Health & WellnessS


Butterfly

Quinoa's Popularity Boon to Bolivians

Image
© Associated Pressn this photo taken Oct. 25, 2010, a man cleans quinoa grain in Pacoma, Bolivia. Quinoa's rising popularity …
.

It's as inhospitable as climates come for crop cultivation, the dry and rocky soils of Bolivia's semiarid altiplain. Miguel Choque can see his breath as surveys his fields of quinoa, the Andean "supergrain."

In late March or April, the flowering plants will paint the rugged landscape yellow, green and red. Their diminutive seed, which powered Inca armies only to be elbowed aside by the wheat preferred by colonizing Spaniards, is unmatched in nutritional value.

Quinoa's rising popularity among First World foodies - the wholesale price has jumped sevenfold since 2000 as global demand climbed - has been a boon to the poor farmers here in the semiarid highlands where most of it grows.

And that boom has transformed the lives of the largely subsistence farmers who grow it, though it remains unclear whether the large-scale commercial cultivation sought by Bolivia's government is environmentally sustainable in the altiplain_ or even welcome by growers.

President Evo Morales' government has deemed quinoa a "strategic" foodstuff, essential to this poverty-afflicted nation's food security. It is promoting the grain and has included quinoa in a subsidized food parcel for pregnant women.

Attention

Now the FDA Is Going After Vitamin C!

Image
© Alliance for Natural Health
The FDA has just notified small pharmacies that they will no longer be allowed to manufacture or distribute injectable vitamin C - despite its remarkable power to heal conditions that conventional medicine can't touch. Please help reverse this outrageous decision!

Let's get this straight. The government acknowledges the risk of a worldwide flu pandemic. It acknowledges that conventional drugs cannot cure big viruses-like the mononucleosis and hepatitis viruses, many influenza viruses, and many others. It acknowledges that many bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics and are killing increasing thousands. It acknowledges the risk of a worldwide drug-resistant TB pandemic.

Despite acknowledging all this, it now insists on wiping out one of the best potential treatments for these conditions and for certain cancers as well. And why is this being done? What possible rationale is offered? Because it's dangerous? No. Because it can't be patented and therefore won't be taken through the standard FDA approval process. No matter that vitamin C is one of the least toxic components of our food supply and liquid forms of it have been used safely for decades.

Butterfly

Magnesium: The Spark of Life

Image
Magnesium, just like magnetite and manganese, owes its name to the greek word Magnesia, a place name derived from the tribal people known as Magnetes. Physicians and therapists have paid scant attention to this crucial element which is one of the most important minerals for all living organisms. Magnesium has a relaxing, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on our organism. It is critical for metabolic processes, cell growth and reproduction and is involved in hundreds of enzyme processes affecting every aspect of life. It is not only essential for maintaining good health, but also for detoxification and the treatment of numerous diseases.

Unfortunately, magnesium is one of the most depleted minerals in our soil. In fact, a U.S. Senate document from 1936 stated that fruits and vegetables being raised on millions of acres of land no longer contained enough of certain minerals, therefore starving the population of their nutritive effects no matter how much they ate. While some foods are enriched with calcium and vitamins, magnesium is usually ignored. Researchers actually found that the recommended daily allowance for magnesium is inadequate to prevent magnesium deficiency. In addition, drugs such as painkillers, antibiotics, diuretics, anti-depressants and others further deplete magnesium and other vital nutrients in our bodies, worsening the symptoms for which they were prescribed in the first place. Stressful situations such as surgery, injuries, malnutrition, diseases and psychological stress also increase our daily requirements of this important mineral. This translates into a widespread magnesium deficiency problem among the population which then causes or contributes to numerous conditions including degenerative chronic diseases:

Heart

More Evidence Olive Oil and Veggies Help the Heart

Image
© n/a
It's no secret that eating well is good for both body and mind, so it may not come as a surprise that a new study finds women who eat more olive oil and leafy vegetables such as salads and cooked spinach are significantly less likely to develop heart disease.

A group of Italian researchers found that women who ate at least 1 serving of leafy vegetables per day were more than 40 percent less likely to develop heart disease over an average of eight years, relative to women who ate two or fewer portions of those vegetables each week.

