Health & WellnessS


Beaker

Manufacturers replace BPA with still highly toxic BPS

Sayer Ji
Greenmedinfo.com
Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:51 UTC
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© greenmedinfo.com
As we reported on back in June of last year, in an exposé titled, Consumer Alert: BPA-Free Goods Still Contain Toxin Bisphenol, the petrochemical bisphenol A (BPA), a ubiquitous ingredient in thousands of consumer products and which has been linked to a wide range of serious adverse health effects,[i] has been removed by many ostensibly scrupulous manufacturers in favor of another equally toxic analog in the same chemical class, known as bisphenol S (BPS). This has enabled manufacturers of products as varied as thermal printer receipts to sippy cups to advertise their products as "BPA-free," while still exposing consumers to potentially harmful, and less regulated chemicals.

BPS is actually not only within the same range of toxicity of BPA, but is slower to degrade, and therefore will be more likely to remain a persistent toxin and environmental pollutant.[ii] It has already been found to be present in the urine of 81% of those tested from the United States and seven Asian countries.[iii]

Now, new concern is being raised by a study published this month in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showing that BPS has estrogenic activity comparable to estradiol, the most potent and therefore concerning human estrogen, and is even capable of enhancing estradiol-mediated cell signaling activity. These actions indicate it has great potential to disrupt normal endocrine processes. The study also found that BPS is capable of inducing cell death (apoptosis), as well as interfere with cellular prolactin (PRL) secretion. This latter effect has a broad range of indications, as the prolactin hormone regulates hundreds of biological functions, including metabolism, reproduction and lactation.[iv]
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Stop

Bumble Bee tuna recall

Stella Martin
imperfectparent.com
Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:38 UTC
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© Photo via Bumble Bee Food LLC.Bumble Tuna recall issued for some Bumble Bee products.
Bumble Bee Food, LLC announced on Wednesday that they are issuing a voluntarily recall of some of their 5 ounce cans of tuna.

The recall was issued after concerns of quality control issues were revealed.

Apparently some of the cans were not properly sealed or seamed in the manufacturing process, leaving the possibility open for contamination. Consuming tuna from one of these cans could potentially lead to illness from pathogens or organisms, although the company says they have not received any reports from consumers who have fallen ill.

The cans in question were sold between Jan. 17, 2013 and Feb. 28, 2013.
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Health

Nightmare superbug killing half of those who are infected says CDC

Annie Hart
The Examiner
Wed, 06 Mar 2013 10:56 UTC
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© Photo Illustration by Sean Gallup/Getty Images Pork cut into cubes and purchased at a local discount supermarket lies on a plate in this photo illustration on February 8, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.
A nightmare gut bacteria that can kill up to 50 percent of those infected, the extremely drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) - producing K. pneumoniae sequence type 258 (KpnST258) has emerged as an important pathogen worldwide. Hospitals are scrambling to get rid of this bacteria. Check out the video, "Hospitals scramble to kill 'superbug'"on NBCNews.com.

A deadly class of superbugs nearly impossible to treat with a fatality rate approaching 50 percent need to be stopped. But how do scientists stop the CRE outbreaks from reaching the general public? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has identified deadly 'nightmare' bacteria that's resistant to antibiotics and spreading through the nation's hospitals. There's the potential for CRE bacteria to spread to patients with common ailments such as diarrhea or more severe infections such as pneumonia. The doctors don't have any drug to treat CRE outbreaks because the bacteria is resistant to what's currently available.
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Donut

Mark Hyman: The dangers of sugar in all its forms


Greenmedtv.com
Wed, 06 Mar 2013 19:41 UTC

Comment: Additional information about the numerous dangers of sugar:Addicted to Sugar?
Sugar: The Bitter Truth
A Spoon Full of Sugar.... Is Toxic?
Sugar Addiction is Real
The Health Detriments of Sugar Revealed
Sugar High: The Dark History and Nasty Methods Used to Feed Our Sweet Tooth
Sweet Sabotage: The Harsh Reality of Sugar, Sugar Substitutes and "Natural Sweeteners"

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Attention

Warning: Major supplements openly contain GMO vitamin sources

Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Society
Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:26 UTC
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© permaculturenews.org
Genetically modified organisms have permeated much of the crop industry, absolutely infesting the processed food market, but are many 'health' supplements free from the presence of GMOs? As it turns out, major supplement producers actually will openly admit that they derive many of their formulas from GMO crops - consumers just aren't really paying attention!

If you know much about Monsanto or the prevalence of GMOs, you are likely aware that a large majority of corn (about 80-95% of the entire crop in the US, if not more, depending on what research you follow) is genetically modified. Being responsible for 90% of the US GM seed market, Monsanto has done its very best to create a genetically altered monopoly on the food supply. This is where the supplement factor comes in.

As you may or may not be aware, wildly popular substances like vitamin C are usually extracted from corn - one of the leading GMO crops in the US. It is from this that the question immediately comes into focus: could supplement makers be using GMO corn to create vitamin C supplements? What about the countless other formulas that can extract from GM foods as a source. And when you consider GMO-containing 'food' can legally be labeled as 'natural' under current regulations, what 'natural' supplements could be based on Monsanto's GMO crops?
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Bulb

Stomach cancer breath test trialled successfully

Sarah Boseley
Guardian
Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:51 UTC
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© Christopher Thomond for the GuardianCancer patients receiving treatment in Harrogate: a breath test could be routinely used by a GP to rule out cancer.
Simple breath test to detect stomach cancer could lead to earlier detection of stomach cancer and save lives

Scientists have successfully trialled a simple breath test to detect stomach cancer, using a new type of sensor made of nanomaterials.

