Selenium is present in many foods and available as a supplement. Expensive urine however, may not always be the worst case scenario for those duped by the vitamin/supplement industry.
Not to mention the “multi-dose” capers which are almost certainly increasing vitamins and minerals you don’t need, keeping you chronically dosed on those you need in tiny quantities and overdosing you on supplements or fat soluble vitamins you’re getting in sound quantities from your diet. Selenium dietary levels vary due to the origin of the plants or animals in ones diet.
A large, long term Selenium trial had to be suspended due to onset of many adverse effects including diabetes in participating subjects. Now you expect me to say something about supplement-pushing anti-vaccine lobbyists who blame vaccination for diabetes, don’t you? Wouldn’t dream of it.
Consider the poor chap in the MJA document below, who erroneously diagnosed impending prostrate cancer using the internet and natural remedy websites. He then ordered selenium online and with no monitoring from any health professional died from acute selenium poisoning. Serum selenium levels of below 100 ng (nanogram) per ml and above 160 ng per ml can be problematic. Which of course means absolutely nothing to those of us who didn’t get a fully staffed pathology laboratory for Christmas.
So, don’t be swayed by little warnings of doom on supplement bottles. Do appreciate that the range from insufficient to excessive is not only minor but demonstrably unaided by the swallowing of supplements.
Regarding the gentleman below, well he got hold of 200 grams of sodium selenite powder and went to town on it. The authors conclude;
A brief Internet search revealed 287 000 sites discussing the use of selenium in prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. This provides the public with large amounts of information that is not critically evaluated for validity. After reading Internet information on the possible link between selenium and prevention and treatment of prostate cancer, our patient was able to purchase 200 g of sodium selenite powder without adequate instructions.
He selected a dose himself, with catastrophic consequences. This case highlights the risks associated with failure to critically evaluate Internet material and exposes the myth that natural therapies are inherently safe. Internet sites which fail to disclose the potentially fatal effects of advocated treatments are an emerging threat to health. The World Health Organization has devised guidelines to help consumers evaluate medical information on the Internet, which are available online through the Therapeutic Goods Administration.12 Adverse outcomes of complementary and alternative medicines should be better publicised and more stringently reported to the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee (ADRAC), in tandem with adverse outcomes of conventional medications, to create a database of side effects of all current therapies
This Tonic clip originally aired on the ABC, Sunday August 14th and looks at the rather rash linking of low serum selenium to various cancers – a notable problem in NZ with their low selenium content soils, and high levels of prominent cancers. How ever, the issue of genetics may also play a role. Australia has varying selenium levels in soil.
Be sure to chat to your doctor about using any supplements. Get a blood test if you wish and have the results explained. Try to avoid selenium supplements and the advice of beaming naturopaths.
If you’re worried about selenium scoff down a hand full of Brazil nuts every week rather than popping pills of dubious quality and concentration.
There is less than 1 per cent of complaints against school chaplains across the whole country which is absolutely minuscule. The future welfare of our kids is at stake here, we believe it’s that serious and not only will we be fighting it but we have 30,000 statements of support from parents and supporters of the program.
John “necrophilia” MacKay. Remember that nickname used by the British Centre for Science Education. Because just recently the world weary evolution denialist, and one time accuser of necrophilia, Satanism and witchcraft against the personal secretary of Ken Ham (of Creationist Museum fame), John MacKay of Creation Research was “educating” Aussie students.
He was invited to Gympie State High School at their chaplain’s behest. MacKay doesn’t just teach Creationism but also teaches via his biblical wisdom of Genesis, Romans, Corinthians, Paul, Matthew and Mark that homosexuality is a sin and that marriage must be of one man and of one woman for life. MacKay has no theological, psychological or proper teaching qualifications. Much like the chaplain that invited him.
But don’t worry! Tim Mander assures us chaplains are just as good as professional counsellor’s, in managing the high risk, self harming and prone to suicide group of students who may be struggling with sexual identity. MacKay can always distract them with his hatred for feminist “clones” or his belief that Satan’s pet project evolution caused 9/11. Or wax lyrical about the Aussie Creation Museum he wants to build.
Education QLD have, of course, defended his invite and lecture.
MacKay is an original co-founder along with Ken Ham and Carl Wieland of the Australian Creation Science Foundation – CSF. Then onto that dumping ground for all things offensively impossible, Answers in Genesis. Ham later set up AiG, USA. There was a consequent falling out in early 2006 over international kinship and the meeting of business standards. The US and UK teams shot through keeping the name AiG. This left the Australian, NZ and Sth. African branches to become Creation Ministries International – CMI.
