Consumer Reports Find Arsenic and Lead in Juices

December 1, 2011

Findings of a Consumer Reports investigation about arsenic and lead levels in apple juice and grape juice have prompted the organization to call for government standards to limit consumers’ exposure to these toxins.

One of the greatest scams of the industrial food cartel was exposed when it was found that the so-called “fresh” orange juice sold in supermarkets is not fresh at all. Now apple and grape juice can be added to the list of toxic fruit juices.
The tests of 88 samples of apple juice and grape juice purchased in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut by Consumer Reports staffers found that 10 percent of those samples had total arsenic levels exceeding federal drinking-water standards of 10 parts per billion (ppb) and 25 percent had lead levels higher than the 5 ppb limit for bottled water set by the Food and Drug Administration. Most of the arsenic detected in our tests was the type called inorganic, which is a human carcinogen. For our complete test results download Consumer Reports Arsenic Test Results January 2012.pdf.

Arsenic has long been recognized as a poison and a contaminant in drinking water, but now concerns are growing about arsenic in foods, especially in fruit juices that are a mainstay for children.

Controversy over arsenic in apple juice made headlines as the school year began when Mehmet Oz, M.D., host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” told viewers that tests he’d commissioned found 10 of three dozen apple-juice samples with total arsenic levels exceeding 10 parts per billion (ppb). There’s no federal arsenic threshold for juice or most foods, though the limit for bottled and public water is 10 ppb. The Food and Drug Administration, trying to reassure consumers about the safety of apple juice, claimed that most arsenic in juices and other foods is of the organic type that is “essentially harmless.”

But an investigation by Consumer Reports shows otherwise:

• Roughly 10 percent of our juice samples, from five brands, had total arsenic levels that exceeded federal drinking-water standards. Most of that arsenic was inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen.
• One in four samples had lead levels higher than the FDA’s bottled-water limit of 5 ppb. As with arsenic, no federal limit exists for lead in juice.
• Apple and grape juice constitute a significant source of dietary exposure to arsenic, according to our analysis of federal health data from 2003 through 2008.
• Children drink a lot of juice. Thirty-five percent of children 5 and younger drink juice in quantities exceeding pediatricians’ recommendations, our poll of parents shows.
• Mounting scientific evidence suggests that chronic exposure to arsenic and lead even at levels below water standards can result in serious health problems.
• Inorganic arsenic has been detected at disturbing levels in other foods, too, which suggests that more must be done to reduce overall dietary exposure.

The investigation included an analysis of the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2003 to 2008. The results of that analysis suggest that these juices may be an important contributor to dietary arsenic exposure. Through interviews with physicians and authors of peer-reviewed studies, Consumer Reports also found mounting scientific evidence suggesting that chronic exposure to arsenic and lead even at levels below federal standards for water can result in serious health problems, especially for those who are exposed in the womb or during early childhood. FDA data and other research reveal that arsenic has been detected at disturbing levels in other foods as well.
While federal limits exist for arsenic and lead levels in bottled and drinking water, no limits are defined for fruit juices, which a recent Consumer Reports’ poll of parents confirms are a mainstay of many children’s diets. The FDA says when a fruit juice sample has 23 ppb or more of total arsenic, it will retest the sample to determine how much of it is inorganic, because according to the agency’s 2008 hazard assessment, 23 ppb of inorganic arsenic would represent a potential health risk. But that 23 ppb “level of concern” is not a mandatory limit, nor is it based on arsenic’s well-established cancer risks.
A call for arsenic standards for juice

Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, believes the FDA’s “level of concern” is an inadequate reference point for establishing a protective limit for public health. Based on Consumer Reports’ test findings, Consumers Union is urging the FDA to set a more protective standard of 3 ppb for total arsenic and 5 ppb for lead in juice. Such standards are attainable: 41 percent of the samples Consumer Reports tested would meet both thresholds.
Consumers Union was encouraged by recent discussions with FDA officials and by an FDA letter to the consumer advocacy groups Food & Water Watch and Empire State Consumer Project indicating that the agency is considering setting guidance for the level of inorganic arsenic permissible in apple juice. The agency announced that its new initiatives include collecting and analyzing up to 90 samples of apple juice from retailers across the U.S. by the end of 2011 and analyzing levels of organic and inorganic arsenic in other types of juice as well.
Consumers Union believes that the FDA already has the data it needs to set juice standards, and that a guidance level must be followed by the establishment of a legally binding standard.
The FDA’s data

Earlier this month, when the Consumer Reports story was going to press, the FDA had posted on its website results for 70 samples of apple juice and concentrate it had tested from fiscal years 2005 through 2011 as part of a program it launched to test for specific toxins such as arsenic in imported and domestic products.
Then in late November, the agency posted eight previously undisclosed test results for apple juice samples from that data set containing total arsenic levels greater than 23 ppb.
Five samples were from 2008: two samples with arsenic levels of 27 ppb, one with 42 ppb, and two others with 45 ppb. The three other test results included a 2009 sample at 25 ppb and two 2010 samples with levels of 26 ppb and 34 ppb. FDA stated that those results had not been disclosed before because they were “in the process of being further verified.”
When asked why the process took so long, an FDA spokeswoman said that the samples should have been posted at the same time as the other results and that the agency is developing procedures to ensure that in the future, “data that are posted indeed represent the complete set.”

Even though all eight samples exceeded 23 ppb total arsenic, the agency tested only three of them to measure how much of the total was inorganic arsenic. Of those three, one 2010 sample contained 43 ppb inorganic arsenic; the entire shipment associated with that sample was denied entry into the U.S. The two others had less than 23 ppb inorganic arsenic. FDA says four of the samples that did not undergo further testing were collected before the agency established its level of concern for inorganic arsenic in ready-to-drink apple juice, and that it is “currently determining what action was taken” regarding the remaining sample.
When those eight test results were added to the previous 70 samples plus results for another 82 samples the agency collected in the latter part of 2011, the cumulative total posted on FDA’s website rose to 160. Of those, 12 percent had 10 ppb or higher total arsenic and 5 percent had arsenic levels of 23 ppb or higher.
The FDA also cites test results of samples in its Total Diet Study program, which tested another 134 composite apple juice samples from 1991 to 2009. Of those, nearly a quarter tested at 10 ppb or higher and 5 percent had 23 ppb or more of total arsenic. The overall picture is that the vast majority of apple juice samples tested below the FDA’s 23 ppb level of concern, an FDA spokeswoman said.
But the level the FDA deems acceptable should be much lower, Consumers Union believes, because in establishing its level of concern the agency didn’t consider the risks of skin, lung, and bladder cancer that arsenic exposure poses to the public.

