Re: Smarter People More Susceptible to Heavy Metal Toxicity?

[Guest guest]

>The Asians are a really interesting case. They live close, but

>the " social norms " are often more like Aspies than like the average

>Westerner. They've been " civilized " a whole lot longer, and that

>seems to have changed their makeup. I don't have enough background

> to speak with any authority, except that it fascinates me. I had a number

>of close friends who were Asian (Korean, Chinese, Japanese) and

>while I was never able to figure them out completely, I still remain

>somewhat in awe.

>

>As for " who is normal " ... I don't know either. In a Darwinian sense,

>it doesn't matter .. I mean, the first birds weren't " normal " ... flying was

>a really weird thing. Could be Aspies are the first of a new type of

>human. Hyper growth of brain cells might not be a bad thing.

>Deterioration of the gut and anxiety and infertility IS a bad thing

>though ... the question is, is the brain cell issue separate from the

>gut issue, or what? I don't know. My great-granddad was, according

>to his son, one of the farmers who was always innovative and

>trying new things. But he died early. His son was much the same,

>didn't die early but was always depressed, as was his son, my Dad.

>I spent most of my life depressed (but highly productive!) and now

>I'm NOT depressed but more productive. I wonder how that lineage

>would have progressed, minus the wheat. My own kids I can

>experiment on. So far, they don't have wheat, but they still have

>the hyper brain cells. No depression.

>

>So we wait for the next generation ...

>

>

>

>Heidi Jean

>

Very good questions about the brain gut connection. And the whole

" brain in the gut " idea fits in the puzzle too, I would imagine.

http://www.psyking.net/id36.htm

It's an interesting family history you have going. It's good the kids

are free from depression, with good mental functioning.

You know, it's also true that Apserger's is just one facet of the bigger

autistic spectrum, which is - in general, I think - growing

epidemically recently. No doubt diagnosis is better, but the huge

increases in agriculturally heavy states is something to consider. I

think CA, TX and FL have had the biggest increases in general population

over the last decade. Some do " outgrow it " apparently. I wonder how

much of that is dietary in nature. I have heard stories of " cures " as

well in younger kids. I wonder if it can be prevented in the first

place through diet and limiting exposure to mercury.

But like you say, what is " normal. " Civilization may or may not be a

normal thing. It certainly comes with blessings and curses.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

--

--- Idol <Idol@...> wrote:

> Actually, I've read that at least in some cases, anthropologists, upon

> visiting healthy native tribes, are astounded by the intelligence of tribe

> members.

I didn't mean to imply that they were dumb.

Most people who are healthy and contended, are usually also intelligent in the

general

sense.

Also, the anthropologists that you refer to were probably *expecting* the

natives to be

dumb and were pleasantly surprised at their level of intelligence.

> One issue I think you may be ignoring is that healthy

> hunter-gatherers don't have any impetus to start solving mathematical and

> engineering problems.

True, those are problems of " civilisation " .

But I think the same process that transforms the paleo hunter gatherers to

" civilised "

societies also create the problems of mathematics and engineering, namely, the

process of

population expansion, mass production and hence class societies.

The evolution from hunter-gatherers to the earliest forms of class societies has

been

studied several times, and I think Engel's interpretation in terms of the brain

development by object interaction is the closest.

I don't think the diet connection has ever been studied or even thought about -

at least

not to the extent that we the WAPers would like.

Like Heidi was saying, I also believe there is a connection between the

transformation

from hunter gatherers to class societies and the consumption of grains.

The consumption of grains might be one of the missing links between the

classless hunter

gatherers and the earliest class societies (the Egypt, Mesopotamia, Harrappan

civilisations) - all of which consumed grains.

While Heidi was thinking more in terms of what gluten does to the gut in terms

of

permeability and its affect on brain development, I am thinking more in terms of

mass

production, division of labour and the formation of social classes, all of which

was made

possible by the cultivation of grains.

Gluten's affect on gut and brain development is probably another piece of the

puzzle

here.

-Pratick

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Deanna

>You know, it's also true that Apserger's is just one facet of the bigger

>autistic spectrum, which is - in general, I think - growing

>epidemically recently. No doubt diagnosis is better, but the huge

>increases in agriculturally heavy states is something to consider. I

>think CA, TX and FL have had the biggest increases in general population

>over the last decade. Some do " outgrow it " apparently. I wonder how

>much of that is dietary in nature. I have heard stories of " cures " as

>well in younger kids. I wonder if it can be prevented in the first

>place through diet and limiting exposure to mercury.

A lot of the kids who are " cured " of autism grow up to be aspies though.

