Health & WellnessS


Heart

Which Fruits and Vegetables Are Most Effective Against Cancer?

David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D.
Huffington Post
Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:14 UTC
We've known for many years that consuming copious amounts of certain specific fruits and vegetables reduces our risk of developing various types of cancer. But a recent study reminds us that this protective effect is not linked to all fruit and vegetables. Some foods contain larger amounts of anticancer molecules. Thus we need to be attentive to our choices.

Lifestyle and Cancer

Cancer is not a disease whose origin is principally genetic, as many people continue to believe. It is a pathology that is closely linked to a range of lifestyle factors, particularly smoking and obesity (which stems from our sedentary habits and our dietary choices). Several studies have shown a direct link between the regular consumption of certain fruits and vegetables and a reduction in risk of developing various types of cancer.
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Health

Airlines are ignoring studies revealing toxic effects of contaminated air entering the cabin and cockpit


Brasscheck TV
Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:40 UTC
Part 1

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Magnify

Dogs Helped Kids Improve Reading Fluency

Catharine Paddock
Medical News Today
Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:00 UTC
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© iStockphoto
Researchers in the US found that reading to dogs helped children improve their fluency by up to 30 per cent. Many animal organizations and libraries in the US already have reading improvement schemes where they pair up children and dogs, but until now the evidence has been more anecdotal than research-based.

The findings are the result of a collaboration between the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation of Walnut Creek, California. Together they studied participants of the Foundation's already established animal assisted therapy scheme called the All Ears Reading Program, according to a statement released by UC Davis earlier this month.

Lead researcher Martin Smith, a veterinary school science educator with UC Davis, told the press that:

"The dogs, in contrast to a human, don't judge the individual, aren't grading the individual, and hopefully that allows the children to build some confidence in their reading skills."

Smith and colleagues explored changes in reading skills among third graders at school and among home-schooled students. They found reading fluency went up 12 per cent in the school-based students and 30 per cent in the home-schooled students. Reading speeds also increased by up to 30 words per minute.
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Want Some Cancer with that Burger? Eating Meat Linked to Bladder Cancer

S. L. Baker
NaturalNews
Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00 UTC
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© NaturalNews
No one wants cancer served up with their steak or hamburger. But that's just what you may be getting. As NaturalNews has previously reported, numerous studies have linked meat consumption with cancer. Now comes evidence from scientists at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center that eating meat frequently, especially meat that is well done or cooked at high temperatures, significantly raises the risk of developing bladder cancer.

These research cancer findings, recently announced at the American Association for Cancer Research's 101st Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C., indicate that heterocyclic amines (HCAs), substances formed when meat (including beef, pork, poultry and fish) is cooked at high temperatures, may be what links meat to malignancies. Earlier research found strong evidence that 17 types of HCAs contribute to cancer.

"It's well known that meat cooked at high temperatures generates HCAs that can cause cancer," study presenter Jie Lin, Ph.D., assistant professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Epidemiology, said in a statement to the media. "We wanted to find out if meat consumption increases the risk of developing bladder cancer and how genetic differences may play a part."
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Health

Hormone Replacement Therapy Drugs Based on Medical Fraud

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00 UTC
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© Google ImagesHRT Drugs
Court documents unsealed as part of a lawsuit against drug giant Pfizer reveal how drug companies used deception and fear to manipulate women into taking dangerous hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs.

"The information coming out in litigation helps us understand how a belief in a 'protective benefit' of estrogens on the heart was able to spread like wildfire through the medical community," said Jerome L. Avorn of Harvard Medical School.

Pfizer, which purchased Wyeth in October 2009, is being sued by more than 13,000 people who claim that they developed cancer and other health problems after taking HRT drugs. The plaintiffs claim that Wyeth knew of these risks all along, and downplayed them even as it exaggerated the drugs' benefits.
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Pills

Drug Giant AstraZeneca to Pay $520 Million to Settle Fraud Case

Huma Khan and Pierre Thomas
ABC News
Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:21 UTC
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© Drago Prvulovic/AFP/Getty ImagesThe sign of the Swedish-British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is pictured at the plant in Lund, Sweden, March 2, 2010. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will pay $520 million to settle charges that it allegedly marketed the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel to children and elderly patients for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Justice Department Alleges Pharmaceutical Firm Illegally Marketed Schizophrenia Drug

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will pay $520 million in fines to settle charges by the federal government that it illegally marketed the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel to children and elderly patients for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

AstraZeneca, one of the country's biggest drug firms, allegedly pulled in hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars through Medicare and Medicaid kickbacks and scams. Seroquel is used to treat schizophrenia in patients older than 13, and bipolar disorder in patients older than 10.

