With all the loads of scientific data available that soy is not a healthy part of anyone's diet, it shocks me how many folks are still on the "soy is good for you" bandwagon - even people who should know better like your doctor!

I just got an email from a reader the other day who had been to multiple doctors, both holistic and conventional, and all but one of them were telling her that plenty of soy in her diet would help her menopause symptoms.

I had another shocking conversation recently with a doctor of Internal Medicine who had no idea soy was a potent goitrogenic food and actively suppressed thyroid function.

Be careful folks. It's dangerous out there! You really need to do your research and be on your toes at all times when it comes to nutritional advice even from someone in a white coat!

For those of you who just sat down because you are so taken aback by the notion that soy is not actually the healthfood you thought it was, here are 170 scientific reasons to back up this assertion.

A chemical used on most non-organic American apples that preserves the fruit's color after harvest was banned by the European Union in 2012 because its makers could not prove it did not put human health at risk, according to a new study.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) found in 2010 that 80 percent of apples harvested in the United States are coated with diphenylamine, or DPA, a "growth regulator" that works to stave off darkening of the fruit's skin during months of cold storage.

DPA, regulated as a pesticide, has been used in the US since 1962. The USDA has reported that DPA residue is found more often and at greater concentrations that most other pesticide residues. The chemical has been detected in apple juice and applesauce, as well as pears and pear baby food. In fact, the USDA has consistently found that apples are one of the most pesticide-treated products in the American produce market.

Beginning in 2008, the EU's European Commission asked European producers of DPA to prove nitrosamines - a family of powerful carcinogens - and other harmful substances would not develop from a mixture of DPA and nitrogen, a common element in the environment. The Commission was interested in whether those formations occurred when containers of DPA sat unattended, when DPA was used to treat fruit for storage, or when DPA-doused fruit was made into juices, purees, and sauces.

It's so easy, anyone can do it!

Becoming diabetic and proudly having to finger stick your way to blood sugar control is patriotic, as it builds revenues for Big Pharma. What better way to support your country than to help successful industries grow larger, increase shareholder value, and increase the salary and perks for hard working executives?

So if you want to join the growing ranks of people who are becoming diabetic, now the largest epidemic of chronic disease ever witnessed in the history of the world, here's what you do:

- Cut your fat intake - Because it leaves you unsatiated and hungry, you will be left with cravings and the loss of resolve to consume healthy foods, making those chips and cookies irresistible. Celebrate with Frito Lay and Oreos!

- Consume high-glycemic index foods - By "high," I mean any food with a greater than zero or single-digit glycemic index, such as grains and sugars. Also eat more "low-" and "moderate-" glycemic index foods, because they raise your blood sugar to high levels, too!

- Consume modern wheat - Because the gliadin protein yields opiate peptides that stimulate appetite and increase calorie intake by 400 calories per day, every day, making you want more to eat all throughout the day, paving the road to a wonderful and proud collection of visceral fat.

I went to the doctor in early January 2008 and during the consultation was asked if I'd had my Gardasil shot. There was no discussion about possible side effects and I was urged to have it while it was still free. So I had the first shot then, just before my 26^th birthday. I had the second shot at the end of February.

I was healthy, fit and enjoying life. I was working in retail and there was talk of promotion and management training. My long term plans included a career change so I was training at the gym regularly to get my fitness level up. I passed a thorough preliminary medical examination in early May.

A delayed reaction to Gardasil?

In mid-May, I broke out in a rash. Originally I thought it might have been bed bugs or a reaction to laundry powder but it persisted and the doctor thought it was an allergy of some sort. I was put on antihistamines but the rash continued. One day my eyelid was swollen. Another day my lip swelled up. It seemed random and puzzling.

In June, I had my third Gardasil shot and then things really started to rev up with the symptoms escalating in frequency and severity.

Regular exercise may keep Alzheimer's at bay - even in those whose genes put them in the dementia danger zone.
A study of men and women in their 60s, 70s and 80s found that being active at least three times a week stopped the brain from shrinking.

Strikingly, even those with a common gene called APOE-e4 were protected by brisk walking, jogging, swimming and cycling. Strenuous household chores also helped.

The brain normally shrinks with age, and the hippocampus, the brain's memory hub is particularly vulnerable in those at genetic risk of dementia.

Kirk Erickson, an expert in the ageing brain, said: 'This is the first study look at how physical activity might impact the loss of hippocampal volume in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.

'There are no other treatments shown to preserve hippocampal volume in those that may develop Alzheimer's disease.

