Medical journal: Study linking autism, vaccines is 'elaborate fraud' ... A now-retracted British study that linked autism to childhood vaccines is an "elaborate fraud," according to a medical journal -- a charge the physician behind the study vigorously denies. The British medical journal BMJ, which published the results of its investigation, concluded Dr. Andrew Wakefield misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study -- and that there was "no doubt" Wakefield was responsible. The journalist who wrote the BMJ articles said Thursday he believes Wakefield should face criminal charges. However, Wakefield said his work has been "grossly distorted." Speaking on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, he said Wednesday he is the target of "a ruthless, pragmatic attempt to crush any attempt to investigate valid vaccine safety concerns." The medical publication says the study has done long-lasting damage to public health. - CNN

Dominant Social Theme: Vaccines are safe. Period. And those who deny it are criminals.

Free-Market Analysis: Dr. Wakefield's journey into medical purgatory continues. He initially co-authored a study back in 1998 that suggested that a link between autism and vaccines deserved further study. Since then his views have hardened. He has been outspoken about the dangers of giving children so many vaccines in early childhood - by some estimates up to 35 vaccines before a child is five years old. His arguments have found fertile soil, with both parents and Dr. Wakefield suggesting that children with compromised immune systems - or even children with a certain genetic profile - ought to forego an aggressive vaccination schedules.

The idea of bombarding the young body with so many faux-illnesses over such a short period of time is probably bound to generate certain side-effects in certain children - or at least this seems to be a reasonable perspective. Doctors in private may admit to this possibility, yet Big Pharma, behind the vaccine industry, seems unable to countenance the perspective that vaccines are in any way responsible for any side-effects at all. The idea that a single one-size-fits-all medical treatment has NO untoward effects EVER seems a somewhat doctrinaire view, but it is the one that some in the field, including the pharmaceutical industry itself, continue to advance.

A man who used to repair surgical instruments at the Health Sciences Centre is raising concerns about their cleanliness.

Lyn Delorme, a former senior surgical instrument technician, said he has tested instruments that are supposed to be sterile - and discovered they are contaminated with human blood, flesh or bone.

"It's not only stuff that's coming to me, it's stuff that I'm finding that's being used in clinical use," Delorme said.

"I would think the worst thing that could happen is an infection that could ultimately lead to death," he said.

Delorme provided photos to CTV that he said show dirty surgical instruments that he has come across over the 10 years he has worked at the Health Sciences Centre.

"I've been seeing this throughout the 10 years but it seems to be getting worse," Delorme said.

A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Heidi Graham, said the hospital conducts random testing of instruments and when it is discovered an instrument is contaminated with materials like blood or a strand of hair, it is labelled "difficult to clean."

Many of us limit our intake of tuna and swordfish due to high mercury levels in those fish, but research is just beginning to show that we are consuming many other chemicals through our seafood, and our disposable plastic waste may be a potent source of this contamination. This article will take you on a possible journey from your plastic bag, to the ocean, and back to your dinner plate with a fish that may have fed on a plastic bag. Has our quest for convenience with throw away plastics led to contaminated fish?

Plantain and broccoli fiber could help prevent relapses of Crohn's disease, a new study suggests.

Crohn's disease is a condition, in which the intestines can become painfully inflamed, causing diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss.

Now scientists have found that certain types of soluable fiber can help prevent bacteria from sticking to the gut's walls, and hence reduce the progress of the disease.

Newly released test results have revealed much more of a toxic chemical in tainted animal feed than previously thought.

The tests at the plant in northern Germany where the contamination happened revealed levels of dioxin at 77 times the permitted level. The plant produces fats to be used in industrial processes like paper-making as well as to enrich feeds for animals.

The dioxin-laden industrial substance went into the animal feed ingredient.

Initially the scare was confined to Germany, but then it emerged that a batch of affected eggs had been exported to the Netherlands for processing and from there to Britain. The processed eggs were destined for use in the production of a variety of foodstuffs including mayonnaise, cakes and quiches.