The FDA approved Seroquel to treat only psychotic disorders, specifically short-term treatments of schizophrenia, bipolar mania and bipolar depression. The government claims that AstraZeneca intentionally marketed the drugs -- by paying kickbacks to doctors -- for a variety of illnesses for which it had never been tested, including aggression, Alzheimer's, anger management, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dementia, depression, mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleeplessness. It was given to the elderly, children, veterans and inmates, who were treated as "guinea pigs," according to the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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FDA to Probe Risk of Weight Gain in Kids Using Antipsychotic Drugs

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00 UTC
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© Eli Lilly
The FDA has begun an investigation into whether atypical antipsychotic drugs such as Zyprexa and Seroquel are more likely to produce abnormal weight gain and diabetes in children than in adults.

The announcement came after the agency approved both drugs for use in adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 for the treatment of severe conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism.

Atypical antipsychotics, also known as "second generation antipsychotics," are known to cause weight gain and metabolic changes that can lead to diabetes. Research suggests that children may be even more vulnerable to this effect.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that children and adolescents taking atypical antipsychotics added between 8 and 15 percent to their body mass in only 11 weeks, which was sufficient for many of them to become overweight or obese. The greatest weight gain -- an average of 19 pounds -- was seen with Zyprexa.
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Attention

City of San Francisco Says Its Toxic Sludge is Good for You

Ethan A. Huff
NaturalNews
Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00 UTC
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© Ruth RobertsonCommunity gardeners who were misled into accepting toxic sewage sludge from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) are giving the sludge back to the Mayor's office.
If someone were to begin marketing toxic sewer sludge as "high-quality, nutrient-rich, organic" compost, he or she would likely be considered a crook and possibly sued for false advertising. Unfortunately, this is what the city of San Francisco and Synagro, "the largest recycler of organic residuals in the United States," have begun doing to the people of San Francisco.

Most waste treatment facilities across the U.S. contract treatment and disposal responsibilities to Synagro. Because it is no longer permissible to dump toxic sewage directly in the ocean, most of it ends up being reused on farm fields as "fertilizer." However, San Francisco is the first city to have launched an aggressive public relations campaign to trick its citizens into thinking that the toxic sewage is an organic compost.

A 2008 issue of the magazine Organic Style named San Francisco's mayor, Gavin Newsom, the "World's Greenest Mayor." It lauded his many "green" initiatives which include expanded recycling programs, green building programs, and energy audits.
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Monkey Wrench

Why antidepressants don't work for treating depression

Dr. Mark Hyman
Huffington Post
Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:42 UTC
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Here's some depressing recent medical news: Antidepressants don't work. What's even more depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into believing that they DO work. As a physician, this is frightening to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause of disability in this country.

The study I'm talking about was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. It found that drug companies selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have published nearly all the studies that show benefit - but almost none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective. (1)
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Red Flag

FCC Raises the Red Flag about Cell Phone Hazards


Dr. Mercola
Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:42 UTC
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On November 5, 2009, the FCC released their Consumer Facts on "Wireless Devices and Health Concerns." In this document, the FCC recommends precautions for the use of cell phones.

According to the FCC, "Recent reports by some health and safety interest groups have suggested that wireless device use can be linked to cancer and other illnesses. These questions have become more pressing as more and younger people are using the devices, and for longer periods of time."

They now recommend the following steps:
  • Use an earpiece or headset
  • If possible, keep wireless devices away from your body when they are on, mainly by not attaching them to belts or carrying them in pockets
  • Use the cell phone speaker to reduce exposure to your head
  • Consider texting rather than talking
  • Buy a wireless device with lower Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
Sources:

FCC November 5, 2009

Comment: For additional information about the health risks of cell phones and microwave radiation read the following articles on SOTT:

The BioInitiative Report - The Dangerous Health Impacts of Microwave Radiation

Electromagnetic radiation and its effect on the brain: an insider speaks out

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