Health & WellnessS


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Are happy gut bacteria key to weight loss?




Imbalances in the microbial community in your intestines may lead to metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes. What does science say about how to reset our bodies?


A few years before Super Size Me hit theaters in 2004, Dr. Paresh Dandona, a diabetes specialist in Buffalo, New York, set out to measure the body's response to McDonald's - specifically breakfast. Over several mornings, he fed nine normal-weight volunteers an egg sandwich with cheese and ham, a sausage muffin sandwich, and two hash brown patties.

Dandona is a professor at the State University of New York-Buffalo who also heads the Diabetes-Endocrinology Center of Western New York, and what he observed has informed his research ever since. Levels of a C-reactive protein, an indicator of systemic inflammation, shot up "within literally minutes." "I was shocked," he recalls, that "a simple McDonald's meal that seems harmless enough" - the sort of high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal that 1 in 4 Americans eats regularly - would have such a dramatic effect. And it lasted for hours.

Padlock

Under the microscope: The effect of loneliness on physical and mental health

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© Jia Yao/The StatesmanTurhan Canli, Associate Professor of Integrative Neuroscience, plans to continue examining differentially expressed hereditary and epigenetic genes.
For decades, scientists and psychologists hinted at the link between mental health and physical health. While Stony Brook University Associate Professor of Integrative Neuroscience Dr. Turhan Canli explained the anecdotal evidence of centenarians being more social than their counterparts, his work focuses primarily on molecular characteristics of individuals with certain personality traits and the correlation of those characteristics with physical health.

One of the major studies in Canli's lab focuses on the link between loneliness and health. A study published by Dr. John Cacioppo found that college-aged women who were lonely had reduced activity in the nucleus accumbens region when shown positive pictures of people in social groups, compared to their non-lonely counterparts. The nucleus accumbens region is a reward center in the brain that is activated by pleasurable activities.

It is important to note that loneliness does not necessarily correlate with the number of people a person knows. Some people prefer to be alone while others can have a big social group but still feel lonely. Therefore, individuals are characterized as lonely through self-reports, corroborated by psychological analyses.

Canli and his lab group aimed to further elucidate upon Cacioppo's findings by studying gene expression in this portion of the brain. To do this, Canli collaborated with a brain bank in Chicago, which supplied him with post-mortem brain tissues from the nucleus accumbens of people who were and were not lonely.

Comment: For clues on how to effect epigenetic changes that will change your mood and lead you to a healthier life, see

The Ketogenic Diet - An Overview
Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets
Ketogenic Diet (high-fat, low-carb) Has Neuroprotective and Disease-modifying Effects
Ketogenic Diet Reduces Symptoms of Alzheimer's
Ketogenic diet, calorie restriction and hyperbaric treatment offer hope for non-toxic cancer treatment and alleviation of multiple health issues
Your brain on ketones


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GMO 'Golden Rice' tested on kids without parental consent

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Beta-carotene enhanced GM rice, the "golden" child of biotech, is now hampered by a fudged study under ethics scrutiny.

A GMO study conducted in China, but funded by the USDA, tested unapproved "Golden Rice" on children without authorization, creating serious violations of ethics rules.

Tufts University researchers admitted that their lead scientist, Guangwen Tang, had broken the rules of disclosure in tests on human subjects, but maintain that their August 2012 study titled "β-Carotene in "Golden Rice" is as good as β-carotene in oil at providing vitamin A to children" remains valid.

Greenpeace China blew the whistle on what it called a scandal over a "potentially dangerous product." Not properly informing the parents of the children used in the study constitutes a clear and serious ethics violations, the organization indicated.

Syringe

Poisonous medicine: 4 children reportedly die after vaccination

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Parents claims the children had received polio and measles vaccines.
Karachi: In separate incidents, four children including twins reportedly died in Sindh after they received polio drops and measles vaccines, The Express Tribune learnt on Tuesday

The first tragic incident was reported from a remote area of Badin district, where 4-month-old Maria and her brother Ramazan died after receiving polio drops.

According to Murtaza Jat, the uncle of the children, both the children were healthy till Monday afternoon, when the polio team came to their house.

"After taking drops, both the minors got unconscious and were taken to nearby hospital where Maria died on Monday night while Ramazan died during treatment at the Children Charitable Hospital Mirpurkhas on Tuesday early morning," he said.

He said two other children of same village also got sick getting polio drops. "They started vomiting and are still ill," he added.

Murtaza believes that Maria's postmortem report will disclose the truth. "The doctor present at Pangrio's Public Hospital was not ready for Ramzan's postmortem. He made fun of our request," he added.

He said the vaccination team carried drops in shopping bags without ice. "They didn't even know how many drops to give. They just leveled the bottle without counting drops," he alleged. "It is a very sensitive issue as health department's teams are playing with the lives of children."

Bacon n Eggs

How does a vegetarian transition to paleo?

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Here's a really interesting question from a reader and my thoughts on the matter...

