(Untitled)

[latemodel]

My aunt, long a fan of new-age medicines, has begun distributing a health drink called Bazi. The back of the bottle lists Bazi's "proprietary mineral blend," which includes not only your usual supplements like Zinc and Selenium but also some more suspicious ones like Osmium, Rubidium, and Praseodymium

Comments

[brigid]

speaking of health stuff, did you ever find anything re: the lithotripsy/renal failure thing you had mentioned to me?

[latemodel]

No, I looked but didn't find anything definitive, so I'm sorry if I frightened you. I should look before opening my mouth. I'm pretty sure that I had gotten that idea from an engineer I worked with, who had worked on an endoscopic laser/basket device. It's totally possible that I was thinking of the reasons one might develop an alternative to ESWL, which is something quite different from reasons to avoid it

[brigid]

i can totally see where you are coming from, however to have the endoscopic treatment i'd have to be put under general which stands a very good chance of putting me into cardiac arrest. it's sort of a lose/lose situation

[latemodel]

That's what I meant by checking out the side effects of each relative to your own situation. It sounds like that's the right choice. I thought ESWL required anaesthesia as well? Can you just do sedation?

[iabervon]

I suppose the part they're keeping secret is the oxidation states of those elements. I mean, if you made it with Fe2+ instead of Fe3+, that would make a difference.

[latemodel]

They are quite specific about a few, though: it contains silica, Si++; and Chloride, Bromide and Fluoride, all +.

Water

[theevilchemist]

I suspect it is just concentrated ocean water, or water from some place like the Great Salt Lake. Most stable elements will be found on some level in sea water, albeit in the ppt, ppb range. It's a great way to make a lot of money on something that is essentially free.

jv

[cos]

"carbon (organic)"? as opposed to what, "carbon (elemental)"? weird.