Atlanta HEAL - Newsletter

The speaker at our September 18 meeting will be Ronald Dressler, DDS. Dr. Dressler received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in Memphis in 1964 and started his private practice in Atlanta in 1967. In 1972 he started a long term study in nutrition and alternative health. Then in 1984 Dr. Dressler and 12 other dentists, physicians, and medical researchers formed the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. Since its inception the Academy has grown to over a thousand members worldwide. Dr. Dressler is the current president and he is also active in over a dozen professional organizations. He has 35 years of dental experience, 27 of them mercury free. Dr. Dressler will speak on mercury, fluoride, root canals, and cavitations. He plans to show a short video so please be on time.

The meeting will be at 10:30 in the educational building of the Embry Hills United Methodist Church, 3304 Henderson Mill Road. Take Chamblee Tucker Road outside 285, turn right on Henderson Mill Road. The driveway to the educational building is beside the bank. Pat Hetzler said that at one meeting she left through the door at the end of the building (facing Henderson Mill Road) and that it was much better than going through the lobby. We will plan to use that door for entering as well as exiting if at all possible. Make sure you and anyone you might bring use no fragrance or scented products. See you there!

The City of Carrollton, Georgia (thirty miles west of Atlanta) was considering spraying all city streets to control mosquitoes this past spring. Stan Caress led a small group of citizens, concerned about the health and environmental effects of spraying every street in the city with pesticides, who took action to stop the policy. They put petitions to "Stop the Spraying" in every health food store in the city and contacted the local chapter of the Sierra Club, which soon endorsed the stop-the-spraying campaign. They made spraying an issue in the local city election by giving every candidate for office a copy of the petition, which had by then over a hundred signatures. Most of the candidates pledged that if elected they would review the policy. After the election, the City formed an advisory panel (composed of Stan, two other college teachers, and other concerned citizens) to study alternatives to spraying. The panel found that other cities successfully use mosquito source abatement techniques (nontoxic) instead of spraying, and recommended that their city do the same. In early August, the city council voted to suspend its intentions to spray city streets and instead adopted a policy of using alternative (non-pesticide) methods of mosquito control.

After sugar, gluten is the second most prevalent food substance in western civilization. Found in soups, sauces, canned foods, and hundreds of other food items, gluten is a complex protein which normal digestion doesn't completely break down. Surviving pieces called peptides come in contact with the lining of the small intestine and the molecules of the immune system there. In someone with gluten intolerance the digestive tract becomes inflamed and the fingerlike projections or villi that normally provide a vast surface area for absorbing digested nutrients are lost. Malnutrition, fatigue, migraines, dermatitis, anemia, and osteoporosis are just a few of the symptoms that can be produced. Gluten intolerance is not an allergy. It is more similar to complex immunological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, insulin-dependent diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.

[] Some brands of lipstick contain lead. Christian Dior, Lancome, Clinique, Y.S.L., Estee Lauder, Shiseido, Real Earth (lip gloss) Chanel (lip conditioners), and Market America-Motives lipstick. Watch out for those lipsticks which are supposed to stay longer because those have the higher lead content. Following is a test you can do yourself. Put some lipstick on your hand and use a 14k-24k gold ring to scratch on the lipstick. If the lipstick color changes to black you know that it contains lead.

[] Propylene glycol is an additive made from natural gas which is used in antifreeze, deicing solutions, the plastic industry, and as a solvent in paint, food colorings and flavors. It is also used in medicines, foods like ice cream and sour cream products, hand lotions, deodorant, tooth paste, shampoo, conditioners, and saline eye drops. This additive causes non specific histamine release mimicking allergy symptoms such as rashes, headache, asthma, sinus attacks, and mood swings. The Environmental Protection Agency Material Safety Data Sheet has a warning to consumers to avoid skin contact yet the Food and Drug Administration allows it to be used in hundreds of skin care products with no warning on the label.

[] An article by Mary Dooley states that "a standard vacuum cleaner will exhaust over 2,000,000 particles per cubic foot of exhaust air as shown by a laser particle counter." Dust is being recycled back into the room so that often the air is dirtier than it was prior to vacuuming. "A real HEPA vacuum cleaner would measure zero particles per cubic foot of air and will leave room air cleaner than prior to vacuuming." A HEPA vacuum cleaner filters 99.97% of particles .03 micron and larger, down to the level of mold spores. Mary says to watch out for vacuums that mislead by saying that they remove 99.97% of ragweed and pollen which are much larger than mold spores.

[] Granite Ware (speckled porcelain on steel cookware) is available from Columbian Home Products, America's oldest cookware producer. They offer roasters, stock pots, sauce pans, plates, bowls, steamers, cookie sheets, tea kettles, and all white sets with stainless steel rims. 812-238-5000. www.columbianhp.com

[] Sherry Rogers MD says to avid drugs that are long-acting (12 hours or longer) because the longer a drug lingers in your system the greater the chance of side effects.

[] Aspergillus derived digestive enzymes can contain immunosuppressive mycotoxins that increase one's risk of developing fungal infections. Check with the producer to find out if a product has been tested and found pure and completely free of remnant aspergillus residues.

[] In the February newsletter issue, Joy Rhodes recommended wearing a QLink pendant to balance EMF especially when working on a computer. Although she did notice a significant difference in being able to work on the computer after wearing the QLink as well as a small energy boost and was seemingly continuing to be helped by wearing the QLink, she learned new things about energy products such as the QLink and others. At this time, she feels it is important to dissuade people from purchasing and wearing the QLink as there may possibly be harmful side effects in using it over a long period of time. She is doing an investigation with some personal experience on hopefully the best energy products on the market and hopes to report on them sometime in the future.

[] Ian Greenberg says that mold test kits are available from Lowes and Home Depot for $10. National Allergy Supply offers 3 plates for $60 which includes a report or for $75 which includes a report and color photos. 800-522-1448. http://www.natlallergy.com/

[] September birthdays: 19th Joy Rhodes, 20th Ron Dunham, 22nd Mark Fisher, 26th David Taylor, 29th Anne Steinemann. A belated Happy Birthday to Shirley Kluka (August 26). She is still looking for a chemically sensitive person to share her home.

[] Welcome returning member Mary Ashmore. Mary is a naturopath and massage therapist who works out of her home. She is very chemically sensitive and is looking for a safe salon where she can get a hair cut. maryashmore@comcast.net

[] Anne Lawrence is moving to Raleigh North Carolina the first of October. Service as President, Vice President, Membership Chairman, National HEAL Contact, and years on the calling committee are among her many contributions to our HEAL chapter over 20 years of membership. We are sorry to see her go and will miss her deeply.

ATLANTA HEAL NEWSLETTER