Vision Magazine

A Baseline of Health

by Sydney L. Murray

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
~World Health Organization, 1948

I thought the latter part of December into early January seemed like a problematic time to do a detoxification program; but after learning more about this supportive program from Baseline NutrionalsÅ, I joined over 600 people in 32 countries cleansing their bodies and minds. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jon Barron who has developed these products that made this program seem almost effortless.

Vision Magazine: How did you get interested in alternative health?

JB: Even as a teenager, I worked with my father, one of the first ≥true" technologists in the country; he got one of the first degrees in food technology. I worked with him designing foods and flavors. I planned to be a medical doctor and I went to college as pre-med. I soon become disillusioned and began writing on diet and nutrition back in the '60s. I didn't think of it as a career necessarily, but alternative health. Back then you didn't have all the information around such as magazines like Vision. The schools for alternative health didn't exist and a lot of alternative health practitioners were afraid of being arrested. One of the things that surprises a lot of people is that in parts of the U.S. it is actually illegal for a medical doctor to suggest alternative therapies for diseases like cancer.

VM: Wow!

JB: Back then people were doing alternative medicine through referral. You had to know someone, who knew someone, to get in. What I did was to start tracking these people down to try to learn what they were doing. What amazed me was how many people came to them who had been declared terminally ill by their doctors. Some of these people actually got well. It wasn't everybody, but it was a huge percentage of people who had been sent home to die. Even those who died, and I know this sounds like an oxymoron, felt better in the process. Going through cancer they stopped vomiting, losing their hair and so on. Their health actually got better. They had more time with their family. And, finally, their energy went and they passed. It was a much kinder process. Based on that I become more involved [in this field].
The people I went to were formulators, but not manufacturers of alternative therapies. I got more involved in working with these early alternative health innovators in the aspect of formulation and achieving the formulas they wanted. That's how I became a formulator, which was actually my career for a while. I began to record and document these formulations and their attributes and in the process became a writer, which I've been doing for many years, by putting out a newsletter on health and nutrition.

VM: What have you learned from your group cleanse in over 30 countries?

JB: This is not the first one we have done, so we have seen an evolution. It is like anything, we have a range of results and responses. But the bottom line is the Liver Detox is a tough thing for people to take. It is demanding, [but] not as tough as many people think. If people have fasted with juices beforehand it is not a big deal. For most people, that's the hardest thing, just not eating. So, it tends to produce the most profound results. The colon cleanse, for some people, if they were constipated, by just using the Colon Corrective they were suddenly saying, ≥Wow!" in the morning.
Even the colon cleanse can be dramatic for people. This detox is likely to produce profound changes in health and while you're doing it, even experiences that turn out to be spiritual. Many religions use fasting and cleansing as part of their spiritual disciplines, such as the Native American Indian Vision Quest and similar spiritual fasts.
I think what surprised me this time is how few people actually bailed [on the cleanse]. Some people had a headache the first day, and said, ≥I don't want to deal with this," and quit. But there weren't many. The big surprise was how many [people] had problems, yet persevered. Then they reported how things improved dramatically, the headache went away and they would feel incredible. Some [said] their senses became sharper, with their sight and smell improving. We did have people talk about feelings of upliftment and they felt lighter, more spiritually elevated.
People told us of the health improvements they noticed. People with diabetes who pointed out that for the first time in years their blood sugar [levels] were normal, which is interesting because most people are afraid of doing a detox because they are not eating [meals] and they think that affects their blood sugar. In fact, if you are doing it right and staying with the program it will actually balance out blood sugars. Products such as the Blood Support Formula have blood sugar regulators in them.

VM: What are some of the most common toxins found in our bodies?

JB: In general, you are going to have everything from heavy metals to drug residues. A lot of people are not aware that our city drinking water is now riddled with drug residues. You are literally drinking heart medication. They talk about cholesterol that comes from your diet and from your Uncle Bernie. But think about this: It's coming from you neighbor's Uncle Bernie. The water treatment plants have no facilities for removing them. There are residues of petroleum-based estrogen mimics in amounts as small as one billionth of a gram.
This kind of cleanse will actually detox matter in the intestinal tract. [When detoxifying] you can cleanse accumulated fats, clean out stones in the liver, parasites and the list goes on. There are over one hundred-thousand chemicals in the environment today that didn't even exist a hundred years ago. We are only just now beginning to understand the implications of what these substances are. They are in the environment, the clothes you buy, and the water you drink. They are everywhere. You can't escape them.

