Dr. Joseph Mercola’s article on avoiding emulsifiers was eye opening. Thank you, Night Sky. But, are they all bad? For instance, I have taken lecithin as a supplement for decades and have no digestive disorders. But, I also switched from soy to sunflower lecithin. I did this to keep my triglycerides under control. Doctors would like to see their patients keep their levels at or under 150. Mine, at last check, was 64. My daughters was 29 and her GP asked her to get off of the lecithin for a while.

I have studied health, nutrition, supplementation, herbals and scientific and medical studies since way back before the Internet, 1971. That is one way to educate yourself when the local colleges don’t offer nutrition courses. You do the best you can. And the dietitians I met all looked like they weighed from 200-400 lbs. I wasn’t about to follow their diet plans on the healthiest way to eat.

Many things have changed over the years. First, carbs were dangerous. Then, in the 80s/90s, the food pyramid said you needed 6-11 servings of carbs a day. Butter and oil were located at the top of the pyramid. Meat was listed as a condiment, and a scare tactic. OMG, if you eat too much meat, you would get too much cholesterol in your arteries. Margarine was promoted as being much healthier than butter.

Hmm, clue: mankind has been eating butter, cheese, milk, cream and all kinds of meat for millennia. Margarine has been around for a little over 100 years. “Better Living through chemistry.” was a slogan in the last century. Bullshit! The elite have been poisoning us for a long time. Margarine was just one avenue. I didn’t fall for that crap. Nor did I ever give up eggs. And meat? My daughter does carnivore, very seldom eating anything but meat, fish, bacon, pork rinds, butter and eggs. Her labs, including cholesterol and triglycerides, were perfect. Her doctor asked for a list of what she eats so she could try it.

However, it isn’t for everyone. Her husband, myself and my husband eat a more low-carb Mediterranean type of diet. Any time I have ever gained weight, due to pregnancy or quitting smoking, a low carb diet is what took the weight off. Not a 6-11 servings of carbs a day diet. I wouldn’t be able to fit into my car without a can of Crisco and a shoehorn. So, when I read a paper, magazine, or book saying that a particular food is the way to eat, I say, “Show me the study. AND, show me who funded the study.” The sugar industry is the reason we can’t buy cyclamates in this country. You can still buy it in Canada and other countries not controlled by laboratories ‘owned’ by Big Pharma.

Another thing to think about. Actually two. Did anyone else notice how Alzheimers exploded one to two decades after the low fat, no fat push in our diets became popular? The brain is up to 70% cholesterol rich. The most cholesterol rich organ in the body. And, if you didn’t take in any cholesterol, your liver would still manufacture what you needed. What evil genius scientist came up with the ‘no fat hypothesis? Want to bet his salary was paid for by some Big Pharma company?

The other area I finally got the scoop on was what was causing the explosions in joint replacements. While that surgery has been available for a long time, it wasn’t something that was common when I was growing up. I was finally able to piece that story together, starting with my orthopedic surgeon, who had done my hip and two knee replacements. I said, “I don’t understand. I have been a health food nut since the 70’s. You tell me you’ve never met anyone my age who had such strong bones.” It had taken him nearly two hours to do my hip instead of his usual 45 minutes. I wasn’t surprised given my usual diet and supplementation for over fifty years. But, I said, “That’s great. I’m glad my bones are strong. But, why are my joints falling apart?” He said, “I don’t know.” I said, “I don’t either, but I’m damned well going to find out. I have never seen so many joint replacements as I have in the past two decades.”

So began the hunt. As so often happens with me, I serendipitously fell into the information. I found a book by Linus Pauling, at our local library book sale. “How to Live Longer and Feel Better.” In it, I found out that the tendons, ligaments, muscles and cartilage all need copper and manganese to remain healthy and strong. Guess what destroys those two minerals? Fluoride. At the end of WWII, the government found itself with an over abundance of chemical fluoride. They first tried to talk the farmers into using it as fertilizer on their fields. It burned their crops. The farmers told them to keep it. They would go back to using their animal manure.

Then some genius read a study about how natural fluoride, in some areas, made teeth stronger, if sometimes a little discolored. Eureka! Problem solved. They talked many cities and towns into putting their chemical fluoride into the public water systems. Not everyone bought into it. But, most did. Actually, 97% of Western Europe bans the use of fluoride in the water. Why do we Americans automatically believe our government wouldn’t do anything to harm us? I think the last two years has put that lie to the test.

Apparently, it tales a long time for the damage to joints to show up. Those of us born around the same time as fluoride has been added to the drinking water, were showing signs of weakened joints 50-60 years later. Some, even younger people are having joints replaced now. People my daughter’s age. I told my surgeon what I had learned and he made a rude remark about Linus Pauling and practically flew out of my room. It’s good to see such scientific curiosity.

I replaced our water pitcher with one that filters out fluoride, and started taking 2 milligrams of copper and 5-8 milligrams of manganese. Although, I seriously doubt if I have enough years left to reverse decades of damage, I do what I can.

Moral of that story is, don’t believe everything you read online, in books or magazines. Do your own research. Be your own guinea pig . You care far more about your health and that of your family than scientific researchers or even most doctors do.

I didn’t get a chance to tell my surgeon that Pauling was a scientist, a chemist, a physicist, crystallographer, and medical researcher and was one of only five people in the world to have won more than one Nobel prize. One in 54 for his contribution to chemistry and the Peace prize for his work against nuclear war. They must not teach that at universities and medical schools anymore.