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There is a lot of economic loss in dealing with cardiovascular diseases as the investigations and treatment involves very costly procedures such as coronary angiography, angioplasty and coronary artery surgery. If all the people could become vegetarians, about 40% to 50% of the cardiovascular diseases could be prevented

by Dr. D.P. Atukorale

There has been an increase in the number of people opting for vegetarianism in the more developed countries like USA and UK where a lot of research has proved specific health advantages of a vegetarian diet in reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

In Sri Lanka, at present the younger people think it is good to follow the West and eat meat while their counterparts in the West are doing the reverse. They are dropping meat to a vegetarian diet. Medical profession is revealing now more and more details of adverse effects of meat consumption. Mahatma Gandhi made "Ahimsa", a movement among workers of Freedom Movement. All his followers were primarily vegetarians.

When we talk of vegetarianism some of us only talk of visible items such as cereals, fruits and vegetables, their appearance, their taste and the cost. But we forget the invisible component of it and the invisible component is linked with what has been mentioned as "Ahimsa". This is the invisible element of vegetarianism. The root of vegetarianism is "Ahimsa".

Ancient people have recorded their observations and experience in the value of vegetarian diet in promoting Swastika characteristics in the human beings. This is not something unscientific.

Vegetarian diet has vast significance on our central nervous system and our endocrine system. Behaviour patterns of vegetarians are quite different from those of non-vegetarians. Majority of vegetarians don't consume alcohol. Criminal behaviour is rare among vegetarians. Psychiatric illnesses are rare among vegetarians. Smoking is less common among vegetarians.

There is evidence that changes in lifestyle can prevent, retard and even reverse the course of ischaemic heart disease (I.H.D.).

The incidence of ischaemic heart disease has been steadily increasing in Sri Lanka over the last 50 years whereas it has been declining in the Western countries.

An increasing number of Americans and Europeans are turning to vegetarianism. But in spite of the concept of "Ahimsa" preached in Buddhism and Hinduism, majority of Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka are non-vegetarians.

There is a lot of evidence to show that mortality rates of people who take vegetarian diet is much lower. There is evidence to show that certain diseases such as obesity, hypertension, coronary artery disease and diabetes are lower among vegetarians. Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of mankind both in developing countries and the developed countries and the incidence is rapidly increasing.

In India alone, there have been 40 million people suffering from cardiovascular diseases in the year 2000 according to WHO statistics. By the year 2007, it is expected that more than 52 million people will be suffering from cardiovascular diseases in India.

There is a lot of economic loss in dealing with cardiovascular diseases as the investigations and treatment involves very costly procedures such as coronary angiography, angioplasty and coronary artery surgery. If all the people could become vegetarians, about 40% to 50% of the cardiovascular diseases could be prevented.

Hypertension

This is less common among vegetarians.

Boston study has shown that both systolic and diastolic hypertension are less common among vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians.

Among Seventh Day Adventists who are mostly vegetarians, I.H.D. and hypertension are not common. Serum cholesterol and i.h.d.

There is correlation between serum cholesterol to the incidence of i.h.d. Higher the cholesterol, higher is the risk of developing a heart attack. 1% decrease in cholesterol level decreases coronary risk by 2%. As L.D.L. cholesterol is low in vegetarians, their coronary risk is also low.

Dietary cholesterol and saturated fats are definitely important factors in the causation of heart attacks. People in east Finland, Laplanders, Greenlanders and Northern Ireland are among the world's highest consumers of animal fats which contain cholesterol and saturated fat. These people have the world's highest rates of ischaemic heart disease.

People in Southern part of Japan, Bulgarians and Russian Caucasians who eat every little animal fat have very low rate of heart attacks and a significant proportion of them live over 90 years.

Cholesterol is absent in plant-based diet and is found only in animal fat.

Saturated fats which are mainly found in animal fats such as meat and milk is converted to atherogenic cholesterol (LDL) or bad cholesterol in the liver.

Brain, liver and kidneys have large amounts of cholesterol and saturated fats.