VM: What about naturally occurring toxins in our body such as yeast. Does your system work with those as well?

JB: Yes. The whole concept behind what we do is very simple: Your body is designed to stay healthy and repair damage, to stay well provided that you do two things. My book is about those two things: cleanse and provide good nutrition. If cleaned out, those things damaging the body and its ability to take care of itself will be depleted. And, you need to provide the body with the proper nutrients it needs, that we often no longer get from the diet we eat.

I usually recommend a detox four times a year. Think of it as a spring, summer, fall, winter, house cleaning. We alternate between doing a colon, heavy metal detox, and then the liver/gall-bladder flush which also works to benefit the kidneys, too.

VM: The products from your companies are formulated for this kind of detox. Can you tell us about them?

JB: I tend to formulate products that I can't find easily or I don't think are of sufficient quality. The key is understanding formulation. There are several things people do wrong when putting formulas together. One of them is that there is everything in it. I'll look at a capsule and there will be 60 ingredients. Let's do a little math: If you have a 500 milligram capsule, basically half of one gram, and there are 50 ingredients in it evenly distributed, you have ten one-thousandths of each ingredient. And, the fact is they are not evenly distributed. The first one or two ingredients are probably 90 percent of the capsule, which means the other 48 ingredients are at levels of one or two-thousandths of a gram. In the trade we call that pixie dust. That's one problem: A lot of formulations squeeze too much in there, which leads to the second problem--ingredients that are beneficial, but contradict each other. I will look at a product and see that they have probiotics and golden seal. The purpose of golden seal is to kill bacteria in the intestinal tract. So now you are taking a formula that has both good bacteria and golden seal, which will kill [the good bacteria].

The third thing is people do not understand herbs and their different grades. You can buy ginseng for $5 a pound or buy a high-grade, wild organic ginseng which is $400-$600 a pound. Most products use the five-dollar a pound ginseng. On the label it says ginseng. You can guess which one has more active ingredients and components in it; of course it's the higher-grade ginseng. Peppermint tea is an example. Take two batches of tea, one high-grade peppermint and one low grade and brew up two pots. You taste one batch of tea and it tastes like dishwater and the other one has that really bright, peppermint zing to it. That is a signature characteristic of peppermint.

The signature characteristic of Echinacea is that it tingles in the mouth. The more it does that, the more the amount of Echinacea in either the liquid or pills. Out of thirty brands I found only one that had any Echinacea activity.

VM: What can we do to reduce the toxins absorbed through our skin?

JB: One thing is to get a water or shower filter because you absorb more chlorine in your morning shower than in eight glasses of water. You can do this experiment yourself. Go to a swimming pool supply store and get a chlorine tester. Put some unfiltered tap water in a glass and put in a few drops of the tester and it will turn yellow, a sign of chlorine. Now take your other hand, put it in the water and wiggle it around a bit and it will turn clear. There is no more chlorine in the glass; it's in your skin.

The most absorbent tissue in the human body is the female breast. It literally just sucks up chlorine. Women in general have thinner skin than men's, so they absorb more quickly and the younger you are the more absorbent your skin is. Chlorine is a known carcinogen and [scientists] keep coming out with more cancers that they identify it with. And yet it's sort of a risk reward thing; they've determined that the number of people who get cancer is smaller than the number of people who benefit because they don't spread diseases.

It would take just one good Cholera outbreak and people would know why [chlorine] is there; the issue is instead of acknowledging the problems we have with municipal water, these companies say [water] is safe when arriving at your house; it is not carrying disease. Why not say, ≥We've kept it disease free and you want to do the final treatment at your house"?

