Nearly every expression of normal emotion can now be classified as a syndrome in need of medication

In May 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is scheduled to release its fifth Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) superseding the DSM-IV published in 1994 and revised in 2000. The new "psychiatry bible" has been criticized by many as a testament to the insanity of the industry itself. Virtually every emotion experienced by a human being - sadness, grief, anxiety, frustration, impatience, excitement - is now being classified as a "mental disorder" demanding chemical treatment with - you guessed it - pharmaceutical drugs.

Ironically, one of its harshest critics is Allen Frances M.D., professor emeritus from the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University who was chair of the DSM-IV Task Force.

"DSM-5 opens up the possibility that millions and millions of people currently considered normal will be diagnosed as having a mental disorder and will receive medication and stigma that they don't need," said Frances. "This is the saddest moment in my 45-year career of studying, practicing, and teaching psychiatry. [The] approval makes it likely that DSM-5 will start a . . . dozen or more new fads which will be detrimental to the misdiagnosed individuals and costly to our society."

The DSM is now larger than ever, and it includes Orwellian disorders such as "obedience defiance disorder" (ODD), defined as refusing to follow authority. Rapists who feel sexual arousal during their raping activities are given the excuse that they have "paraphilic coercive disorder" (PCD) and therefore are not responsible for their actions. You can also get diagnosed with "hoarding disorder" if you happen to stockpile food, water and ammunition, among other things. Being prepared for possible natural disasters now makes you a mental patient in the eyes of modern psychiatry.

The entire industry of psychiatry has become such a laughing stock that even many supporters of the industry are turning their backs in disgust. To many scientists today, psychiatry is no more "scientific" than astrology or palm reading, yet its practitioners call themselves "doctors" of psychiatry in order to sound credible.

It is difficult to absorb the recent data released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, on the skyrocketing numbers of children diagnosed with "bipolar disorder" and not come to the conclusion that this startling information represents the never-ending harm initiated by the idiotic psychiatric theories of Harvard child psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Biederman.

In order to fully grasp just how outrageous the data are, one first must remember that the now disgraced and marginalized Biederman is credited with being the ring leader for diagnosing the alleged bipolar disorder in very young children.

To add insult to injury, not only was Biederman the chief advocate of the now controversial diagnosis, but he is also credited with prescribing the most powerful antipsychotic drugs as treatment.

It was only due to a Congressional inquiry by Senator Charles E. Grassley that the apparent motive behind Biederman's childhood bipolar diagnosis was uncovered...money.

$1.6 million dollars was Biederman's take from the pharmaceutical companies for his "research." Most revealing, however, were court documents released in March of 2009, which disclose that Biederman reportedly had promised drug maker Johnson & Johnson in advance that his studies on the antipsychotic drug Risperdone (Risperdal) would prove the drug to be effective when used on preschool age children.

Biederman could never be accused of discrimination. The Harvard psychiatrist, who literally placed himself just one rung below God, was so drug money-friendly that his list of paymasters reads like a who's who of pharmaceutical giants, including Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer and Shire to name a few.

In general terms, the body likes to keep its physiological and biochemical parameters within a certain range - not too high and not too low. This applies to an endless stream of factors including blood sugar levels, temperature, blood pH, blood pressure and sodium levels. However, there are some doctors and researchers who believe that the normal rules do not apply to cholesterol, and specifically 'low density lipoprotein'-cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol).

There is a general belief that LDL-cholesterol is 'bad' and is largely responsible for the narrowing of the vessels and heart disease and cerebrovascular disease (the precursors of heart attack and stroke respectively). Using this line of thinking, then the lower we get cholesterol levels, the better.

Regular readers of this blog may know that cholesterol is an essential element in the body. It's in all cell membranes, and a major constituent of key components including several hormones and vitamin D (actually, vitamin D is a hormone, despite it being branded a 'vitamin').

I was recently reading that cholesterol may have a role in the body's ability to resist infection too. Some evidence for a protective role here comes from studies which link higher cholesterol levels with reduced risk of infection. In one study, for instance, over a 15-year period, those with higher initial levels of total cholesterol were found to be less likely to be admitted to a hospital with an infectious disease [1].

A shocking new study finds that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, "...may be the most biologically disruptive chemical in our environment," capable of contributing to a wide range of fatal human diseases.

A new report published in the journal Entropy links the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide known as glyphosate with a wide range of fatal diseases.^[i]

Glyphosate is the world's most popular herbicide and is designed to kill all but genetically modified "Roundup Ready" plants, such as GM corn, soy, beet, cottonseed and canola. Over 180 million pounds of the chemical are now applied to US soils each year,^[ii] and while agrichemical manufacturers and government regulators have considered it 'relatively safe,' an expanding body of biomedical research indicates that it may cause over 30 distinct adverse health effects in exposed populations at far lower concentrations than used in agricultural applications.

Americans are increasingly skipping needed health care because they can't afford it, according to the Commonwealth Fund 2012 Biennial Health Insurance Survey.

Living Without Health Insurance

In 2012, 80 million people reported not seeing a doctor when sick or not filling a prescription because of cost. In 2003, 63 million people similarly reported skipping needed care due to cost. Accounting for the growth in population during those years, the percentages are 25.5 percent in 2012 versus 21.7 percent in 2003 - a rise of almost four percent.

The survey also found nearly half of all working-age U.S. adults - eighty-four million people - went without health insurance for a time last year or had out-of-pocket costs that were so high relative to their income they were considered underinsured.