Fatty acids found in plant food are usually unsaturated fatty acids and these reduce the level of LDL cholesterol.

Two exceptions are coconut oil and palm oil which are saturated fats. But these don't increase your LDL cholesterol as these medium chain fatty acids are quite different from long chain fatty acids present in animal fats.

In non-vegetarians the excess of cholesterol is deposited as LDL cholesterol in the inner wall of coronary arteries resulting in atherosclerosis.

These atheromatous plaques cause ischaemic heart disease which is the biggest killer in Sri Lanka. Most of the vegetarians also stop smoking.

Physical activities also increase in vegetarians.

Vegetarians are also very health conscious and are physically more active.

Vegetarians also have low body weights. They also consume more anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E.

So high fibre diet, low cholesterol and intake of antioxidants and fibre help vegetarians to prevent heart disease.

Since 1950, many studies have been done to compare the prevalence of heart disease among people who eat different types of food.

Snowden et al who monitored 25,000 vegetarians from 1960 to 1980 and found that there is a reduction of heart attacks by over 60% compared to non-vegetarians in USA (Preventive Medicine 1984)

A study conducted in Norway in 1991 by Fonebo showed that vegetarians have half the rate of IHD of the general Norwegian population (Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 1992).

A group of researchers from Cornell University and Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine surveyed 6,500 people in China whose diet is essentially vegetarian and found that the prevalence of IHD is one fifth that of a comparable portion of US population.

A group of scientists at Harvard University led by Dr. Frank Sachs compared 73 male and 43 female vegetarians with corresponding non-vegetarians.

They found that vegetarians had only 68% of blood cholesterol of meat eaters. The level of LDL cholesterol was 39% lower in vegetarians (Sachs et al NEGM 1975).

Mei and Miyoshi at Tokushima University School of Medicine found that intake of animal protein was associated with increase in heart disease risk (Japanese Journal of Hygiene 1991).

Vegetable protein and dietary fibre

Vegetable protein and dietary fibre provides protection against heart disease.

The dietary fibre lowers blood cholesterol and coronary heart risk by 40% (Kishi et al NEJM 1985).

It is the soluble fibre found in legumes such as beans, oat bran, carrot and outer covering of fruits like apples that lowers the level of blood cholesterol.

Animal based diets do not contain soluble fibre and of course do not contain vegetable proteins. Therefore to avoid heart disease through nutrition means becoming a vegetarian.

High iron content

High iron content of red meat is a risk factor for ischaemic heart disease.

Iron in excess acts as a catalyst of lipid peroxidase free radical which plays an important role in the causation of IHD.

Meat and liver contain both cholesterol and iron and the risk of IHD increases 4 times by their consumption whereas vegetarian diet lacks both cholesterol and excess iron and therefore prevents or retards IHD.

Magnesium deficiency

Magnesium deficiency is a known risk factor in pathogenesis of IHD and strokes (Burch and Giels, American Heart Journal). IHD is less common in areas with hard water having increased magnesium.

Magnesium deficiency plays a major role in elevating cerium cholesterol and causes coronary artery spasm and may precipitate an attack of myocardial infarction and enhances arrythmias like ventricular tachycardia.

In most diets, cereals and green vegetables contribute to major portion of magnesium intake and vegetarians get sufficient magnesium. Seeds and grains are rich in magnesium. In animal kingdom magnesium is found only in bones.

Vegetarianism in the treatment of heart disease

Dr. Ornish of University of California stopped the medication of a group of heart patients and placed them on a vegetarian diet and compared with another group which continued the medication.

Coronary angiography performed at the end of one year showed that 82% of patients of vegetarian diet showed regression of blockage of arteries without the use of any medication. The patients who were not vegetarians had worsening of angiograms (Ornish et al Lancet, 1990).

Vegetarian diet with minerals etc. keeps the body energy level high and nerves tranquil and heart and blood healthy. Vegetarian diet helps to maintain blood PH.

