Obesity kills sperm

Obesity is like a natural contraceptive. Not only does it make you less attractive to the opposite sex, but men with bulging bellies also make less sperm.

And in plenty of cases, they make none at all.

It’s been proven before, and now it’s proven again as French researchers say their analysis of 14 studies shows that as waistlines grow, sperm counts shrink.

Those 14 studies involved a combined 10,000 men — men of different sizes and shapes, all of whom provided ejaculatory samples for comparison. (Side note: Pity the life of a poor research assistant.)

They found that about a quarter of all men have low sperm counts, and that obese men are 42 percent more likely to be among them than normal-weight men.

Even more frightening, the obese are 81 percent more likely to make no sperm at all.

Overweight men, guys who haven’t reached the obese zone yet, were 11 percent and 39 percent more likely than the normal weight guys to have low or no sperm — but let’s face reality here: If you’re badly overweight, you’re probably in no condition to be “doing it” anyway.

All that huffing and puffing makes sex more work than pleasure, and possibly dangerous work at that. And that’s even assuming you can get it up in the first place, because obesity kills erections.

That’s because extra body fat has the unique ability to turn testosterone into Oestrogen, and once that excess Oestrogen starts flowing through a man’s body he may as well start knitting — because he’s not nearly as much of a man as he used to be.

Want to avoid all that? Then lose the pounds now.

Originally published HERE

Leonardo da Vinci and the Missing Female Reproductive System

Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience
Tue, 08 May 2012

Leonardo da Vinci's sketches of a fetus in the womb, made between 1510 and 1513.

Leonardo da Vinci's 500-year-old illustrations of human anatomy are uncannily accurate with just one major exception: the female reproductive system.

Study finds IVF link to birth defects

Heather Kennett,From: Sunday Herald Sun,May 06, 2012 12:00AM

THE risk of major birth defects in babies conceived using commonly available fertility treatments is nearly double compared with those conceived naturally, a world-first study by Australian researchers has found.

Groundbreaking Adelaide University research has shown that the risk for couples using IVF is 7.2 per cent, compared with a 5.8 per cent risk for babies conceived naturally.
But when sperm is injected into an egg - a procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection used to overcome male infertility - there is a 9.9 per cent risk of birth defects.
And yet it found that freezing embryos substantially reduced the risk of birth defects, including cerebral palsy and heart and muscle conditions, particularly for the sperm injection treatment.
Another major finding in the study, to be published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, was the discovery of a tripling of the risk in women using a widely available low-cost fertility treatment - the steroid clomiphene citrate - to stimulate ovulation at home, without the supervision of a clinic.
The research linked a census of more than 6100 assisted conception births to South Australia's registry of 308,974 births and 18,000 recorded birth defects between 1986 and 2002.
It also compared the risk of birth defects across all infertility treatments with pregnancies in women with no record of infertility, making it the most comprehensive of its kind in the world.
The findings come as the use of assisted reproductive technology in Australia doubled over the five years to 2009, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Michael Davies said, though the majority of births resulting from assisted conception were free of birth defects, the study aimed to examine the differences in risks between available treatment and allow couples to make more informed decisions.
"For IVF (7.2 per cent), we were able to largely discount the apparent increased risk that is there in the crude data and we can explain that excess of risk purely in terms of patient characteristics such as maternal age and being overweight."
Melbourne IVF medical director Dr Lyndon Hale said the jury was still out on whether birth defects were caused by the actual IVF technology or there were inherent problems in the infertile population.
"The study didn't control for the fertile-versus-infertile population, so infertile people may somehow have more of these problems as opposed to the treatment causing the problems," Dr Hale said.
"The findings will make couples more worried, but it's part of our consent process that we advise them of all the risks."
- with Brigid O'Connell
Originally published HERE
Detailed article can be found HERE

Further reading :

Higher Risk of Birth Defects from Assisted Reproduction, Study Suggests - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120505130923.htm

'Birth defect link' to IVF injections - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9248899/Birth-defect-link-to-IVF-injections.html

Link Between ICSI Fertility Procedure, Birth Defects Discovered - http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112529032/link-between-icsi-fertility-procedure-birth-defects-discovered/

Fertility injections linked to birth defects - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9247766/Fertility-injections-linked-to-birth-defects.html

Picture Emerging on Genetic Risks of IVF - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/health/17ivf.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Child health problems linked to IVF - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-180379/Child-health-problems-linked-IVF.html

Study links fertility treatment, birth defect risk - http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_20557826/study-links-fertility-treatment-birth-defect-risk?source=rss

Artificially Sweetened Soft Drinks Linked to Preterm Delivery

Intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks and risk of preterm delivery: a prospective cohort study in 59,334 Danish pregnant women.
American Journal of Clinical Nutritian.

Daily consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks may increase the risk for preterm (premature) delivery, according to the results of a Danish prospective cohort study reported in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Artificially sweetened soft drinks are often promoted as an alternative to Sugar-sweetened soft drinks. However, the safety of artificial sweeteners has been disputed, and consequences of high intakes of artificial sweeteners for pregnant women have been minimally addressed." write Thorhallur I. Halldorsson, fromStatens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues.

The goal of the study was to evaluate the association between consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks and preterm delivery.

Participants were 59,334 women enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort from 1996 to 2002. The main study endpoint was preterm delivery, defined as less than 37 weeks of gestation.

Consumption of artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks was associated with an increased risk for preterm delivery when compared with women who did not drink artificially sweetened carbonated soft drinks. Women who drank at least 1 serving daily was higher and women who drank at least 4 servings daily was much higher than those who did not drink artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks. Increased risk was stronger for early preterm and moderately preterm delivery vs late-preterm delivery.

For sugar-sweetened carbonated or noncarbonated soft drinks, no apparent association with the risk for preterm delivery was observed. However sugar-sweetened soft drinks are associated with weight gain.

"Daily intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks may increase the risk of preterm delivery," the study authors write.

"The relative consistency of our findings for carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks and the absence of an association for sugar-sweetened soft drinks suggest that the content of artificial sweeteners might be the causal factor." the study authors conclude.

The European Union (EU) Integrated Research Project EARNEST supported this study. The Danish National Birth Cohort has been financed by the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the Danish Heart Association, the Danish Medical Research Council, and the Sygekassernes Helsefond Danish National Research Foundation, Danish Pharmaceutical Association, Ministry of Health, National Board of Health, Statens Serum Institut.

Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritian. 2010 Sep;92(3):626-33. Epub 2010 Jun 30.Halldorsson TI, Strøm M, Petersen SB, Olsen SF.Centre for Fetal Programming, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Homeopathic Infertility Research

Homeopathy. 2002 Jul;91(3):133-44.
Individualized homeopathic therapy for male infertility.

Gerhar I,Wallis E.
Outpatient Clinic for Complementary Medicine, Department for Gynecological Endocrinology and Reproduction, Gynecological Hospital, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
frauenklinik_ambulanz_nhv@med.uni-heidelberg.de

This prospective observational pilot study investigated the effect of individualized homeopathy on male infertility based on sperm count, hormone values and general health. Forty-five subfertile men were treated with single homeopathic remedies for an average of 10.3 months. The drugs were prescribed on the basis of the overall symptomatic situation. The variables 'sperm density', 'percentage of sperm with good progressive motility' and 'density of sperm with good propulsive motility' improved significantly, especially in cases of oligoasthenozoospermia. The general health of patients improved significantly. The following factors emerged as positive predictors of therapy success: alcohol consumption below 30 g/day, non-smoking, the presence of less than five dental amalgam fillings, no exposure to noxious substances at the workplace and no previous inflammatory genital diseases. The factors stress, age above 36, high coffee consumption and long duration of unwanted childlessness did not have a negative impact on therapy outcome in this study. The rate of improvement in sperm count through homeopathic therapy is comparable to the improvement achieved by conventional therapy, so that individualized-homeopathic treatment may be considered a useful alternative to conventional treatment of subfertile men. For further investigation, a randomised, therapy-controlled clinical study with parallel group design would be useful (homeopathic therapy vs conventional andrological therapy).