Sources:
consumerreports.org
Even "100 Percent Pure" Orange Juice Is Artificially Flavoured

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

49 Sudden Deaths, 213 Permanent Disabilities - And the Silent Plan to Poison Your Child

Posted By Dr. Mercola | November 29 2011

Story at-a-glance

• The HPV vaccine is NOT harmless like it is being promoted and has not been proven to actually prevent cervical cancer
• The HPV vaccine only protects against TWO strains of HPV associated with cancer but there are MORE THAN 100 different strains of HPV in all.
• Dr. Diane Harper, one of the lead researchers for Gardasil blew the whistle on the vaccine, saying the available data suggests the HPV vaccine's protective effects do not last beyond five years.
• The VAERS database continues to swell with reports of autoimmune disorders contracted after receiving the HPV vaccine. These side effects now include 137 reports of cervical dysplasia, and 41 reports of cervical cancer.
• HPV infection clears up on its own within two years in 90 percent of all cases. It rarely leads to cervical cancer unless the infection becomes chronic and leads to cervical changes that remain untreated. Routine pap smear testing can identify chronic HPV infection and may provide greater protection against development of cervical cancer than reliance on an HPV vaccine that has not been adequately proven to be safe or effective.

By Dr. Mercola

During a Republican debate in Tampa, Florida, presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) alleged that campaign contributions from drug company Merck—the maker of Gardasil—played "a pivotal role in Rick Perry's 2007 executive order that mandated teenage girls in Texas be inoculated against HPV," CNN reports.
The order did not go into effect, however, as it was later overturned by the legislature.
Still, it's hard to overlook the potential for undue influence and conflict of interest. Perry responded that the company gave only $5,000 to his campaign.
However, Merck has contributed:

Even Low Dose Vitamin D Slashes Flu Risk by Nearly Half

Anthony Gucciardi
Activist Post
Tue 29 Nov 2011

Vitamin D3, even when taken in low daily dosages, has been found to slash your risk of developing the flu by 42%.

If optimal ranges of vitamin D intake were utilized, the percentage would most likely climb much higher.

While conducting the study, Mitsuyoshi Urashima and colleagues at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo administered only 1,200 IU of vitamin D daily to study participants. The researchers examined 430 children between the ages of 6 and 15 between December 2008 and March 2009. Half of the participants received vitamin D3 and the other half received a placebo. 


Simply Taking Vitamin D3 Helps Tackle All Serious Flu Epidemics 
At a dosage of 1,200 IUs per day, 334 of the children fully completed the study.

In order to diagnose the presence of influenza Types A and B, researchers used nose and throat swabs on both groups.

What they found was that only 18 of the children taking vitamin D3 were infected with influenza Type A, while the number rose to 31 in the placebo group.

The difference between the two groups regarding infection rates indicates a 42% decreased risk of developing the flu simply by taking vitamin D3.

Interestingly, Type A influenza includes all serious flu epidemics, including seasonal flus and even the swine flu.

So if 1,200 IUs per day is low, what is the optimal daily dosage of vitamin D?

Amazingly, the children in the study are actually taking 1,300 IUs less than what is recommended to children by Canada’s Public Health Agency. According to the organization, children between the ages of 5 and 10 should be taking 2,500 IUs per day. In addition, the guidelines state that adults should be taking 5,000 IUs daily. Therefore, 1,200 IUs is not even adequate for young children.

It is important to keep in mind that these are typical standardized doses, and only through a blood test will you be able to properly analyze your vitamin D levels. The correct test you should receive is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D. You will want to ensure that you are in the optimal vitamin D level range. The optimal range is 50-70 ng/ml, though anything over 100 is in excess. In contrast, 50 ng/ml or below is in the deficient range.

Here is an image to summarize the ranges:



Vitamin D supplementation is a simple method of slashing your flu risk and improving overall health. I encourage you to receive a blood test, which can be done through your general doctor, and optimize your vitamin D levels.

Explore More:

1. Vitamin D Improves Vascular Health and Lowers Blood Pressure
2. The Supplement that May Spark Your Heart Attack Risk by 30%
3. Can Vitamin D Lower Your Risk of Melanoma?
4. Vitamin E May Lower Women’s Lung Disease Risk
5. Muscle Building Slashes Diabetes Risk

Please visit Natural Society for more great health news and vaccine information.

10 Ways to Build Explosive Power for Any Sport

By Robert Rousseau, Bodyomics.com

American football players need to de-cleat players with blocks and pulverize them with tackles. Basketball competitors need to be able to lift off of the ground with enough power to navigate and sometimes go right through defenders on their way to grabbing a rebound or going up for a score. Mixed martial artists must have the explosive power to drop a man with one punch or put them on the canvas with an explosive single or double leg takedown. So what can help all of these people do their jobs?

Explosive power. In other words, the ability to gather maximum strength in a very short period of time. In fact, the gap between maximum power (developed in milliseconds) and maximum strength (a second or more) is the explosive differential gap as outlined in this article.

Just in case you want to get technical.

The good thing is that there are several ways for athletes or would be athletes to gain explosive power while training. In fact, here are 10 of them (these exercises are often done in sets-3 sets of 8, for example-check with a professional to determine what would be best for you).

Disclaimer: Never attempt any exercise without first consulting a physician to determine if the exercises or program you are attempting are right for you. In addition, contact weight lifting professionals to determine if you are executing lifts correctly as it can be highly dangerous not to.

Barbell Quarter Jump Squats: Barbell Jump squats involve performing a quarter squat. Then the practitioner explodes up during the concentric phase of the lift to the point that his/ her hips and knees propel them into the air. In other words, they jump. Upon landing the lifter should stop downward motion as soon as possible and then jump back into the air.

At first, lifters should probably use no weight at all until they get used to the movement. During this stage, they may utilize an arm swing. Then low weight may be added.

Barbell Sub- Maximum Impact Plyometric Jump Box Squats: This exercise involves a box and one must practice it with extreme caution. In fact, if you have any spine problems or are worried about such, don't practice this exercise.

Basically, a lifter must drop to a parallel squat where they merely touch the box and then explode up when doing a Barbell Sub- Maximum Impact Plyometric Jump Box Squat. Then repeat.

Given the nature of this lift, however, practitioners might just want to try the Barbell Non- Impact Plyometric Jump Squat, which is basically the same as above but with no box.

Depth Jumps: Depth jumps involve stepping off boxes-heights can vary- and upon landing on the floor with both legs at the same time, practitioners must explode into the air. The use of arm swings adds power to this exercise.

Dumbell Jerk: Start with a shoulder width stance and point the toes straight ahead. While doing this, hold dumbbells in each hand up to your shoulders with your elbows pointing straight ahead. One end of each dumbbell will actually rest on each shoulder.

From there, one should drop straight down a few inches and then explosively jump and extend up. Then-and speed is of the essence, here-one should drop straight down into a lunge position with one leg forward and the other back. The weight should be caught with one's arms fully extended in the bottom position. Stand up with the arms extended until you are upright and be careful not to take elongated steps (these should be small). The arms should be fully extended and behind the ears in the catch position.

Finger Clean: This is an interesting take on the clean. Hold a barbell out in front of you with only your fingers (no thumbs) while standing upright. When descending keep your knees in the same place. In other words, let the bar go straight down while the legs are pushed back (the lower back should stay flat) until you reach knee level. Then extend your hips, knees, and ankles but do not lift the bar yet.