There is evidence to prove that vegetarian diet can prevent, retard or reverse atherosclerosis and prolong life.

Vegetarianism will help you to stay healthy and active longer.

Eat two bananas a day and discover

If you want a quick fix for flagging energy levels there's no better snack than a banana. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose -combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proved that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions making it a must to add to your daily diet.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect food for helping to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain try potophan,a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heart-burn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body so if you suffer from heart-burn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system. Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria it was found that pressure of work leads to gorging on comfort food such as chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods such as bananas, every two hours to keep levels steady.

Forget the pills. Eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronic ulcer cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature Control: Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, try potophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking, as the high levels of Vitamin C, A1, B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water-balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in 'The New England Journal of Medicine' eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that, if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So you see a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best-value foods around.

So maybe it's time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A Banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

I was suffering from cramps in my feet, ankles and calves of my legs, and was told by a Therapist to start eating a banana everyday, and to my surprise, the cramping is gone, and it began working instantly!

Sent by Ariyasumithra Wijeyaratne (original source : internet)

Prevention of cataract

by Professor T. W. Wikramanayake

Cataract refers to an opacity of the lens of the eye, which interferes with the transmission of light to the retina. The primary function of the lens is to collect and focus light on the retina, for which it must remain clear. As the lens ages the proteins in the lens aggregate resulting in opacities.

Cataract is one of the major causes of blindness throughout the world. The prevalence of blindness in India, for instance is 15 per 1000, cataract accounting for 80% of this. In the USA, prevalence increases from 5% at age 65 to about 50% of persons older than 75 yrs. The consequences of blindness produce not only physical disability, but in addition impinges on psychological, social and economic aspect of the individual.

Age related or senile cataract contributes the largest number of the blind population. In developing countries the prevalence is said to be greater and the onset earlier.

Senile cataract has been found to be associated with socio-demographic factors like education, gender and life style (smoking, alcohol consumption). Females have higher rates of prevalence than males. The prevalence is higher in tropical countries than in the temperate. Early age of onset is a feature associated with South-Asian populations.

The lens is located posterior to the cornea and iris and receives its nutrition from the aqueous humour. The lens is highly organised. It is encapsulated by a collagenous membrane, under the anterior surface of which is a layer of cells which divide, migrate posteriorly and differentiate into lens fibres. These fibres make the predominant proteins of the lens, called crystalline.

New cells are formed throughout life and the older cells get compressed into the centre and form the nucleus of lens.

There is dehydration of the protein and the lens. Consequently, the protein concentration rises to several hundreds of mg/milliliter. Along with other age-related modifications of protein and other constituents, these changes result in a less flexible lens with limited accommodation capability.

As the lens ages the proteins are photo oxidatively damaged, aggregate and accumulate, producing lens opacities.

Causes other than old age that can give rise to opacities are trauma, and congenital and metabolic disorders.

The risk of cataract is increased after exposure to high intensities of incident and/or reflected ultraviolet light. Persons living closer to the equator and living at higher elevations run an increased risk. Experimentally, it has been shown that exposure of lens constituents to various wave lengths of light results in alterations which are similar to those found in cataract.

A general decrease in energy metabolism with diminished activity of many enzymes during aging of the lens and in cataract have been reported. There is a clear association between oxidative stress and cataract. Nuclear cataract is seen in patients undergoing hyperbaric therapy. Markedly higher levels of mature cataract are seen in mice that survive exposure to 100% of oxygen twice weekly for three hours.

Smoking and tobacco chewing induce oxidative stress and have been associated with both diminished levels of antioxidants such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and carotenoids and with enhanced cataract at a younger age. Recent reports indicate that for male smokers there appears to be an inverse relationship between blood serum levels of carotene, betacryptoxanthin and lutein, and the severity of nuclear sclerosis.

The reverse may be true for women. There also appears to be a diminished risk for cataract in smokers who use multivitamin supplements. Reactive oxygen species cause damage to crystalline, enzymes, membranes, DNA and cause pigmentation of the lens.