PMID: 12322866 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Infertility
BOTTOMLINE: Fertility in men and women is a complex process, and the treatment of infertility requires treatment by a professional homeopath. Although no studies have yet been conducted on women, one pilot study of subfertile men found good results from professional homeopathic treatment.
A prospective unblinded pilot study was conducted on 45 subfertile men who were treated with individually chosen homeopathic medicines based on the psychophysical symptom syndrome each experienced. The main outcome measures were improved sperm density, improved percentage of sperm with good propulsive motility, density of sperm with good motility. Other outcome measures included sperm vitality, morphology, and the ratio of sperm with global motility.
This study was conducted at the Outpatient Clinic for Complementary Medicine at the University Women’s Hospital of Heidelberg (Germany). The men admitted into the study has to have two or more years of unwanted childlessness, two pathological sperm counts not influenced by therapy, at least 3 months without andrological therapy, and patient consent.
The men average age was 35.5 years (range 28-47). The couples suffered from unwanted childlessness for an average of 4.5 years (range: 2-11 years).
Thirty of the men reported some type of genital disease: 20 suffered from varicocele, 5 from undescended testes, 15 from urogenital inflammation, 1 from coital impotence, and 5 sustain a previous genital trauma. [The individualized homeopathic treatment included a detailed interview in which the patient was queried about his unique symptoms. The homeopath ranked in a hierarchy those symptoms that were in the emotional and mental realm and those that affected his entire body, as distinct from those that were local symptoms. The symptoms were ordered by intensity and prominence.] All men were prescribed a single homeopathic medicine in the LM 18 potency, and each man shook the bottle before taking three drops once daily. The patients were asked to keep a diary of any symptoms, and they were asked to avoid any other therapy, except in emergencies. The men were asked to abstain from caffeine, but if this was not possible, they were asked to avoid taking it within 1-2 hours of taking the homeopathic medicine. The patients attended the clinic every six weeks for review. If the medicine was still indicated, the drug was re-prescribed at a one-step higher potency. If not, a different homeopathic medicine was prescribed.
Homeopathic treatment lasted on average 10.3 months (range: 6-21.5). Seven patients dropped out after 2-5 months. A total of 26 homeopathic medicines were prescribed, the most common ones were (in order of the number of prescriptions): Natrum muriaticum, Lycopodium, Calcarea carbonicum, Pulsatilla, Phosphous, Silicea, and Thuja.

Results
Various primary and secondary measures showed significant improvement after 6, 9, and 12 months of homeopathic treatment.
Sperm density improved by a median of 26.4 after 3 months, by 12.6% after 6 months, and 37.1 after 12 months (P=0.011).
The ratio of sperm with good propulsive motility was initially pathologically low in all patients, but after 3, 6, and 9 months of therapy, it improved by 20% (P=0.0037) and after 12 months, it improved by 43% (P=0.0009).
The density of sperm with good propulsive motility increased above the baseline of 1.8 million. After 3 months, there was improvement by 27.6% (P=0.02), 6 months by 40% (P=0.003), 9 months by 55.2% (P-0.01), and 12 months by 81.5% (P=0.02).
An improvement in global sperm motility improved during the first three intervals, especially at 6 months (P=0.045), but after 12 months, the median improvement decreased and was no longer significant.
A total of 8 pregnancies occurred in 7 couples, with one having twins. Five pregnancies produced a healthy child or twins, while three ended in spontaneous abortion and two miscarriages (to the same couple). These numbers represent a baby-take-home rate of 11.1%.
There were various improvements in the men’s general health, especially those suffering from abdominal disorders (P=0.0004) after 6 months and (P=0.052) after 9 months. In general, the men observed greater improvement in various local symptoms than in their psychological state or more general symptoms.
This experience runs counter to homeopathic theory that predicts greater improvement in general health prior to local symptoms.
Ironically, 5 of 7 drop-out patients experienced significant improvement after 3 months, including a 55% increase in sperm density, 63% increase in progressive motility, and 196% increase in the density of sperm with good motility.

Positive Predictors to Therapeutic Success
The following factors were observed to be predictors of therapeutic success with homeopathic medicines: Men with longer (4 years or more) unwanted childlessness.
There were improvements in the density of sperm with good motility in men who didn’t smoke at 3 and 6 months, but these changes were not significant in men who smoked. Men who drank little or alcohol (<30 gram alcohol/day; n=20) experienced an increase in sperm density with good propulsive motility of 72.2% (P=0.04) after 3 months and 51.8% (P=0.04) after 6 months, but the increase for men who drank more alcohol was only 14.2% after 6 months and was not significant.
The density of sperm with good propulsive motility improved by 50% after 3 months in the high-caffeine group (n=20, P=0.04), and was only increased by 13.4% in the low-caffeine group. However, after 6 months the low-caffeine group of men’s sperm density improved by 70.2% (P=0.04), while the high- caffeine group increased 37.3% (P=0.04).

The men with few amalgam fillings (n=18) experienced greater improvement in sperm density with good propulsive motility at 72.2% after 3 months (P=0.022) and 97% after 6 months (P=0.017), as compared to the amalgam-rich group (n=27) with 11.4 and 19%. Men who were exposed to noxious factors in the workplace (n=11) experienced a less rapid increase and a smaller overall improvement. Men who self-described themselves as more stressed (n=21) experienced greater improvement in density of sperm with good propulsive motility than those men in the “no-stress” group (n=24).

The positive results from this study suggest the need to conduct a more rigorous placebo-controlled trial.

Although this eBook focuses primarily on clinical research, the below described laboratory study provides some findings of interest to those people concerned about infertility issues. Mitochondrial activity is an important viability parameter of spermatozoa and is linked to sperm motility. Monensin (a broad spectrum antibiotic used in cattle feed) is commonly used as an inhibitor for sperm mitochondrial activity in the laboratory. This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of some homeopathic dilutions of monensin on sperm mitochondrial activity. Fresh ejaculates from 6 mature bulls were used in the study. Samples of the semen were tested using a flow cytometer for mitochondrial activity and sperm viability using Rhodamine 123 and SYBR-14, respectively. The 9x dilution of monensin resulted in very highly significant (P<0.001) stimulation of mitochondrial activity. Monensin 5x, 7x, 8x and 13x caused highly significant (P<0.01) stimulation of the sperm mitochondrial activity. Other homeopathic dilutions of monensin (6x, 10x, 11x, 12x and 14x) also had a significant (P<0.05) stimulatory effect. The use of monensin did not have any negative effect on sperm viability. We conclude that some homeopathic dilutions of monensin increase mitochondrial activity of bovine spermatozoa without negative effect on sperm viability, the 9x dilution was the most effective. Further in vivo studies are required to estimate the effect of homeopathic dilutions of monensin on semen quality.

REFERENCE:
Aziz D, Enbergs H., Stimulation of bovine sperm mitochondrial activity by homeopathic dilutions of monensin. Homeopathy. 2005 Oct;94(4):229-32.
Gerhard, I, Wallis, E, Individualized homeopathic therapy for male infertility, Homeopathy (2002)91,133-144.

Girls are developing faster than ever and doctors have no idea why

Hormone evolution
April 5, 2012

Breast growth at age 5? Stop! That can’t be a thing… Can it? It can.

As Strollerderby has previously reported, girls as young as 7 are documented as having had their period.

According to Jezebel, by age 7 an astounding 23% of African American girls are showing breast growth followed by 15% of Hispanic girls, 10% of Caucasian girls and only 2% of Asian girls.

