Do you remember Ryan White? In the 1980’s he fought to raise AIDS awareness after he was expelled from school for “being a risk to the health of fellow students.” I remember Ryan very well. I remember being in awe of this boy as he stared in the face of authority (and possible death) without a hint of fear. I doubted that I would have his courage if I were faced with the same adversity. Throughout the 1980’s other kids with HIV were being denied access to public school, but their stories had less impact on me as a child. For instance, the three Ray brothers won a federal court battle to attend public school but were effectively driven out of town when their house was set ablaze.

Why didn’t their story break my heart as much as, if not more, than Ryan’s story did? Proximity. It is human nature to be affected most greatly by local glory and local tragedy. We tend to feel disconnected from events that happen in distant lands. Although Ryan lived over 300 miles away, I was under the impression that he was just next door or just over in the next town. (I went to school in Illinois, Ryan in Indiana.) The Ray brothers were all the way down in Flordia. Being young, I didn’t have any idea that people in Africa and Asia were suffering from the same condition and even worse dicrimination. As an adult, I now realize that problems are universal. We must do all that we can to help our fellow human beings. Borders and oceans are more traversable now than ever.

As you probably know, tomorrow, December 1st, 2006, will be the nineteenth annual World AIDS Day. The World Health Organization (WHO) established World AIDS Day in 1988 to heighten HIV/AIDS awareness and to encourage governments, charities, communities, and individuals worldwide to tackle the growing HIV/AIDS crisis.

Magic Johnson made an appearance on the Oprah show last month to spread the word about the importance of AIDS education and affordable medication. He also expressed his strong belief that he is alive today because of his vigorous daily exercise regime coupled with an ultra-healthy diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables. Seeing how hard he works, how well he eats, and how healthy he looks made quite an impression. He is living with HIV, showing that it doesn’t have to be a death sentence.

In that same vein, UNICEF is currently running public service announcements featuring other professional athletes like David Beckham, Yao Ming and LeBron James. These PSAs are broadcast in English, Spanish, German, Chinese and Russian in the hopes that these athletes will be able to capture the attention of young viewers throughout the world who idolize them. One goal of the ad campaign is to increase the availability of pediatric AIDS treatment. Today less than 5% of the children who need treatment have access to it. Because HIV infection is faster and more aggressive in children, it is imperative that children be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Over 20 million people throughout the world have died as a result of AIDS since it was first given a name in 1984. (Some sources say that an additional 5 million more have died from AIDS-related illnesses but may not have been properly diagnosed.) There are currently at least 39 million people infected with HIV/AIDS (plus another possible million who remain undiagnosed), and 90% of them reside in developing countries.

Retroviral medication is unavailable to 90% of those who are currently infected. Clean water, fresh food, and adequate sanitation are out of reach for over 1.3 billion people worldwide, lending to a wider spread of illnesses like malaria, dysentary, and hepatitis.

In many developing nations, AIDS is not discussed – not ever – no matter what. Meanwhile others simply refer to it as “A.” It is shameful. People infected with the virus are often labeled as immoral or dirty people, sometimes by their very own families and friends. Women are often doomed to become infected because their domineering husbands refuse to wear protection, refuse to remain faithful and refuse to be tested for HIV. This epidemic will continue to spread as long as world leaders reject the power of preventative measures such as HIV/AIDS education, condom distribution and the need for healthy food and water for everyone.

Despite being one of the richest nations on the planet, the United States lags far behind in the distribution of foreign aid. We contribute, as a nation, less than 0.16% of our gross nation income to less fortunate people. However, you and I as individual citizens don’t have to follow our government’s example. We can contribute a larger portion of our incomes (1% or 5% or 10%), tax-deductible and without government red tape. If you can’t afford a financial contribution, you can contribute your time instead; write to your government leaders and encourage them to support AIDS- related relief programs and foreign aid legislation.

Tomorrow, December 1st, is the perfect day to make a contribution to a charity that works on the front lines against AIDS. Even if you don’t know someone who has died of HIV/AIDS or someone who is infected, I would like to encourage you to please open up you heart and your wallet. Any donation –no matter how small- will help someone somewhere.

Here are links to some of the most active organizations fighting HIV/AIDS:
FightGlobalAIDS.org
UNICEF.org
TheGlobalFund.org
CARE.org
DoctorsWithoutBorders.org
ONE.org
Data.org
WorldVision.org

Remember that your donation will be tax-deductible. If you haven’t donated your share to charity this year, don’t wait until the last minute!

[During the 1990’s, I read that Ryan White and two of the Ray brothers, Ricky and Robert, lost their battles with AIDS. And around that same time I learned that my co-worker , Roy, was suffering from AIDS. Tomorrow I will dedicate my money and my thoughts to Randy Ray, the surviving Ray brother; Roy, who didn’t survive; and all other HIV sufferers worldwide. May you all have access to all the resources you need.]

One way to “jump-start” your journey to total health is to go to a cleansing and body detoxification retreat. They have been growing in popularity because of the great results people experience during and after their attendance.