Then in an explosive movement, bend down and explosively throw your elbows forward and up, catching the weight on your shoulders. Your fingers will be under the bar in the end.

Load Release Jumps: Get a sturdy bench or something similar that can hold your weight because you will be jumping on it. It's probably appropriate to once again start with no weight until you are used to the exercise. However, when you have dumbbell weight, here's what you do.

Hold the weight in front of you and quickly drop into a squat (the weight will be between your legs). Just prior to jumping up onto the bench, release the weight. Some use a weight vest while performing this exercise.

Long Box Jumps: No weight and no small boxes. Find your self a sturdy and rather high and jump as quickly onto it as possible. This tends to be a good warm up exercise.

Ravers: This one is simple. Put a barbell across your shoulders as if you were going to execute a standard squat. The difference is that you will have one foot forward and the other back. Bend your knees slightly and then quickly switch foot positions with a small jump. Do this back and forth rather forcefully.

Standing Triple Jump: With a shoulder width stance, start with a horizontal jump. Then, landing on one leg, explode up again, this time landing on the other leg. After exploding into a jump once more, practitioners will land on both legs softly and repeat.

Uphill sprints: Remember this back in high school (for all of you former high school wrestlers and football players)? Uphill sprints. Simple and it works to build explosive strength.

Put a uniform on and it works even better, or worse, depending on your outlook.

Original article can be found here

How to avoid food poisoning

How to avoid food poisoning: Health24: Digestive Health:

Food poisoning is highly unpleasant, and when severe will land you in hospital. As we've seen with the latest serious E.Coli outbreak in Europe, it can even be fatal. Make sure you always take the precautions given here to avoid it happening to you.

“Food poisoning” is a general term for infections contracted through food. Typical symptoms of food poisoning include stomach cramps, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Bacteria are the most common cause of food poisoning, followed by viruses and parasites.

There are several hundred food-borne diseases, many of which cause other symptoms besides food poisoning. Poisonous chemicals that get into food can also make you ill.

People with HIV/Aids or other immune suppressive diseases are particularly vulnerable to infections from germs in food and water, and need to take extra care. You can’t always tell if food or water is contaminated by how it looks, tastes or smells, but you can greatly reduce the risks by following the simple steps outlined below.
The table below lists the micro-organisms most commonly associated with foodborne illness and examples of foods that are typical vehicles for those illnesses:

CAUSE	FOODS MOST OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROBLEM
BACTERIA
Bacillus cereus	Reheated cooked rice, cooked meats, starchy puddings, vegetables and fish. Improper handling after cooking is a common feature of foods causing B. cereus associated foodborne illness.
Clostridium perfringens	Reheated foods including buffet dishes, cooked meat and poultry, beans, gravy, stews and soups.
Clostridium botulinum	Improperly canned (home-preserved) foods such as vegetables, fish, meat and poultry.
Escherichia coli (E.coli)	Salads and raw vegetables, undercooked meat, cheese, unpasteurised milk.
Campylobacter jejuni	Raw milk, poultry.
Listeria monocytogenes	Unpasteurised milk and milk products such as soft cheeses, raw meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, paté, smoked meat and fish, coleslaw.
Salmonella	Undercooked poultry, meat, shellfish, salads, eggs and dairy products.
Staphylococcus aureus	Ham, poultry, eggs, ice-cream, cheese, salads, custard and cream-filled pastries and gravies, are the most common sources. Improper handling of food or poor hygiene could help S.aureus spread into food.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus and other marine Vibrio	Raw and undercooked fish and shellfish.
PARASITES
Trichinella spiralis	Undercooked pork or game.
Toxoplasma gondii	Undercooked meat and poultry and raw milk.
VIRUSES
Hepatitis A virus	Shellfish, raw fruits and vegetables can be the uncommon cause of hepatitis A. Hepatitis A can be spread by contaminated food handlers inadvertently transferring the virus to the food they handle.

Source: The European Food Information Council (www.eufic.org)
Personal hygiene

• Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water, particularly:
  • after going to the toilet
  • after touching animals
  • after sneezing or blowing your nose
  • before and after food preparation
  • after touching raw meat, fish or poultry
• Try to avoid coming into contact with animal faeces. If you do, wash your hands very well - with anti-bacterial soap if possible.
• Cover wounds on your hands to prevent contamination when working with food. Make sure bandages or plasters are clean. Rubber gloves are useful for keeping both wounds and food clean.

Drinking water

• Boil drinking water first if you are unsure about whether it is safe to drink. Tap water is usually safe, but water from other sources, such as rivers and wells, is not. If boiling isn’t possible, treat the water with bleach, as follows: Mix 1 teaspoon (5ml) of bleach with 25 litres of water (a large basin-full). Leave it to stand at least two hours before drinking.
• Store safe water in a clean, covered container, preferably in the fridge.
• Make sure cold drinks and ice cubes have been made with safe water.
• Remember not to swallow unsafe water while bathing or swimming.

Food shopping

• Buy foods in amounts that can be eaten before they go off.
• Don't buy or use dented, bulging or leaking cans.
• Pre-packaged, sealed cold meats and cheeses are safer.
• Don't buy cracked eggs: the cracks allow germs to enter.
• Don't buy foods after their “sell by” date. Throw out foods at home that have reached their expiry date, and don't even taste food if you suspect it has gone off.
• Avoid foods that have been home-bottled.

Choosing, preparing and storing food

• If you’re not sure where food comes from or how it’s been prepared, don’t eat it.
• Keep food away from animals.
• Cover food to keep insects off it.

Fruits and vegetables

• Peel fresh fruits and vegetables or wash them with clean water.
• Throw out moldy or rotten fruits or vegetables.

Milk and milk products

• Use pasteurised milk. (Milk is heated to high temperatures to destroy germs.) Home-produced milk should be boiled before use.
• Throw out moldy cheese. Avoid cheeses that contain live molds, like blue cheese, Brie and Camembert.
• Don't eat wild mushrooms, unless you are absolutely sure they are safe.

Meat

• Never eat raw meat, poultry or fish.
• Cook meat thoroughly. (It shouldn’t be pink inside.) Ask to have your meat well done when eating at restaurants or friends’ houses.
• Avoid seafood that does not come from a known, safe source.

Eggs

• Never eat raw eggs. Cook eggs until the white and yolk are firm.
• Don’t use cracked eggs.
• Wash eggs before breaking them.

Frozen food

• Food should be kept either hot or cold. Keep cold foods cold:
• Keep frozen foods frozen until you’re ready to eat them.
• Pick up frozen foods last, and hurry home with them or pack them with ice in a cooler bag.
• Don’t keep foods in your freezer longer than a month.
• Once food has defrosted, it should be used as soon as possible, and not refrozen.
• Don’t defrost frozen meat at room temperature, which is warm enough to give germs the chance to grow. Defrost frozen meat or other frozen foods in a fridge. If you don’t have a fridge, defrost food in a cool place. Microwave ovens are also good for quick defrosting.

