Ailing veterans point to Vietnam-era cargo planes, Agent Orange contamination

Carter, an Oregon resident, and his comrades in the C-123 Veterans Association say postwar crews should be eligible for the same compensation for Agent Orange provided to those who served in Vietnam. He has filed complaints with the Air Force and VA, and collected many documents via Freedom of Information requests, which he provided to The Washington Post and posted online.

A 2011 Air Force epidemiological study of the crews that sprayed Agent Orange — “the most heavily exposed veterans of the Vietnam War,” according to the report — found no link between Agent Orange exposure and their diseases.

But a number of outside medical experts have concluded the veterans were likely exposed to dangerous levels of dioxins. In November, 14 prominent toxicologists sent the VA a letter saying the department’s scientific conclusions are based on “erroneous assumptions.”

“It’s not right,” said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Bailey, a New Hampshire resident who served with Carter aboard C-123s and is gravely ill with cancer. “We were exposed, we can prove we were exposed, but they’re saying it doesn’t matter.”

Continue Learning:  http://www.heraldandnews.com/news/oregon/article_65fd4dcc-fe63-11e2-abb0-001a4bcf887a.html

Planes linked to post-Vietnam Agent Orange exposure were stored in Tucson Spray planes alleged to have harmed fliers after Vietnam conflict:  http://azstarnet.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/planes-linked-to-post-vietnam-agent-orange-exposure-were-stored/article_93f78949-45bb-5041-a915-5673221ebc47.html


Agent Orange’s reach beyond the Vietnam War:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/agent-oranges-reach-beyond-the-vietnam-war/2013/08/03/803e57c0-e816-11e2-aa9f-c03a72e2d342_story.html

Okinawa dump site may be proof of Agent Orange: experts Dioxin spike raises fears of local health risks

"I would venture to say these data (from Ehime University), and the presence of substantial levels of TCDD in the barrels, thoroughly negates the Pentagon report repudiating the presence of Agent Orange and other herbicides on Okinawa"” said Dwernychuk.

He dismissed the U.S. Department of Defense denials as a question of semantics, saying, “Continued denials of the presence of Agent Orange are of little consequence, given that the principal component of concern, TCDD, was present.”

Dwernychuk urged local authorities to mitigate the risk to people living in the area. “Removal of the barrels and contaminated soils should be a priority. Groundwater studies should be undertaken to determine if there has been any transport of TCDD to other areas — facilitating human exposure,” he said.

Directly adjacent to the barrels’ dump site — on the other side of the fence — within Kadena Air Base, are two U.S. Defense Department schools, Bob Hope Primary School and Amelia Earhart Intermediate School. Inquiries to both the Pentagon and United States Forces Japan as to whether dioxin checks would be conducted at the site were unanswered at the time of publication.

Continue Learning: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/08/07/national/okinawa-dump-site-may-be-proof-of-agent-orange-experts/#.UgK9_H-t1Rw

DIABETES: More death certificates cite diabetes as underlying cause of death

Death certificates now list diabetes as the underlying cause of death more often than in previous years, data from the Translating Research into Action for Diabetes trial suggest.

Of 2,261 participants enrolled in the study who died from 2000 to 2007, 41% had diabetes listed on their death certificates and 13% cited the disease as the underlying cause of death.

The Source

Agent Orange & Diabetes: American Diabetes Association’s Guidelines Are Killing Diabetics!

American Diabetes Association’s Guidelines Are Killing Diabetics!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there will be nearly 140 million diabetics in this country within the next 40 years. But the true number of diabetics will be much higher, because the conventional test for diabetes does not detect the disease until it’s in its advanced stages, and most doctors don’t perform more sensitive diagnostic tests necessary for early diagnosis. According to research done by Bill Faloon at the Life Extension Foundation, more than 75% of people over the age of 40 suffer some degree of pre-diabetes.

While a poor diet and lack of exercise are the chief causes of most US cases of diabetes, anything that interferes with the complex mechanisms that the body uses to regulate blood sugar may also contribute —including heavy metal or mercury toxicity, prescription drug interactions, mineral deficiency (especially magnesium and chromium), Candida overgrowth, and low stomach acid, all of which are common.

A number of other factors may increase insulin resistance as well, including vitamin D deficiency, infections, celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, increased weight gain, stress, and puberty, as well as environmental contaminants like air pollutants, BPA, dioxin, PCBs, nitrates and nitrites, phthalates, and some pesticides.

In a nutshell, the ADA’s standards, guidelines, and recommended diets are sure to turn a pre-diabetic into a full-blown diabetic, and a diabetic into one who is chronically ill with multiple complications.

Most diabetes-related disease is actually the result of years of uncontrolled blood sugar. Most related organ damage such as retinopathy (damage to the retina that results in loss of vision), peripheral neuropathy (damage to nerves in the feet or hands), and kidney damage actually begins to occur when blood sugars exceed 140 for more than a couple hours per day.

So this week’s Action Alert is a personal request from ANH-USA executive director Gretchen DuBeau: Get to know how your body is processing the sugars and carbohydrates you consume! Have a “real” diabetes test—the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which records your blood sugar levels at intervals after drinking a measured sugary liquid. The test is performed in a doctor’s office or in a lab. Alternatively, purchase a glucose meter and perform your own test two hours after a sugary or carb-heavy meal. Do not settle for a fasting glucose test.

Image compliments Rich Preston, Vietnam veteran - AO Diabetes Victim