The products of lipid peroxidation can lead to cross linking of proteins with consequent aggregation to high molecular weight species with decreased solubility.

Many studies indicate that raised blood sugar levels as well as duration of diabetes mellitus are key factors in the development of cataract. It therefore appears that excess glucose or any other sugar (like galactose) is a risk factor. Non-enzymatic modification of amino groups in proteins by sugars (glycation) could disrupt the ordered arrangement of lens protein and induce light scattering.

Defence against lens damage There are two inter-related processes protecting the lens from photo-oxidative insults:

(i) Lens antioxidants and anti-oxidant enzymes form the primary defence.

(ii) Secondary defences are the proteolytic and repair processes, which degrade and eliminate damaged protein and other molecules.

The major antioxidants are ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and glutathione. The lens and aqueous humour concentrate more than ten times the ascorbate level in blood plasma. In the lens core the oldest part of the lens and the region involved in senile cataract, ascorbate concentration is only about 25% of the surrounding cortex. A cataratous lens has less ascorbate than a normal lens, and ascorbate levels diminish with age.

Therefore there is either an age-related depletion of ascorbate in the lens, or the bio availability of ascorbate changes with age. The concentration of ascorbic acid in the lens increases with dietary supplements of the vitamin. Glutathione levels are very much higher in the lens than in the blood, and levels in a normal lens are higher than in a cataractous lens. Alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) and carotenoids are lipid-soluble anti-oxidants that maintain membrane integrity and glutathione recycling.

Light and oxygen appear to be both a boon and a bane., While they are necessary for physiological function, when present in excess or in uncontrolled circumstances, they appear to be related to cataractogenesis.

As the lens ages, the damage to it from light and oxygen radicals is exacerbated by depleted or diminished antioxidant reserves, antioxidant enzyme capabilities, and diminished secondary defences.

The impression created by the literature is that there is some benefit from enhanced antioxidant intake. Optimal levels of ascorbate appears to be about 250 or more mg/day. More information is needed before describing optimal nutriture vis a vis cataract.

Optimization of nutriture can be achieved through better diets and supplements. One should aim at an intake at a least 250 mg/day of vitamin C. Slightly higher intakes may be required by the elderly as biavailability (the ability to absorb from the diet and to take into cells) of ascorbate may decrease with age.

The best dietary sources of this vitamin are the local nelli and the guava, fruits that are generally not propagated by the Ministry of Agriculture or prescribed by physicians.

It should be the aim of the Department of Agriculture to grow a nelli tree and a guava tree in every home garden. This will also help in increasing the absorption of iron and reducing the high prevalence of anaemia.

The intake of vitamin E and carotene should be increased, by consuming more unrefined grain and more green leaves and yellow fruits. The embryo of the grain has a high concentration of vitamin E and parboiled, under milled rice will retain more of the embryo than highly milled rice.

The carotenoids in green leaves are poorly absorbed. Leaves should be shredded fine, as when making a malluma and tempered or cooked. A better procedure is to crush the leaves and squeeze out the juice (which will contain the nutrients) into the coconut soup.

The National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India, is investigating the role of traditional herbs and spices in preventing cataract. Many spices such as turmeric, cloves, fenugreek and garlic have been shown to exert a protective effect due to their antioxidant potential.

Fenugreek seeds (uluhal) in the diet of rats significantly delayed maturation of diabetic cataract. Other vegetables that could be effective are basil and bitter gourd (karavila)

Dentists divided over safety of mercury fillings

by David Wahlberg

Pamela MacArthur was a healthy artist who loved to ballroom dance when a trio of bizarre symptoms stopped the music.

Her body suddenly started to twitch, she had nightmares and her face erupted in boils so painful that it hurt to roll over in bed and touch the pillow.

Doctors suggested drugs for acne and psychological disorders, but MacArthur turned instead to her dentist. He removed nine metal fillings and replaced them with plastic substitutes, and soon she was doing the tango again.