I have been a vegetarian for almost three years and a few days ago I spoke to a friend that has been on the Paleo diet for a few months now. After speaking with her about all of the positive results she has seen so far I decided to change my whole lifestyle and transition into the Paleo diet. Previously my vegetarian diet was a lacto-ovo diet including some fish occasionally. My question would be, now that I am on day three of the Paleo diet, how slowly/quickly should I start introducing meat and protein into my diet in order to prevent getting sick (if that even is a possible risk)?

So how does a vegetarian transition to Paleo? This is actually a pretty common concern among vegetarians, and sometimes a valid one. In my experience with clients and readers, I've noticed that some people's bodies stop producing enough of the necessary enzymes and other digestive juices to break down meat after being vegetarian for a while.

This is made really clear when they start eating meat and feel like crap afterward. It doesn't sound like that's happening to you, so you're probably in the clear. However, some people get bloating, intestinal pain, constipation, heartburn, or they feel tired right after eating it. Any number of things can happen, but those are some of the symptoms I've seen. Sometimes these symptoms are totally new to people and sometimes they're just made worse by the introduction of meat.

Comment: See also:

Why Vegetarians Are Eating Meat
Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian
Another reason to eat meat: Vegetarian cave bear 'starved to death' during Ice Age
Most Vegetarians Return to Eating Meat


Health

Better than big pharma: 5 herbs you can't do without

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Sometimes herbs can deliver up healing powers that pharmaceutical companies can only dream about.

Can't sleep? Try lemon balm. Suffer from anxiety? Lemon balm. Want to boost your immune system? Lemon balm. Cold sore? Lemon balm. And this lemon-scented mint relative is also antiviral, good for fevers, and great for indigestion, gas, and bloating.

Find it surprising that one plant can do so much? Herbs are not always as multipurpose as lemon balm - not to mention delicious, safe, and effective - but sometimes herbs can deliver up healing powers that pharmaceutical companies can only dream about. And if that sounds crazy, then give it a try with an open mind and see for yourself.

In my own case, after trying every pharmaceutical around, I've found two fixes for my migraines. One is Percocets, a controlled, Schedule II substance that cannot be used too frequently because of dependency issues. If you use Percocets regularly, you'll find that the same dose no longer delivers the same amount of pain relief.

My other migraine fix is peppermint essential oil. Safe, cheap, non-prescription, and non-addictive. I smear the stuff all over the part of my head that hurts, keeping it well away from my eyes, and within minutes my headache dissipates. For me, that's an herb I cannot live without.

Info

Under threat of lawsuit FDA to withdraw approvals of arsenic in animal feed

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Late yesterday, under threat of a lawsuit, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to a nearly four-year-old petition, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the vast majority of arsenic-containing compounds used as feed additives for chickens, turkeys and hogs. A lawsuit filed by Center for Food Safety (CFS), the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and seven other U.S. food safety, agriculture, public health and environmental groups compelled the FDA to respond. The FDA will withdraw three of the four arsenicals and all drug approvals associated with them. Of the 101 drug approvals for arsenic-based animal drugs, 98 will be withdrawn.

"The withdrawal of these harmful feed additives is a major victory for consumers and the health of our food system," said Paige Tomaselli, senior attorney with Center for Food Safety.
"It is unfortunate that legal pressure from outside groups was necessary to spur action by FDA, yet in the end, we are pleased that FDA listened to our scientific objections and is now working to rid arsenic from our meat supply."
Arsenic is added to poultry feed for the purposes of inducing faster weight gain on less feed, and creating the perceived appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens, turkeys and hogs. A 2006 IATP report estimated that more than 70 percent of all U.S. chickens raised for meat are fed arsenic, and testing of supermarket bought and fast food chicken found that much of it contained some level of arsenic.

Magic Wand

Key mechanism behind herpes revealed

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have for the first time managed to measure the internal pressure that enables the herpes virus to infect cells in the human body. The discovery paves the way for the development of new medicines to combat viral infections. The results indicate good chances to stop herpes infections in the future.

A virus comprises a thin shell of protein, within which are its genes. A long-standing theory has been that a virus has high internal pressure because it is so tightly packed with genetic material. The pressure means that they can infect a cell by ejecting the genes at high force and speed. The cell is then duped into becoming a small 'virus factory' that produces new viruses, multiplying the number. However, no one has previously succeeded in measuring the internal pressure of a virus that can infect humans.

Biochemist Alex Evilevitch from Lund University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA, has measured the pressure inside the herpes virus HSV-1 (herpes simplex virus 1) together with a research team in the US. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, JACS.

"The pressure explains the way all eight known herpes viruses that infect humans inject their genes into our cells", said Alex Evilevitch.

This includes both of the two most common forms of herpes, which cause cold sores and genital herpes, as well as Varicella zostervirus, which causes chickenpox and shingles, Epstein-Barr virus, which leads to glandular fever, and viruses linked to various forms of cancer.