Keep hot foods hot:

• Eat food as soon as possible once it’s been cooked. Don’t store foods that have cooled down at room temperature.
• Don't keep food at room temperature for more than two hours. After this time period, bacteria start multiplying. Be suspicious of cold cooked food that has been kept at room temperature for longer.
• Refrigerate leftovers. If you don’t have a fridge, keep food covered in a cool place.
• Store foods in airtight containers or cling wrap.
• When you eat cooked leftovers, reheat them to a high temperature to kill germs.

Take extra care when travelling: you are likely to come into contact with new germs that your body isn’t used to.

• Only drink bottled or boiled water, or canned drinks. Avoid ice in drinks, unless you know it has been boiled first.
• Don’t eat raw fruits and vegetables unless you have peeled them yourself.
• Make sure that food has been properly cooked.
• Don’t eat food sold by street vendors.

Kitchen hygiene

• Wash surfaces like the kitchen table, counter or sink, before and after preparing food there. Keep food storage areas (like shelves and fridges) clean.
• Clean up spills immediately.
• Use separate cleaning cloths for the kitchen and other parts of the house.
• Disinfect kitchen cloths, sponges and scourers with bleach, and dry them in sunlight, which helps kill germs. If you have a microwave, heating cloths and sponges for 60 seconds helps kill bacteria.
• Wash the kitchen floor at least once a week, with cloths that are only used for that purpose.
• Wash dishes, cutlery and cutting boards well – preferably in hot soapy water that you replace when it gets too dirty. Rinse dishes with clean water, if possible.
• Replace cracked or badly scratched utensils. Germs live in cracks in cups and dishes and scratches in plastic containers and cutting boards.
• Use a cutting board for raw foods. Preferably, use one cutting board for meat, poultry and fish, and another for other foods. Or, clean the board well with hot water soapy after cutting each food type. Plastic or stone cutting boards are safest for raw meat.
• Don’t reuse utensils after they have touched raw meat, fish or chicken, until you have washed them very thoroughly.
• Keep rubbish in a covered bin that you empty and clean regularly.
• Keep the kitchen door and windows open as much as possible to provide good ventilation; this helps prevent the growth of mold and fungus.

- Updated by Olivia Rose-Innes, Health24, June 2011

How safe is imported food?: Health24: Enviro Health : News

How safe is imported food?: Health24: Enviro Health : News:

Last week 22 tonnes of imported Irish cheddar were destroyed when found to be contaminated with deadly E.coli bacteria. How safe is imported food really?

According to Gareth Lloyd, Managing Director of Ecowize, a leading hygiene and sanitation company servicing the South African food and healthcare sector, the cheddar contamination incident highlights the issue of safety standards of imported foodstuffs.

He says that as more components are added into the supply chain, it becomes more difficult to guarantee the hygiene and safety of the end product.

By “supply chain”, food industry specialists mean the length of time and the number of steps it takes to get a foodstuff from the farm to your plate: the longer the route, the greater the potential for it to become contaminated. Imported food has a much longer supply chain, involving complex crucial elements like longer periods of refrigeration, than food sourced locally.

Says Lloyd: “With a longer supply chain, logistics and hazards become harder to control. In developing countries, with poorer infrastructure, the hygiene levels may be lower and the hazards of the longer supply chain higher.”
But the increased risk for imports being contaminated extends to those from the developed world too. The “cheddar incident” involved a first-world product, after all.
“Some countries have excellent food safety standards – Australian meat products for example. But standards for poultry and pork in Europe, let’s say, are really only just standard.”
What about checks done on imports when they arrive? We simply do not have the capacity and infrastructure to test all food imports, says Lloyd.
“It’s one in a million products that are tested. Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is only able to inspect about 1% of imports.”
“I’m not saying that it’s bad to buy imported – there are some great products – but just that we need to be aware of the risks and keep demanding better regulation.”
How to avoid contaminated food
Consumers and retailers should make sure a foodstuff looks and smells “OK”, read labels and check expiry dates.
Unfortunately, says Lloyd, that may not always be sufficient.
“Not all bacteria change the smell and taste of food. There will always be bacteria on food, but it’s a matter of safe and dangerous levels. The shelf-life is related to how long it takes before bacterial growth gets to levels that will cause illness. With E.coli, for example, you only need a low level to make you sick. In the case of some other food-borne bacteria, like Salmonella, you need a higher level of exposure.”
The process of bacterial growth continues in your fridge too:
“People often don’t check to see if a product should be frozen or just refrigerated. In the food industry, we need to measure and maintain refrigeration temperatures very accurately, and home fridges aren’t too accurate. They should be set at between 0 and 4 degrees; I’d be surprised if most home fridges are below 4. At 5-20 degrees – that’s like fertilizer for bacteria.”
More on how to avoid food poisoning

Coffee A Day May Reduce Liver Cancer Risk

Coffee A Day May Reduce Liver Cancer Risk | Before It's News:

There have been numerous studies about the many benefits of coffee. I even discussed some of them which includes stroke risks and aging. In recent studies in Japan and in some part of Europe, coffee has been identified to reduce the risk of liver cancer to humans. This article will give you an insight regarding the truth about this great news.

Coffee has an abundant source of antioxidants which has the potential to help inhibit cancer development particularly in the liver. Hepatocellar carcinoma (HCC), is the primary cancer compound of the liver which results to the third largest cancer deaths in the world behind only to lung and stomach cancer.

Various studies which includes Milan (Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri), Finland (University of Helsinki) and Japan (National Cancer Tokyo) have all similar outcome with regards to the effects of coffee to liver cancer. They concluded that a cup of coffee or two a day can lower your risk of liver cancer.

There study were based on quantitative estimation from thousands of coffee drinkers and its association with hepatocellar carcinoma. The presence of hepatocellar carcinoma have at least 41% reduction for coffee drinkers which are also said to help prevents cirrhosis.

Caffeine, a substance commonly found in coffee, has been shown to activate some liver enzymes which helps block carcinogenic detoxification in the liver. But uncontrolled consumption of coffee may spell disaster for your health as it can cause palpitations, intensifies the side effects of antibiotics, hypertension and many others.

Although these studies suggests the positive effects of coffee to liver carcinomas, they are quick to note that the research should continuously be repeated in other groups to achieve concrete results.

Whether these studies are just speculation of the true nature of coffee or not, it certainly help proves that there is a link between coffee and liver cancer through various drinking behaviors around the world. This includes Americans, Europeans and Japanese (who less patronize coffee). The results seems justified based from how they performed their research. However, the discussion is up for the public's own point of view.

What is more important is that we already know that drinking coffee a day can give positive health benefits and over-consumption may pose health risks.

For more news and information on health and wellness, please make sure to visit www.healthtalkbuzz.com.

