Health & WellnessS


Cheeseburger

Council spends £100,000 on 'McPath' to help Bridgend pupils get safely from school to the nearest McDonald's

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The head and governors of Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend, South Wales, gave their backing to council plans for the new footpath
It's unlikely to impress Jamie Oliver. Far from discouraging pupils from a junk food diet, a council is making it even easier to indulge - by spending £100,000 on a footpath from their school gate to McDonald's.

Every lunchtime 200 pupils shun school meals to walk along the grass verge of a busy road to the burger bar.

A footpath, already being nicknamed the 'McPath', is being built to make the half-mile walk safer - and the school's head and governors are supporting it.

The decision is likely to infuriate campaigners, most notably TV chef Oliver, who have pushed for healthier school meals.

But council chiefs said they couldn't stop children eating burgers and needed to protect them along the busy A48

Attention

Canada: Concerns About Niagara Hospitals Grow as C. Difficile Death Toll Rises to 16

C. Difficile
© unknownC. Difficile
A chorus of concern about the management of a number of hospitals in Ontario's Niagara region is growing amidst an outbreak of Clostridium difficile that's been linked to the deaths of 16 patients.

The patients were being treated at three hospitals experiencing clusters of cases of the bacterial disease: four have died at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, 10 at St. Catharines General Hospital and two at the Welland Hospital since the outbreak was declared May 28.

The three centres are run by the Niagara Health System, a network of seven hospitals serving 434,000 people around Niagara Falls and St. Catharines.

Protesters will hold a rally outside the Greater Niagara General Hospital on Wednesday to voice their displeasure with the way the hospitals are being run.

Organizers said the outbreak of the disease, which causes severe diarrhea in certain vulnerable patients as a result of taking antibiotics, is just the latest example of how the network has mismanaged the hospitals.

"We believe the NHS has been ignoring the crisis in health care for a while and I think this particular issue, the C. difficile, was the thing that had our council say, 'We've had enough,'" said Niagara City Councillor Wayne Gates.

The Niagara Health System took too long to alert the public about the health concerns arising from C. difficile, Mr. Gates said, noting that health officials first learned about the outbreak May 12, but didn't alert the public until more than a month later.

This comes after the closing of emergency departments in two hospitals in the area.

Attention

Fluoridated Water - The Ultimate Evil

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© extremelifechanger.com
Water actually is a battleground between good and evil and we see this in the fluoridation issue. One cannot understand the universe of water without grappling with poisonous fluoride and its government-mandated entry into public water supplies in the United States, Brazil, and several other countries that have stupidly followed America's lead in water fluoridation. Just because it's invisible does not make it any less deadly in the long haul in terms of public health. I had to say that because most people in fluoridated countries just don't mind that it is there; it's simply off their radar screens. And in fact, when you go back to the history and beginning of water fluoridation, we find out that it was the Nazis who used it first to turn their prisoners of war into passive sheep.

Smoking

Given Poison with One Hand, and Being Taken Everything Else with the Other: Varenicline for Smoking Cessation Linked to Increased Risk of Serious Harmful Cardiac Events

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© Unknown
The use of varenicline to stop smoking is associated with a 72% increased risk of a serious adverse cardiovascular event, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only).

Heart disease is a common cause of serious illness and death in smokers and is often a reason for people to stop smoking. Varenicline is one of the most commonly used drugs to help people quit smoking worldwide. When varenicline was launched in 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety reviewers reported that existing data indicated it could raise the risk of adverse cardiac events. The FDA recently updated the label for Chantix based on a small increased risk of cardiovascular events among smokers with heart disease.


Comment: Did you catch that? "Heart disease is a common cause of serious illness and death in smokers". Sayz who?!

C-reactive protein (CRP), a well-established marker of low-grade inflammation is used to determine the risk for cardiovascular events. And guess what? Nicotine is a major anti-inflammatory agent, while varenicline increases the risk of adverse cardiac events. So perhaps the sentence should be changed into: "Heart disease is a common cause of serious illness and death in ex-smokers on varenicline?"


