Got an email from a long time friend, I thought it was worth putting up here.
10th Century Medicine that Kills Antibiotic-Resistant 'Superbug'
An ancient Anglo-Saxon potion, used to treat eye infections in the
10th-century, has shown the potential to eradicate the modern MRSA superbug,
according to research.
The ancient remedy was uncovered in the British Library in a leather-bound
edition of what is considered one of the earliest known medical textbooks,
Bald's Leechbook. The thousand-year-old volume, containing the "eyesalve"
treatment, was translated by Christina Lee, an expert on Anglo-Saxon society
at the University of Nottingham. In a video posted to the universities
website, Lee explains why this particular recipe was chosen from the book
after being translated.
"We chose this recipe in Bald's Leechbook because it contains ingredients
such as garlic that are currently investigated by other researchers on their
potential antibiotic effectiveness," Lee said.
The recipe calls for two species of Allium (garlic and onion or leek), wine
and oxgall (Oxbile or Oxgall is dehydrated bile from a cows gall bladder-
Ken) to be brewed in a brass vessel. The instructions in the book called for
the potion to be left to stand for nine days before being strained through a
cloth.
"And so we looked at a recipe that is fairly straightforward. It's also a
recipe where we are told it's the 'best of leechdoms' - how could you not
test that? So we were curious."
Lee then looked towards the university's microbiology department to test the
efficacy of the formula, recruiting microbiologists to test and recreate the
exact recipe described in the text.
"We recreated the recipe as faithfully as we could. The Bald gives very
precise instructions for the ratio of different ingredients and for the way
they should be combined before use, so we tried to follow that as closely as
possible," said microbiologist Freya Harrison, who led the research into the
formula at the University of Nottingham's School of Life Sciences
After closely following the instructions to recreate the exact recipe,
researchers then began to test the formula on MRSA, methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, cultures. MRSA is commonly referred to as a superbug,
as antibiotic treatments are largely ineffective in treatment. Not holding
out much hope for the ancient potion, researchers were amazed by the results
of their lab tests.
"What we found was very interesting - we found that Bald's eyesalve is
incredibly potent as an anti-Staphylococcal antibiotic in this context,"
Harrison said.
"We were going from a mature, established population of a few billion cells,
all stuck together in this highly protected biofilm coat, to really just a
few thousand cells left alive. This is a massive, massive killing ability."
The research team then asked its U.S. collaborators to test the formula
using "in vivo," a wound in live organism, and according to Steve Diggle, an
associate professor of socio microbiology, who also worked on the project:
"the big surprise was that it seems to be more effective than conventional
antibiotic treatment."
Any fears of the test being an anomaly were dissipated when three subsequent
batches, each made from scratch, achieved the same results, according to
Harrison.
The research team has replicated data showing that the medicine kills up to
90% of MRSA bacteria in "in vivo" wound biopsies from mice.
Scientists are not completely sure how the medicine works, but according to
Harrison they have a few potential theories. There might be several active
components in the mixture that work to attack the bacterial cells on
different fronts, making it very hard for them to resist. Or, that by
combining the ingredients and leaving them to steep in alcohol, a new, more
potent bacteria-fighting molecule is potentially born in the process.
What is key to understand is that although people refer to the period of
time this remedy was created in as the "Dark Ages," ancient knowledge such
as this cannot be discounted as holding extreme potential for the
advancement of science and technology. When we break out the modern medicine
paradigm, and realize there are numerous alternative treatments and
therapies that have been used successfully for thousands of years, our
potential opportunities for optimal health grow exponentially.
How many other amazing ancient cures have been lost to time and are simply
waiting to be rediscovered such as this amazing potential medicine?https://youtu.be/mo4K51bQVs0
http://themindunleashed.org/2015/07/scientists-baffled-after-finding-10th-ce
ntury-medicine-that-kills-antibiotic-resistant-superbug.html
When you send your child to school you give up all rights to what happens to them, here is another example of them knowing what is best for you and yours, whiter you like it or not, they are smart than you so they will decide for you.
School Lunch: Opting Out is Not an Option
When I talk with parents about school food, many are so disappointed in the options their schools provide that they’ve simply opted out. They pack their children’s lunches every day, giving up on their school’s nutrition program as a lost cause.
I understand and support parents who insist their children eat healthfully and responsibly. My dream is a nation in which all food — especially school food — is nourishing, safe and sustainably produced. And I strongly believe that parents should be engaged in their children’s diets, helping them learn to love fresh, delicious, nutrient-rich foods. But when a parent’s solution is to opt out of school food and not look back, I feel the loss keenly. There goes one potential change-maker who can make a real difference in his or her community.
Many of these same parents acknowledge the necessity of school food programs for children who would otherwise go hungry. But I think they’re missing something important. To implicitly state that school lunch is necessary for poor children, but a terrible choice for families that can afford better is emblematic of the social justice issues surrounding school food.
Of the over 30 million children who eat school lunch every day, more than 71.5 percent come from disadvantaged families. Many of these children come from the 14.3 percent of households that experienced food insecurity in 2013.
All children, regardless of their circumstances, deserve safe, nourishing and delicious school meals. When we abandon school food, we abandon children who could benefit from our powerful voices, our influence,and our strength: three things that children — especially poor ones — lack.
And what many parents may not know is that — thanks to hardworking school food advocates and progressive federal policies instituted by the Obama administration and championed by the First Lady — delicious and nutritious school food is well within the reach of districts across the country. Many schools are now making healthy meals that parents across the country are proud to feed their children.
One of the best ways to help district nutrition programs as they transition to healthier food is to buy school lunch for your children. When your school offers a new, healthy menu item, let them know you support their efforts by sending your child to school with lunch money, not a lunch box. When more children buy school lunch, wonderful things happen:
1. School districts can achieve economies of scale, which means they can buy better quality food at lower prices because they buy more of it.
2. You bring more federal funding to your district because every school meal is reimbursed by the federal government.
3. Any stigma along the lines of “only poor kids eat school lunch” will disappear because school lunch will be so good, all kids (and their parents) will want it.
Registered dietitian and parent Dale Hayes recently wrote about ways disappointed parents and advocates can be agents of change in their communities, and I encourage you to read it: “10 Ways that School Lunch Haters Can Get Off Their Soapboxes and Support #RealSchoolFood.”
More importantly, if you are unhappy with your school’s food, I urge you to explore ways that you can help make it better. Opting out isn’t a viable option for any parent. Not if you want your school community to thrive.
I invite every parent who has given up on school food to Do One Thing to improve their school nutrition programs. For more in-depth guidance for parent advocates, check out my Parent Advocacy Toolkit. Advocates like Hayes show us what’s possible; parent activists can help make it possible in their children’s schools.
http://wtop.com/food/2015/04/school-lunch-opting-out-is-not-an-option/
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