamin D news that its now on Mainstream too. Which is all very good for the people. However, this could also lead to more questions, more doubts and a need for the easiest way to understand without medical jargon.  This update is an attempt to keep it simple- 


Lets start with this short video:

To recap, Vitamin D is more of a hormone than a vitamin and is freely available from the sun!  However if people in most countries were to look up in the sky, they will notice the sky is mostly overcast or the sun's rays do not seem to be as strong as it used to be! Additionally, very few of us if any, would go out in the sun with our body exposed between 10am and 3pm!  Except perhaps those who are lounging by the beach!  Even there, use of suntan lotions and sunglasses limit the sun's rays from properly penetrating the skin.  And there is the fear of melanoma too!  So what does one do??
Well, here comes Vitamin D3, a natural supplement to the rescue!  I heard that the levels and dosage talked about now has gone up to 100 ng/ml and 8000 IU/day!  Uh-uh...there comes the technical terms...to make it look formidable and a barrier to entry for most laymen.  Not to worry...its easily explained.  Just watch Dr Mercola's video that clears the air on all that is to know about Vitamin D. 



I have tried to keep my level around and beyond 100 ng/ml and that has helped me tremendously.  
Lately I have added MSM to the list of natural supplements....I urge you to watch another interview of Dr Mercola with Dr Stefanie....on the benefits of Sulphur!

Further Suggested Readings:
You could take Vitamin D or.....

How Vitamin D is produced and handled in the body

Vitamin D and Children

VIDEO LINKS:

Links to videos on the general health benefits of vitamin D

Disclaimer: The above nutritional information is compiled from various research reports and scientific studies and articles based on nutritional facts and should be used to support rather than replace medical advice advocated by physicians. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document and the information provided herein is believed to be accurate. However, this information is not intended to constitute an "authoritative statement" under FDA rules and regulations.

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Why Feminine Hygiene Products May NOT Be "Protecting" In All Respects !

"These 'Whiter than White', Pristine-Looking Items
May be a Ticking Time Bomb…"

These soft, cottony items look so innocuous, but they're often laced with dioxin… And you unwittingly place them against your skin repeatedly for decades on end. It's the risk no one talks about. Shun its hidden dangers today, and demand the level of protection you deserve…

 

The average American woman uses up to 16,800 tampons in her lifetime – or as many as 24,360 if she's on estrogen replacement therapy.

And that's just tampons…
Many women use countless sanitary pads in place of, or in addition to tampons. When this same 'average' woman has a baby, she might also use maternity and nursing pads.
Something you wear so intimately and with such regularity, wouldn't you want to know for sure it's safe? You may be thinking, what could possibly not be safe with feminine hygiene products?
They're whiter-than-white pure and clean, right?
This is an area that I admittedly haven't previously been very involved with until recently. After thoroughly investigating the topic, I have to admit I was shocked.

In my opinion, the realm of feminine hygiene is like a "ticking time bomb."

And for you men out there, don't go away just yet.

The women in your life – your partner, your sister, your mother, your daughter – they may need this information, too. It's up to you to pass it on to them.

Why Feminine Hygiene Products May NOT Be
"Protecting" In All Respects

Are there potential, unsuspected risks from feminine hygiene products?

For decades, women have trusted their favorite feminine hygiene products to protect them from leaks.
And certainly, when you scan feminine hygiene product ads, "protection" does seem to be today's buzzword.
No doubt, you receive absorbency protection. In fact, that's something the FDA ensures.
However, could it be that in the process of "protecting" you from leaks, your feminine hygiene products may potentially be subjecting you to an unexpected risk?
A risk that you never bargained for – or haven't been warned about.
The good news is… it's a potential risk that you can avoid, if you so choose.
I bet that after you discover what I've learned, you'll never think about "protection" the same way again.
Let's get started…CLICK HERE FOR MORE

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Never Do This with Your Teeth - No Matter How "Safe" They Say It Is

 

Dental amalgam is far from an essential dental product; it’s interchangeable with many other filling materials that do not have the toxic profile amalgam has. Modern materials like resin composites and glass ionomers have rendered amalgam completely unnecessary for any clinical situation, and entire nations have already stopped using amalgam altogether 





By Dr. Mercola

After enormous public pressure from scientists, dentists, health professionals, and consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promised to make an announcement about dental amalgam by the end of 2011.
Dental amalgam, of course, is composed 50% of the dreadful neurotoxin mercury.
Jeffrey Shuren, director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH, the branch of the FDA responsible for the approval and safety of all medical devises) said at a public hearing in September, in San Francisco, that FDA will make an “announcement” on a new amalgam policy  by the end of 2011. 
When questioned by a reporter at a major newspaper, FDA repeated that it would act in 2011.
As 2011 came to a close, the suspense grew as everyone speculated whether FDA would act or whether it would continue its decades of protecting the profits of pro-mercury dentists instead of protecting the health of American children. 
With just six minutes left in the work year, at 4:54 pm on Friday, December 30, FDA conceded that no announcement was forthcoming – not in 2011, and maybe not at all.
In that midnight statement, one FDA press person, one Karen Jackler, said that another FDA press person, Morgan Liscinsky, would answer questions about amalgam. 
So when the respected trade publication FDA Webview asked, Liscinsky said:  No announcement. 
And no target date for FDA to do anything on amalgam. 
Instead, FDA said what it said ten years ago: it will “continue to study the safety of amalgam.”
FDA has broken yet another promise on amalgam. 