A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom; and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, sought to investigate the serious cardiac effects of varenicline in tobacco users (smokers or smokeless tobacco users) compared with placebos in clinical trials. They looked at 14 trials that included 8216 patients (4908 people on varenicline and 3308 taking placebos). All trials except one excluded people with a history of heart disease.

Comment: Sorry, Doc, but what is truly heartbreaking is witnessing how in the world where human beings are being stripped off the last shreds of their dignity, privacy and individuality, those who are actually responsible for such soul-killing crimes are also busy with lying in a cruel and cynical way that they are suddenly concerned about our welfare.


Cow

You've Been Living A Lie: The Story Of Saturated Fat And Cholesterol

fat molecule pic
© Unknown
Let's make one thing clear - when someone is going to lower carbohydrate content in their diet, they should replace it mostly with fat, not protein. Eating a lot of protein with little fat and carbs may be a short term strategy for initiating fat loss, but not a healthy way of eating in the long run. A lot of people, who are willing to try or have already felt the benefits of low-carb/high-fat eating, are scared of hurting themselves, because the common knowledge is that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease by clogging arteries. In reality, that is as far from the truth as Planet Earth is from the Sun!

Saturated fat (SF) and cholesterol (CH) are both important components of healthy cell membranes - SF makes them optimally rigid and without CH our trillions of cells would collapse into jello-like substance. Unlike polyunsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids do not oxidize easily, because they have a very stable molecular structure. By the way, atherosclerotic plaque found on the walls of arteries is made up mostly of unsaturated fatty acids.

By minimizing SF intake, it is impossible to get enough fat soluble vitamins. A lot of nutrients found in vegetables go to waste if not prepared with fat - and by fat I mean SF, because only saturated fatty acids have the ability to resist heat and thus not oxidize. Moreover, energy provided by fats is long-lasting and does not result in an energy crash. And SF is the most satiating macronutrient of all!

CH is vital for healthy brain function and it protects against depression. It acts as a powerful antioxidant, even protecting us from cancer. Without CH our skin is incapable of synthesizing vitamin D from sunlight. With too little CH, our bodies cannot make new cells and repair old ones quickly enough, which means accelerated aging. In addition to being a building material for cells, cholesterol is used by the body to synthesize hormones we need for fighting stress and simply living a normal life. That is why a stressful lifestyle raises CH levels in the blood - we need more CH to cope with increased demands. Older people have higher CH levels, because their lifespan has created more cellular damage compared to younger people - thus its unwise to lower their CH with drugs. By the way, people with higher CH levels live longer than people with lower CH levels.

People

Talk Deeply, Be Happy?

Would you be happier if you spent more time discussing the state of the world and the meaning of life - and less time talking about the weather?

It may sound counterintuitive, but people who spend more of their day having deep discussions and less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier, said Matthias Mehl, a psychologist at the University of Arizona who published a study on the subject.

"We found this so interesting, because it could have gone the other way - it could have been, 'Don't worry, be happy' - as long as you surf on the shallow level of life you're happy, and if you go into the existential depths you'll be unhappy," Dr. Mehl said.

2 + 2 = 4

These Five Foods May Cause Problems VERY Similar to Wheat...

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© Comstock/thinkstock
While eliminating wheat from your diet is an excellent and necessary step for improving health, it may not be alone sufficient, especially in those with serious health challenges.

According to a series of articles on the website Green Med Info, there are other foods in the Western diet that have properties similar to wheat, because they contain "chitin binding lectins", which are similar to wheat lectin (WGA).

Chitins are long polymers of n-acetyl-glucosamine, the primary binding target of wheat lectin. Wheat lectin and chitin-binding lectin are therefore functionally identical. Chitin-binding lectin containing foods include:

  • Potato
  • Tomato
  • Barley
  • Rye
  • Rice
Additionally, sprouted grains, which are typically considered to be healthful fare can also be problematic for a couple of different reasons. Not only do sprouted whole wheat contain the highest amounts of wheat lectin, sprouted grains also contain benzoxazinoids (BAs) - a surprisingly toxic component!

Even a modest reduction in consumption of these types of carbohydrate-rich foods may promote loss of deep belly fat. This could help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary artery disease, as excess visceral fat (intra-abdominal fat) raises the risk of these diseases.

