Health & WellnessS


Attention

Lectins, Gluten, Rheumatoid Arthritis, & Molecular Mimicry

I recently had an opportunity to sit down with Fox News and discuss the concept of food inducing autoimmune disease...

On that same note, the following review study discusses the correlation between food proteins, lectins, autoimmune inflammation, and the concept of molecular mimicry...
Despite the almost universal clinical observation that inflammation of the gut is frequently associated with inflammation of the joints and vice versa, the nature of this relationship remains elusive. In the present review, we provide evidence for how the interaction of dietary lectins with enterocytes and lymphocytes may facilitate the translocation of both dietary and gut-derived pathogenic antigens to peripheral tissues, which in turn causes persistent peripheral antigenic stimulation. In genetically susceptible individuals, this antigenic stimulation may ultimately result in the expression of overt rheumatoid arthritis (RA) via molecular mimicry, a process whereby foreign peptides, similar in structure to endogenous peptides, may cause antibodies or T-lymphocytes to cross-react with both foreign and endogenous peptides and thereby break immunological tolerance. By eliminating dietary elements, particularly lectins, which adversely influence both enterocyte and lymphocyte structure and function, it is proposed that the peripheral antigenic stimulus (both pathogenic and dietary) will be reduced and thereby result in a diminution of disease symptoms in certain patients with RA.

Heart

Fever Appears to Rev Up the Immune System

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© babble.com
Let's imagine you're walking around barefoot and stub your big toe hard on the leg of a table. It hurts. That's a pain (quite literally), but at least it's telling you you've done something you might want to avoid doing too often. And should that pain persist in the form of inflammation, there's a chance you are going to be a bit more protective of that toe while it heals. Look at it like that, and there's an argument for seeing pain as a positive thing.

This is a simple example of how the body generates symptoms that, while inconvenient, are to the betterment of the body and the healing process. Another example is fever.

One of the normal symptoms and signs of infection is raised body temperature. I've read and been told several times that fever 'helps the immune system do its job', and there now appears to be some evidence that this is indeed the case. In a study published recently in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, higher body temperature in mice was found to lead to greater numbers of cells known as CD8+ T cells that have the ability to kill cells infected with a virus (as well as tumour cells) [1].

Comment: For more information, also read: Do Not Kill a Fever: Fever Kills Viruses


Ambulance

US: South Carolina Has First Human Rabies Case in 50 Years

A middle-aged woman in South Carolina has contracted the state's first case of human rabies in more than 50 years, health officials said on Friday.

"There are only about one to three cases of human rabies each year in this country," said Dr. Eric Brenner, epidemiologist with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's Bureau of Disease Control.

"Tragically, rabies almost always ends in death," he said in a statement.

Brenner said health officials believe the woman likely was bitten by a bat that entered her home a few months ago.

"The rabies virus travels slowly through the body until it reaches the brain and central nervous system and produces serious initial symptoms including headache, difficulty swallowing, seizures, anxiety, agitation and confusion," he said. "Most patients die within a few weeks after the onset of these symptoms."

Attention

The Dangers of Soy Are Real - and Much Worse Than You Might Think

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© unknown
Promoting soy foods as health foods while ignoring the dangers of soy and soy derivatives should be considered a crime against humanity. If you think this statement is too extreme, read this article to the end, and then see what you think!

The dangers of soy are thoroughly documented in the scientific literature, which makes it hard to believe that many health and fitness communities and counselors, and most health food stores, still promote soy products as ultra-healthy foods.

Hopefully this harmful misrepresentation of soy foods will begin to change as the dangers of soy become better known.

Comment: For a more in depth look at The Truth about Soy read the following articles:

Soy: Dark Side of a "Health Food"
95% of Soy Products May be Damaging Your Health
Not Soy Fast
Is Soy the Ticket to Good Health or Infertility? Here's the Scoop
Confused About Soy?: Soy Dangers Summarized
The War on Soy: Why the 'Miracle Food' May Be a Health Risk and Environmental Nightmare


People

Best of the Web: Monsanto™ Roundup Ready Crops Leading to Mental Illness, Obesity

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© Unknown
It seems that the good bacteria found in your gut may actually be destroyed with every bite of certain food that you eat.

While antibiotics typically hold first prize in depleting the body's gut flora levels, there may be a new culprit looking to take the spotlight which you may know as genetically modified food.

Monsanto's Roundup Ready Crops Leading to Decreased Gut Flora

A formula seems to have been made to not only ruin the agricultural system, but also compromise the health of millions of people worldwide.

With the advent of Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops, resistant superweeds are taking over farmland and public health is being attacked. These genetically engineered crops are created to withstand large amounts of Monsanto's top-selling herbicide, Roundup. As it turns out, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is actually leaving behind its residue on Roundup Ready crops, causing further potential concern for public health.

Ambulance

Anti 'detox' stance is unscientific and defies common sense

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© Unknown
I came across this story today. It's based on an article written by Professor David Bender - a nutritional biochemist. His article, which appeared in the journal The Biologist, apparently debunks detoxification regimes. They're worthless and unscientific, apparently. The body, we're assured, already has efficient detox systems (including the liver) that efficiently eliminates toxins and keeps us from harm.

But hang on a moment, if the body's detox system is to brilliant, how come a few thousand milligrams of paracetamol can lead to liver failure and death? Let's see how far our liver gets us if we decide to down a bottle of antifreeze? How come poisons are called 'poisons'?

Let's try a foodstuff, and an example that I think even Professor David Bender would have difficulty dismissing out-of-hand - alcohol. Drink enough alcohol, regularly enough, and it can damage the liver. As a result, the liver can fail to do its job properly, which can lead to the build-up of potentially toxic substances that effectively 'poison' the body. Liver failure due to alcohol can kill, too. There's nothing contentious about any of this, in that all this is utterly accepted by the medical profession.

Health

US, Maryland: Parents Sue After Teen Dies During Wisdom Tooth Surgery

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© ABC NewsParents Sue After Teen Dies During Wisdom Tooth Surgery
The parents of a Maryland teen who died earlier this year during wisdom tooth surgery have sued the oral surgeon and the anesthetist for medical malpractice.

Jenny Olenick, a 17-year-old junior at Marriotts Ridge High School in Woodstock, Md., died in April from complications during the outpatient procedure performed on 5 million Americans each year.

"It's so hard," Cathy Garger, Olenick's mother, told ABCNews.com. "She was the only one we had."

The civil suit, filed in Howard Country Circuit Court, claims the oral surgeon, Dr. Domenick Coletti, and the anesthiologist, Dr. Krista Michelle Isaacs, were negligent and failed to resuscitate Olenick after her heart rate and blood oxygen level dropped.

Garger and Olenick's father, John, declined to comment on the pending case, but a spokeswoman for the family said they hope to highlight the surgery's risks and the need for better emergency training among dentists and oral surgeons.

Arrow Up

Is your neck alignment causing heart disease?

cervical misalignment
Diagram representing the upper cervical misalignment and its association with heart health.
If you follow college football I'm sure you were shocked to learn of the recent death of a Division I college football player. The 19 year old football player was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy - a disease of the heart that causes abnormal enlargement of the walls of the heart.

While in chiropractic school, I did some in-depth study of the upper cervical region, specifically the nerves of the region and how they affect different tissues. One organ that I gave particular attention to was the heart. Two of the most important nerves that control your heart are the vagus nerve and the sympathetic chain. Both of these nerves are in very close proximity to the upper cervical spine (top two bones in the neck). The vagus nerve controls the "rest and digest" (parasympathetic activity), whereas the sympathetic chain provides the "fight or flight" (sympathetic activity) regulation of the heart.

In light of recent news stated above and my passion to help people in their journey to optimal health, I have revisited the nerves in the upper cervical region and how they may affect the function of the heart and other vital organs.

Penis Pump

France Facing Crisis After Discovery That Tens of Thousands of Women May Have Been Given Industrial Silicone In Breast Implants

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© Unknown
France is experiencing a massive tort scandal after it was discovered thousands of women were given breast implants containing industrial silicone rather than medical silicone. We have seen in "Vassallo v. Baxter Healthcare Corp"., 696 N.E.2d 909 (Mass.1998), a court looked at the liability of one such company under an implied warranty of merchantability for failure to warn or provide instructions about risks.

The appellate court Defendant did have actual or constructive knowledge of such cases in the United States of faux doctors using industrial silicone purchased from auto and home repair stores. Nothing, however, comes close to the French scandal. Over 30,000 women in France (as well as some in Spain and the UK) may have had the defective products from Poly Implant Prosthesis (PIP).

The women are generally low income individuals, who (like the women in the United States) were attracted by the cheap cost of the cosmetic surgery.

PIP is one of the world's leading producers of the implants and reportedly saved €1 billion a year by using industrial silicone instead of medical-grade fillers. The company has now closed after women developed cancer and other illnesses. One surprising fact is that between 400,000 and 500,000 women in France have breast implants.

Attention

Should I Give My Pets Human Medication, Idiots Wonder

Puppy
© MinyanvilleYou don't deserve me!

Pet websites and magazines have exhaustive lists of foods that are safe and unsafe for animals to eat. Everyone knows that dogs can't eat chocolate, but yogurt is perfectly fine, as are flax seed and pumpkin, according to Modern Dog Magazine.

Of course, Ibuprofen is one thing that pretty much everyone should know is unsafe for dogs. But, apparently, many people don't. Earlier today, the Daily Telegraph reported on a growing number of pet owners who treat their pets with cheap human meds. Unfortunately, many human medicines cause severe side effects in animals.

Ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Advil, can cause serious ulcers and kidney problems. The drug paracetamol, about which many vets receive concerned phone calls, can cause irreversible liver and kidney problems. And, the obviously terrible -- but not uncommon -- idea to give hyperactive pets anti-depressants leads to vomiting, lethargy and violent seizures.

The report covers British pet owners, who are suffering acutely from the effects of the recession. Even as their economy has slowed, veterinary fees have increased at twice the rate of inflation.