That can’t be what Mother Nature intended. But it’s happening and an increasing number of moms want to know why.

A landmark study in the sixties suggested the average age at which girls hit puberty to be 11. But, as the NY Times reports, a doctor in the late eighties first noticed otherwise: Marcia Herman-Giddens, then a physician’s associate in the pediatric department of the Duke University Medical Center, started noticing that an awful lot of 8- and 9-year-olds in her clinic had sprouted pubic hair and breasts…So she started collecting data, eventually leading a study with the American Academy of Pediatrics that sampled 17,000 girls, finding that among white girls, the average age of breast budding was 9.96. Among black girls, it was 8.87. It’s true, girls are getting their periods earlier than ever and as Jezebel reports, no one knows why.

Read the full article HERE

204 Scientific Research Studies on Homeopathy

Triple Blind studies, Double-Blind Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial, Systematic Reviews & Meta Analysis, Evidence-base
December 4, 2011 · homeopathy
Authors : Dr. Nancy Malik BHMS

Abstract

Medicines for specific disease conditions, High dilutions, Animal Studies, Plant Studies
204 human studies published in 86 peer-reviewed international medical journals out of which 96+ are FULL TEXT out of which 94 are PDF which can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/gFJIbg
Key Words: Science, Homeopathic, Pharmacy, Genetics , Homeopath,

The short URL for this knol is http://bit.ly/rrpWCm
Research Papers upto year 2010 are included in this database
Download 95 FULL TEXT PDF research papers on homeopathy at Google Documents
Link to the Spanish version of this article
Link to the Hindi version of this article

CONTENTS

A. Basic Fundamental Research (Physics, Chemistry and Biology)
B. High Dilution Research
C. Clinical Research

1. Triple-Blind Studies
2. Double-blind Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial (DBRPCT)
3. Double-Blind Studies
4. Cohort/Observational/Pilot Studies
5. Systematic Reviews & Meta Analysis
6. Online Database

D.
7. Homeopathy Research Resource
8. More Research studies
9. Physics behind homeopathy

E.
10. Homeopathy as a Genetic Medicine
11. Evidence for specific disease conditions 12. Homeopathy superior to allopathy
13. Homeopathy cost-effective than allopathy
14. Homeopathy equals allopathy
15. Homeopathy superior to placebo
16. Homeopathy improving quality of life

F.
17. Evidence-based Medicine
18. To distinguish one homeopathy medicine from another
19. To distinguish homeopathy medicine from water
20. Potency Selection
21. Placebo Effect
22. Anecdotal Evidence

G.
23. Animal Studies
24. Plant Studies

Introduction
Evidence of homeopathy is undeniably positive and consistent. It’s a human evidence of experience, gathered from a real-world observation in a real-world setting (not in an ideal artificial laboratory) giving real-world solutions.


Read more HERE

Despite up to 3,500+ Miscarriages, CDC Still Lying about H1N1 Vaccine Pregnancy Safety

by Tony Isaacs

In a shocking report issued in September, the National Coalition of Organized Women (NCOW) presented data from two different sources demonstrating that the 2009/10 H1N1 vaccines contributed to as many as 3,587 cases of miscarriage and stilldeaths. Despite having the data, the CDC has continued to assure pregnant women, a prime target group for the vaccine, and vaccine providers that the vaccine presents no risk for pregnant women.

NCOW used data from their own survey of pregnant women aged 17-45 years and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), including updates through July 11, to estimate the true number of miscarriages and stillbirths following an H1N1 flu vaccination in the U.S. The NCOW estimated the number of miscarriages and stillbirths due to the H1N1 vaccine during the 2009/10-flu season to be 1,588, but they also noted that the figure was an average and that the number of miscarriages and stillbirths could have been as high as 3,587.

During the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV) meeting, Sept 3, 2010, Eileen Dannemann, Director of NCOW, presented the findings for the second time to Dr. Marie McCormick, chair of the Vaccine Risk and Assessment Working Group. Just prior to Dannemann's presentation Dr. McCormick, had pronounced that there were absolutely no H1N1 vaccine-related adverse events in pregnant women in 2009/10, directly contradicting the evidence publicly available.

"This baseless and fallacious assessment by the CDC assessment group has given the green light to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to continue their recommendation to give the 2010/11 flu shot to all people, including pregnant women," said Dannemann. She also noted that the upcoming 2010/11 flu vaccine contains the same elements that are implicated in the killing of these fetuses, the H1N1 viral component and the neurotoxin mercury (Thimerosal) plus 2 other viral strains.

The following week at the Sept 14th National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) meeting Dr. McCormick, pronounced, once again, that there were no adverse events in pregnant women - despite having been informed on two previous occasions of the VAERS data. At the conclusion of the NVAC meeting, Dannemann submitted the data for the 3rd time during public comment and asked "Why hasn't Dr. McCormick looked in the VAERS data base?" Dannemann then concluded, "She looked where she knew she would not find".

Thus, it must be argued that the CDC was grossly negligent to fail to inform their vaccine providers of the incoming VAERS data, while providers blindly followed the CDC "standard of care" guidelines to vaccinate every pregnant woman in 2009/10. Furthermore, in the face of these findings and the purposeful withholding of these findings by CDC's Dr. Marie McCormick and her vaccine risk assessment group, for the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend another iteration of the same vaccine to pregnant women in 2010/11 may be argued as more than gross negligence -but rather- an act of willful misconduct.

In addition to roundly condemning Dr. McCormick and the CDC, NCOW strongly recommended that the CDC withdraw their continued recommendation to pregnant women, noting that "in light of the overwhelming adverse events reported, we emphasize that inoculating pregnant women with another untested vaccine containing a combination of components found in the offending 2009 H1N1 vaccine is insupportable."

Instead, NCOW recommends that the CDC adheres strictly to the FDA/manufacturers warning on the insert package which states that the flu shot not be given to pregnant women unless clearly needed. NCOW also called on the CDC to "advise all Ob/Gyns, vaccine providers and the public this year, of last season's VAERS reports on H1N1 vaccine-related fetal deaths".

Sources included:
http://www.progressiveconvergence.com/Final%20Press%20Release%20CDC%20Allegedly%20falsified.htm
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/188385
http://healthfreedoms.org/2009/11/11/shocking-h1n1-swine-flu-vaccine-miscarriage-stories-from-pregnant-women-%E2%80%93-tell-your-doctors-that-vaccines-and-pregnancy-do-not-mix/

Article originally published HERE

The Vitamin that has Been Shown to Dramatically Improve Fertility

By Dr. Mercola

Did you know that in northern countries, which have dark, cold winters, couples are less likely to conceive during the winter, whereas conception rates peak in the summer?

There are a number of reasons why this association exists, but new research highlights vitamin D as one of the most important variable.

Vitamin D, a steroid hormone that influences virtually every cell in your body and has been positively linked to health conditions ranging from cancer to heart disease, may significantly boost fertility in both men and women.

If You’re Struggling With Infertility, Get Your Vitamin D Levels Checked

Vitamin D is so crucial to health that I urge everyoneto make sure their levels are optimized, but if you’ve been dealing with infertility, this is especially important.

A new report has shown that exposure to sunlight boosts fertility in both men and women by increasing their levels of vitamin D, a benefit that appears to work on multiple levels.

As the researchers reported in the European Journal of Endocrinology:

• Among women, vitamin D appears to impact in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common female endocrine disorder, as well as boost levels of progesterone and estrogen, which regulate menstrual cycles and improve the likelihood of successful conception
• In men, vitamin D is essential for the healthy development of the nucleus of the sperm cell, and helps maintain semen quality and sperm count. Vitamin D also increases levels of testosterone, which may boost libido

The researchers state:

“Given the high prevalence of infertility as well as vitamin D insufficiency in otherwise healthy young women and men and the possible role of vitamin D in human reproduction, research might lead to new therapeutic approaches such as vitamin D supplementation in the treatment of female and male reproductive disorders.”