VM: What about bottled water. Doesn't it have elevated levels of bacteria?
JB: When dealing with statistics, it goes back to one of my favorite quotes of all time, attributed to Benjamin Disraeli: ≥There are three kinds of lies in the world. Lies, damn lies and then statistics." You have to be careful. Here's one that is very fun but gives you great perspective. Did you know there are five times as many bacteria on your computer keyboard than your average toilet seat? In hotel rooms they found the phones and faucet handles on the sinks are filled with live cold germs. On the other hand scientists are coming to the conclusion that the protection we are offering to children may be counterproductive and what their immune system needs is education; kids who play in the dirt eating mud-pies, leaves and earth--doing what kids used to do when their immune systems were getting trained and toughened.
In my studies of the body what I find more fascinating by far is the communication by the brain to the body not by nerves but by chemicals or neuropeptides. There is communication going back and forth between every cell in your body and your brain. They know what they are doing, they communicate and they influence each other. For example with depression certain chemical signals are released in a lock and key type system and they lock into certain immune cells and those immune cells shut down. Depression tells your immune system to shut down, which is why the highest correlation for colds is when people are depressed or stressed. When you're happy you put out different neuropeptides with different receptors on the immune cells and they tell the immune system to strengthen.
Foods are nothing but a set of biochemicals that affect you in many ways, like high fructose corn syrups that are addictive. With yeast there are organisms living in your body that put out chemicals and signals; when you are infested with candida you have cravings for the things candida wants such as sugars, starches, wines. The amount of communication that goes on at a level that you wouldn't think is absolutely stunning. Einstein said the more one looks at the universe it looks like a giant mind. Well that's true about your body, it's an integrated system totally tuned into itself, and one part affects the other.
I think the single best investment is not on supplements but on a good juicer. If you fast one day a week on juices, in seven years you've gone an entire year without eating. Little things, done repeatedly make a huge difference. It's the things you do day in and day out, not the things you do once. Eating a steak dinner with french fries won't kill you, doing it every day will. Eating a salad tomorrow won't make you healthy, but eating salads and raw foods over a period of time will. And the great thing is you can actually see it. You have two people who look the same age and put them on different diets, one on fast food and one on whole foods; in a week you won't see any difference, but in a few weeks you can. In a year you'll see a bigger difference, and in ten years one person will have aged substantially more than the other person.

For more information on Jon Barron and Baseline Nutritionals visit www.jonbarron.org or www.baselinenutritionals.com, or contact 800/695-5995 and info@baselinenutrionals.com.

Organic Gardening: What You Should Know before You Grow!

by Elizabeth H. Florio

Spring is almost here. And, in the West, there is no better time than the month of March to get out into the yard and start an organic garden. Getting an early start on your garden provides your new plants with well-needed spring rains and gives you plenty of reasons to hang around outdoors while the weather is still cool enough in which to work and relax.

Why grow organic? Organic gardening is a process of working with nature, not against it. Principally, organic gardeners use natural methods for encouraging plant growth and controlling pests versus using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Pesticides are responsible for killing both detrimental and helpful insects, plus birds, frogs, and many other small animals that are vital to our ecosystem. Pesticides also disrupt the soil pH and leech into our ground water. Organic produce tastes better than its non-organic counterparts, and, organic gardening honors natural plant cycles that correspond to the regions in which the plants are grown. Lastly, growing organic is an earth-connected, spiritual, and socially responsible practice that can be very rewarding.

You can cultivate several kinds of organic gardens--edible, non-edible, or a combination of both. Edible gardens obviously contain delicious things for us to eat. Non-edible gardens are wonderful because they feature a variety of plants--both flowering and non-flowering--that beautify a yard, encourage relaxation, and invite a deeper connection with nature.
Contrary to what many people think, organic gardens don't have to be large or in full sun. A wide variety of plants and vegetables grow in small areas that receive only partial sun. For example, you can produce 10-12 heads of butter lettuce in two rows measuring a mere five feet long by two feet wide. And, lettuce will tolerate some shade.
You can also consider growing an organic container garden. Kristen Guzman of Growing Eden in Anaheim, California, says: ≥A full third of my business is containerized gardening, where I assist clients in cultivating beautiful, organic potted plants in compact areas, such as patios, terraces, and small courtyards. Many people in urban areas choose container gardening, because it's a fast, easy, and enjoyable way to bring natural beauty to their spaces."