Women who downed at least 3 tablespoons of olive oil daily - such as in salad dressing - were also 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease, compared to women who ate the least olive oil.

It's not exactly clear why specifically leafy vegetables and olive oil may protect the heart, study author Dr. Domenico Palli of the Cancer Research and Prevention Institute in Florence told Reuters Health.
"Probably the mechanisms responsible for the protective effect of plant-origin foods on cardiovascular diseases involve micronutrients such as folate, antioxidant vitamins and potassium, all present in green leafy vegetables."

Magnify

Is Chlorella One of Nature's Most Powerful Detoxification Tools?

Image
© altmedicinezone.comAn algae, green in color and found in water, Chlorella is very nutritional notably because of its chlorophyll content.
Have you noticed that practically every day a new story comes out in the media about the toxic side effects of living in the modern world? Chemical and heavy metal dangers seem to be lurking everywhere you turn in the 21st century!

Pesticides coat much of our fresh food supply, chemical by-products from manufacturing are routinely dumped into our air and water, and mercury amalgam fillings in your teeth may be releasing mercury into your body with every bite of food you take!

The seafood in our oceans are laden with heavy metals and mercury and pass these poisons up the food chain until potentially massive doses of both wind up on your dinner plate disguised as a healthy meal.

Underground water supplies have been tainted by chemical and pesticide run off from farms, factories and high technology industries. In fact, acceptable levels of many poisons are allowed to come into your home through your drinking and bathing water, including fluoride, chlorine and low levels of many heavy metals.

It doesn't take much imagination to see that your body too is under attack from environmental pollution every single day. You can seek to protect yourself and combat this hazard by eating foods that are free of pesticides and chemicals, but you simply cannot entirely remove all sources of toxins from your environment. The damage to our world is just too widespread and pervasive.

Attention

Monosodium Glutamate: What We All Should Know

Image
© Unknown
What is MSG and Why is it Used

Without monosodium glutamate (MSG), the modern food industry wouldn't be what it is today. Discovered in Japan in 1908 and dubbed unami, or the fifth flavor, it reacts with the sensory cells of the tongue, and is best described as savory or meaty taste. So, when it's added to food, our brains are tricked into thinking that what we're eating is hearty and rich in protein. It can encourage us to eat products that would otherwise taste bland or outright nasty. What's more is that it leads us to consume foods that are just empty calories without nutritional value, all for the sake of extended shelf life and poor quality ingredients! Plus, MSG is cheap to produce and easy to hide. It can be made from common foods such as corn or soy, and then be given a different name like hydrolyzed plant protein, or hydrolyzed soy extract.

Widespread use in the US food supply began by the late 1940′s as a "flavor enhancer", and even though scientific study has shown since the 1960′s that excessive MSG is linked to nerve, brain, liver damage, and obesity, among other things, it is still in widespread use. This is because the FDA considers it a "generally recognized as safe" ingredient, such as salt, vinegar, or baking powder AND because it only requires that ingredients be listed by their common names. Hence manufacturers have created more than one way to add MSG to products.

It's even being sprayed on crops, in the form of Auxigro, a plant "growth enhancer", approved by the EPA in 1997.

Comment: For more information, see:
MSG, the Secret (Killer) Behind the Savor
MSG: Is This Silent Killer Lurking in Your Kitchen Cabinets
Hold the MSG: Food Triggers for Epilepsy and Other Neurological Illnesses
MSG Lurks As A Slow Poison In Common Food Items Without Your Knowledge


Info

Why Your Genes Don't Determine Your Health

Image
© Huffington Post
The decoding of the human genome at the dawn of the millennium carried the hope and promise of the beginning of the end of human suffering. However, after more than a decade of intense exploration of the human genome the burden of human disease and suffering has only increased across the globe. Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes as well as allergic and autoimmune disorders have all continued to skyrocket. Hope has given way to disappointment as scientists have recognized that, other than in single gene disorders likes Down's syndrome, your genes don't determine your fate.

In November of this year a review on genomics, Type 2 diabetes and obesity in the New England Journal of Medicine (i) sadly reported on how little correlation exists between obesity, diabetes and your genes. There are associated patterns that confer small risks, but the authors lament the lack of stronger connections between genetic makeup and the biggest disease epidemic of our time (obesity and diabetes) with refrains such as "modest effect size," "relatively few successes," "remains far from clear," "poorly captured by existing biologic knowledge."