Story at-a-glance

• Exposure to sunlight boosts fertility in both men and women by increasing their levels of vitamin D
• Vitamin D impacts fertility on multiple levels, including boosting levels of progesterone and estrogen in women, which may help regulate menstrual cycles and improve your likelihood of conceiving naturally
• In men, vitamin D is essential for the healthy development of the nucleus of the sperm cell, improves semen quality and sperm count, and is capable of supporting healthy testosterone levels
• Vitamin D deficiency is currently at epidemic proportions in the United States and many other regions around the world, so if you’re struggling with infertility make sure you optimize your vitamin D levels

To read the rest of Dr. Mercola's valuable article click HERE

Endometriosis Destroys Quality of Life

By Siphosethu Stuurman, 7 February 2012
About 1 in 10 women of reproductive age suffer from a chronic and painful condition known as endometriosis. The disease can impact on the lives of women in a considerably adverse manner.

Forty-two year-old Pauline Sangham, a presenter and producer for the SABC's Lotus FM, has endured excruciating pelvic pains for the past seven years.

"Oh my word! The pain... the lower back pain extreme! The pelvic pain that was mostly on my left side... It felt like I was about to have a stroke and there were sucking pains that sucked out my energy. The pains would go away and come back. They were so extreme I thought I was gonna die", says Sangham, describing the pain caused by endometriosis.

Her condition remained a mystery for a long time until much later when she was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis.

"The people around me didn't understand this. I didn't understand it So, I couldn't explain it to them. By the time I got to actually know what endometriosis is all about, it was really too late", says Sangham.

Symptoms caused by endometriosis can be easily mistaken for those of other illnesses, leading to delays of 8 - 10 years before a correct diagnosis can be made.

"I met Professor Bagratee from the University of KZN and he sat me down the one afternoon, and we spoke about Endometriosis. He showed me pictures and made me understand that it was a disease. But prior to that, I had no knowledge of it", says Sangham.

With no relief from her pains and after repeated visits to her doctor, Sangham was frequently off work and that caused her problems with her employers and they started getting impatient with her.

"My bosses couldn't understand why I was always sick, always in pain. I always complained like an old lady", she says.

The disease took a toll on Sangham's professional life as she became less productive due to the many days she took off sick.

"I'm a freelancer and that made it even more difficult because I didn't have a medical aid. And if I didn't go to work I didn't get paid and that used to be for a lengthy period of time. It meant that I now faced a financial crisis", says Sangham.

It was not just her career that was at risk of falling apart because of endometriosis. Her personal life was also affected.

"I had drastic mood swings, I was always naggy, and I was always irritable everything seemed humongous. My entire relationship with my family was not a pleasant one, and I can understand why they tried to stay away from me", says Sangham.

Dr. Peter Koll, a specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, in private practise in Johannesburg, says endometriosis can have a devastating effect on a woman's life in the workplace.

"Endometriosis does account for extra days of work lost, decreased work productivity, chronic fatigue, irritability and even depression, which all, obviously, can affect work performance", he says.

Dr. Koll says endometriosis is a chronic disease where tissue that resembles the lining of the womb, the uterus, is found elsewhere in the body. This tissue forms endometrial scratches which cause internal bleeding and are most often found on the ovaries and all other organs within a woman's pelvis.

"The lining of the womb is called the endometrium. That is the lining that comes away every month with menstruation. When that lining gets outside the uterus and seeds out in the pelvis, you bleed internally. Every time you bleed externally, that sets up pain, inflammation... And that's endometriosis", says Dr. Koll.

"The typical symptoms that one would watch for is painful intercourse, chronic pelvic pain and painful periods. It's prevalent to women of reproductive age. There is no endometriosis before puberty and there is no new endometriosis after menopause. So, anybody during their reproductive years can develop endometriosis", he adds.

Dr. Koll urges women not to tolerate unusual menstrual pain.

"We need to break this traditional tolerance that women have for "women's problems". It's not normal to suffer pain, it's not normal to stay in bed once a month with pain, it's not normal to take masses and masses of pain killers", he says.

While endometriosis can be treated and managed, it is important that it is diagnosed early. However, the disease can never be completely cured. If diagnosed late, as in the case of Pauline Sangham, it is possible for the condition to recur.

"I've had my hysterectomy and it's a year later now. It was about a week ago that I felt some pain coming back. It means I have to go back to my doctor to see if it's recurring", says Sangham.

Read the original article HERE

Drinking Coffee Actually Alters Hormones in Women

1 February 2012
The daily shot of java may affect more than just your energy levels. A new study of women found that drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages can alter levels of estrogen, a regulating hormone in women.


Over 1,000 chemicals have been reported in roasted coffee, and 19 are known rodent carcinogens. 

Coffee is the second most traded product in the world after petroleum. Worldwide coffee production tips the scales at about 6 million metric tonnes. The average yield from one tree is the equivalent of one roasted pound of coffee and it takes five years for a coffee tree to reach maturity. Coffee growers must thus resort to toxic methods to ensure maximum yield from their crops including the use of harmful chemicals to ensure crops are free of insects and pathogens.

The impact on the estrogen study appeared to vary by race. In white women, for example, coffee appears to lower estrogen, while in Asian women it has the reverse effect, raising levels of the hormone.

Estrogen is structurally responsible for accelerating metabolism, increasing vaginal lubrication, increasing bone formation and increasing uterine and endometrial growth. It also helps increase HDL cholesterol, decrease LDL cholesterol and balance salt and water retention.

“This is important physiologically because it helps us understand how caffeine is metabolized by different genetic groups, ” said Dr. Enrique Schisterman, an author of the study and senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health.

The study, which was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, analyzed data on more than 250 women who were examined one to three times a week over two menstrual cycles. They provided blood samples along with details about behaviors like exercise, eating and smoking. On average, they consumed about 90 milligrams of caffeine a day, equivalent to roughly one cup of coffee.

After controlling for a number of variables, like age and diet, the researchers found that among Asian women, those who had 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day had higher estrogen levels compared to those who consumed less. A similar pattern was seen among black women, though it was not statistically significant. In white women, however, 200 milligrams or more of caffeine appeared to have a slight lowering effect on estrogen.

Nationwide, about 90 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 34 drink the caffeine equivalent of one to two cups of coffee every day.

Why caffeine would have a different impact depending on race was unclear, though Dr. Schisterman said it was likely that genetics has an influence on caffeine metabolism. But the source of caffeine also seemed to make a difference. When the researchers looked exclusively at caffeine from beverages other than coffee -- like green tea and soda -- it was linked to higher estrogen in all women, regardless of race. Various levels of antioxidants and other compounds in the drinks, as well as additives like milk and sugar, might play a role, he said.

Dr. Schisterman noted that more research was needed to see if there could be a cumulative impact over many years or decades. “We don’t know if there are long-term effects of these small shifts in hormonal levels, ” he said.

Other Health Consequences

Despite a number of studies showing the beneficial effects of coffee, there are also those that show detrimental effects on human health. Almost all publications rely on conventional sources of coffee for their studies.

Researcher Marie-Soleil Beaudoin has discovered not only that a healthy person's blood sugar levels spike after eating a high-fat meal, but that the spike doubles after having both a fatty meal and caffeinated coffee -- jumping to levels similar to those of people at risk for diabetes.

Doctors from the University of Alabama at Birmingham also revealed that women who drink decaffeinated coffee are more than twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Caffeine has recently been found to reduce muscle activity in the Fallopian tubes that carry eggs from a woman's ovaries to her womb. "Our experiments were conducted in mice, but this finding goes a long way towards explaining why drinking caffeinated drinks can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant, " says Professor Sean Ward from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, USA.