Why Won't the FDA Act to Protect You Against Toxic Mercury?

The FDA's history of protecting dental amalgam is a long one.
For the past 32 years, the agency has refused to issue any public warning about its neurotoxic risks, and in 2009, the FDA declared it safe under Class 2 for adults and children over the age of 6 who are not allergic to mercury—despite the overwhelming evidence showing mercury to be highly toxic and easily released in the form of vapor each time you eat, drink, brush your teeth or otherwise stimulate your teeth.
These mercury vapors readily pass through cell membranes, across your blood-brain barrier, and into your central nervous system, where it can cause psychological, neurological, and immunological problems.

Children and fetuses, whose brains are still developing, are clearly most at risk, but anyone can be impacted, and the health risks get greater the longer you have your fillings.
According to Boyd Haley, retired professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky (where he headed the chemistry department), about 80 percent of the mercury vapor released from your fillings collect in your body tissues and can take months or years to eliminate. Needless to say, if your body keeps accumulating more mercury than it can eliminate, after many years of chronic exposure you may end up with quite a bit of accumulated mercury in your body. Studies on cadavers have confirmed that the more amalgam fillings a person has, the more mercury collects in their brain, for example.

World Health Organization Urges Phasing Out of Dental Amalgam

Many hoped that the FDA would reconsider this foolish stance after the World Health Organization called for the phasing-out of amalgam in their 2011 report: Future Use of Materials for Dental Restoration. In May 2011, the Council of Europe also issued a proclamation calling for restrictions and prohibitions of mercury fillings, which are already banned in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Health Canada also stopped endorsing amalgam for use in children, pregnant women, and people with impaired kidney function, all the way back in 1996!
The World Health Organization noted the following three reasons for its new position:

1. Amalgam releases a "significant amount of mercury" into the environment, including the atmosphere, surface water, groundwater, and soil. WHO reports:
   
   "When released from dental amalgam use into the environment through these pathways, mercury is transported globally and deposited. Mercury releases may then enter the human food chain especially via fish consumption."
2. WHO determines that amalgam raises "general health concerns": While the report acknowledges that a few dental trade groups still believe amalgam is safe for all, the WHO report reaches a very different conclusion: "Amalgam has been associated with general health concerns." The report observes:
   
   "According to the Norwegian Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit, the majority of cases of side-effects of dental filling materials are linked with dental amalgam."
3. WHO concludes "materials alternative to dental amalgam are available" and cites studies indicating they are superior to amalgam. For example, WHO says "recent data suggest that RBCs [resin-based composites] perform equally well" as amalgam. And compomers have a higher survival rate, says WHO, citing a study finding that 95% of compomers and 92% of amalgams survive after 4 years.
   
   In particular, WHO explains that "Alternative restorative materials of sufficient quality are available for use in the deciduous [baby] dentition of children" – the population whose developing neurological systems are most susceptible to the neurotoxic effects of dental mercury. Perhaps more important than the survival of the filling, WHO asserts that:
   
   "Adhesive resin materials allow for less tooth destruction and, as a result, a longer survival of the tooth itself."

The report also included mention of the known toxic effects of mercury exposure, stating that:

"Mercury is highly toxic and harmful to health. Approximately 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed in the blood through the lungs, causing damages to lungs, kidneys and the nervous, digestive, respiratory and immune systems. Health effects from excessive mercury exposure include tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, developmental deficits during fetal development, and attention deficit and developmental delays during childhood."

Why Does the FDA Ignore its Own Experts?

In December 2010, in response to the outrage over their 2009 ruling, the FDA asked an advisory panel to examine the latest science on amalgams. The panel recommended that the FDA promptly:

• Make sure that all consumers and all parents know that amalgam is mainly mercury
• Stop amalgam use for children and pregnant women

Still, the agency hesitated… Then, last year Shuren attended a series of town hall meetings around the US, where he heard so much criticism against the agency's amalgam policy that he eventually started saying the agency would act on the petitions to reconsider its position. As recently as November 30, the FDA confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that it did indeed intend to address amalgam in 2011, stating that:

" … in response to concerns about its [2009] ruling, the FDA convened a panel last December to re-examine the issue and expects to make a new announcement by the end of this year."

But, it didn't… According to Charlie Brown, national counsel for Consumers for Dental Choice, and President of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry:

"At Jeff Shuren's Center for Devices, politics wins. Science loses. Thirteen months ago, FDA's own advisory panel of handpicked scientists told FDA to stop amalgam use for children and pregnant women. But Shuren fails to heed the scientists — even though, since September, he repeatedly announced that he intended to act on amalgam in 2011. Every day that Shuren fails to act, more children are subjected to this mercury product, which — FDA's own rule concedes — can have 'neurotoxic effects' on the 'developing neurological systems' of children and unborn babies."

No One NEEDS Amalgam to Remain Available...

