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  • From: Bob Howard <rmhoward@omninet.net.au>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] RE: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)
  • Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:57:37 +0800

 

"Eugene F. Monaco" wrote:

>The white man is a good example of such a hardy weed…<

I just learned last night from an MD that Americans have 34 times as many parasites as African people, and that cancer is growing in N. America at an “epidemic” rate.  Four years ago breast cancers risks for women were 1 in 34.  Today it is 1 in 8.

What has happened in only 4 years?
 

What hs happened is that the latency period between population wide exposure to long lived organo chlorine chemicals (30 years) has passed and we are beginning to see the consequent epidemic of breast cancer. We are also seeing early treatment and greater scanning which could cause a short term change in your figures. But the long term trend is clear breast cancer rates are increasing and the age at onset is falling.

A similar rate of increase amongst testicular and prostate cancer is also beginning to show up.
 

Researchers correlate the high parasites to high sugar diets, and things that convert easily to sugar, like simple carbs.  African diets are better, consisting of more whole grains and fiber accounting for the difference.

The idea that diet is behind rates of cancer increase is a convenient notion fostered by the chemical industry.
 
 

There is a mindset in much of Western culture that focuses on germs.  While they are important to understand and guard against, the real power of health (which is our true wealth) comes from building our biological terrain, just like soil.  Louis Pasteur, whose main accreditation was around germ theory, was quoted as saying, “Le gern c’est rien.  Le terrain c’est tout.”  While my French is a little rusty (too many Freedom fries), that means:  The germ is nothing.  The terrain is everything.  This was reportedly said at the end of his career after the mainstream had jumped on the germ bandwagon.  Maybe it’s because the germ is something we can be against and kill with warfare, while the terrain is something for which we have to take responsibility ourselves.  Who knows?

BTW, holistic healers recommend doing a parasite cleanse twice a year.  Nature’s Sunshine has a Chinese ParaCleanse formula now with Paw Paw, which has anti-cancer properties 6000 times of the chemo therapy formulas.  You can order it at wholesale from my website listed below.

Hardly qualifies you as an unbiased source of information :-)

 
 

Mike Elvin wrote:

I think the main thing to keep in mind is that people not only inherit MHC characteristics, they develop them by exposure to pathogenic organisms, toxins, environmental irritants, etc.  A breast-fed baby has a double dose, having not only the MHC inherent in his genetic structure but that given to him in his mother's milk-- particularly the colostrum.

The thing about Amazonian Indians is that at the time of Columbus, neither they nor any of their ancestors had ever been exposed to any pathogens or allergens other than those of Amazonia. This makes theirs a very small MHC zone. By contrast, a Peace Corps volunteer, foreign correspondent or any world traveller has been exposed to a range of irritants from the entire world. Every time you walk through an airport you join the members of the worldwide MHC zone, frequently coming back with a new form of the flu as a memento of your journey.

A number of years ago visitors to odd corners of the world, like backpackers in rural Ladakh or Bolivia, used to have to take care as they could so easily infect unexposed populations to things like the measles or our common cold, which could be fatal to a population with no endemic resistance. It works the other way as well. Go to the back end of Gabon and you may very well come back with a fierce case of the trots, dengue or Lassa fever, to which you had not previously been exposed and were thus much more vulnerable than the local population.

In the global village though, the most hardy weeds that have established themselves all over the world tend to be those that come from the Eurasian landmass. Being widespread in their total range, they already have very strong resistance to most pathogens, and can outcompete other species. The white man is a good example of such a hardy weed. Purple loosestrife is another. Local populations tend to be shoved aside when encroached upon by these aggressive invaders.

Not true of New Guinea and many parts of the tropics where the 'white man' has failed to establish populations. Generalizing about race is generally not a good idea IMHO..


Bob Howard




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