The amount of caffeine in just one cup of coffee could also be enough to harden a person's arteries for several hours afterward, according to a study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress here.

Another study suggested that heart attacks might be a risk for coffee drinkers with a common genetic trait that makes caffeine linger in their bodies.

A growing body of research suggests that caffeine disrupts glucose metabolism and may contribute to the development and poor control of type 2 diabetes, a major public health problem. The blood sugar fluctuations that a caffeine high produces can contribute enormously to cravings.

Coffee can cause the body to excrete calcium in urine. We don't want the body to rid itself of calcium because this can lead to osteoporosis. According to The Diet Channel, about five milligrams of calcium is lost per every six ounces of coffee consumed.

One of the Most Sprayed Crops in the World

The coffee plant is one of the most heavily sprayed crops. It's coated with chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides, nothing you'd want to be ingesting. These chemicals then leech into the ground water and make people sick in local areas where coffee is grown.

Even though many chemicals that have been found to be harmful to the environment have been banned or are strictly regulated in the U.S. or Europe, they remain legal to use in less-developed countries, including many countries that grow coffee.

For instance, workers in these countries may be less likely to be well-informed about the dangers of the chemicals, less likely to be provided with protective gear, and less informed about proper application methods (see this abstract, for example). These regions are also much higher in biodiversity and ecosystem complexity, increasing the risk to the environment.

Here are just some of the more common chemicals used on coffee farms to control major pests and pathogens:

Endosulfan (brand nameThiodan) -- used against coffee cherry borer. Does not dissolve readily (but does degrade) in water and sticks to soil particles, so may take years to completely break down. Its breakdown products are more persistent than parent compounds. It is toxic to mammals, birds, and fish. Effects the central nervous system, and in animals causes kidney, testes, and liver damage. Class II (moderately hazardous).

Colombia has considered endosulfan worse than the coffee cherry borer. In that country, more than 100 human poisonings and one death were attributed to endosulfan use in coffee during 1993; more than 100 poisonings and three deaths were reported in 1994. Here is an article on endosulfan.

Chlorpyrifos (brand name Dursban). A broad spectrum organophosphate used against coffee cherry borer and coffee leaf miner. In the U.S. , the Environmental Protection Agency banned most household uses in 2000. It is a contact poison. It has caused human deaths, and has been linked to birth defects. It is extremely toxic to birds, freshwater and marine organisms, bees, and other wildlife. It can bioaccumulate and effect bird reproduction. Class II. A recent report on exposure and risks (especially to children) of chlorpyrifos from the Organic Center is here.

Diazinon (brand name Basudin).
Used against coffee borer. Not very toxic to mammals unless inhaled, it is nonetheless highly toxic to wildlife and beneficial insects, and acutely toxic to birds. In the U.S. where it is still commonly used on turfgrass, diazinon has caused the second largest number of total known incidents of bird mortality of any pesticide. Class II. Another profile here.

Disulfoton. 
A systemic organophosphate insecticide used against leaf miner. In the U.S. , restricted use due to its high toxicity to mammals by all routes of exposure. It is also highly toxic to birds and fish. Secondary exposure and poisoning occurs after birds feed on insects that have consumed residue-laden plants; these insects are impaired by the disulfoton and are easier for birds to capture, compounding the problem. High levels of toxins can be attained in this manner and has resulted in avian mortality in connection with disulfoton use. It is delivered in granular form, which poses the threat of runoff and contamination of other crops when applied on slopes, on which coffee is often grown. Degrades or is metabolized by plants into harmful compounds that are very persistent in the environment. Class 1a, extremely hazardous (highest toxicity). Another profile here.

Methyl parathion (a.k.a. ethyl parathion, parathion). Organophosphate used against leaf miner. One of the most toxic pesticides, highly restricted in U.S. Very toxic to birds when ingested or through skin exposure. Also highly toxic to animals and fish. Persistent in soil and will bioaccumulate. Areas sprayed with this chemical should not be entered for 48 hours. It is banned in Indonesia and restricted in Colombia, but Pesticide Action Network reports that there is evidence that methyl parathion is not used safely in Central America and is regularly misused in developing countries. Class 1a, extremely hazardous.

Triadimefon (brand name Bayleton). Copper-based fungicide used to against coffee rust. Only slightly toxic to birds, little is known about its effect on humans, but it is a suspected that there is potential for reproductive problems with chronic exposure. It has been found to induce hyperactivity in rats. The major concern is that long-term use of this and other copper-based fungicides is copper accumulation in soils, such as been found in coffee farms in Kenya and in Costa Rica. Copper toxicity has been found in other crops grown in these soils, and copper impacts other biochemical and biological processes in soil, and little is known about long-term effects in tropical ecosystems. The primary metabolite of triadimefon is triadimenol, which is Class III (slightly hazardous). Another profile here.

Cypermethrin. A synthetic pyrethroid used against coffee cherry borer. Generally low direct toxicity to birds, but ingestion via contaminated insects causes mortality in young birds. Extremely toxic to fish other aquatic organisms, and should not be applied any place where it may drift into water. Class II.

Decaffeinated coffee goes through additional processing where caffeine is removed with chemicals. Conventional decaffeinated coffee often has more chemicals that regular.

The original article can be found HERE

Women: Caffeine May Reduce Your Ability To Have Children

Sperm Can Be Stored In Females' Bodies For Years, Study Shows

The Huffington Post  
by Rebecca Searles
First Posted: 01/26/2012 1:38 pm Updated: 01/26/2012 1:46 pm

Sometimes babies come along at inopportune times - after sex, the human body can only delay fertilization for 3 to 5 days. But what if each woman had her own personal sperm bank? What if she could hold on to sperm until she felt ready to get pregnant?

Researchers have found many females in the natural world possess the nifty ability to store sperm within their bodies for weeks and even years. In the past decade, scientists have discovered that female birds, reptiles, insects, and even whale sharks use this uncanny reproductive method. By keeping the sperm on hold, researchers say, a female can start pregnancy at her leisure.

One of the most extreme examples of this trait exists in queen ants. They can fertilize their eggs with sperm stored for up to 30 years.

But how these sneaky females pull it off?

Dr. Klaus Reinhardt from the University of Sheffield has a new study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which found that female crickets are able to store sperm within by slowing the sperm's aging process to prolong its viability.

By analyzing sperm taken from female crickets' reproductive tracts, Reinhardt and his team monitored the metabolic rate of male crickets' sperm and how many 'free radicals' it produced - measures of the sperm's aging process. The scientists found that both the metabolic rate and the level of free radicals of stored sperm were much lower than that of un-stored sperm. By dampening the aging process, females can keep sperm alive almost indefinitely.

Not interested in cricket sex? Dr. Reinhardt pointed to a practical application of this finding, saying it suggests that commonly used semen analysis tests may not accurately gauge whether a man is able to father children.

"Infertility tests on sperm are notoriously unreliable, and this could be one reason why," Dr. Reinhardt said in a written statement. "Females could be manipulating sperm."

Read the original Huffington Post by Rebecca Searles article HERE

PCOS: my journey to motherhood

Another Case history of infertility successfully treated by homeopath, Dr Johan P Prinsloo in Parent24.com

Before she fell pregnant with her son, Alexander, Antonella Dési tried for two years. This is her story.

By Antonella Dési

Pic: Getty Images

Article originally in Parent24

Related Articles

• Can homeopathy treat PCOS?
• PCOS: the insulin link
• Overcoming infertility

When my gynaecologist told me I had PCOS, I didn’t think much of it, until that is, she said that it could have severe negative effects on me trying to conceive. I remember my heart stopping when she said this – all I had ever wanted to do was to have baby of my own. This diagnosis marked the beginning of my two-and-a-half-year battle with “infertility”, which I am glad to say, I finally overcame.