'This study has tremendous implications for how we might intervene, prior to the development of any dementia symptoms, in older adults who are at increased genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Recently, I came across a rather provocative article titled "You Can't Trust the Supreme Court, Science Proves It" wherein the author, Ian Millhiser, postulates that partisanship and personal preferences rule emotions and decisions, regardless of who you are, including members of the U.S. Supreme Court. ^[1]

To prove his point, Millhiser directs readers to the phenomenon known as "motivated reasoning" ^[2] studied in cognitive science and social psychology. In his article Millhiser states, that "A recent study adds to the growing evidence that our brains reject information that rebuts our strongly held beliefs." That is the "jumping off point" for me, since I contend that motivated reasoning is a deliberate byproduct of social programming accomplished through the media, advertising, and most emphatically, by what's called "branding," i.e., when you successfully establish your product, services, or beliefs as those that satisfy the general public's preferences, needs, and wants. ^[3] Or, here's another facet:

Opponents successfully rebrand their opposition to discount them as inferior in every capacity so as to neutralize them thereby leaving the opposition damaged - or as a pariah - in the public's opinion, as currently is being done when there is legitimate disagreement.

There was little progress in reducing food poisoning rates in the U.S. last year, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although Salmonella infections decreased by 9 percent in 2013, illnesses caused by other foodborne bacteria rose by as much as 32 percent.

Each year, the most common foodborne illness - Salmonella - sickens about 1.2 million people in the U.S. and results in 450 deaths, according to the CDC. Recent efforts to lower that number seem to be working, but illnesses caused by contaminated food are still too common, say the report's authors.

"Progress in preventing foodborne illnesses has been limited in recent years," said senior author Olga L. Henao of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the CDC in Atlanta. "More can be done."

I'll try to make this quick, but I can't promise anything. I have something to say about this picture:
I've seen it all over Facebook. PETA is sharing a picture of candy that illustrates exactly where the gelatin in much of it comes from - and person after person after person in the comments is talking about how "amazing" all these processed candies are and how they don't really care at all where their "food" comes from.

PETA is right on this, for the record. Not only is that exactly where non-vegetarian gelatin comes from (the majority in America is said to come from pig skins, but it can also come from other animals including cows and fish), but due to the nature of the way the leftovers are collected, the production of gelatin has been known to be somewhat...inconsistent, to say the very least.

But that's not even the point. People were clamoring over themselves to talk about how they "don't care" what's in candy, they just love it. I don't know how many comments I read with the words "don't care" and some quip about how they were going to run out and get some candy right now.

A beautiful island in Hawaii called Molokai has been subject to biotech giant Monsanto for some time now and the results of Monsanto's actions on the island is beginning to show very dark conclusions. The residents of the island of Molokai seem to be getting sicker and sicker as Monsanto continually carries out their actions near villages on the island. Some are suggesting the island has become a laboratory and the islanders are the lab rats being tested. Although not enough study has been done to find out why the rates of illness, cancer, asthma and diabetes are suddenly rising greatly on the island, many believe the evidence is anecdotal and seen when you observe the people.

Monsanto leased 1850 acres of land on the island of Molokai to grow their Bt corn crops. The very fact they are merely leasing the land already raises the question as to whether or not they know the land will become of low quality once they are finished with it. The Bt toxin Monsanto uses is engineered into corn to allow farmers easy control over pests without spraying as much pesticides. Only there seems to be growing evidence that this Bt toxin is a threat to human health.

Although The State Health Department has stated they feel the farming practices are safe, nearby residents are not happy about what's going on and strongly feel Monsanto's practices are causing harm and illness to those especially close to where Monsanto is spraying. Many in the area are beginning to do the research and are connecting the dots that the recent rise in illnesses is directly related to what Monsanto's Bt toxin and Glyphosate has been known to cause.

Today's generation of children could aptly be called Generation A where the "A" stands for allergies.

Food intolerances of all kinds are rampant with the very first frequently becoming apparent when a formula fed infant demonstrates an allergy to commercial milk based formula.

The typical recommendation by a conventional doctor in this case is to put the baby on a soy based formula such as Isomil or ProSobee. About 25% of American babies are fed soy infant formula according to the website of Dr. Sears.

Elemental infant formula might also be suggested, but these are usually reserved for preterm infants and those with specific medical problems such as severe allergies to both milk and soy. Elemental formulas also tend to be foul tasting compared with milk or soy based formula and babies tend to reject them for this reason.

Many parents make the switch to soy formula in haste hoping to ease the digestive discomfort their child is experiencing on milk formulas not realizing the full implications of their decision.

In some cases, parents may never even try a dairy formula at all if a milk allergy already runs in the family. There is no evidence that using soy formula reduces the risk of a dairy allergy later, however. For this reason, the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against the use of soy formula in infants who are potentially allergic to cow's milk. Milk based formula should still be the first choice even in those situations.