From our Readers

Dear alive:
I read your article on phytonutrients with great interest ("Phytonutrients--The Healing Power of Plants," p. 60, alive #232). May I point out that there is an information link missing in this article? Science and research have established that these vital phytonutrients are missing in fruits and vegetables if the product is picked green. In order for the phytochemicals to be present, the sun has to complete the ripening process while the fruit is still on the vine.
Ilse Webb
London, Ont.

AZT Danger
Dear alive:
Great articles on AZT/HIV/AIDS (alive #230). Keep up the good work. There are still people who don't know the truth. AZT was created in the '50s to kill cancer cells and had to be taken off the market because it was killing people. Check out the info at < duesberg.com >.
Janis Herbison
Hudson's Hope, BC

Environmental Medicine's Nothing New
Dear alive:
Your article "Treating Toxic Bodies With Environmental Medicine" by Dr Jozef Krop (alive #231) was quite good, except for one point: It serves no good purpose to repeatedly put in people's minds that environmental toxins and chemical sensitivities are an entirely new phenomenon.

The fact is quite the opposite. Clinical/human ecology has a professional history as a specialty branch of science going back hundreds and even thousands of years in the annals of medical history. Repeatedly, the toxicity of presumed innocuous substances and the susceptibility of particular individuals has been proven--only after innocent people have already been made ill. For example: mercury poisoning of hatters, gassing of miners, Victorian "gaslighting" or "hysteria," arsenic poisoning from Restoration period makeup, lead poisoning from Roman pipes and Hippocrates' notations of allergies and hypersensitivities.
Jasmine S. Jones
Vineland, Ont.

Fears for Freedom
Dear alive:
Regarding "Modern Medicine Can Kill" (alive #232), I also had a bad experience that almost killed me. I have since taken my health into my own hands with the help of a lot of information on the Internet and publications like yours. I fear for anybody who places their complete trust in the current medical system and the drugs they push.
Kim Mercer
London, Ont.

Health-Care Reform: The Real Issue
Dear alive:
Those in charge of the proposed health-care reforms seem to have missed the cause of the underlying problems. Canada and the United States use the same allopathic (western medical) system for their health-care needs, so all this talk about the Canadian versus the American system is simply a distraction from the real issue.

The problem with the allopathic health-care model doesn't lie with who pays. It's about the effectiveness, or lack thereof, in this chosen system. If all those expensive drugs and surgical procedures really offered the best health care available, we should have the happiest, healthiest, longest-living, disease-free population in human history. But this is not the case. In 1990 the World Health Organization ranked countries according to life expectancy. Canada came in ninth and our American cousins ranked 17th. In 2000, the WHO released a revised list based on their new Disability Adjusted Life Expectancy system. To everyone's surprise, especially the allopaths', Canada's ranking fell to 12th and the US fell to 24th.
John D. Eberly
Calgary, Alta.

Correction:
In the reader letter "Readers Still Question Prostate Screening" (alive #232), Canadian deaths should be 4,000, not 14,000.

Correction:
The article "Juicing Saved My Life" by Jay Kordich (alive #232) should read that Jay has been practising juicing for 52 years, not 30 years, as it appeared. We apologize for the confusion.

We love your letters!
We want to know your concerns, your successes and your experiences in the growing field of natural medicine. Do you have a tip for alive readers? Let us know. Letters published may be edited for space or clarity. Address letters to alive, 7432 Fraser Park Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5J 5B9. E-mail: editorial@alivemagazine.com. E-mails must include name, town and province.