Whichever type of organic garden you choose, have fun and use the following tips to cultivate a garden you'll love to spend your spring and summer in.

Pick a sheltered spot to plant. Edible gardens, in particular, do best if they are located in a relatively sheltered location like a yard encased by fencing, out buildings, trees or other types of foliage. Unsheltered gardens pose too many challenges for young plants to contend with, such as wind, pests, and frost.
Build your soil. Healthy soil--soil that's well aerated, full of organic matter and beneficial critters, such as earthworms and microorganisms--is an organic gardener's best defense against plant disease, pest infestation, and weed control. Healthy soil ensures nutrient dispersal, proper water drainage or retention, and aeration of the plants' roots. Composted kitchen scraps do wonders for making the soil healthy. However, if you don't have compost readily available, you can use various types of organic soil amend available at most plant nurseries.
Test your soil pH. This is an important consideration in determining and maintaining soil health. Soil can be acid, alkaline, or neutral. Soil pH is determined by testing the mineral levels in the subsoil. If you are growing vegetables, for example, most need an alkaline or lower acid soil. But flowering plants, such a gardenia, azalea, or hibiscus, require a higher acid level. Consider getting your soil pH tested so you can balance the acidity for the types of plants you intend to grow. Your local nursery can explain the steps and likely conduct the test for you.
Collect rain water and use a drip irrigation system. Water conservation, especially in the West, is a part of life and ideally forms an important role in any gardening plan. Collecting rain water for use in the dry months and installing drip irrigation systems before you plant your garden are two excellent methods for conserving water and saving money.
Collecting rain water. Rain collection is an ancient practice. Setting up rain collection barrels is a relatively easy process that involves securing containers below the down spouts from your rain gutters and attaching a hose to the system with which to water. The barrels are outfitted with special screens to keep rodents, leaves, kids, and pets out of the water. A great resource for rain collection barrels is the Rain Barrel Guide Web site at www.rainbarrelguide.com.
Installing a drip irrigation system. Drip irrigation is a highly efficient way to water your yard without waste, because it places water at ground level near the base and roots of your plants. The water is administered slowly so it soaks directly into the soil before evaporating or escaping. Installing a drip irrigation system requires some forethought and several adapters for your water line. Your local nursery can provide help. In addition, the Web lists many resources to help you establish the best system for your garden. For example, check out Jess Stryker's drip irrigation tutorial at www.irrigationtutorials.com/dripguide.htm.
Use native plants. The Sunset Western Garden book is an invaluable resource for tips on growing native and non-native plants. In high fire areas, native plants often contain higher water content and are a good means of slowing a fire, should one start. Also, the immune systems of native plants are ideally suited to your area's weather and particular pest populations. Aligning your planting with your geography means you'll be working with nature, and you'll grow healthier, easier to maintain plants.
Use natural pest control. Pests pose a problem for all organic gardens, but the following are a few natural pest control methods that don't endanger the environment.
Controlling slugs and snails. Try controlling slug and snail damage with a line of sawdust spread along your flowerbeds in a one-to-two inch wide swath. Be sure to do this in front of the beds and behind them, if you can. Slugs and snails don't like crawling across sawdust because it scratches. Another effective slug and snail control method is to place small pieces of cardboard among the plants throughout your yard. Slugs and snails love to eat paper and many will go to the cardboard first where you can easily relocate them away from your plants. Finally, another natural method of controlling snails and slugs is to place specially made copper collars or flat copper tape around the base of your plants or along the lips of your potted plants. Snails don't like the positive charge coming from the copper and are instantly repelled. The following Web site is a good source for copper tape: www.planetnatural.com/site/snail-slug-copper-tape.
Controlling insects. To control insects, try using non persistent soap sprays that contain fatty acids or dormant sprays made from various plant extracts such as botanical oils, lime, and sulfur. These sprays naturally repel insects without damaging plants or posing a threat to the environment. Apply the spray mixture to the leaves of your plants with a spray bottle that attaches to your hose. Alternately, you can pick pests off of your plants by hand, but be sure to do this in the early morning when pests are most active.