Source: www.sciencedaily.com, www.rediff.com, www.sacrededenblog.com, www.cbsnews.com, www.msnbc.msn.com.

Vaccines Never Worked, Never Will, But You'll Never Hear This From Mainstream Medicine

Vaccines Never Worked, Never Will, But You'll Never Hear This From Mainstream Medicine | Before It's News:

They have single digit success rates, they're full of toxic chemicals and they cause diseases to a greater percentage of the population that receive them than those who don't. It's time to reassess the reality that vaccines do not work and never have.

The main advances in combating disease over the last 200 years have been cleaner drinking water (until they added fluoride), improved sanitation, less overcrowded and better living conditions. Vaccines have never been proven to prevent any disease ever. The have not advanced the health of human beings in any way.

The reality of two centuries of mortality graphs, and disease declines and vaccine effectiveness vs. dangers is always in stark contradiction to the claims of government health officials.

My typical 9 questions which receive only ludicrous answers from the conventional medical community are as follows:

1. Could you please provide one non-biased, independently monitored, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that can prove the safety and effectiveness of vaccines? It's quite laughable, but there have some pathetic attempts to answer the question with mainstream medical journals controlled by the pharmaceutical industry.

2. Could you please provide scientific evidence on ANY study which can confirm the long-term safety and effectiveness of vaccines?

3. Could you please provide non-biased, independently monitored scientific evidence which can prove that disease reduction in any part of the world, at any point in history was attributable to inoculation of populations?

4. Could you please explain how the safety and mechanism of vaccines in the human body are scientifically proven if their pharmacokinetics (the study of bodily absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of ingredients) are never examined or analyzed in any vaccine study?

5. Could you please provide scientific justification as to how injecting a human being with a confirmed neurotoxin is beneficial to human health and prevents disease?

6. Can you provide a risk/benefit profile on how the benefits of injecting a known neurotoxin exceeds its risks to human health for the intended goal of preventing disease?

7. Could you please provide scientific justification on how bypassing the respiratory tract (or mucous membrane) is advantageous and how directly injecting viruses into the bloodstream enhances immune functioning and prevents future infections?

8. Could you please provide scientific justification on how a vaccine would prevent viruses from mutating?

9. Could you please provide scientific justification as to how a vaccination can target a virus in an infected individual who does not have the exact viral configuration or strain the vaccine was developed for?

One of the most critical elements which defines the toxicity potential of any vaccine are its pharmacokinetic properties. Drug companies and health agencies refuse to consider the study, analysis or evaluation of the pharmacokinetic properties of any vaccine.

There is not one double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the history of vaccine development that has ever proven their safety, effectiveness or achievements (unless those achievements have underlined their damage to human health).

There are also no controlled studies completed in any country which have objectively proven that vaccines have had any direct or consequential effect on the reduction of any type of disease in any
part of the world.

Every single study that has ever attempted to validate the safety and effectiveness of vaccines has conclusively established carcinogenic, mutagenic, neurotoxic or fertility impairments, but they won't address those.

It is a scientifically established fact in literally hundreds of studies that the preservatives and chemical additives in vaccines damage cells. Neurotoxicity, immune suppression, immune-mediated chronic inflammation and carcinogenic proliferation are just a few of several effects that have been observed on the human body. See a list of chemicals in vaccines

Fortunately, the drug companies still tell us the damage vaccines have on the human body. People just don't read them. All you have to do is look at the insert for any vaccine, and it will detail the exact ingredients used. FDA approved flu vaccines and Health Canada approved flu vaccines are perfect examples of the toxic nature of what is being injected.

All promoters of vaccination fail to realize that the respiratory tract of humans (actually all mammals) contains antibodies which initiates natural immune responses within the respiratory tract mucosa. Bypassing this mucosal aspect of the immune system by directly injecting viruses into the bloodstream leads to a corruption in the immune system itself. As a result, the pathogenic viruses or bacteria cannot be eliminated by the immune system and remain in the body, where they will further grow and/or mutate as the individual is exposed to ever more antigens and toxins in the environment which continue to assault the immune system.

Despite the injection of any type of vaccine, viruses continue circulating through the body, mutating and transforming into other organisms. The ability of a vaccine manufacturer to target the exact viral strain without knowing its mutagenic properties is equivalent to shooting a gun at a fixed target that has already been moved from its location. You would be shooting at what was, not what is!

Flu viruses, may mutate, change or adapt several times over a period of one flu season, making the seasonal influenza vaccine 100% redundant and ineffective every single flu season. Ironically, the natural immune defenses of the human body can target these changes but the vaccines cannot.
I have never encountered one pro-vaccine advocate, whether medically or scientifically qualified, who could answer even 1 let alone all 9 of these questions with any credibility at all.

Five Myths to Keep in Mind About Flu Vaccines

Myth 1: The Flu Shot is very effective.
Statistically, you are less likely to get the flu if you haven't had a flu vaccine. A BCTV reporter in Vancouver, commenting on the overload in BC emergency rooms, said that out of 32 people who had received a flu shot, 30 got the flu.

Myth 2: The Flu Shot has a high success rate.
This is a vaccine that only has a 6.25% success rate. This is a pretty big under-achievement, considering that the average reaction to placebo injections of distilled water is 30%.

Myth 3: The Flu Shot is safe.
Hugh Fudenberg MD, who is the world's leading immunogeneticist, says that if a person had 5 flu vaccinations between 1970 and 1980 he/she is 10 times more likely to get Alzheimer's Disease than if he/she had only one or two shots. Fudenberg said that this was because of the aluminum and mercury, which almost every flu vaccine contains. The gradual accumulation of aluminum and mercury in the brain leads to cognitive dysfunction.

Myth 4: There are no harmful ingredients in vaccinations.
Flu vaccines consist primarily of 3 categories of ingredients. First there are viruses and cultured bacteria. The second ingredient is the way in which they can be cultivated. This includes aborted human fetal cells, chick embryos, pig blood, monkey kidney tissue, cowpox pus, and calf serum, and all of these foreign proteins get injected straight into your bloodstream. A bit repulsive just thinking about it, isn't it? The flu shot also contains neutralizers, stabilizers, carrying agents and preservatives such as mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is something that is used for embalming the dead and is known to cause cancer. There is no amount of formaldehyde considered safe when injected into a living organism.

Myth 5: The Flu Shot works.
The flu shot could actually weaken your immune system and make you more likely to catch this virus. It has absolutely no value and should probably be avoided for your own safety. Not only is it loaded with toxic chemicals, but many people actually get the flu shortly after getting the shot, because it weakens their immune system instead of making it stronger like it is claimed to do.

It's time to end vaccinating people of ANY age. If it's toxic and ineffective, why do we continue this outdated and dangerous practice?

Dave Mihalovic is a Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in vaccine research, cancer prevention and a natural approach to treatment. preventdisease.com
Sources:
Vaccines Did Not Save Us! Two Centuries of Official Statistics
The 7 Myths of the Flu Shot

Adcock Ingram vs MCC: A worrying legal battle

Adcock Ingram vs MCC: A worrying legal battle - News - Mail & Guardian Online:

The court battle that played out between pharmaceuticals giant Adcock Ingram and the Medicines Control Council (MCC) this week has raised questions about the health department and the state attorney's capacity to handle legal challenges.