MacArthur, 40, of metro Altanta, is one of a growing number of people who believe their medical problems are caused by mercury in dental fillings. Even though dentists often refer to metal fillings as "silver", they are an amalgam of half mercury and the other half a mixture of silver, copper, tin and zinc.

The dental community is sharply divided over whether mercury in fillings is harmful. The American Dental Association stands firmly behind such fillings, saying they only rarely cause problems, in people with mercury allergies, and are more durable than the alternatives. Meanwhile, a legion of "mercury-free" dentists insists that their mercury-using colleagues are slowly poisoning patients because the fillings release the element into the blood. Research findings are mixed.

Lawmakers are starting to say that patients have a right to hear about the pros and cons of mercury fillings. A bill introduced in the Georgia Legislature in March would require dentists to tell patients about the risks of, and alternatives to, the fillings. The bill, by Rep. Bob Holmes (D-Atlanta), also would ban mercury fillings in children and in women age 45 or younger. Last fall, a California congresswoman announced a bill to ban dental mercury nationwide.

Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration is proposing to strengthen its dental mercury regulations with new guidelines for labelling and reporting of side-effects, and the National Institutes of Health is spending $9 million for two large studies of mercury fillings in children.

Last week, lawsuits were filed against dental groups on behalf of nine Georgia children with autism, claiming that mercury from their mothers' fillings caused the disease and arguing that dentists deceive patients by calling the fillings "silver". Suits in California and Maryland have accused the American Dental Association of imposing a "gag rule" forbidding anti-mercury dentists from having open discussions with patients.

Caught in the middle are the patients, who don't know whether to rush out and get rid of those shiny spots in their teeth. Some dentists suggest that symptomatic people such as MacArthur, who may have a mercury allergy, should consider getting fillings removed. This is even more true if fillings are old and need to be replaced anyway.

But because removing fillings can actually release more mercury into the body temporarily, the procedure is more risky for people who feel fine.

What is clear is that mercury fillings do release small amounts of colourless, odorless mercury vapor into the bodies of the 100 million Americans who have them, especially after chewing food or brushing teeth. And mercury is a known neurotoxin. The question is whether the emissions are high enough to cause health problems.

Giving 'false hope'

Dr. Michael Ziff, a retired dentist who fought a four-year legal battle over mercury with the dental board in Florida, is now executive director of the Orlando-based International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, a leading anti-mercury group that has about 400 dentist members. The average American has seven mercury fillings, Ziff said, "It's kind of like holding seven leaking mercury thermometers in your mouth 365 days a year, 24 hours day."

Dr. Rod Mackert, a dentistry professor at the Medical College of Georgia and one of the ADA's main spokesmen on the issue, said the fillings emit from 1 to 3 micrograms of mercury a day, while people take in 5 to 6 micrograms a day through food, water and air. The ADA prohibits its members from suggesting that patients have fillings removed, though members can comply if a patient requests it.

Mercury fillings have been used for at least 150 years, Mackert said. "It is unethical to allow the removal of fillings for the curing of any disease, because there is no evidence linking it to systematic disease," he said. "It would be giving the patient a false hope."

A January survey by the Chicago-based Dental Products Report found that 20 per cent of dentists no longer use mercury fillings. Among those who do, two-thirds use them in fewer than half the fillings they place.

Dentists who frequently remove mercury fillings, such as Dr. Ron Dressler of Nocross, usually do so for patients who are referred by doctors who treat chronic pain. The doctors run hair or urine tests to detect mercury levels, and high amounts lead to a suggestion to remove fillings.

Dressler performs another test to determine how much mercury vapor is in the mouth. Holding a boxy instrument, he scrapes a straw-like device around the gums, and the detector registers the gas.

Mercury fillings are generally removed in groups, one-fourth of the mouth at a time. They're usually replaced with composite fillings of reinforced plastic resin or, sometimes, with other materials such as gold or porcelain. During metal filling extraction, dentists use vacuums, air filters, eye covers, oxygen masks and rubber dams over teeth to protect the patient from exposure to excess mercury.

