Thursday 3 November 2011

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

Wednesday 2 November 2011

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.

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.

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.

Tuesday 1 November 2011

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.

Read more HERE

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

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
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

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.

Read more HERE

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.

Read more HERE

Home Test For Men: Fertility Chip Measures Concentration And Motility Of Semen

Nano Patents and Innovations: Home Test For Men: Fertility Chip Measures Concentration And Motility Of Semen:

Loes Segerink, a researcher at the University of Twente has developed a “fertility chip” that can accurately count sperm and measure their motility. The chip can be inserted into a compact device for one-off use. A home test kit will soon make it possible for men to test their sperm in a familiar environment. As a result, there is a greater chance of obtaining a correct diagnosis, also the method is simple and inexpensive.

The lab-on-a-chip developed by Segerink measures sperm concentration. The importance of the sperm concentration is that the fertility standard states that a millilitre of ejaculate should contain at least 20 million sperm. A second important aspect of fertility is motility. This too can be measured using the lab-on-a-chip. Simple home test kits are already commercially available. These indicate whether the concentration is “above or below the standard value”. These tests are too limited, however, as they do not give accurate concentration readings.

How does it work?

Read more HERE

Health Risk From Eating Well-Done Meat May Be Underestimated

Health Risk From Eating Well-Done Meat May Be Underestimated:

Researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health have adopted a mouse type where human enzymes have been inserted to examine whether people may be more sensitive to certain carcinogenic substances from heat-treated foods. They have obtained a better model to assess negative health effects in humans from substances in food using these mice.

The results show that the incidence of intestinal tumours increased from 31 per cent to 80 per cent in "human-like" mice who consumed substances from meat crust (i.e. the surface formed during heat-treatment).

Read more here

Catch The Fever: It'll Help You Fight Off Infection | Before It's News

Catch The Fever: It'll Help You Fight Off Infection | Before It's News:

New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology demonstrates that elevated body temperature plays a vital role on the generation of effective T-cell mediated immune response

With cold and flu season almost here, the next time you're sick, think twice before taking something for your fever. That's because scientists have found more evidence that elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells to work better. This research is reported in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (www.jleukbio.org).

"An increase in body temperature has been known since ancient times to be associated with infection and inflammation," said Elizabeth A. Repasky, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Immunology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. "Since a febrile response is highly conserved in nature (even so-called cold blooded animals move to warmer places when they become ill) it would seem important that we immunologists devote more attention to this interesting response."

Read more here

Birth Control Shot Linked To Memory Loss | Before It's News

Birth Control Shot Linked To Memory Loss | Before It's News:

The birth control shot Depo Provera offers a convenient alternative for women who don't want to remember to take a daily pill. Ironically, research from Arizona State University has shown the shot actually may impair a person's memory.

The ASU study connects medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), the hormone active in Depo Provera and many widely used menopausal hormone therapies, to impaired memory in rodents. The study is currently in press in the journal Psychopharmacology. An early on line version of the article is available atwww.springerlink.com/content/53357212117581w6/

The study was led by Blair Braden, an ASU psychology doctoral student, and Heather Bimonte-Nelson, an ASU associate professor of psychology and director of the Bimonte-Nelson Memory and Aging Lab. The work was done in collaboration with Laszlo Prokai from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Fort Worth, Tex., and Alain Simard from Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix.

The Bimonte-Nelson lab first linked MPA to memory loss in rats while studying it as a component of hormone therapy for menopause. This earlier study showed that MPA impaired memory in menopausal-aged rats, and results were published in the November 2010 issue of Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. The current study specifically looks at the drug in relation to the birth control shot.

Bimonte-Nelson said she and Braden began asking questions about the effects of the drug because Braden was concerned about friends taking MPA as a contraceptive.

"This is an important question, because what we are going to have in our future are women who are menopausal that also have a history of taking MPA as birth control when they were younger," said Bimonte-Nelson.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration originally approved Depo Provera for use in October 1992. It requires an injection every 12 weeks. Its 99 percent effectiveness and the infrequency of doses make the shot an attractive alternative for women seeking to avoid pregnancy.

While other studies have examined Depo Provera's effects on bone density, Bimonte-Nelson's lab is the first to explore its effects on cognition. The researchers note that other forms of hormonal contraception, such as the pill, do not use MPA.

The study lasted approximately one year, using three groups of rats (which received doses at varying ages), plus a control group that did not receive the hormone. To test their memory, rats were placed in water-based mazes to swim and seek out hidden platforms in the water.

"What we found was pretty shocking – animals that had been given the drug at any point in their life were memory impaired at middle age compared to animals that never had the drug," said Braden. "We also confirmed that in the subjects that only received the drug when young, the hormone was no longer circulating during memory testing when older, showing it had cleared from the system yet still had effects on brain function."