On Tuesday, Judge Eberhardt Bertelsmann rescinded a settlement agreement that allowed Adcock Ingram to continue to sell Synap Forte, Lentogesic and Doxyfene; painkillers that contain the ingredient dextropropoxyphene (DPP). The drug brings in an annual turnover of R180-million for the company.

The MCC says it has tracked concerns regarding the safety of DPP for a number of years and, after the drug was banned by the European Union, US, UK, Singapore and New Zealand, embarked on a series of consultations with its expert panels to decide whether South Africa should follow suit. A decision was made to ban the drug in mid-April this year. Other pharmaceutical companies, such as Aspen Pharmacare, accepted the ruling, but Adcock Ingram chose to challenge the ban.

The company claimed the drug is widely used in other parts of the world; that its own study found the drug to be safe and questioned the rigour of the US study that found the DPP to be dangerous. It also pointed out that in South Africa DPP-containing drugs are schedule five drugs that require a prescription and so are not as prone to abuse as they were in Europe.

But these issues are moot. The MCC's expert panels considered these factors during their deliberations and still concluded that DPP should be banned.

Adcock Ingram's only option has been to lodge an appeal with a committee set up by the minister of health. The company did so and, at the same time, demanded that the MCC hold off on the ban until the appeal had been heard. That's where things started going wrong.

The MCC sent out a circular, asking doctors to stop prescribing DPP-containing medication. But Adcock Ingram tried to interdict the MCC from implementing the ban and to withdraw the circular. The MCC instructed the head of legal services in the national health department, Sello Ramasala, to oppose the application. Health department director general Precious Matsoso also gave "explicit and unambiguous instructions" that she would oppose this move in order to protect the public from harm.

Settlement ideas
The idea of a settlement was discussed with legal services but no terms were agreed on and no approval for such a settlement was given to Isaac Chowe, the state attorney representing the health department and the MCC.

A draft settlement was drawn up but was never shown to or signed by the MCC and health department representatives.

When the matter came up in court, Adcock Ingram's legal representatives were present but no representatives from the MCC or the health department were present. And yet, somehow, the settlement agreement was made an order of court.

The state attorney did not inform the MCC that this had happened and MCC only heard about the court order later, from a member of the public.

In an affidavit presented as part of the court proceedings, Chowe said he had acted in good faith and that he had acted on the assumption that Ramasela, as head of legal services, had received a mandate to accept the settlement. Ramasela is no longer employed by the health department and did not give evidence in the case.

This brings us to the North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday afternoon. Judge Bertelsman was quite scathing in his assessment of the facts, saying that he was dismayed with the conduct of the state attorney and that he had not met the professional standards to which he should aspire. He also chose not to grant costs in favour of the MCC, thus showing his dissatisfaction with the way the matter was handled from their side as well.

Bertelsman described the matter as a "most unfortunate error" but it could more adequately be described as a non-event that turned into a crisis through shoddy legal work. The case has been painted as a victory for public health officials against big pharma in a case involving big money. That it may be, but it is also a frightening example of poor legal advice and poor legal practice in the health department and at the state attorney's office.

With the implementation of national health insurance on the horizon, it's certain the health department may face many such legal battles against better organised and better resourced private companies in future.

This incident does little to reassure the public that the state is capable of handling itself professionally and correctly in such cases.

When asked for comment, health department spokesperson Fidel Hadebe said the department was confident that the state legal machinery would be able to deal with whatever legal challenges may arise.

"I don't see how one incident can be used as a basis to doubt the state law machinery to perform in the future," he said. "It would be best not to step into the realm of speculation."

Consumers urged to boycott Johnson & Johnson baby products

After two-and-a-half years of attempting to get Johnson and Johnson to remove two potentially cancer-causing chemicals from their baby shampoo, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is urging consumers to boycott Johnson's baby products.

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported in 2009 that studies by Analytical Sciences LLC of Petaluma, Calif., an independent laboratory, found that Johnson and Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Oatmeal Baby Wash and Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash contain 1,4-dioxane. This is a chemical that is considered to be a carcinogen. Bloomberg Businessweek states 1,4-dioxane is a byproduct of a process for making chemicals more soluble and gentler on the skin.

The other chemical is quaternium-15 which is a preservative that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is used as a disinfectant and embalming fluid. It is also a skin, eye and respiratory irritant. In June the U.S. National Toxicology Program declared the chemical a known human carcinogen.

These chemicals remain in Johnson's baby shampoo in the United States, Canada, China, Indonesia and Australia. It is not found in the products sold in at least eight other countries including the U.K., Denmark, Japan and South Africa.

The director of Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Lisa Archer, said, "Johnson & Johnson clearly can make safer baby shampoo in all the markets around the world, but it's not doing it. It's clearly a double standard, something they can easily fix." reports huffingtonpost.com.

The campaign's report is called "Baby's Tub is Still Toxic" The boycott is being launched via their website, found here.

Johnson and Johnson was sent a letter signed by about 25 environmental, medical and other groups that represent about 3.5 million people in the U.S. and other countries. It asks Johnson and Johnson to make a public commitment by November 15 to remove the chemicals from all their personal care products worldwide.

Their response in a statement was that formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are safe and approved by regulators in the U.S. and other countries, but that it is gradually phasing them out of its baby products. It said it is also reformulating baby products to reduce the level of dioxane below detectable levels. But it did not say whether it would respond to or meet the campaign's full demands, reports nydailynews.com.

Original article from Digital Journal here

Painkiller Overdose Death Rate Triples In Ten Years, USA

Painkiller Overdose Death Rate Triples In Ten Years, USA:

More Americans die annually from prescription painkiller overdoses than the combined total for cocaine and heroin, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report released today. Narcotic painkillers, such as Opana (oxymorphone), OxyContin (oxycodone), methadone, and Vicodin (hydrocodone) are killing over 40 people in the USA every day due to overdose. CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H, said:

"Overdoses involving prescription painkillers are at epidemic levels and now kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined. States, health insurers, health care providers and individuals have critical roles to play in the national effort to stop this epidemic of overdoses while we protect patients who need prescriptions to control pain."

A significant proportion of deaths are from people who obtain prescription painkillers without a prescription. The aim being to experience the "high" these medications can give. In other words, using prescription painkillers for recreational use.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, USA, informs that in 2010 approximately 1 in every 20 individuals over the age of 12 years said they used prescription painkillers for non-medical reasons (recreationally) - a total of 12 million people. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) says that sales of such medications to health care providers and pharmacies have gone up by over 300% during the last twelve years.

The DoJ (Department of Justice) has already closed in on several "pill mills".

