Subject: Hope for sickle cell anemia children

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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