But the process can increase the body's mercury load before decreasing it. To reduce systemic mercury, patients are advised to use some form of chelation, in which drugs that bind to metals are taken orally or intravenously, eliminating the metals through the urine.

Dr. Mark Merlin, a physician at the Atlanta Center for Alternative Medicine in Dunwoody, who tests many patients for mercury, said chelation is crucial when fillings are removed. "You have to get (the mercury) out of the body; it's been leaking into the body for years."

Merlin prescribes amino acids, herbs, vitamin C and intravenous drips of DMPS, a chelating agent. The treatments cost at least $1,000 over several months and often aren't covered by insurance. Health plans generally cover the cost of about $100 per mercury filling, but they often don't pay the additional cost of plastic fillings. Those fillings may run to $150 or more.

'Time bomb' in mouth?

Many patients who have had their mercury fillings removed and undergone chelation say the process is worth the price. MacArthur, the ballroom dancer, had her fillings out nearly three years ago. Her nightmares and body twiches disappeared immediately, and her facial boils gradually went away. "I had a time bomb ticking in my mouth," she said. "You could never convince me that it wasn't mercury".

Hyacinth Meeks, a patient of Merlin's, had a similar experience. Plagued by migraines that made her head throb when she walked even a block, Meeks became frustrated with doctors who put her on mind-numbing sedatives and painkillers. Her dentist was at first reluctant to take out her seven fillings but eventually agreed.

"Within six months, there were no headaches," said Meeks, 48, of Austell, an office manager for an Atlanta wood products firm. "It has totally changed my life."

Felicia Gaston of McDonough believes that her 3-year-old daughter Tylicia's autism was caused by mercury fillings that seeped into breast milk. She is one of the plaintiffs in the Georgia lawsuits.

"I should have been aware" that metal fillings contain mercury, Gaston said. "I feel like her life has been taken away from her."

Some mercury-free dentists say they're treated like pariahs by their peers, and many are unwilling to speak publicly for fear of reprisal. Dr. Wayne King, a metro Atlanta dentist who opposes mercury, said that, several years ago, the Georgia Board of Dentistry threatened to punish him after he ran a newspaper add depicting a skull and crossbones with the questions, "Is there poison in your mouth? Do you have symptoms of mercury poisoning?"

King was merely given a letter of reprimand, he said, and records show no official sanctions against him by the dental board. But to King, the don't-rock-the-boat message was clear. "They're afraid to let patients know what we're doing to them", he declared.

Conflicting research

The research is inconclusive, with studies both suggesting and seemingly refuting links to various ailments. The debate even divides institutions: One chemistry study at the University of Kentucky found a relations between dental mercury and the conditions leading to Alzheimer's disease, while another report at the same school, relying on brain autopsies, found no connection. Research by University of Georgia microbiologist Anne Summers suggests that mercury from dental fillings makes the body more resistant to some antibiotics.

Yet some studies indicate that plastic fillings also may leak hazardous substances into the body, such as zenoestrogens that can disrupt cell activity, said Mackert, the professor and mercury supporter. "Everything has a theoretical risk," he said.

The US Public Health Service says there is no evidence to support claims of adverse effects from mercury fillings except in cases of allergy.

A few countries, such as Sweden and Denmark, recommend that dentists try to use alternative fillings, especially for children and pregnant women. Arizona, California, Colorado and Maine have laws requiring dentists to explain potential mercury risks to patients, said Charles Brown, a lawyer with Consumers for Dental Choice. Brown, a former attorney general of West Virginia, has represented the group in lawsuits in California and Maryland contending that the dental profession threatens dentists who oppose mercury and deceives patients by referring to fillings as "silver".

Last year, the California State Assembly disbanded the state's dental board over the mercury issue. A state senator who took part in that action, Democrat Diane Watson, is now a US representative and, in November, announced a bill calling for stricter warnings, an immediate ban on mercury fillings in children and pregnant women, and an eventual ban for everyone.