I was 28 years old when I was diagnosed with the syndrome, but I had been displaying symptoms of PCOS since my early teens. The symptoms I thought were just the result of unfortunate genes – excessive hairiness (which I put down to my Italian heritage), bad skin and stubborn extra weight that was exceptionally difficult to lose. The one and only symptom that I mistakenly and very naively thought was not too bad, was the fact that I only menstruated around three to six times a year.

All of these symptoms, bar the hairiness, tended to disappear when I was on the contraceptive pill – unlike most of my friends, I actually lost weight on the pill, my skin cleared up and my periods became to-the-minute regular – that is, until I stopped taking it, and then everything returned to the way it was before.

Even though I had been going for annual pap smears since I was 18 years old (cervical cancer is common in my family), not one of the gynaecologists I went to actually diagnosed me with PCOS. Fortunately, my current gynaecologist, Dr Sumayya Ebrahim made the diagnosis during my annual visit, after I told her that I was having trouble falling pregnant after being off the pill for a year. She told me that she could prescribe some medication, called Clomid, which ought to induce ovulation.

Dr Ebrahim spoke to me at length about the side effects of Clomid, informing me that like all drugs, Clomid affects each individual differently. She listed the common side effects as including abdominal bloating, abdominal and breast tenderness, skin changes, headaches and mood swings. What she failed to impress on me however, was that Clomid would not only make me ovulate, but that it would turn me into a hormonal, raving mad, devil woman, who truly and honestly thought she was losing her mind. Not only did this put strain on my marriage, but it went so far that I sought the advice of a psychologist, who informed me that it was probably the Clomid that was making me feel this way.

I decided to stop taking the medication and my mental state immediately improved. I consulted with Dr Ebrahim again, telling her that I had decided to stop taking Clomid, and she said that the next feasible option was to visit a fertility clinic. The idea of visiting a fertility clinic scared me – from the perspective of the hormonal and emotional ordeal it promised, as well as the exorbitant cost.

I understood that ultimately I would pay anything to become a mother, but I was also desperately looking for a more “natural” alternative that wouldn’t transform me into the hormonal heap of emotions that put such strain on me and my relationship. It was around this time that my sister-in-law told me that her sister, another sufferer of PCOS, had recently fallen pregnant by undergoing treatment from homeopath, Dr Johan P Prinsloo. I got his number and traveled all the way from Johannesburg to visit him in Pretoria.

Dr Prinsloo spoke to me for an hour – asking me a wide range of various questions, which I remember thinking were relatively irrelevant, but I answered them anyway. After that, he pricked my finger, took a sample of my blood on a glass slide and disappeared into his back rooms to diagnose it. After 10 or 15 minutes, he returned and advised me to stop using any form of lubricant, to use pads instead of tampons, and to take the drops and pills he had prescribed three times a day. He also told me not to worry about quitting smoking just yet, as it would stress me out and that stress is far more damaging for possible conception than smoking is. His advice to me was to carry on as normal – to enjoy life, have fun with my husband and to try and forget about babies.

I felt completely normal and at ease on Dr Prinsloo’s treatment, however, after taking it for eight months, nothing much happened, I lost faith in the treatment and stopped taking it. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would need to go to a fertility clinic, Vitalab, and made an appointment for a month’s time. My husband came with me to the clinic, where the fertility specialist, Dr Stephan Volschenk, asked me a few questions and performed an internal ultra sound examination, where he showed us my ovaries and the cysts. As expected, he diagnosed me PCOS and explained that I should expect a difficult road ahead to successfully fall pregnant. After seeing him, I was transferred to one of his consulting nurses, who prescribed the various medication and a blood test once my first menstrual cycle started.

Exactly four days later, I went for lunch with my older sister, Nicolina. I told her about the pending treatment and during the course of the meal, I also complained of my breasts being sore, which I thought was a good sign as it probably signalled the beginning of my period. Nicolina was insistent that I take a pregnancy test, even though I shirked her off believing that this was an impossibility, especially in light of the fact that I had just been to see a specialist.

“Surely he would’ve picked up on the fact that I was pregnant during the ultrasound, and besides, I have been told that I can’t fall pregnant on my own,” I thought.

Later that day, Nicolina visited me at home with a pregnancy test she had bought for me and insisted I take the test. And that was when I found out I was pregnant!

The next day, at an appointment with Dr. Ebrahim, she showed my husband and myself the heartbeat of my new son, who she told me was nine weeks old already. What a miracle!

Have you struggled to fall pregnant? Share your story below or visit our Trying like you forum.
 
Read more on: antonella dési  |  dr stephan volschenk  |  dr sumayya ebrahim  |  johannesburg  |  pretoria  |  pcos  |  my journey to motherhood  |  clomid

The original article can be read HERE

Can homeopathy treat PCOS?

Homeopath Dr Johan P Prinsloo discusses this common cause of infertility in Parent24.com

Antonella Dési with Dr Johan P Prinsloo

Pic: Getty Images

Article originally in Parent24

Related Articles

• PCOS: the insulin link
• PCOS: my journey to motherhood
• Overcoming infertility

One of the most important aspects of infertility treatment is a lack of insight stemming from a lack of education and detail, leading patients to make wrong decisions. It is becoming such a niche money-making market that more and more patients are being taken for a ride with one-stop remedies and standardised protocols that cannot be effective in each case.

Homeopathic infertility treatment attends to the environment, the health and status of the patient and the entire reproductive system, including the uterus, cervix, ovaries, and so on. Although there is of course a place for treatments such as IVF (in vitro fertilisation), AI (artificial insemination), and other techniques, their success will always rely on the health of the environment.

Such interventions would be much more successful if they were done in conjunction with homeopathic treatment of infertility. One would be able to achieve a much higher success rate if only the conventional medical profession was prepared to work with their homeopathic counterparts. After all, we are supposed to be working towards the same common goal.

The focus of homeopathic treatment is upon the environment, the health state of the uterus, endometrium, healthy natural ovulation and production of a healthy ovum. This is done by treating endometritis, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and everything that is involved in ensuring successful fertilisation, implantation and eventually a healthy pregnancy. It is also important to maintain normal hormonal balance. This is done with low potency and tincture preparations, which both supplement and restore balance, without massive increases in certain hormones that tip the balance unfavourably.

How long does the homeopathic treatment take to be effective?
Infertility treatment usually ranges from between three to six months. It may be longer, depending on the individual patient’s range of problems and history.

What do you think causes PCOS?
I’m of the opinion that our current lifestyle has much to do with it. The incidence of PCOS is on the increase and we are being bombarded with hormones in our diet. Red meat, chicken and eggs all contain hormones. Pseudo oestrogens resulting from the increased use of plastic containers also contribute to PCOS. The other problem of course is the rise in diabetes type 2. It is well known that blood sugar and insulin levels affect fertility and have an effect on PCOS.

What should women trying to fall pregnant avoid?
I am greatly opposed to the use of tampons, since they contain dioxin. In the USA, dioxin has been linked directly to thousands of cases of Toxic Shock Syndrome. Also, many lubricants have spermicidal properties and women should make sure that the particular lubricant they use is not spermicidal. It should not be necessary for women to use lubricants and vaginal dryness is one of the problems that should be addressed in their treatment of infertility.

Read more on: antonella dési  |  dr jp prinsloo  |  ivf  |  ai  |  homeopathy  |  pcos 
 
Read the original article HERE

Monsantos Best-Selling Herbicide Roundup Linked To Infertility

Sat 21 Jan 2012 14:48
By  Andre Evans - Activist Post

A recent study has found that Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide may be responsible for causing infertility. After reviewing the many already well-documented negative impacts Roundup has on the environment and living creatures, it is no surprise to add yet another item to the list.