A Pill Mill is a clinic, doctor's office, or health care facility that routinely conspires in the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances outside of the prevailing standards of medical practice in the community, or violates the laws of the state regarding the prescribing or dispensing of controlled prescription drugs. Put more simply and crudely - a pill mill is a place where people can easily obtain prescription medications for money, whether they need them or not.

Pamela Hyde, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Administrator, said:

"Almost 5,500 people start to misuse prescription painkillers every day. Just like other public health epidemics, community-based prevention can be a proven, life-saving and cost-effective key to breaking the trend and restoring health and well-being."

Below are some highlighted data from the report:

• Death rates from prescription painkillers are three times higher among non-Hispanic whites than for African-Americans and Hispanic whites
• Death rates among Alaskan Natives and American Indians are about the same as they are for non-Hispanic whites
• The highest death rates are among people aged between 35 and 54 years
• 830,652 years of potential life before the age of 65 were lost in one year because of prescription painkiller overdoses
• Overdoses from prescription painkillers destroy a similar number of years of potential life lost to those from road accidents, and significantly more that those lost due to homicide
• According to 2008 data, death rates from prescription medication overdoses range from a low of 5.5. per 100,000 individuals in Nebraska to 27 per 100,000 in New Mexico
• 1 in every 12 people aged at least 12 years use prescription painkillers recreationally in Oklahoma, the highest rate in the USA. Nebraska has the lowest rate at 1 in every 30 people.
• Sales of prescription painkillers per head in Florida (highest state) are three times higher than Illinois (lowest state). The higher the sales per person the higher that state's drug overdose death rate tends to be

Read the full article here

Self surgical procedure fails

Self surgical procedure fails:

Chicago - Performing surgery on ones self is rarely going to be good idea unless it is an absolutely dire emergency and no other venue for assistance is available. Too many things can go wrong.

The whole idea of a person performing any kind of surgical procedure on themselves is moderately ludicrous unless there exists a clear and present life threatening danger which makes it a necessity. One man in Chicago believed otherwise and decided to remove his heart pacemaker though and it did not go well for him.

Channing Askew was living a in a group home, so there does exist the possibility that life was a challenge anyway, but after he decided to remove his pacemaker, life took a serious turn for the worse and despite being transported to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital, Mr. Channing succumbed to the results of his self surgical procedure and/or the underlying heart disease. It was reported at the Chicago Tribune that paramedics from the Chicago Fire Department were called to the scene after Channing complained to one of the group home employees. After the paramedics began working on Channing with his complaints of chest pain, they removed his shirt and found a puncture wound in his chest. It was at that point at which the Police were called in with the concern that Channing may have been stabbed. On being transported to the hospital and examined by a doctor, it was determined had used an unidentified tool to attempt the removal of his pacemaker. In light of the nature of the deceased's plus the preexisting heart disease, the cause of death was ruled a natural death.

Read original article : http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/313758#ixzz1cXCPpsKU

Restaurant specializes in caveman cuisine, goes back to basics

Restaurant specializes in caveman cuisine, goes back to basics:

Berlin - A restaurant in Berlin, Germany is serving up food caveman style. On the outside the restaurant looks like any other trendy establishment, but what's on the inside is more unique than what one would probably find at any eatery that serves standard fare.
"Real Food Revolution -- Paleolithic Cuisine!"
The Sauvage, opened its doors this past May. Their menu, based on Paleolithic food, only serves up organic and unprocessed food items, just like the cavemen enjoyed. All of their dishes exclude grains, starches, dairy and sugar, firmly holding their philosophy of going back to basics where food is concerned.

The Sauvage resides in a former brothel gone Stone Age, and the entrepreneurs, Boris Leite-Poço and Rodrigo Leite-Poço, say their establishment is the only caveman era restaurant in Europe.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/313734#ixzz1cXBmc1fz

British kids drinking more alcohol than ever before

British kids drinking more alcohol than ever before:

Some UK children as young as 12 years old reported being heavy alcohol drinkers, claiming to quaff at least 28 units a week on a recent Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU) survey, while government health guidelines allow grown men 21.

According to the BBC and the Daily Star, the independent non-profit educational organization SHEU surveyed more than 83, 000 British students aged 10 to 15 in 1,100 primary schools, asking the kids over 100 questions about their day to day health-related behaviors, and found:

Describing their alcohol drinking over the past week, 11 percent of the children aged 14 and 15 admitted to downing more than ten alcoholic drinks during that period; 20 percent claimed they drank at least one pint of cider; nearly a third responded they drank at least one pint of beer; and boys favored beer, lager and cider, while girls more often chose wine and spirits.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/313667#ixzz1cXAynMiy

Mothers to hold Raw Milk demonstration outside the FDA

Mothers to hold Raw Milk demonstration outside the FDA

A group of mothers from across the country will be demonstrating outside the Silver Spring, Maryland FDA office. These mothers represent the many who choose to feed their children raw milk. They will be protesting the FDA’s crackdown on raw milk production and distribution, arguing that the government campaign not only criminalizes raw milk, but criminalizes the American citizens who buy and consume it.

FDA actions a shameful use of force

Recently, the FDA has engaged in several long and involved undercover sting operations and raids against peaceful farmers and buying clubs.

“Not only are the FDA’s actions a shameful use of force, they are also a serious threat to my freedom and my family’s food supply” says Karine Bouis-Towe, Founder of the Farm Food Freedom Coalition and Grassfed on the Hill, a local food buying club. “Moms everywhere are disgusted by the FDA casting us into criminals for feeding our families nutritious food, just because that food happens to come from a farm in a different state!”

Read more HERE

How to Recover from Toxic Mold Exposure

How to Recover from Toxic Mold Exposure:

Illnesses caused by mold exposure are a growing problem that few people are aware of, including most primary care physicians.

Environmental health experts are seeing increasing numbers of individuals with a complex myriad of symptoms directly related to mold exposure.

This has resulted in the proposal of a new term to describe this multi-faceted syndrome: Mixed Mold Toxicosis.

Because mold-related disorders are so often unrecognized and misdiagnosed, I have been posting a series of articles about mold and its potential dangers, as well as approaches to treatment.

Read more HERE

10 Inhumane Experiments That Wound Up Helping Society | Before It's News

10 Inhumane Experiments That Wound Up Helping Society | Before It's News:

In this day and age, we are pretty fortunate to be able to protest experiments on animals and stem cells since much more horrifying tests have been performed on living human beings throughout history.

Even though the world condemns the evil and unethical experiments that have taken place, a few of these tests do have a bit of a silver lining. Take a look at the positive impact some of this research has had, and thank your lucky stars you haven’t been sacrificed in the name of science — yet.

Read more about these 10 Experiments HERE

Concerns Are Raised About Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes | Before It's News

Concerns Are Raised About Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes | Before It's News:

These mosquitoes are genetically engineered to kill — their own children.

Researchers on Sunday reported initial signs of success from the first release into the environment of mosquitoes engineered to pass a lethal gene to their offspring, killing them before they reach adulthood.

The results, and other work elsewhere, could herald an age in which genetically modified insects will be used to help control agricultural pests and insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria.

But the research is arousing concern about possible unintended effects on public health and the environment, because once genetically modified insects are released, they cannot be recalled.

Read Full Article HERE

Redefining 'Clean' A Whole New Level Of Sterilization For Surgical Instruments And Medical Devices

Nano Patents and Innovations: Redefining 'Clean' A Whole New Level Of Sterilization For Surgical Instruments And Medical Devices:

Aiming to take "clean" to a whole new level, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Maryland at College Park have teamed up to study how low-temperature plasmas can deactivate potentially dangerous biomolecules left behind by conventional sterilization methods. Using low-temperature plasmas is a promising technique for sterilization and deactivation of surgical instruments and medical devices, but the researchers say its effectiveness isn't fully understood yet. The researchers will present their findings at the AVS Symposium, held Oct. 30 – Nov. 4, in Nashville, Tenn.

"Bacteria are known to create virulence factors – biomolecules expressed and secreted by pathogens – even if they have been killed," says David Graves, a professor working on the research at UC Berkeley's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. These molecules are not always inactivated by conventional sterilization methods, such as heating surgical equipment in an autoclave, and can cause severe medical problems.

The misfolded proteins called "prions" that are thought to cause mad cow disease are one well-known example of harmful biomolecules, Graves says. "These molecules may not be inactivated by conventional autoclaves or other methods of disinfection or sterilization," he says. "In some cases, expensive endoscopes used in the brain must be discarded after a single use because the only way to reliably decontaminate them would destroy them."

Another harmful biomolecule is called lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which are found in the membranes of E. coli bacteria. In humans, LPS can initiate an immune response that includes fever, hypotension, and respiratory dysfunction, and may even lead to multiple organ failure and death.

Read more HERE

1 In 6 People Will Have A Stroke, But Most Strokes Can Be Prevented

Nano Patents and Innovations: 1 In 6 People Will Have A Stroke, But Most Strokes Can Be Prevented:

There are now more than one million strokes per year in Europe, and stroke, along with heart disease, cancers diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, is a non-communicable disease whose risk is increased by cigarette smoking, an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol. Global predictions indicate that the incidence of fatal stroke (along with heart disease and cancers) will continue to rise, from around 6 million per year in 2010 to almost 8 million per year by 2030.

The European Society of Cardiology emphasises that most of these same risks for stroke are also the major risks for coronary heart disease. Moreover, atrial fibrillation, the most common disorder of heart rhythm, has also been clearly associated with an increased risk of stroke.

Professor Freek Verheugt, from the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis in Amsterdam and speaking on behalf of the ESC, says: "Stroke is not an inevitable consequence of ageing, so by identifying and modifying risk factors there are opportunities to reduce the incidence and mortality rate of this devastating condition."

According to the World Stroke Organization, there are six steps anyone can take to reduce their risk of stroke:

Read more HERE

Gamma-Irradiated, Virus-Sprayed Frankenfoods

Activist Post: Gamma-Irradiated, Virus-Sprayed Frankenfoods:

There is a profound misunderstanding in the mass market today about the value of certified organic food. The question is not whether the 30% or more you pay at the register for an organic product is really worth the added vitamin, mineral and phyto-nutrient content you receive.

Even though organic food does usually have considerably higher nutrient density, it is not always the positive quality of what it contains that makes it so special. Rather, it is what you know the organic food does not contain, or what has not happened to it on its journey to your table, that makes buying organic a no-brainer to the educated consumer. Let me explain.

The FDA presently supports and actively promotes the use of Cobalt-60 culled from Nuclear Reactors as a form of "electronic pasteurization" on all domestically produced conventional food.

The use of euphemisms like "food additive" and "pasteurization" to describe the process of blasting food with high levels of gamma-radiation can not obviate the fact that the very same death-rays generated by thermonuclear warfare to destroy life are now being applied to food to "make it safer."

This sort of Orwellian logic, e.g. WAR is PEACE, is the bread and butter of State-sponsored industry propaganda.

This is not a hypochondriac's rantings, as we aren't talking here about small amounts of radiation.

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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.

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Public Awareness Results in Increased Removal of Fluoride from Community Water

Activist Post: Public Awareness Results in Increased Removal of Fluoride from Community Water:

A growing number of communities are choosing to stop adding fluoride to their water systems, even though the federal government and federal health officials maintain their full support of this practice. It was an insane idea from the beginning to add toxic fluoride to the public’s water supply and now that money is getting scarce more people are willing to confront and stop paying for this medical insanity.

Such has been the grip of medical and dental terrorism that it is taking a financial collapse to finally put a stop to the horror of enforcing the mass administration of a medication on men, women and children without control for dosage, side effects or preexisting medical conditions.

There are many reasons to stop fluoridation, all of them good ones. It stunts the development of a child's brain thus lowering IQ, a basic measure of intelligence. Fluoride collects in bones and the thyroid gland where it acts as a thyroid poison thus potentially causing bone cancer, hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer. A report released late last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked fluoride to an increase among children in dental fluorosis, which causes white or yellow spots on teeth that cannot be removed. About 40 percent of children ages 12 to 15 had dental fluorosis from 1999 to 2004. Teeth with fluorosis are usually brittle and start to crack and split in adults.

Excessive fluoride can lead to increases in bone fractures in adults as well as pain and tenderness. --New York Times

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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.

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BPA Leads to Fertility Defect in Offspring

Activist Post: BPA Leads to Fertility Defect in Offspring:

Bishphenol a (BPA), the headline-topping chemical commonly found in plastics, cans, and food packaging has been tied to yet another negative condition — adversely affecting male genital development and subsequently targeting fertility rates.

If you have been following the latest BPA research, then it should be no surprise to you that BPA has been repeatedly linked to diabetes, breast cancer (with over 130 total studies), hyperactivity and depression, and countless other conditions.

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Not Your Mother's Birth Control But Same Troubles Related To Women's Pleasure Remain

Nano Patents and Innovations: Not Your Mother's Birth Control But Same Troubles Related To Women's Pleasure Remain:

Today's hormonal forms of birth control are vastly different from those used by earlier generations of women, both with lower levels of hormones and with different means of delivery (not just a pill), but many of the same problems related to women's pleasure remain.

An Indiana University study that examined how newer forms of hormonal contraception affect things such as arousal, lubrication and orgasm, found that they could still hamper important aspects of sexuality despite the family planning benefits and convenience.

"Contraception in general is a wonderful way for women to plan their families," said lead researcher Nicole Smith, project coordinator at IU's Center for Sexual Health Promotion. "It's something women are often on for as many as 30 years or more; it plays a huge part in their life. If they're experiencing these negative effects, they might stop using contraception correctly or altogether. They need to know that there are options, such as lubricants or other sexual enhancement products that may help to alleviate some of the negative effects they are experiencing.

"Women should also be counseled on the many highly effective forms of birth control currently available; switching to another method might work better for them," she said.

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