In February, the FDA announced a proposal to upgrade dental mercury from a Class 1 to a Class 2 medical device, which would require the makers of metal fillings to list all product ingredients on labels and encourage dentists and patients to report side effects.

Mackert said patients should ask their dentists about mercury fillings if they're concerned. Most dentists will say the fillings are safe and more durable than plastics, especially for large fillings, but they may grant a patient's request for an alternative.

And a sea change may be beginning. When Mackert needed repair of a tiny mercury filling a few weeks ago he went with plastic.

Sent by Sri Lanka Dental Association.

Beverage giant ignores : Third World workers with HIV/AIDS - activists point out

by Haider Rizvi

Multinational beverage giant Coca Cola is under fire from AIDS activists in the West who are demanding the company pay for HIV/AIDS treatment for its infected workers in developing countries.

Activists in New York and several U.S. cities took to the streets to condemn Coca Cola's alleged refusal to provide AIDS care benefits to thousands of workers in several countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

The issue first surfaced in June last year when the company pledged health care coverage to over 1,000 employees in Africa for HIV testing and treatment, but shied away from promising similar benefits to the 100,000 workers it indirectly employs in bottling operations.

But under increasing pressure from a number of rights groups in the United States and Europe, Coca Cola - the largest private employer in Africa - changed its policy and said the bottlers would pay 50 percent of the costs for treatment and drugs. Workers would have to pay 10 percent.

But activists say the cost-sharing programme does not provide workers with affordable and equitable access to AIDS treatment.

"This cost-sharing scheme won't work for small and medium sized bottlers," says Allison Dismore of U.S.-based Health GAP. "They can't foot the bill and shouldn't be expected to."

The bottlers are worried about paying the high cost of treatment over the long-term, say activists, who themselves are concerned over Coke's policy of withdrawing from the programme as the prices of drugs decrease.

They say that means bottlers and workers will have to foot the entire bill. The protesters also fear that the two drug companies involved in the plan, GlaxoSmithKline and PharmAccess International, will not allow purchases of generic drugs, which are far cheaper.

"Even as a first step, the plan leaves the majority of Coke's workers and their dependents in a deadly lurch," says Health Gap's Sharonann Lynch.

"Fifteen months have passed since Coke first claimed it would negotiate with the bottlers to cover AIDS drugs. Coke's glacial pace contradicts the company's rhetoric of compassion and action."

A company spokeswoman said Coca Cola provides health care to its 1,200 employees in Africa, but the responsibility for the tens of thousands of bottling workers rests with the bottlers.

"Our 40 bottling partners in Africa, who are independent companies, are at various stages of developing their strategies," said Sonia Soutus. "They are responsible for providing health care for their employees."

Last month, the Coca Cola Foundation launched a programme to assist bottlers to expand existing health care programmes to include anti-retroviral (AIDS) drugs for their 60,000 employees, according to a company statement.

Today, more than 45 percent of all bottling employees are on this plan or other plans that include anti-retroviral drugs, it continued.

"We are engaged in our dialogue with our bottlers," says Soutus. Activists say the company, not bottlers, must bear the costs for treatment and sex education of all those who work for Coca Cola.

"Workers are too poor to cover a 10 percent co-payment on medicines," says John Riley of New York-based ACT UP. "We don't want people to make choices between food and drugs."

The company claims bottlers' plans include treatment for workers' spouses and children, but activists contradict such claims.

"Coke is putting its profits above the lives of people with AIDS by refusing to extend coverage to children," says Lynch. "The prospect of parents taking life-saving drugs while their children die is inexplicable and indefensible." Alarmed by the gravity of the AIDS situation, the United Nations last month renewed its appeal for immediate food and relief supplies to save the lives of million in sub-Saharan Africa facing death from starvation and the spread of HIV/AIDS, urging donors to come up with 611 million dollars. According to UNICEF, today more than 28 million people in the sub-Saharan region

- most of them youth - are living with HIV/AIDS. (Inter Press Service)

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