Some 4,700 German farms have been banned from making deliveries after tests at the Harles und Jentzsch plant in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The firm was found to have supplied 25 animal feed makers with 3,000 tonnes of contaminated fat. German officials say the farm measures are only a precaution.

Do Intestinal Parasites Explain Your Post-Vacation Slump?

After traveling, it's time to get your GI tract back on track, because you may have brought home a parasite on your vacation.

Your bowel disturbances may have already told you that parasites had arrived in your digestive tract.

Parasites Can Be Acquired Anywhere

You don't need to travel to get a parasitic infection. The gastrointestinal tract is vulnerable to getting parasites anywhere, as I will explain below.

Last year I saw a patient who had returned from her Christmas vacation complaining of persistent dizziness and fatigue that had not improved for over a year.

Before visiting my office she had consulted three other doctors but no cause for the dizziness was found.

When I questioned her about the vacation, which took place at a Caribbean resort, I discovered that she had experienced a transient episode of diarrhea there and since returning home had been unusually constipated and gassy.

She had never mentioned these intestinal symptoms to a doctor before, because it was dizziness and fatigue that bothered her the most.

Organic is organic, or is it? It would seem that it is all a matter of perspective when one takes a stroll through the mountains of documents on the FDA and USDA websites.

The word "organic" is fast becoming a high-dollar money-maker for corporations smart enough to jump on the bandwagon and start marketing their products as "made with organic ingredients," or "certified organic." Even Monsanto is taking advantage of this burgeoning market, and people naïve enough to believe that what we have traditionally thought of as pure, organic food, is still that way, are being duped.

It makes perfect sense, however, in a Machiavellian sort of way. Flood the food supply with poisons, then lead people to believe that the only safe choice left is USDA Certified Organic. Then buy up the organic companies one by one, and start changing the "organic" rules from the inside out via the bought and paid for government agencies so that you can reap the profits from those trying to escape the poisons.

So let's take a closer look at just what the word "organic" refers to according to these government agencies. You might be surprised at what we find. The fact that the very agencies (FDA and USDA), which are supposed to be protecting our organic food supply, are intensely active in its adulteration will become apparent.

Clues about how the human gut helps regulate our appetite have come from a most unusual source - fruit fly faeces.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge are using the fruit fly to help understand aspects of human metabolism, including why pregnant women suffer from bloating and constipation, and even the link between a low calorie diet and longevity.

Although scientists have known for some time that there are as many as 500 million nerve cells in our gut, the sheer complexity that this presents means that little is known about the different types of nerve cell and their functions.

Now, researchers led by Dr Irene Miguel-Aliaga, with funding from the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, have used the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to investigate the function of these intestinal neurons. The fly has simpler versions of our nervous and digestive systems, which lend it to genetic manipulation. Their findings are published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Around one in seven Britons are feeling 'extremely stressed' as they start 2011 and are at a higher risk of suffering a stroke, new research out today suggests.

Almost one in five women and one in 10 men feel their stress levels are out of control, according to the poll of 2,000 people.

Experts warned that stress pushes up blood pressure, putting people at higher risk of stroke.

A poor diet and lack of exercise also contribute to the chances of suffering a stroke.

Stroke is the third commonest cause of death in England and Wales after heart disease and cancer, killing more than 67,000 people every year. An estimated 150,000 people annually suffer a stroke.

I see that a study has been published today in the New England Journal of Medicine [1] that concerns the condition irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). You can read a summary of the study here. This study tested the effect of an antibiotic (rifaximin) on individuals with IBS. Compared to placebo, two weeks of this antibiotic helped to reduce IBS symptoms, and this benefit was sustained for some weeks after the antibiotic was taken.

How might this work? Well, the antibiotic's benefits here almost certainly had something to do with the fact that imbalance in the organisms within the gut is a potential underlying factor in IBS. I have seen in my time in practice many individuals with IBS symptoms and normal stool test results (from conventional testing) who turn out to have significant imbalance in the gut when more sophisticated stool analysis is performed. Not uncommonly we find one or more of the following: