Check your Resources

As so often happens, I cruise the Internet researching for myself different things that I've heard about to find out whats legit or not. I would suggest this to anyone, and don't take my word for it.

There is tons of information, especially on the Internet. When I hear about something once, I'll usually keep it on the back burner, but when I hear about it a second or third time, it perks my interest a bit more. From then I will search and search until I am convinced it's for real, or that maybe I should leave that one alone. And remember, even though something works doesn't mean that you should do it, or right now. Your body can only handle so much. This is usually the reason why we look for ways to help it out in healing in the first place. But at the same time, our bodies can only take so much in the process of healing itself. Healing takes time. So while something may be great, it may not be for right now.

Anyways. I stumbled across this site a few years ago in researching something. Yesterday I stumbled across it again. This time I took a closer look at the whole site. I thought it was pretty hilarious.

Personally I get a bit worried if the thing that I'm looking into doesn't have any negative reports - nothing is that good. And I have tried (and still stand by) many things (Charcoal, herbs, colloidal silver, apricot kernels, etc). But let's be real, not everything works the same way for everybody. And not everybody prepares things the same way (eg. colloidal silver can be toxic if made incorrectly). Dosages can also be an issue - too much of a good thing... or sometimes not enough or not tried long enough.

But then there are those who are skeptic beyond belief.

http://www.quackwatch.org/index.html is such a place.

I never thought that I'd find a website that is against everything healthy that I do. Like I said I ended up there looking into something, but I had to laugh, and tell my husband this great joke - he thought it was funny too. They warn against everything. Here's some, just to name a very few;

Spiruila (although I am skeptic myself on the B12 intake, I do regularly consume Spiruila and Chlorella, just make sure you get your B12 from other sources)
Candida (There are even drugs for treating this! It's shooting yourself in the foot but drug companies are still making money!)
Chelation Therapy (Again the drug companies still make money on this one. Although it is far better to do Chelation naturally)
It even goes so far as to have an article titled "'The Mercury Toxicity' Scam" (We're starting to get into common sense now here. Amalgam fillings are banned in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, while other countries restrict it's use - not for children, pregnant women, those with kidney problems or those with mercury sensitivity, mmm am I sensitive to poison?)
"'Detoxification' Schemes" (quote "natural chemicals in our foods are thousands of times more potent than additives, or that most Americans are healthier, live longer, and can choose from the most healthful food supply ever available." Actually they're not. The SAD diet is absolutely killing Western society. I'd really like to know what goes on in his mind.)
Ear candling (I've had great success with these)
They even attack Chiropractors! (Sure my doctor told me that my chest pain was caused by a pinched nerve, want to guess who fixed it? Here's a hint - it wasn't my doctor.)
Colloidal Silver (This is where doing your own research is important. If colloidal silver is prepared and used correctly it is safe. I personally make my own. I have also seen an interview with a man who turned blue - argyria - from taking it. He stated himself that he made it incorrectly, and he is rather happy being blue considering the other alternative is that he'd be dead. The site also states that 11 cases of argyria have been reported. And how many people use it? I know many people do, and only 11 cases. This fares far better than conventional treatment...)
The use of Herbs (Quote: "The involvement of drug companies into the herbal marketplace may improve standardization of dosage for a few products. And public and professional interest in herbs is likely to stimulate more research. However, with safe and effective medicines available, treatment with herbs rarely makes sense, and many of the conditions for which herbs are recommended are not suitable for self-treatment." Agreed that, again, we need to be sure of our sources! However I highly doubt getting drug companies involved will help anything. Also, show me safe and effective medicines - I thought those were called herbs.)
Organic Food is also attacked, saying that it's no different in nutrition than the poison sprayed variety.
Even if your not into all the above, I'd be hard-pressed (no pun intended) to find someone who could disagree with Juicing, but there we have it.
Not to mention the "Hot Topic" for today, "Do Children Get Too Many Immunizations? The Answer is No." This one deserves a post of it's own.

So, what's the point? I ask that about this website too. Today, when I typed up this blog, I couldn't remember the exact web address for quackwatch so I typed it in Google. I couldn't find it there though. What I did find was loads of sites complaining about it. Fortunately the site was still in my History.

But really, why am I saying all this? The point is, do your own research. You will always find something that says what you want it to. At home, we've often found this true when people quote from the Bible - you have to read the whole thing and see what God is really trying to say, it's not hidden. One verse taken out of context won't change God's mind on something. At the same time, there are verses that say exactly what He means in a nut shell (eg. Matthew 22: 37-40 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.")

It is true that I listed, above, the ones that personally affect me. There are some things on this site that I would not try, and I did not read all of the articles there. It is true, that there may be bits of truth somewhere on the site. Although I'm not sure how they can get away with saying as much as they have, but it's a web site after all. I am also not scared to give you the direct links so you can read it for yourself. And read you should.

When researching something you should not be afraid to read something negative about it. Even if you thoroughly agree with the idea/product, there will always be someone who doesn't. I think there is safety in that. First, because we souldn't depend on anything too greatly, and Second, because it is true that not everything works for everybody. Thirdly, there are also actually things out there that you should be leary of. (And I say this even for things that "work", what influence do you want to be under? That is why I don't choose to do certain therapies, although I'm sure they are effective for some people.)

I also don't agree with some of the negative responses to the negative responses. It's one thing to point out when someone's wrong, but it's another thing to go overboard. Unfortunetly, those are just used as feul and you end up sounding like a lunatic.

I will continue to do my own research for things that come my way. I have done this with doctores (I am soooo glad, otherwise I would be in serious trouble right now - Lupron) I have done this with my naturopath (and she's more willing to discuss my findings with me and add her input, which is welcomed), and I do this with any new, or even old, thing. I have tried many things, and have not suffered negatively form them because, I believe, I have not tried them blindly. True, I am still learning and still improving on things, but that is what study is about. So I encourage you to do the same.