16 October 1998
Why should a black U.S. child born with SCA
(sickle cell anemia) face grave health threats but an African
child with SCA not be threatened?
A Canadian mother (Maureen Henry) tells us
about sickle cell anemia:
"My son Osita was diagnosed with
sickle cell anemia. According to Western medicine, it is an
incurable, life-threatening disease, discovered in 1910 in
the United States. At present, Western science has very
little understanding of it.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited
anemia in which large numbers or most of the blood cells are
crescent-shaped rather than the normal kidney shape. The
sickled cells tend to clog narrow blood vessels because of
their shape. The clogging prevents blood and oxygen getting
to vital organs, causing excruciating pain in various parts
of the body." (1)
Since Maureen Henry's son, Osita Henry,
was born with SCA, she was forced to investigate this
disease. One of her sources was Dr. Oji Agbai, a Nigerian
researcher living in the U.S. According to Dr. Agbai, on a
per capita basis, SCA "is most prevalent in
Greece." "Dr. Agbai's thesis is that certain people
are genetically disposed to thiocyanate deficiency (a
deficiency of vitamin B12 - a necessary component to healthy
blood cells)."
Did Maureen Henry find a cure? Yes,
it's called food (+herbs +supplements). "I bought a
waffle iron and we make waffles with buckwheat, quinoa, and
spelt flour. Carrots are rich in thiocyanate so Ositadrinks
carrot and beet juice deily. He enjoys curried lentils and
rice, so I make that for dinner about three times a
week." .... "I restrict the amount of
non-traditional foods, especially junk foods, soft drinks and
whatever has no nutritional value."
What is Osita's health status now?
"He almost never gets sick, save for the occasional cold
in the winter time. He has had only two very mild pain crises
in the past year, and those were gone as soon as they came.
Since we put him on Dr. Agbai's thiocyanatesolution andgave
him the prickly ash tree bark daily, he has not had any
crises."
Maureen Henry and husband live in Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada. See the P.S. section of this article for a list
of foods that Mrs. Henry lists as being rich in thiocyanate.
How should 'conventional' medicine react to
this success story? There are two possibilities:
1. assert that Maureen Henry's success with
avoiding the effects of sickle cell anemia is simply anecdotal
evidence and do nothing
2. try the Agbai remedy on children of
consenting parents
Reference:
Traditional Food is Still the Best Medicine
-- Dealing with sickle cell anemia, Maureen Henry, Alive, 1998
(September);191:70-71
[ALIVE is located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada (tel.
(604) 435-1919))]
Best Regards,
Mike Richmond
P.S. Foods Rich in Thiocyanate (according
to Maureen Henry):
- african yam, alfalfa sprouts, apricot,
bamboo shoot,
- banana, bitter almond, broccoli,
Brussels sprouts,
- buckwheat, buffalo berry, cabbage,
carrot,
- cassava, cauliflower, cherry,
chickpea,
- cloudberry, elderberry, flaxseed,
kohlrabi,
- lentils, lima bean, macadamia nuts,
- millet, mustard green, peaches,
plantain,
- plums, radish sprouts, raspberry, red
clover,
- rutabaga, salmonberry, sorghum,
strawberry,
- turnips
Our thanks to Mike Richmond for supplying
this article.
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