The researchers also measured a marker of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter system in the hippocampus of the rats' brains to determine MPA's physiological effects.

"What GABA does is slow the brain down," Braden said. "So if there is too much of it, it can make it more difficult to produce memories. But then if there's too little of it and there's too much excitation, same thing – it makes you not able to produce memories correctly."

The group plans to follow the animal studies with human trials, and the work is leading to results that could have profound implications for women of all ages.

"This research shows that even after this hormone is no longer on board, months and months later, resulting effects are impacting the brain and its function," Bimonte-Nelson said. "This work is an important step forward in our understanding of the potentially long-lasting effects of clinically used hormones on brain function. However, more research is needed to determine whether these effects also occur in women that take this hormone as birth control or part of hormone therapy."

Contacts and sources:
Written by Pete Zrioka, OKED

The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging, the State of Arizona, Arizona Department of Health Services and the Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Core Center.

Read more at Nano Patents and Innovations

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs Are Killing Us | Before It's News

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs Are Killing Us | Before It's News

View YouTube video HERE

Citrus Shows Promise For Certain Childhood Cancer

Citrus Shows Promise For Certain Childhood Cancer

Yet another old study that I posted on my website a number of years ago that I need to remind patients of.

"Orange juice and cancer don't mix. In fact, the popular citrus drink could become a cocktail to prevent or stop the deadly disease in humans."

"Now that we have seen the cancer cells die and in such a short time," Harris said, "we need to find out why they are so vulnerable and exploit it. It could be that ultimately we are able to give patients an oral cocktail of limonoids in such concentration as to stop their cancer."

Read the rest of the article by clicking HERE.

There are many medicinal uses for citrus. Here are some interesting articles :

Medicinal Use of Citrus

What Citrus Fruit Protects Against Heart Attacks, Diabetes and Prevents Obesity?

Lime, lemon nature’s cure for cholera, food-borne diseases

Citrus-Derived Flavonoid Prevents Obesity, Study Suggests

Flavonoids: Now Chemists Can Synthesize This Anti-Cancer Agent

Chemoprevention, Naturally: Findings On Plant-Derived Cancer Medicines

Citrus Surprise: Vitamin C Boosts the Reprogramming of Adult Cells Into Stem Cells

Semen Quality May Depend Upon Antioxidants In Man's Diet

Flavonoids in Orange Juice Suppress Oxidative Stress from High-Fat, High-Carb Meal

Grapefruit's Bitter Taste Holds a Sweet Promise for Diabetes Therapy

Grapefruit Compound May Help Combat Hepatitis C Infection

Low Potassium Linked To High Blood Pressure

Pregnancy via IVF could make women 50% more likely to suffer pre-eclampsia complication | Mail Online

Pregnancy via IVF could make women 50% more likely to suffer pre-eclampsia complication | Mail Online:

A study in the U.S. found that pregnant women who have had fertility treatment are at greater risk of the condition, which can be lethal to mother and child.

It is characterised by high blood pressure and can lead to convulsions, blood clots, liver damage and kidney failure.

One of the most common causes of premature birth in the UK, pre-eclampsia affects 70,000 British women every year.

There were 42 per cent more cases in women who had conceived using IVF, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's annual conference heard.

Researchers could not be certain why, but said the process of growing the embryo in the lab first might cause 'subtle changes' in the development of the placenta.

And then follows the following sick comment, which obviously stems from the greed for money, which in turn means much more than the lives of their patients.

Charles Kingsland, of the British Fertility Society, said age could also be a factor in the development of the condition.

He said that women who have IVF are often older than those who conceive naturally and may already have medical problems which increase their risk of developing it.

He urged women having IVF not to worry but added: 'We need to be aware that in this group of patients, who may be older, who may have difficulty in getting pregnant, that it doesn’t follow that just because you have got pregnant that everything else is going to be easy.'

Monday 31 October 2011

Caesareans for profit to end, minister vows

2011-10-31 22:21

Johannesburg - Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi vowed on Monday to bring an end to doctors electing for caesarean section births for commercial gain.

"To tell you the truth... we want to abolish it. It is worrying because it is [more] commercially driven than [by] health factors." he said

Motsoaledi was speaking after helping to deliver a child born at the Mankweng Hospital in Polokwane. He visited the hospital as part of global celebrations marking the birth of the 7th billionth person.

Motsoaledi said the increase in the country's and the globe's population was cause for celebration and concern.

Inroads were being made in preventing the transmission of HIV/Aids but productive health was backtracking.

Most teenage girls were falling pregnant because of poor family planning, the minister said.

According to department data, over 700 000 people have terminated pregnancies since abortion was legalised in 1997 and 2000, and 60 000 of them were teenagers.

Motsoaledi said his department would step up its contraception campaign in the communities.

- SAPA

Read the original article here.