Monsanto’s Best-Selling Herbicide Roundup Linked to Infertility
Researchers tested roundup on mature male rats at a concentration range between 1 and 10,000 parts per million (ppm), and found that within 1 to 48 hours of exposure, testicular cells of the mature rats were either damaged or killed. According to the study, even at a concentration of 1 ppm, the Roundup was able to affect the test subjects by decreasing their testosterone concentrations by as much as 35%.

How can such small levels of exposure have such a profound effect on the reproductive system?

Roundup, being a glyphosate-based herbicide is also known to have endocrine disrupting properties.

Much like BPA, glyphosate-based herbicides have the ability to interfere with the natural hormonal balance in the human body, thereby introducing a number of health risks along with even the smallest levels of exposure. These chemicals are strong enough to affect your metabolism, behavior and mood, reproductive organs, and even provoke cancer.

As a result, any plants that are sprayed with Roundup carry with them a chemical effect similar to that of other endocrine disruptors, offsetting the hormonal balance and causing adverse effects, despite even the smallest levels of exposure. This in part contributes to the number of males with increased fertility issues in more recent times.

It is no surprise that Monsanto, a company already infamous for a whole slew of dangerous concoctions, would also be responsible for affecting another major aspect of human health on a large scale.

Ultimately it is highly important to avoid any products sprayed with pesticides or herbicides for the many associated health risks – now fertility included. In addition to avoiding food which has been tarnished by this pesticide, you may also want to consider investing in a water filter. Glyphosate, the carcinogenic chemical Roundup contains, has been found to be contaminating the groundwater in areas where it is being applied.

Being aware of the hormonal disruptors you face in your daily life such as BPA and now Roundup is a must. Even the smallest levels of exposure can have large negative effects.

Original article can be found HERE

World’s Top Commercial Weed Killer Linked to Infertility: Scientist

LifeSiteNews.com
May 11, 2011

The world’s top herbicide for decades has come under criticism after evidence surfaced suggesting that the chemical may be linked to infertility and miscarriage in animals, raising serious concerns about the possible effect on human consumers.

Glyphosate is the weed-killing ingredient introduced over 30 years ago by the multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto under the brand name Roundup. Monsanto also produces “Roundup Ready” corn, soybeans and cotton genetically engineered to withstand large doses of Roundup that would be deadly to normal plants.


But Dr. Don Huber, professor emeritus at Purdue University and a well-known plant pathologist, wrote to both American and European officials earlier this year to express his concern over a newly-discovered, extremely small organism that has appeared in higher concentrations in conjunction with Roundup and Roundup Ready crops.

The “electron microscopic pathogen,” Huber wrote in a Jan 16 letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, “appears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human beings,” noting that preliminary experiments have been able to reproduce the pathogen’s effect of causing miscarriages.

Huber urged the Secretary to delay deregulation of Roundup Ready crops, saying that “such approval could be a calamity.” “I believe the threat we are facing from this pathogen is unique and of a high risk status. In layman’s terms, it should be treated as an emergency,” he wrote.

Lyndsay Cole, media coordinator for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, told LifeSiteNews.com Tuesday that Vilsack had received the letter and encouraged “submission of any data or studies in support of his concerns.”

Eleven days after the date of Huber’s letter, the USDA announced its decision to fully deregulate Roundup Ready Alfalfa.

Huber’s letter was only one of many criticisms aimed at Monsanto recently, with several environmentalist groups and others calling for a global ban on the product that has netted the company billions in sales despite its troubling environmental track record. More evidence of the danger of glyphosate emerged in 2010; a study by scientists in Argentina concluded that glyphosate caused mutations in embryonic frogs and chicks, according to Reuters.

Glyphosate-based herbicides have also been available under generic brand names after Monsanto’s patent expired in 2000.

Reuters reports that the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the possible dangers of glyphosate and has set a deadline of 2015 for determining what action, if any, the government should take against it.

Alcohol in Pregnancy: It’s Never Safe, Especially Not in the First Trimester

A new study finds that the developmental hazards of maternal drinking may be greatest at the end of the first trimester.

By Alice Park | @aliceparkny | January 18, 2012



Drinking and pregnancy don’t mix, but when are babies most vulnerable to the effects of alcohol?

The end of the first trimester appears to be the period when alcohol can wreak the most havoc on fetal development, causing physical deformities as well as behavioral and cognitive symptoms, according to research in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

According to the March of Dimes, about 1 in 12 women admit to drinking during pregnancy, and 1 in 30 say they binge-drink, or consume five or more drinks at one sitting. Exposure to alcohol in utero leads to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in about 40,000 newborns every year in the U.S. While adults can break down alcohol relatively safely, still-developing fetuses tend to keep more alcohol in their blood, which can hinder the development of brain and body.

MORE: Study OK’s Light Drinking During Pregnancy. Too Good to Be True?

Between 1978 and 2005, scientists at the University of California, San Diego worked with 992 women who provided information about how much alcohol they drank — as well as other substances they used — every three months during their pregnancies.

For every one additional drink the mothers consumed between their 43rd and 84th days of pregnancy, their babies had a 16% greater chance of being born smaller than average, which may put them at greater risk for mental and physical problems. Their infants were also more likely to have birth defects, such as a 25% higher risk of a smooth ridge linking the nose and upper lip, a 12% increased risk of an abnormally small head and a 22% greater chance of unusually thin upper lips.

MORE: What Scientists Know About the First Nine Months

While the data reinforce current guidelines that expectant moms avoid alcohol, it’s particularly difficult for those in the first days of pregnancy, especially since 50% of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. That means most women may not even become aware they are pregnant until the middle or end of the first trimester.

So even women who may not be planning to become pregnant should be aware of the risks of alcohol on developing fetuses. As Tom Donaldson, president of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome told USA Today, “One of the challenges has been determining what are the windows of risk and the patterns in timing and quantity of alcohol use. This article very clearly demonstrates that risk begins with any use.”

The authors agree, writing that:

Based on our findings, there is no safe threshold for alcohol consumption during pregnancy with respect to selected alcohol-related physical features. Women who are of childbearing age and who are contemplating or at risk of becoming pregnant should be encouraged to avoid drinking, and women who are pregnant should abstain from alcohol throughout pregnancy.

Alice Park is a writer at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @aliceparkny . You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

Original article can be found HERE

African viewpoint: Jammeh, Aids and infertility

29 November 2011

In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, former BBC Focus on Africa deputy editor and Ghanaian government minister Elizabeth Ohene recalls meeting The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh, who was re-elected last week, after he seized power in a coup in 1994.

As I followed the election news coming out of The Gambia last week, my mind invariably went down memory lane.

It came as no surprise that President Yahya Jammeh was declared winner with 72% of the vote, giving him a fourth five-year term.

Seventeen years ago when Mr Jammeh - then aged 29 - staged a coup that overthrew The Gambia's first President Sir Dawda Jawara, I went to report from the country and I met the fresh-faced young man who sounded like all the other young military men in Africa at the time.

Mr Jammeh's inspiration and role-models were Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, Valentine Strasser of Sierra Leone and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.

I had a memorable interview with him then and again in 1996 when he was under intense diplomatic pressure to return the country to constitutional rule.

I remember he tried to sound confident and even authoritative but every once in a while his nerves failed him.

And last week, when BBC Focus on Africa's Umaru Fofana asked him if he would accept defeat if he lost, Mr Jammeh asked if he looked like a loser, to applause from the crowd around him.

Back in 1996, a few of the friends that he started out with had already fallen out with him and I took a deep breath when someone in the capital, Banjul, told me I should be careful and not think that I was protected by my BBC badge.

'Murders'

A quote from my old notebook reads: "If he thinks you are threatening his position, you will disappear."