According to Eurekalert:
"... [S]ubjects who consumed [a] moderately carb-restricted diet had 11 percent less deep abdominal fat than those who ate the standard diet ... [S]ubjects on both diets lost weight. However, the moderately carb-restricted diet promoted a 4 percent greater loss of total body fat".
Sources:
Green Med Info
Green Med Info
Green Med Info
The Plant Journal January 2004; 37(1):34-45
The Biochemical Journal December 15 2003; 376(Pt 3):717-24
Science June 17 2003; 220(4603):1290-2
Cancer Letters February 8 2007; 246(1-2):290-9
Eurekalert June 5, 2011

Pills

Leaky Brain, Seizures (Epilepsy), & Gluten Sensitivity

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New research draws a connection between gluten induced leaky brain damage and seizure disorders (epilepsy).

Which Came First - The Chicken or the Egg?
It has long been held that chronic seizures cause blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage. Recent studies have also demonstrated that BBB damage triggers seizures.
We know that gluten sensitivity can cause seizure disorders. To that point, the Discovery Channel had an episode of Mystery Diagnosis that featured a young boy who responded to gluten by having seizures. Additionally, we know that gluten sensitivity can contribute to blood brain barrier permeability (leaky brain). Now add to this the fact that a leaky brain will contribute to seizures and epilepsy. Thus the circle is complete. When added together these elements create a viscous unending cycle of perpetual food induced damage.

Comment: For more information on the hazards of eating gluten and casein read the following articles:

The Addictive Opioids in Wheat and Dairy Foods

New England Journal of Medicine: Gluten Can Cause 55 Diseases

Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You

Sensitivity To Gluten May Result In Neurological Dysfunction; Independent Of Symptoms


Syringe

US: California Teenagers to Get Whooping Cough Vaccination

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© Getty Images
A California law that takes effect on Friday requires all students in grades 7 through 12 to get booster vaccinations to combat what state health officials say is an outbreak of the illness.

More than 9,000 cases of the bacterial infection were reported in California last year, marking the state's biggest outbreak of whooping cough, which is also known as pertussis, in over 60 years.

Ten cases led to the death of infants under two months old, California heath officials said.

Students arriving for their first day of school in the fall will need documentation to prove they received a booster shot of the vaccine for pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria.

"While everyone is taking summer vacation pertussis is not taking that vacation," said Dr. John Talarico, immunization branch chief with the California Department of Public Health.

Whooping cough, which causes violent and uncontrollable coughing, infects 30 to 50 million people a year globally and kills about 300,000, mostly children in developing countries.

Bacon

Why Vegetarians Are Eating Meat

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© Lara Harwood
A growing number of vegetarians are starting to eat humanely raised meat. Christine Lennon talks to a few converts - including her husband and famed author Mollie Katzen.

To a die-hard meat eater, there's nothing more irritating than a smug vegetarian. I feel at liberty to say this because I am one (a steak lover) and I married the other (a vegetarian with a pulpit). For me, "Do you now, or would you ever, eat meat?" has always been a question on par with "Do you ever want to get married?" and "Do you want children?" The answer to one reveals as much about a person's interior life, and our compatibility, as the response to the others. My husband Andrew's reply to all of those questions when I asked him three years ago was, "No."

Obviously, we're now married. We had twins earlier this year. And somewhere in between those two events, the answer to the third question was also re-evaluated, and the vegetarian soapbox was put to rest, too.

Yes, my husband has started eating meat again after a seven-year hiatus as an ethically motivated and health-conscious vegetarian. About a year ago, we arrived at a compromise: I would eat less meat - choosing mostly beef, pork and poultry produced by local California ranchers without the use of hormones or antibiotics - and he would indulge me by sharing a steak on occasion. But arriving at that happy medium wasn't as straightforward as it sounds. In the three years we've been together, several turns of events have made both of us rethink our choices and decide that eating meat selectively is better for the planet and our own health. And judging by the conversations we've had with friends and acquaintances, we're not the only ones who believe this to be true.

Comment: For more information on the benefits of meat, particularly fat, see this Sott link:

Everything About Fat