Health

Research proves wheat can cause harm to everyone's intestines

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The myth that you need to have 'bad genes' to experience intestinal damage from consuming wheat was disproved years ago.
It is a common myth that wheat only causes immune-mediated intestinal damage within those with a rare genetically based aberration called celiac disease. Still relatively unknown research from 2007 clearly demonstrated that everyone's body likely experiences adverse intestinal effects from gluten (gliadin) exposure.

As far as celiac disease, the specific mechanisms by which wheat causes damage are well-known, and they go like this...

In celiac disease, an alcohol-soluble wheat storage protein known as gliadin is partially degraded (i.e. deamidated) by the enzyme tissue transglutaminase, the effect of which is to activate susceptible host T-cells to mistakenly identify and attack intestinal villi as if they were 'foreign' invaders. This highly destructive autoimmune process can be verified through blood tests, or through the so-called "gold standard" of an intestinal biopsy that clearly reveals destroyed villi and/or flattened intestinal surfaces, the hallmark pathology of celiac disease.

The reality, however, is that one does not need to be celiac, or have a particular genetic mutation, in order to experience damage associated with exposure to wheat gliadin.

Bandaid

25 good reasons why psychiatry must be abolished

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1. Because psychiatrists frequently cause harm, permanent disabilities, death - death of the body-mind-spirit.

2. Because psychiatrists frequently violate the Hippocratic Oath which orders all physicians "First Do No Harm."

3. Because psychiatrists patronize and dis-empower people, especially their patients.

4. Because psychiatry is not a medical science.

5. Because psychiatry is quackery, a pseudo-science which lacks independent diagnostic tests, testable hypotheses, and cures for "schizophrenia" and all other types of alleged "mental illness" or "mental disorder".

6. Because psychiatrists can not accurately and reliably predict dangerousness, violence, or any other type of human behaviour, yet make such claims as "expert witnesses", and with the media promote the "dangerous mental patient" myth/stereotype.

7. Because psychiatrists have caused a worldwide epidemic of brain damage by promoting and prescribing brain-disabling treatments such as the neuroleptics, antidepressants, electroconvulsive brainwashing (electroshock), and psychosurgery (lobotomy).

8. Because psychiatrists manufacture hundreds of "mental disorders" classified in its bible called "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (a modern witch-hunting manual); such "mental disorders" and "symptoms" are in fact negative, class-and-culturally-biased moral judgments for dissident ways of coping with personal problems and alternative ways of perceiving, interpreting or being in the world.

Comment: Rather than abolition of psychiatry, what needs to be addressed is the corruption of the psychiatric science by pathological individuals who tend to "rise to the top" in fields that allow them power and control over others. Such fields include not only business and politics, but also medicine and academics, including topics such as psychology and psychiatry. Such spheres of influence are ripe for manipulation by those who seek to conceal or confuse the topic so as to better hide their own pathology. From Political Ponerology: The Science of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes by Andrew M. Lobaczewski:
[...] Within this science [psychology], progress is unfortunately very contingent upon the individual values and nature of its practitioners. It is also dependent upon the social climate. Wherever a society has become enslaved to others or to the rule of an overly-privileged native class, psychology is the first discipline to suffer from censorship and incursions on the part of an administrative body which starts claiming the last word as to what represents scientific truth.[...]

Psychology and Psychiatry under Pathocratic Rule

[...] We need to understand the nature of the macrosocial phenomenon as well as that basic relationship and controversy between the pathological system and those areas of science which describe psychological and psychopathological phenomena. Otherwise, we cannot become fully conscious of the reasons for such a government's long published behavior.

A normal person's actions and reactions, his ideas and moral criteria, all too often strike abnormal individuals as abnormal. For if a person with some psychological deviations considers himself normal, which is of course significantly easier if he possesses authority, then he would consider a normal person different and therefore abnormal, whether in reality or as a result of conversive thinking. That explains why such people's government shall always have the tendency to treat any dissidents as "mentally abnormal". [...]

The abuse of psychiatry for purposes we already know thus derives from the very nature of pathocracy as a macrosocial psychopathological phenomenon. After all, that very area of knowledge and treatment must first be degraded to prevent it from jeopardizing the system itself by pronouncing a dramatic diagnosis, and must then be used as an expedient tool in the hands of the authorities. In every country, however, one meets with people who notice this and act astutely against it.

The pathocracy feels increasingly threatened by this area whenever the medical and psychological sciences make progress. After all, not only can these sciences knock the weapon of psychological conquest right out of its hands; they can even strike at its very nature, and from inside the empire, at that.

A specific perception of these matters therefore bids the pathocracy to be "ideationally alert" in this area. This also explains why anyone who is both too knowledgeable in this area and too far outside the immediate reach of such authorities should be accused of anything that can be trumped up, including psychological abnormality.
For more information see:

On the Nature of Psychopathy: A Thought Experiment
Political Ponerology: A Science on The Nature of Evil adjusted for Political Purposes