Dental amalgam is far from an essential dental product; it's interchangeable with many other filling materials that do not have the toxic profile amalgam has. Just consider these disturbing facts:

• Amalgam is the MOST EXPENSIVE dental material when you count environmental costs and clean-up costs.
• Amalgam is the number one cause of mercury exposure for consumers, according to the Canadian government and other sources.
• Mercury from dental offices is the largest source of mercury in wastewater. According to an article by Michael Bender (co-founder of the Mercury Policy Project), at least 40 percent of mercury flowing into municipal water treatment plants begins in dentist offices. And those plants are not set up to remove it, so it ends up in your fish.
• Americans and Europeans have more mercury in their mouths than exists in all products combined—more than 1,000 tons.
• Amalgams of the dead pose a risk to the living. Emissions from the combustion of mercury fillings during cremation are a significant contaminator of air, waterways, soil, wildlife and food. Seven to nine metric tons of mercury per year escapes into the atmosphere during cremations, and it is estimated that, left unchecked, crematoria will be the largest single cause of mercury pollution by 2020.

Modern materials like resin composites and glass ionomers have rendered amalgam completely unnecessary for any clinical situation. In fact, the mercury-free alternatives are so advanced that entire nations, such as the Scandinavian countries, have stopped using amalgam altogether.
Already, about half of U.S. dentists are mercury-free and 77 percent of consumers who are told that amalgam contains mercury choose mercury-free alternatives. One of the most popular alternatives to amalgam is resin composite. Resin composites are made of a type of plastic reinforced with powdered glass. It is already common throughout the U.S. and the rest of the developed world, offering notable improvements over amalgam, as it:

• Is environmentally safe: Composite, which contains no mercury, does not pollute the environment. This saves taxpayers from paying the costs of cleaning up dental mercury pollution in our water, air, and land – and the costs of health problems associated with mercury pollution.
• Preserves healthy tooth structure, because, unlike amalgam, it does not require the removal of significant amounts of healthy tooth matter. Over the long term, composite preserves healthy tooth structure and actually strengthens teeth, leading to better oral health and less extensive dental work over the long-term.
• Is long-lasting: While some claim that amalgam fillings last longer than composite fillings, the science reveals this claim to be baseless. The latest studies show that composite not only lasts as long as amalgam, but actually has a higher overall survival rate.

A lesser-known alternative is increasingly making mercury-free dentistry possible even in the rural areas of developing countries. Atraumatic restorative treatment (also called alternative restorative treatment or ART) is a mercury-free restorative technique that has been demonstrated a success in a diverse array of countries around the world, including Tanzania, India, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Turkey, South Africa, Thailand, Canada, and a dozen others. ART relies on adhesive materials for the filling (instead of mercury) and uses only hand instruments to place the filling, making it particularly well-suited for rural areas of developing countries.

How You Can Help Protect Children Everywhere

It's high time for the FDA start acting on the science and get on the bandwagon to protect the health of children and pregnant women across the U.S.
Your voice is needed in order to bring about permanent change in the fight for mercury-free dentistry. The FDA reneged on their stated intent to address dental amalgam by the end of 2011. We now need you to urge the FDA to heed the advice of its own scientists convened in December 2010 and the World Health Organization. To voice your opinion, please contact Dr. Shuren. This time, we think it best if you telephone or fax, and make your message more direct, rather than emailing Dr. Shuren:

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, Director
Center for Devices, U.S. Food & Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave.
WO66-5431, Room 5442
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
Phone: 301-796-5900 or 301.796-5000
Fax: 301-847-8149 or 301-847-8109

If you can't get through to Dr. Shuren via phone or fax, please write Anthony Watson, Director of the Division on Devices, anthony.watson@fda.hhs.gov.
Phone calls and faxes are especially important because Dr. Shuren cannot ignore them – keep calling and leaving messages until you get answers! Here are some recommended talking points when you call or write:

• Why is the FDA ignoring its own scientific advisory panel that told the FDA to stop the use of amalgam immediately for children, pregnant women, and hypersensitive adults (as a minimum) over a year ago? There is no excuse for endangering our children with dental mercury.
• Why is the FDA failing to warn every parent that amalgam is mercury, not silver? Every consumer should be told the truth about what's going into their mouths and their children's mouths.
• Why is the FDA so out-of-step with the World Health Organization? In its 2011 report, the World Health Organization calls on health authorities like FDA to take action against amalgam now: "Health authorities can play an active role in advocacy for use of dental materials alternative to amalgam."
  
  It is time for the FDA to act now. An announcement that the FDA's decision will be indefinitely postponed is unacceptable! We have irrefutable scientific evidence about the dangers of mercury amalgams. Your children are being subjected to harm now—they can't wait another year.

It is time for the FDA to get out of the way of progress. Please join Charlie and me in keeping the pressure on them — let's not allow them to manipulate their way into placing dental industry profiteering before of your children's health.

I also urge you to tell your family, friends, and neighbors the truth about dental amalgams, and don't let your dentist talk you into one for yourself or for your child. It's not your dentist's mouth—it's YOUR mouth. And YOUR pocket book—which holds a great deal of buying power.

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