That is how the condition was originally discovered to be connected.

I do think about the autism issue a lot, because several folks I know

have totally autistic kids. It seems that when two aspies get married,

they have a REALLY GOOD chance of having an autistic kid, and it's

become an epidemic in Silicon Valley, where there are a lot of aspie

couples. One in 50 kids, I think!

And mercury might fit in there somewhere, but I don't think the

epidemiological patterns fit. If it were purely a mercury issue, you'd expect

it to be epidemic in say, the path of a coal-fired electric plant of the

sort found in Mississippi, or where they eat a lot of seafood, like

in Alaska.

But yeah, I think it CAN be prevented through diet. My kids have

a lot of the typical autistic traits, esp. my son: starting to talk

late, big head, sensitivity to noise. But he hasn't developed

autistic traits, and is VERY social and popular. I suspect that,

based on the experience of my acquaintances, if he hadn't had

health issues such that he's always been on a special diet, he

would have been autistic or had ADD or some such.

>But like you say, what is " normal. " Civilization may or may not be a

>normal thing. It certainly comes with blessings and curses.

They say that if an organism finds a " niche " that works, it stops

changing. Hence sharks have stayed the same for millions of years.

The fact humans KEEP changing means our condition doesn't " work "

for us. We are not content with it. I'm certainly not ... a society that

doesn't allow a Mom to raise her kids (esp. the carrying and breastfeeding

part) is doomed eventually.

I do like some of Ursala LeGuin's " alternative " civilizations. I expect we'll

morph into something that works, or die out, eventually.

>

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Question: What is it about the Asians that puzzles you?

Comment:

I recently communicated with an email buddy in New Zealand to ask how

they might fix a zinc deficiency. He responded that he likes a

liquid supplement made in NZ. It's at:

http://www.nhlab.co.nz and then click Products / Minerals /

Products / Zinc.

He also included this very interesting commentary about zinc:

" Zinc (Zn) is one of the strongest antioxidants and a bone builder

and has been claimed to reduce the chances of Alzheimer's disease and

prostate cancer. The prostate contains more Zn than any other

organ. Zn is found in most cells in the body and is in about 200

enzymes. Enzymes are molecules involved in speeding up chemical

reactions necessary for the body's functions. Zinc is the most

widely used of all the essential trace minerals and is required for

the healthy functioning of the hormone system - male and female sex

hormone production, insulin and growth hormone. Adequate zinc levels

are essential to the proper functioning of the immune system, sensory

functions, skin health and pregnancy nutrition. NZ farmers feed it

to ruminants to prevent facial eczema, a very severe liver damaging

problem. 40 years of Ruakura research couldn't find a solution, but

Gladys Reid, an ex dental nurse and farmer did. Dentists use Zn to

heal gums. Some people report feeling better within days of taking

Zn, gums stop bleeding, nails become thicker, shinier and smoother

and stop splitting, prostates behave better and long standing sores

have healed. People who work with zinc or galvanising apparently

never get cold. Take it with water or juice, not with meals because

it lowers absorption of Copper (Cu) and Selenium (Se). Hyperactive

children have been found to be low in Zn and high in Cu. THE INTAKE

OF CU IS MUCH HIGHER NOW THAN IN THE PAST BECAUSE OF COPPER PIPES IN

HOMES AND ALL THE CU SPRAYS USED ON VEGETABLES AND FRUITS. Cu is

antagonistic to Zn so we need to take Zn to make up for the excess Cu

we are getting. Many people are taking a lot of calcium which

inhibits Zn absorption as does iron, so take them separately. Some

Health 200 stores have a free Zn taste test which tells you if you

are low in which case take one drop of their liquid Zn in water or

juice three times a day for six months then one or two drops a day.

Too much can speed up going grey by lowering Cu absorption. Some

conventional medications deplete zinc in the body. "

I wasn't aware of the fact that copper-based sprays are so common on

fruits and veggies.

I'm thinking that since there is so much farming going on in CA, TX,

and FL, and they are probably also heavy users of copper-based

fungicides, that may be the source of our excess copper.

What do y'all think?

[Guest guest]

> He also included this very interesting commentary about zinc:

>

> Too much can speed up going grey by lowering Cu absorption.

>

>

Aaarrgghh! Explains my more noticeable greying over the last few months

taking cal-mag-zinc along with zinc picolinate. CMZ is gone. Think I'll do

the picolinate every other day for a while. There's an anti grey b vitamin

but that won't reverse it. Maybe some shampoo with sage and rosemary for

dark hair. The natural coloring idea the other day got laughed at by hubby,

you who won't even take man made aspirin? Needed the reality check.

Wa