Health & WellnessS


Igloo

SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: Nora Gedgaudas interview - Healing through NeuroFeedback and an Ice Age diet

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 19:00 UTC
Sott Talk Radio logo
We recently invited nutritional therapist, speaker and educator Nora Gedgaudas to speak with us on SOTT Talk Radio. Widely recognized as an expert on the 'Paleo Diet', Nora maintains a private practice in Portland, Oregon as both a Board-Certified nutritional consultant and a Board-Certified clinical Neurofeedback Specialist.

Nora is also the author of the best-seller Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life, a book that is changing the way people view their diet and health.

Examining the healthy lives of our pre-agricultural Paleolithic ancestors and contrasting it with the marked decline humanity has undergone in the Agricultural Age, up to and including today's epidemic 'diseases of civilization', Nora's book shows how our modern grain- and carbohydrate-heavy low-fat diets are a far cry from the high-fat, moderate-protein hunter-gatherer diets we are genetically programmed for.

Applying the latest scientific discoveries to the basic hunter-gatherer diet forged in the last Ice Age, Nora's message is that a real alternative is available: a holistic, 'paleo' lifestyle that is helping thousands of people to break the negative feedback loop of poor diet and poor health.

Running Time: 02:07:00

Download: MP3

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Health

'Carbohydrates rot the brain': Neurologist slams grains as 'silent brain killers' - and says we should be eating a high-fat diet

Anna Hodgekiss
Daily Mail UK
Mon, 18 Nov 2013 08:47 UTC
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© Corbis

Carbohydrates are rotting our brains and contributing to devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's, an American neurologist has warned. David Perlmutter, from Florida, believes that even 'good' carbs, such as grains, are severely affecting our brains.

And the staples of our modern diet aren't only increasing the risk of dementia, but contributing to depression, epilepsy and headaches, he believes. Instead of munching on wheat, carbs and sugar,which he calls the brain's silent killers, we should revert back to the way our ancestors ate - with more meat and fat.

As Forbes magazine reports: 'It's in the food you eat,' he writes in his best new book, Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar - Your Brain's Silent Killers. 'The origin of brain disease is in many cases predominantly dietary.'

The solution? Going back to the days when our diet was mainly fat - with this making up 75 per cent of our diet, and carbs just 5 per cent. Protein intake should stay the same as it is, at about 20 per cent.
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Health

Superbugs could erase a century of medical advances, experts warn

Charlie Cooper
Independent
Sun, 17 Nov 2013 16:34 UTC
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© UnknownNo longer profitable, new antibiotics have not been created since 1987
Drug-resistant "superbugs" represent one of the gravest threats in the history of medicine, leading experts have warned.

Routine operations could become deadly "in the very near future" as bacteria evolve to resist the drugs we use to combat them. This process could erase a century of medical advances, say government doctors in a special editorial in The Lancet health journal.

Although the looming threat of antibiotic, or anti-microbial, resistance has been known about for years, the new warning reflects growing concern that the NHS and other national health systems, already under pressure from ageing populations, will struggle to cope with the rising cost of caring for people in the "post-antibiotic era".

In a stark reflection of the seriousness of the threat, England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor John Watson, said: "I am concerned that in 20 years, if I go into hospital for a hip replacement, I could get an infection leading to major complications and possible death, simply because antibiotics no longer work as they do now."
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Pills

Forget everything you think you know about mental health

Kelly Brogan, M.D.
Huffington Post
Fri, 15 Nov 2013 13:49 UTC
floral girl
I felt this sensation in the pit of my stomach -- it was a combination of sympathy and anger -- listening to Annie tell me, through tears, about her postpartum journey into the world of psychiatry.
Three separate psychiatrists dismissed me when I expressed concerns about taking an addictive medication like Klonopin. It's been two years, I can't get off it, I'm on four psych meds and I feel worse than I ever did before I started this treatment.
Annie was ushered into the promise-filled halls of psychiatry three months after the birth of her first baby when she began to experience racing heart, insomnia, vigilance, irritability, and a host of physical complaints including joint pain and hair loss. No one did blood work, asked about her diet, or cared about any of the myriad observations about her body and its changes in functioning. This was a "head-up" intervention. I believe women deserve better. People deserve better.