The first trial of the device is small, involving 130 patients with a range of different stomach complaints, but it proved to be more than 90% accurate in differentiating between cancer and other diseases. It was also over 90% accurate in detecting which were early-stage cancers and which were advanced.

It has been known for some time that cancers can give off odours that may not be detectable to the human nose. A study published by German researchers in 2010 described how dogs had been trained to sniff out lung cancers - although they accepted it was possible the dogs were picking up the smell of drugs used to treat patients rather than the disease.

The stomach cancer breath test takes the concept into more measurable and probably useful territory. Stomach cancer can be detected by an endoscopic examination, which involves inserting a flexible tube through the nose and into the digestive system, but this is not pleasant. A breath test could be routinely used by a GP to rule out cancer.
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Arrow Down

Lifespan for U. S. women declining


The Wall Street Journal
Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:45 UTC
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© ource: University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and EvaluationFemale life expectancy by county, 2007.
A new study offers more compelling evidence that life expectancy for some U.S. women is actually falling, a disturbing trend that experts can't explain.

The latest research found that women age 75 and younger are dying at higher rates than previous years in nearly half of the nation's counties - many of them rural and in the South and West. Curiously, for men, life expectancy has held steady or improved in nearly all counties.

A new survey from the American Psychological Association reveals troubling findings about stress in the American workplace. WSJ's Lauren Weber and the American Psychological Association's David Ballard join Lunch Break to discuss.

Two studies that looked at the effects of smoking over a lifetime found that both men and women who smoke were about three times as likely to die before reaching age 80 in one study, and 75 in the other study. WSJ's Ron Winslow reports.

The study is the latest to spot this pattern, especially among disadvantaged white women. Some leading theories blame higher smoking rates, obesity and less education, but several experts said they simply don't know why.

Comment: Smoking is always demonized when the real reasons are unknown. U.S. life expectancy has been declining for some time and likely has numerous causes, such as the broken health care system, the fact that citizens are perpetually stressed, undernourished and lacking in vital nutrients, which lands many in an endless cycle of prescription drug addiction and ever-worsening health.

5 Health Benefits of Smoking
Smoking is down, use of painkillers is up
US life expectancy continues to plummet, but not because of inadequate health care
Poor Mental Health Linked to Reduced Life Expectancy
How women suffer 'double-shift' of stress at home and work

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Attention

Deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria CRE spreading throughout U.S. healthcare system


CBS News
Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:34 UTC
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© www.usatoday.com
An antibiotic-resistant family of bacteria continues to spread throughout the U.S. health care system and is now prompting warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The bacteria, Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), kill up to half of the patients who get the bloodstream infections from the disease. The disease has evolved a resistance to carbapenems, also called last-resort antibiotics.

In addition, the CRE bacteria can reportedly transfer its resistance to other bacteria within its family. The transfer of resistance can create additional life-threatening infections for patients in hospitals, longer-term health care facilities, and possibly otherwise healthy people, according to the CDC.

The CDC said almost all CRE infections occur in people receiving "significant medical care in hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, or nursing homes."
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Health

Stored blood may be ineffective when it is desperately needed

Jonathan Weiss
Medical Daily
Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:42 UTC
Blood
© Medical Daily
Blood transfusions are a revolutionary technology that has saved countless lives both in the operating room and on the battlefield. But longterm storage of blood may diminish its life saving properties, a new study says.

A report in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia from Johns Hopkins researchers indicated that storing blood for extended periods may reduce the flexibility that red blood cells have to fit into small capillaries. This would limit their ability to bring lifesaving oxygen to starved areas of the body such as vital organs and the brain when someone is in need of a transfusion.

The shelf life of blood, according to standard medical procedure is six weeks and is usually stored at a cold temperature.

"There's more and more information telling us that the shelf life of blood may not be six weeks, which is what the blood banks consider standard," said study leader Steven M. Frank, M.D., an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "If I were having surgery tomorrow, I'd want the freshest blood they could find."
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Rose

Herbal defluoridation of drinking water

Albert Ang
Inderscience Publishers
Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:39 UTC
Researchers in India have developed a filter system based on a medicinal herb, which they say can quickly and easily remove "fluoride" from drinking water. The technology described in the March issue of the International Journal of Environmental Engineering uses parts of the plant Tridax procumbens as a biocarbon filter for the ion.

Drinking water can contain natural fluoride or fluoride might be added as a protective agent for teeth by water companies. However, its presence is not without controversy while in some natural drinking water levels may be above those considered safe by the World Health Organisation. Chemist Malairajan Singanan of the Presidency College (Autonomous), in Chennai, points out that the WHO guidelines suggest that a safe level of fluoride is 1.5 milligrams per liter. He adds that various techniques to reduce fluoride content have been tried including coagulation, adsorption, precipitation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and electrodialysis. However, metal ions with an affinity for fluoride in a biocarbon matrix represent a promising new approach.
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