On the other hand, the proportion of young adults ages 19-25 who were uninsured during the year fell from 48 percent to 41 percent between 2010 and 2012, reversing a nearly decade-long trend of rising uninsured rates in that age group. The authors of the survey, "Insuring the Future: Current Trends in Health Coverage and the Effects of Implementing the Affordable Care Act," believe this reversal is likely due to a provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act allowing young adults to stay on their parents' health insurance until age 26.

The percentage of Americans who were uninsured, underinsured, or had gaps in their health coverage grew steadily between 2003 and 2010; however, between 2010 and 2012, the numbers specific to underinsured adults leveled off, according to the survey.

FASTING twice a week could be the key to a longer life by slashing the risk of a host of killer diseases.

Research shows dramatically cutting the amount of calories you eat for two days can keep obesity, heart disease and diabetes at bay.

The revolutionary weight-loss plan restricts calorie intake for 48 hours, like the Daily Express exclusive 48 Hour Diet by top nutritionist Amanda Hamilton, published last week.

She shared her easy to follow plan which promises to not just shift the pounds but improve general health and mental wellbeing.

Researchers have backed her methods of intermittent fasting and say it is as effective as weight loss surgery, without the cost or risk.

The scientific review suggests fasting diets may help those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A review published in the British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease by a team led by James Brown from Aston University in the West Midlands highlights evidence from clinical trials which shows fasting can limit inflammation, improve levels of sugars and fats in your circulation and cut blood pressure. By fasting, the body is more efficient in selecting which fuel to burn, improving metabolism.

The plan is to restrict calories on alternative days or on two specific days each week which are classed as "fasting days". On these, women usually aim to consume less than 500 calories and men less than 600. This type of intermittent fasting has been shown in trials to be at least as effective as counting calories every day to lose weight.

New mothers quickly learn that babies quiet down when carried and rocked. Now researchers say that this calming response is actually a coordinated set of reactions, involving the nervous, motor and cardiac systems.

Dr. Kumi O. Kuroda, a neurobiologist at the Riken Brain Science Institute in Japan, led a team that used electrocardiogram measurements to monitor the heart rates of babies and mice after they were picked up and carried. Their heart rates slowed almost immediately.

"It's very difficult for adults to relax so quickly," said Dr. Kuroda, whose study appears in the journal Current Biology. "I think it's specific to infant physiology."

In the case of the mouse pups, it took only one second for the heart rate to drop. In human babies, it took about three seconds.

A protein known to be a key player in the development of Parkinson's disease is able to enter and harm cells in the same way that viruses do, according to a Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study.

The protein is called alpha-synuclein. The study shows how, once inside a neuron, alpha synuclein breaks out of lysosomes, the digestive compartments of the cell. This is similar to how a cold virus enters a cell during infection. The finding eventually could lead to the development of new therapies to delay the onset of Parkinson's disease or halt or slow its progression, researchers said.

The study by virologist Edward Campbell, PhD, and colleagues, was published April 25, 2013 in the journal PLOS ONE. It is available at http://www.plosone.org/.

Alpha-synuclein plays a role in the normal functioning of healthy neurons. But in Parkinson's disease patients, the protein turns bad, aggregating into clumps that lead to the death of neurons in the area of the brain responsible for motor control. Previous studies have shown that these protein aggregates can enter and harm cells. Campbell and colleagues showed how alpha synuclein can bust out of lysosomes, small structures that collectively serve as the cell's digestive system. The rupture of these bubble-like structures, known as vesicles, releases enzymes that are toxic to the rest of the cell.

"The release of lysosomal enzymes is sensed as a 'danger signal' by cells, since similar ruptures are often induced by invading bacteria or viruses," said Chris Wiethoff, a collaborator on the study. "Lysosomes are often described as 'suicide bags' because when they are ruptured by viruses or bacteria, they induce oxidative stress that often leads to the death of the affected cell."

Doctors used to think that if they drained a sick person's blood it would purge the "evil" infection or disease right out of the body, but all that did was make the ill person much weaker, unable to fight off whatever was invading their body, and the patient was then highly likely to lose the battle for life, and in less time.

Research using polls and questionnaires continue to show that 3 of every 4 doctors and scientists would refuse chemotherapy for themselves due to its devastating effects on the entire body and the immune system, and because of its extremely low success rate. On top of that, only 2 to 4% of all cancers even respond to chemotherapy or prove to be "life extending," yet it is prescribed across the board for just about every kind of cancer.

Polls were taken by accomplished scientists at the McGill Cancer Center from 118 doctors who are all experts on cancer. They asked the doctors to imagine they had cancer and to choose from six different "experimental" therapies. These doctors not only denied chemo choices, but they said they wouldn't allow their family members to go through the process either! What does that say about their true opinion of this archaic method?

Last week, ProPublica reported that the Food and Drug Administration allowed dozens of medications to stay on the market, even though the research designed to prove their safety and effectiveness was undermined by "egregious" violations at a major pharmaceutical research laboratory in Houston. New information shows that even after the FDA had cited the lab for falsifying data and other misconduct, the agency issued a brand new approval to a drug tested there.

The FDA has refused to reveal the names of any of the approximately 100 drugs affected by the fraud at the Houston lab of the firm Cetero Research, saying that to do so would reveal confidential commercial information. ProPublica was able to identify five of those drugs, and now we've found a sixth. This one was approved after the agency had already cited the Houston lab for misconduct.

The drug is a generic version of Tussionex, which combines a long-acting narcotic cough suppressant with an anti-allergy medication. Manufactured by TrisPharma, the drug has a tongue-twisting chemical name: hydrocodone polistirex/chlorpheniraminepolistirex.