If you are unsure of which plants to grow, your local nursery is a great place to receive tips and information. Most nurseries have literally thousands of plants to make your yard a paradise, but the following non-edible species are easy to cultivate, require little or no maintenance, and bring lots of birds, bees, or butterflies to your yard.

Three easy-to-grow, full sun plants

Angel Trumpet (scientific name is Brugmansia): Nothing beats the lush, tropical, towering beauty and deeply intoxicating fragrance of the angel trumpet. These vigorous growers have large almond-shaped leaves and huge pendulous, trumpet-shaped flowers that literally cover the entire shrub for months at a time.
The blossom colors range from pale pink to rose, mauve, coral, yellow, chartreuse green, and white. Angel trumpet likes sun, can tolerate some shade, but they do not survive frost so a protected area is ideal. And, note that all parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested.
Butterfly Bush (scientific name is Buddleia Davidii): This is an incredibly beautiful flowering shrub that's aptly named because it attracts hordes of butterflies to your yard, which feed off the nectar from large spike-shaped flower clusters. The flowers can be purple, pink, white, or red. Butterfly bush is drought tolerant, but with regular water, it will treat you to vigorous summer flowering. The plants like full sun, well-drained soil, and pruning to ground level in late winter.
Lantana (scientific name is Lantana Camara): This sun loving plant is perfect for erosion control on hillsides and looks great against fencing or along walkways. Butterflies, in particular, love this plant. Lantana tolerates some shade but not harsh, freezing winters so give it a sheltered spot that receives at least four hours of direct sun daily. The flowers are small but clustered into beautiful globes that often contain three different, but complimentary colors. The plant has hairy, leathery leaves and stems that emit a pungent, spicy scent when bruised. Lantana is available in beautiful varieties that include blooms of purple, blue, orange, yellow, red, white, pink, and lilac.

Three easy-to-grow, shade-tolerant plants

Flowering Maple or Chinese Lantern (scientific name is Abutilon): The flowering maple is a handsome addition to any yard with its large maple-shaped leaves and numerous saucer-like flowers. Flower colors range from red, apricot, yellow, white, purple, orange, and pink. Many two-color species are also available.
These evergreen shrubs grow as high as 10 feet tall in sheltered locations, so be sure to give them a large area, such as a garden wall or fence, in which to reach their potential. Of course, if you don't want your abutilon to become that tall, regular pruning will keep it in check or you can container garden it to control its size.
Fox Glove (scientific name is Digitalis): The fox glove is an amazing plant with gorgeous flower spikes that grow three to six feet tall above clumps of large, attractive leaves. The flowers are tubular shaped and range in color from white, cream, pink, yellow, and fuchsia. All have spotted throats. In the right conditions, your fox glove will self-propagate through ingenious seed pods that form after flowering and then crack open, dispersing their contents in the wind or by someone (or something) brushing past their spent spikes.
Impatiens (scientific name is Impatiens Wallerana): These wonderful flowering plants require almost complete shade in order to thrive, but they can tolerate some sun. They grow to 24 inches so are perfect for lining flowerbeds or planting at the base of trees and shrubs. Because impatiens stems are full of water and fairly fragile, they do not thrive in high traffic areas or where animals and kids romp. But they create such a profusion of blooms and are so easy to grow that they more than make up for their fragility. Impatiens are annuals, which means that they have a life cycle of about a year and then die off in cold weather. The flowers are solid white, red, coral, lilac, or pink.

Starting an organic garden in early spring gives us plenty of cool weather in which to work and is a wonderful way to connect with the natural world. Whether we grow edible or non-edible plants in a yard or in containers, using organic methods of cultivation keeps us in alignment with our ecosystem, ensures that our soil, air, and water remain healthy and viable, and gives us a socially-responsible, spiritual practice that nurtures the soul and the earth.

More information on organic gardening can be found on the Internet, numerous books, or your local nursery. Elizabeth H. Florio is a freelance writer who can be reached at liz@butterfatdp.com.