The story of your health is much more complex than genetic programming. It is ultimately determined by the dynamic interplay of the environment washing over genes creating the "you" of this moment. The good news is that this has been the year of discoveries about "omics" - epigenomics, exposomics, nutrigenomics and microbiomics and toxigenomics - that do, in fact, hold the key to unlocking our health and disease mysteries.

Health

Majority of Heart Attack Patients Have Normal Cholesterol Levels

Image
Nearly 75 percent of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had cholesterol levels that would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event, according to current national cholesterol guidelines, according to a new national study.

Specifically, these patients had low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or "good cholesterol," levels that met current guidelines, and close to half had LDL, or "bad cholesterol," levels classified in guidelines as optimal (less than 100 mg/dL).

"Almost 75 percent of heart attack patients fell within recommended targets for LDL cholesterol, demonstrating that the current guidelines may not be low enough to cut heart attack risk in most who could benefit," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study's principal investigator.

Dr. Fonarow, you may won't to read the numerous medical studies including the study that appeared in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, which reported in 1994 that most individuals with coronary artery disease have normal cholesterol levels! A follow-up study to the now infamous 1948 Framingham study shows that our rush to squelch total cholesterol levels may have been in error. In individuals who are over the age of 65, lowering cholesterol can increase the risk of mortality. To cite the Framingham authors: "For each 1 mg/dl drop of cholesterol there was an 11 percent increase in coronary and total mortality."

Comment: We say, cut out dairy and gluten and stop worrying about cholesterol levels. Your body needs good fats! For more information, see:

7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat
Higher saturated fat intakes found to be associated with a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease
Opening Pandora's Bread Box: The Critical Role of Wheat Lectin in Human Disease
Gluten Sensitivity and the Impact on the Brain
The Shocking Truth About Dairy
The Addictive Opioids in Wheat and Dairy Foods


Info

Chlorine and Cancer

Image
Chlorine is added to swimming pools to kill bacteria, but Spanish researchers say the chemical in large quantities can cause DNA damage that could increase the risk of cancer.

Their study is published in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) journal, coordinated by researchers from the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) and the Research Institute Hospital del Mar.

The evidence of DNA damage, known as genotoxic effects, was observed in 49 healthy adults after they spent 40 minutes in a chlorinated indoor pool.

The DBPs formed in the pools are the result of the reactions appeared between the water disinfectants such as chlorine pools and organic matter, which occurs naturally or is introduced by swimmers through sweat, skin cells and urine.

Previous studies found an association between exposure to DBPs of drinking water and bladder cancer risk.

Comment: We said as much in our article MMS: Miracle Mineral Solution or Trojan Horse? Your Body and DNA Decide.


Smoking

Flashback Smoking rate in Ireland soars up to 33 percent despite anti-smoking laws

Image
© UnknownBrainfood!
A third of the Irish population now smokes, a new survey reveals.

A survey of 4,082 people this summer revealed that 33pc of the Irish population had taken up or continued to smoke.

It is the highest smoking rate recorded here in the past 11 years, according to the EU's 'HELP -- For A Life Without Tobacco' campaign.

Despite hikes in tobacco tax, the smoking ban and a new law against the public display of cigarettes for sale, the number of smokers has steadily risen since 2007 when 29pc of the population smoked.

The survey, which was conducted between March and September, revealed the largest group of smokers -- 45pc -- is aged between 16 and 30.

Men form the majority of smokers at 38pc, compared with women at 28pc.

Prof Luke Clancy, a respiratory consultant and director general of the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society last night described the statistics as very disappointing.

"There is no evidence of any decline in smoking in this survey, indicating a clear need for higher prices of cigarettes and better treatment of tobacco-dependence," he said.

Comment: What is curious is that the article abruptly ends there, as if the text after the subheading "Cigarette maker doubles profits" was simply removed, deleted, omitted, censored.

Sott.net understands their predicament though; sometimes the truth just hurts too much. All their efforts to "make a better world" will come to naught.