I don't remember what I made of that warning but I recall being more amused than frightened by Mr Jammeh's antics.


Post-independence leader Dawda Jawara (l) was toppled by Yahya Jammeh
Fast forward to the year 2005, when a group of 44 hapless Ghanaians and nine other West Africans were to experience what happens when the president of The Gambia is perceived to be under threat.

The security forces arrested and killed them, suspecting they were mercenaries when they were, in fact, migrants trying to make their way to Europe.

Mr Jammeh eventually paid $500,000 to Ghana in compensation for those murders.

Seventeen years ago he hadn't yet acquired all the titles that are now obligatory adjuncts to his name but he already certainly had illusions of grandeur.

You had to be blind not to see that he would be better for The Gambia than Mr Jawara was, Mr Jammeh told me.

His belief that The Gambia has achieved more during his 17 years in office then during 400 years of British rule must have occurred to him later.

When I heard Umaru's interview with him, he came across as unabashed, unapologetic and indeed quite proud to say that The Gambia was "hell for journalists" - even in those early days journalists were not his favourite people and some learnt the hard way not to upset the young leader.

The bit I couldn't have predicted was Jammeh the healer. Not only did he announce in 2007 that he had discovered a herbal cure for HIV/Aids, he now has a cure for infertility as well.

The government's official website carries reports of barren women being kept in villages for the president's wonder cure.

Aged 46 and with no apparent likelihood of Gambians being tempted to lose their marbles at polling booths, the chances are His Excellency Sheikh, Professor, Alhaji, Doctor Yahya AJJ Jammeh will be around for a long time as President and Commander in Chief of the Republic of The Gambia.

The Arab Spring might find it difficult to cross the Sahara desert.

In West Africa, our weather pattern does not include spring - we have only dry and rainy seasons.

I only wish I had the opportunity to interview him again. I suspect he won't talk to me now.

Read original article here

Common Herbicide Used in 60 Countries and Found in Rain Water Causes Infertility

November 30, 2011

An international team of researchers has reviewed the evidence linking exposure to atrazine -- an herbicide widely used in the U.S. and more than 60 other nations -- to reproductive problems in animals. The team found consistent patterns of reproductive dysfunction in amphibians, fish, reptiles and mammals exposed to the chemical.

Atrazine is the second-most widely used herbicide in the U.S. More than 75 million pounds of it are applied to corn and other crops, and it is the most commonly detected pesticide contaminant of groundwater, surface water and rain in the U.S.

Men exposed to high amounts of the substances are far more likely than men with less contact to have diluted or deformed and sluggish sperm. Each of the semen problems can reduce the ability of sperm to reach and fertilize an egg and could make conception harder.

The new review, compiled by 22 scientists studying atrazine in North and South America, Europe and Japan, appears in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

High levels of exposure to the herbicide were previously associated with a 30-fold increased risk of diluted or struggling sperm.

The researchers looked at studies linking atrazine exposure to abnormal androgen (male hormone) levels in fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals and studies that found a common association between exposure to the herbicide and the “feminization” of male gonads in many animals.

The most robust findings are in amphibians, said University of Illinois comparative biosciences professor Val Beasley, a co-author of the review. At least 10 studies found that exposure to atrazine feminizes male frogs, sometimes to the point of sex reversal, he said.

Beasley’s lab was one of the first to find that male frogs exposed to atrazine in the wild were more likely to have both male and female gonadal tissue than frogs living in an atrazine-free environment. And in a 2010 study, Tyrone Hayes, a professor of integrative biology at the University of California at Berkeley and lead author of the review, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that atrazine exposure in frogs was associated with “genetic males becoming females and functioning as females,” Beasley said.

“And this is not at extremely high concentrations,” he said. “These are at concentrations that are found in the environment.”

Researchers have previously found that long-term exposure to even very low levels of atrazine -- 2.5 parts per billion of water -- emasculated three-quarters of laboratory frogs and turned one in 10 into females. Scientists believe the pesticide interferes with endocrine hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone.

The new review describes the disruptions of hormone function and sexual development reported in studies of mammals, frogs, fish, reptiles and human cells exposed to the herbicide. The studies found that atrazine exposure can change the expression of genes involved in hormone signaling, interfere with metamorphosis, inhibit key enzymes that control estrogen and androgen production, skew the sex ratio of wild and laboratory animals (toward female) and otherwise disrupt the normal reproductive development and functioning of males and females.

“One of the things that became clear in writing this paper is that atrazine works through a number of different mechanisms,” Hayes said. “It’s been shown that it increases production of (the stress hormone) cortisol. It’s been shown that it inhibits key enzymes in steroid hormone production while increasing others. It’s been shown that it somehow prevents androgen from binding to its receptor.”

The review also consolidates the evidence that atrazine undermines immune function in a variety of animals, in part by increasing cortisol.

“Cortisol is a nonspecific response to chronic stress,” Beasley said. “But guess what? Wildlife in many of today’s habitats are stressed a great deal of the time. They’re stressed because they’re crowded into little remnant habitats. They’re stressed because there’s not enough oxygen in the water because there are not enough plants in the water (another consequence of herbicide use). They’re stressed because of other contaminants in the water. And the long-term release of cortisol causes them to be immuno-suppressed.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy organization, released a report in August 2009 that documented spikes of atrazine in the water supplies of Midwestern and Southern agricultural areas where the pesticide is primarily applied.

Home or municipal carbon filters can remove atrazine from water but some water filtration systems in small towns are not equipped to filter out atrazine. Water systems in a handful of states have sued atrazine's manufacturers in an effort to force them to pay for removing the pesticide from drinking water.

There also are studies that show no effects -- or different effects -- in animals exposed to atrazine, Beasley said. “But the studies are not all the same. There are different species, different times of exposure, different stages of development and different strains within a species.” All in all, he said, the evidence that atrazine harms animals, particularly amphibians and other creatures that encounter it in the water, is compelling.

“I hope this will stimulate policymakers to look at the totality of the data and ask very broad questions,” Hayes said. “Do we want this stuff in our environment? Do we want -- knowing what we know -- our children to drink this stuff? I would think the answer would be no.”

Pesticides Tied To Semen Trouble

Merck’s Profits Explode as Government-Backed HPV Shot Gardasil Sales Skyrocket

Activist Post: Merck’s Profits Explode as Government-Backed HPV Shot Gardasil Sales Skyrocket:

Mega drug manufacturer Merck & Co. is reporting a major increase in third-quarter profits due in part to the skyrocketing sales of death-linked HPV shot Gardasil – up 41 percent to $445 million thanks to government backing and a hugely successful yet deceptive ad campaign targeted at unsuspecting parents and children.

The overall value of Merck shares rose 80 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $35.11. The numbers are up from a year ago, when the company was hit with huge acquisition and legal charges. Of course behind the monetary surge in Gardasil sales is the horribly corrupt marketing and political techniques used to boost Merck out of economic downfall.

When it comes to Gardasil, Merck is more concerned about pushing the shot on children and generating a profit than examining the true effects of the shot.

Read more HERE

BPA Exposure During Pregnancy Found to Make Young Girls Hyperactive, Depressed

Activist Post: BPA Exposure During Pregnancy Found to Make Young Girls Hyperactive, Depressed:

A new study has found that pregnant women exposed to high levels of the estrogen-mimicking health destroyer bisphenol A (BPA) can lead to female offspring becoming depressed, hyperactive, and anxious — all at the early age of 3.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is particularly troubling due to the fact that it also found that 97% of women have BPA in their blood and urine.

The study found BPA in 97% of the 240 pregnant women exampled, as well as 97% of their children. This means that the BPA contamination was passed down to almost every child (if not every child) from their equally-affected mothers within the 97%. In another study, BPA was found in 9 out of 10 unborn babies’ umbilical cords.

Read more HERE