Most people with a mental disorder are happy

31 October 2011 01:11

It's easy for us to slip into all-or-nothing mindsets. An example would be: a person has some psychological problems so their life must be miserable. But that's a mistaken assumption. So argue a team of Dutch positive psychologists, who've studied over seven thousand people over a three year period. Yes, those participants with a psychological disorder were less happy than those without, but the majority (68.4 per cent) of the mentally troubled said they "often felt happy" during the preceding four weeks (this compares with 89.1 per cent of those without a psychological problem). "The possibility of coexisting happiness and mental disorders is of clinical relevance," write Ad Bergsma and his team. "A narrow focus on what goes wrong in the lives of the client and forgetting what goes well, may limit therapeutic results."

The researchers recruited their sample, representative of the general population, from across the country. Trained interviewers questioned volunteers in person or over the telephone to establish signs of psychological disorder in the past month, with 16.5 per cent of the sample being judged to have a disorder based on psychiatric diagnostic criteria. Happiness was measured with a single question about frequency of happy moods over the preceding four weeks, on a scale from "never" to "always". Relying on people's reports of their own happiness, using this one question, is an obvious weakness of the study.

Not surprisingly, among those with a psychological problem, happiness was lowest in those with anxiety and depression (although still a significant minority of these people reported frequent happy moods). By contrast, happiness was highest in those with an alcohol abuse disorder, being nearly as frequent as in the healthy participants. There weren't enough cases of eating disorders and psychosis to examine these conditions separately.

By following their sample up over time, the researchers established that more happiness at the study start was associated with better outcomes later on, in terms of recovery from mental disorder. Further analysis suggested this was because higher happiness was a proxy for having fewer mental disorders, being younger, and having better "emotional role functioning" (as indicated by managing to spend time on work and other activities). The fact that happiness was associated with later outcomes provides some support for the validity of the way that happiness was measured.

"Our knowledge of mental disorders is incomplete if we only look at the negative side of the spectrum," the researchers said. "This study aims to broaden the view on positive functioning and human strengths in the context of mental disorders."

Bergsma, A., Have, M., Veenhoven, R., and Graaf, R. (2011). Most people with mental disorders are happy: A 3-year follow-up in the Dutch general population. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6 (4), 253-259 DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2011.577086

Post written by Christian Jarrett for the BPS Research Digest.

Original article can be found HERE

Treating Diabetes with Su-Jok

Ideas and methods to treat diseases by Su-jok medicine
Diabetes I type case, in details, session 12

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Health ticking timebomb: Young adults who are ‘picture of health’ at risk

By Sadie Whitelocks
Last updated at 6:23 PM on 25th October 2011

Expert says true figure of those affected is 'staggering'
Secret killer in artery walls can lead to stroke and premature death, says new study

A high proportion of 'apparently healthy' young adults are at risk of clogged arteries, a study shows.

Researchers at the University of Quebec have discovered that a build-up of fatty deposits in the walls of the arteries known as atherosclerosis, is fast becoming a 'ticking timebomb'.

The disorder, which often remains undetected, can eventually lead to serious health complications including heart disease, stroke, or even premature death.

Researchers worked with 168 volunteers aged 18-35 for the study.

Those who took part had no known risk factors such as family history of premature heart disease, diabetes, obesity, smoking, high blood cholesterol, or high blood pressure.

However results revealed that despite their healthy appearance they were suffering from the potentially serious condition.

Dr Eric Larose, said: 'The proportion of young, apparently healthy adults who are presumably 'the picture of health' who already have atherosclerosis is staggering.

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Hospitals Raking In Cash From Unnecessary Surgery For Dying Seniors

(NaturalNews) Doctors and hospitals in the United States have a financial incentive to perform surgery on dying seniors because Medicare is guaranteed to pay for it, and most of the procedures fail to improve the patients' lives at all.

Several colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health recently reported that 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries age 65 or older died in 2008, and over 34% were operated on during their last year, 25% in their last month, and 10% in their last week of life.

Other studies show that just the stress of surgery and poor conditions of hospitals is adding to mortality rates, including post surgery pneumonia and heart attacks. To throw salt in the wound, the nation's 175 lowest quality hospitals are actually the highest cost institutions.

Doctors simply are not having conversations with patients about what they want out of their last days, and probably don't care because of the guaranteed revenue increases they receive from surgery. Most of the unnecessary surgery is a distraction from what is really important to patients, like being able to spend time with their loved ones and have some "quality of life."

The Medicare website for reporting unnecessary and inappropriate surgery describes it as being an operation for a condition that could effectively be treated with medication or physical therapy. Unfortunately, there is nothing listed about nutrition, vitamins, or supplements of any kind. In fact, there is no doctor in the country who can mention natural remedies without endangering his or her license to practice medicine. The FDA outlaws any natural remedy from claiming it can cure a disease, so the general public still believes surgery and chemotherapy are their only options.

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