Most patients who come to me for treatment of depression and anxiety do so because they want answers. They want to know WHY they are struggling. The closest they will be offered by their prescribing psychiatrist or primary care doc is some reductionist hand waving about serotonin imbalances. I think it is time to speak to these patients with respect, truthfulness, and to offer them more than a life-long relationship with a pill (or pills, as it will inevitably become over the years). First, let's review some basics:

Depression Is Not a Serotonin Deficiency

Thanks to direct-to-consumer advertising and complicit FDA endorsement of evidence-less claims, the public has been sold an insultingly oversimplified tale about the underlying driver of depression. Here's how we know depression is not a serotonin deficiency corrected by Zoloft:
  • There has never been a single study, in humans, to validate the theory of low serotonin in depression. Low levels are found in a minority of patients.
  • An antidepressant marketed as Stablon, increases reuptake of serotonin (reducing serotonin activity) and appears to be equally effective as those that decrease it or have no effect on it at all.
  • Manipulation of serotonin levels (tryptophan depletion or enhancement) do not consistently result in a depressive syndrome, and may promote future episodes.
  • These medications are used to treat an impossibly non-specific and broad array of illnesses from obsessive compulsive disorder to anorexia to premenstrual dysphoria to bipolar depression to irritable bowel syndrome.
  • Antidepressants of all categories seems to work about the same regardless of their presumed mechanism of action with about 73 percent of the response unrelated to pharmacologic activity, according to metanalyses by Dr. Irving Kirsch and Fournier, which suggest a powerful role for active placebo effect in all but the most severe depression. In those cases, significant benefit may be achieved by points on a rating scale attributed to side effects such as sedation or activation (improved sleep or energy, unrelated to primary pharmacologic action).
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Bug

Nightmare holiday souvenir: Woman's ear turns necrotic after poisonous spider bite

Douglas Main
Live Science
Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:51 UTC
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© Marleke Van Wijk The ear of a woman bitten by a Mediterranean recluse. The black tissue is dead, or necrotic.
One woman's Italian vacation took a turn for the worse when she woke up with pain in her ear one night. She had no way of knowing then that she'd just been bitten by a Mediterranean recluse spider, and that a chunk of her ear would soon be liquefied by the spider's venom. But that's exactly what happened, according to a recent report of her case.

The 22-year-old woman soon sought treatment for her pain in an Italian hospital, where doctors prescribed an antihistamine. But the swelling in her face and pain in her ear didn't get any better. Once she was back home in the Netherlands, the ear got worse, and portions of it turned black - a clear sign that the skin and cartilage cells were dead.

The dead tissue made it clear to doctors that the woman had been bitten by a Mediterranean recluse, a spider whose bite is known to destroy skin and underlying fat, causing "sunken-in" scars or "a disfigured ear, if you are very unlucky," said Dr. Marieke van Wijk, a plastic surgeon in the Netherlands involved in the woman's treatment.
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Apple Green

Why children don't eat their greens: Survival instinct means youngsters are genetically programmed to avoid plants in case they are poisonous

Emma Thomas
The Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 16 Nov 2013 13:04 UTC
  • Dr Annie Wertz and Dr Karen Wynn carried out the study at Yale University
  • 47 eight to 18-month-olds tested with plants and man-made objects
  • Children showed 'striking reluctance' to touch plants
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Study: Academics say children could be refusing to eat their greens because of a survival instinct
Children that don't eat their vegetables may be using their inherited survival instinct, a study has shown.

Dr Annie Wertz and Dr Karen Wynn, both pyschologists at America's Yale University, wrote the study on how children behave around plants.

The academics studied toddlers playing with different objects and realised youngsters didn't pick up natural things, like plants, as much as they played with plastic or metal objects.

At the Infant Cognition Center at Yale University, 47 eight to 18-month-old children were observed and the psychologists who put them in front of two real plants, two realistic-looking artificial plants, and two other objects.

The children in the experiment showed a 'striking reluctance' to touch plants, the doctors noted.

They believe this behaviour is progammed into children from birth to avoid them being harmed or poisoned by flowers or plants.

'This behavioral strategy would protect infants from the dangers posed by plants by decreasing the likelihood of ingesting plant toxins (by either consuming plant parts or ingesting toxins rubbed off on their hands from damaged plant parts), or incurring injuries from plants' physical defenses (e.g., fine hairs, thorns, or noxious oils).' The study says.