Erstwhile buddies of the now-in-jail creationist Kent Hovind we might get an idea of their habits for earthly legal compliance. The real reason for falling out was money. Money made from selling magazines and dirty tactics over distribution list control. A solution was made after the US court of appeals for the 6th circuit ordered CMI and AiG to arbitrate over international affiliates and copyright, in April 2009. Nonetheless before this occurred, CSF (AiG) and John MacKay (CMI) fell out seriously due to the aforementioned dynamics. Things got a tad bizarre. Which, given the crackpottery these guys make up for a living is perhaps expected. Back in June 2007 Duae Quartunciae wrote;
In brief, MacKay started accusing a CSF staffer, Margarent Buchanan, of witchcraft, Satanism, and necrophilia with her dead husband. There was never the slightest basis for these accusations; apart from “discernment” by MacKay. MacKay made an ultimatum that either that woman left, or he did. This was a problem, because MacKay was so important to the group; but in the end MacKay resigned and went his own way. He was also excommunicated from his own Baptist church for the whole affair.
Update:There is just so much offence oozing from MacKay’s conspiracy cum religious zealotry rant of a web site it demands mention. Follow climate science denialism – “Climate Fraud as Aussie Govt ( June 2011) accused of blatant climate lies… Climate taxes comingAussie Prime Minister and atheist, Julia Gillard, is increasingly confident… recent studies of Pacific Islands have shown the islands are remaining stable in size or even growing….” [Accurate explanation] Lilly Fossils: “Sea lilies… have joined the ranks of living fossils which deny evolution and point to Gods creation ‘after their Kind’,… useful in dealing with the widespread belief that fossils take millions of years to form.”
Or Untold secrets of planet earth: Dragons… real powerful, “documentable”, defensible connection between the dragons of ancient times and the dinosaurs we know so well from fossils…Secrets never before published – over 20 new examples of dinosaurs in ancient artwork... More on fossils: “Geologists like to explain this (mixtures of fresh/salt water and land plants) on the basis of a perpetually moving delta and flood plain river system which lasted for millions of years. However mixed marine plant and fresh water species are far easier explained as (Noahs) flood debris.”
Everywhere is Donate, Donate, Donate. But perhaps the most disturbing given this chap is in effect passively supported by the education department coupled with Mander’s bold claims of needed and wanted chaplaincy, is this link between Brevik and Charles Darwin via the invented term “kill or be killed”. Darwin’s theory says no such thing. MacKay is insulting students in the most offensive way by claiming Darwin’s brilliant theory can be reduced to the rubbish of creationist simplifications and Social Darwinism.
His claim is clear. Teaching evolution is teaching students to kill or be killed and this is what guided Brevik. Thus the barbarism of literal biblical fundamentalism with genocide and virgin rape at Gods command is the answer. This nutter isn’t just an anti-science warrior, he has a crafted mock up moral objection to a gross misrepresentation of reality. What a bonus for our students.
Screen Grab from Mackay's "Creation Research" Home page
MacKay is the self described “International Director of Creation Research”. He’s actually the founder presumably diverting into this after CMI. You can follow a link on MacKay’s site – in the above screengrab – to a rather insane article claiming that Brevik didn’t claim to be Christian but rather “Darwinist”. It then proceeds to quote Brevik’s claims of being “100-percent Christian”, whilst inferring “Darwinism”. However, I may be biased and don’t want to tarnish John’s image. John MacKay can do that himself. Indeed he has offered his wisdom in creationist publications and online. Creation News 1997;
… the declared feminist desire to be able to clone humans, so [women] could dispense with men…
On cloning;
Can you imagine the results of feminist-controlled cloning? A planet full of cloned female offspring whose similar physical characteristics would react identically to the same conditions, i.e. get sick at the same time, have the same monthly syndrome, wear the same face, like the same colours and fashions. Such feminist clones would bore themselves to death at the same predictable age.
MacKay’s Creation Research website in the UK wrote about the 9/11 attacks on March 22nd, 2002;
…believers should not be surprised when things like this happen … The root cause of this increasing violence is sin – sin which is rooted in the refusal to glorify The Lord as the God who created the universe.
In recent western culture this refusal has been built around evolution and the denial of a god of any sort.
In April 2006 his website proposed;
Satan has only recently begun introducing evolution to Third World countries in order to destroy missionary enterprise. Let’s get in first with our spiritual armour on and provide Third World missionaries and others with the weapons to do battle against the subtleties of Satan as he seeks to undermine confidence in God’s Word and missionary enterprise.
Coming on top of the ombudsman report of demonic possession beliefs in at least one chaplain, reports of fundamentalism and “covert” conversion, documented misleading of Australians over school acceptance, ignoring parental concerns, excessive evangelising, irrelevance to multi-faith schools and the Australian Psychological Society damning the programme as damaging to students, this is now quite ridiculous. Business as usual then.
A fascinating insight into the industrial uses of hemp and the huge cost to society and environment that the anti-hemp lobby ensures due to our dependence on alternatives. Included are various legislative positions around the world, the science of cannabis as a drug and the misinformation we are fed by vote greedy governments and the science illiterate media.
This video looks at some essential facts about the conduct, deception, insouciance and legal problems of Meryl Dorey and The Australian Vaccination Network. It covers quite a bit of ground from 2009 to the present. A serious message with a dash of dark humour in exposing the absurdity of their operation.
Losing In The Lucky Country 