In fact, I recently wrote a letter for a cleansing center in Canada called Abundant Life Wellness Centre. It was a lot of fun, not only because it’s an area of interest for me, but also because I got to learn some interesting facts and statistics along the way.

At some point, I plan to head up to the Centre and participate in a retreat. Right now, we have young kids, which makes it more difficult. Maybe in a year or two our parents will feel prepared to watch our kids for 10 days while we go to Canada for the retreat.

Anyway, whether you ever plan to go to a cleansing retreat or not, you may want to take a few moments to read this letter. It is intended to get you to go to Abundant Life Wellness Centre, but it is also educational. Here’s the link:

==> Cleansing Retreat in Canada

Whoever has been in charge of promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month has done a banner job this year. Wow! Every time I turn my head, I see a pink ribbon magnet on a car or a breast cancer billboard or TV commercial. It’s as if you’d have to be living in a cave to NOT know that this month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Here is just a smattering of examples:

• At Kmart they are handing out to women little information cards with mammogram information and self-exam tips.
• Panera Bread is offering a Pink Ribbon Bagel with cherry chips, dried Bing cherries and cranberries. Proceeds from the sales of this ribbon-shaped bagel help support national and local breast cancer programs.
• This month Cooking.com is promoting a line of limited-edition pink kitchen appliances — from pink KitchenAid mixers to pink fondue sets from Trudeau. Again, when you purchase these products, donations are made to help fight breast cancer.
• Even Campbell Soup Company has changed their classic condensed soup cans from red to pink! (Andy Warhol, move over.) The back of each label reads: “Join the Fight – Your purchase of this can will help Campbell made a donation in support of breast cancer awareness. Together we can make a difference.”

Ok, hopefully we are all aware now… Let’s find a cure!

The American Medical Association (AMA) has recommended that the FDA revoke the “generally recognized as safe” status of salt. According to this recent AMA press release:

“Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer of Americans. People who reduce dietary sodium intake are taking an important step in preventing future health problems,” said AMA Board Member and practicing cardiologist J. James Rohack, MD. “We hope these recommendations will encourage food manufacturers and restaurants to modify their current practices of adding unhealthy amounts of sodium to their products.”

The FDA is also called upon to impose new limits on sodium in both processed and restaurant food. The AMA is recommending a 50% reduction in allowable sodium, as well as a program to help educate the public about the health benefits of long-term sodium reduction.

Last year the consumer advocacy group, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), filed a lawsuit with similar demands. But the FDA has been dragging its feet, citing technological barriers and poor sales as the causes. For more information, check out the CSPI’s report, “Salt: The Forgotten Killer [pdf].”

I had reread Dr. Batmanghelidj’s (aka. Dr. Batman) book, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, in preparation for the Wellness Corner radio program this past week. I thought I would share some information here as well since many who consider themselves wellness oriented and health-conscious didn’t realize all of the health benefits to be gained from drinking water. Some didn’t realize that when we talk about taking in water it means just that; plain, unadalterated water.

As many who routinely visit the chiropractor may know, water is a must for holding an adjustment as well has reducing the inflammation caused from subluxation. The reason for this is because the body carries the signals by utilizing water along the neural pathways.

When the body is under stress because of lack of sufficient water, ie – dehydration, the nerves do not have part of the necessary tools to carry messages from the origination point to the destination point. Also, the connective tissues need the water to be able to maintain, repair, and rebuild. If dehydration occurs, subluxations can occur as well.

To further aggravate the matter, inflammation causing pain follows which is both good and bad – good that your body is alerting you to the need for correction and bad in that your body has had to get to this point to draw your attention to the lack of water intake.

I’m not suggesting that subluxations only occur because of dehydration. But what I am saying based on the information that I’ve read is that many of the body’s signals are misinterpretted and result in what is commonly called disease.

This is a bold statement. Dr. Batman has personal experience to back this up.

He was a political prisoner for a time and had only water to give to those in the prison to utilize in treatment. He had multiple occasions where he had to treat other prisoners suffering from ulcers. After checking to make sure that perforation of the stomach had not occured, he had his patients drink glasses of water. In all of those cases, his patients made dramatic improvement.

Because the body uses water to not only aid in the actual digestion process but also to continually renew the stomach lining, a person in a dehydrated state would be putting themselves at risk of a possible ulcer because of a lack of water.

I, too, have personal experience with this paradigm shift in disease treatment. After reading this book for the first time, I found that those rare occasions when I did have an allergy flair slightly even after removing toxins from the home, if I drank an 8 ounce glass of water followed by a pinch of sea salt on the tongue would cause the congestion and drainage to dry up – literally. That is just one example.

Ok, so it’s obvious I find the technical information from this book fascinating. I tie this in with God’s design – which I also find totally fascinating…

Our body is 2/3 water, the earth is covered with 2/3 (or more) water, God used water to give life to his people – the Exodus through the dry water bed with the walls of water coming down to save the people from the Egypian pursuers as well as baptism first begun by John and carried through to our time, and cleansing – the flood cleansing the earth from the detestable sin of man.

We have been designed to need water for cleansing, purifying, and sustaining life. I will be sharing more from this book later, but for now, go fetch a tall glass of water and enjoy!