Comment: The kids are all right. See also.

Food Lectins in Health and Disease: An Introduction

Lectins and Auto Immune Disease

Lectins worse than gluten

Lectins: Their Damaging Role in Intestinal Health, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Weight Loss

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Rose

Can certain herbs stave off Alzheimer's disease?

Nancy Solomon
Saint Louis University
Thu, 14 Nov 2013 11:33 UTC
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© Susan Farr, Ph.D.
Enhanced extracts made from special antioxidants in spearmint and rosemary improve learning and memory, a study in an animal model at Saint Louis University found.

"We found that these proprietary compounds reduce deficits caused by mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to Alzheimer's disease," said Susan Farr, Ph.D., research professor geriatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Farr added, "This probably means eating spearmint and rosemary is good for you. However, our experiments were in an animal model and I don't know how much -- or if any amount -- of these herbs people would have to consume for learning and memory to improve. In other words, I'm not suggesting that people chew more gum at this point."

Farr presented the early findings at Neuroscience 2013, a meeting of 32,000 on Monday, Nov. 11. She tested a novel antioxidant-based ingredient made from spearmint extract and two different doses of a similar antioxidant made from rosemary extract on mice that have age-related cognitive decline.
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Ambulance

Gluten takes a beating from dieters and grain giants

Matthew Boyle
Bloomberg
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 11:00 UTC
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© Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergA baker prepares bread rolls for packing, in the bakery at a supermarket in Canvey Island, U.K.
Grain sellers want to have their gluten-free cake and eat it, too.

As the stretchy protein found in wheat and other grains has become the latest dietary bogeyman, sales at companies like General Mills Inc., Kellogg Co. and Britain's Warburtons Ltd. have come under pressure. Yet instead of fighting back against what many dietitians contend lacks scientific grounding, they're boosting output of pricier gluten-free foods while leaving industry groups to defend their traditional products.

Less than 1 percent of Americans have the disorder that requires a gluten-free diet, yet almost one in three now eschews gluten, according to trend watchers NPD Group, influenced by bestselling anti-gluten books and celebrity endorsements. The U.S. market for gluten-free foods will climb from $4.2 billion in 2012 to $6.6 billion by 2017, according to researcher Packaged Facts, as bread bakers, craft-beer makers and eateries from Hooters to Michelin-starred Hakkasan embrace the trend.

"Consumers, rightly or wrongly, have made a connection between gluten-free and healthy," said Nicholas Fereday, an analyst at Rabobank. "Grain companies are hoping this trend crashes and burns sooner rather than later. But any trend is a marketing opportunity."


Comment: There is no lack of scientific background when it comes to the dangers of gluten-containing foods and its role in our modern's age catastrophic health. There is however Big Agra's psychopathic greed when it comes to make a profit out of your suffering. Sott.net has published hundreds of articles on this topic. Since the introduction of agriculture, humanity's health has only deteriorated. We are now witnessing an unprecedented state of affairs and it is not only our health; it is practically our entire civilization as we now know it. We haven't known any other way of living for the longest time and look what it has brought to us: deteriorated health, wars, famine, slavery, and never-ending suffering. See Origins of Agriculture - Did Civilization Arise to Deliver a Fix?

The gluten-free industry is thriving by promoting foods that are worse than table sugar. We shouldn't be surprised. When it comes to Food Industry, everything is permitted and you don't matter to them. See Food Politics and Power: The Men Who Made Us Fat.


Comment: They are getting desperate as people wake up to the fact that gluten has been killing us slowly since day one. For more information see:

The Hidden Link Between Gluten Intolerance and PMS, Infertility and Miscarriage
Facts you might not know about gluten
Sensitivity To Gluten May Result In Neurological Dysfunction; Independent Of Symptoms
Gluten Intolerance Tied to Schizophrenia
Wheat gluten newly confirmed to promote weight gain
Three Hidden Ways Wheat Makes You Fat
Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You
How Gluten Damages the Brain With Dr. Parker
Does eating gluten lead to less manly men?
The Many Heads of Gluten Sensitivity
Leaky Gut - Leaky Brain - Gluten is an Equal Opportunity Destroyer
Gluten Sensitivity Spectrum - Not Just a Celiac Issue
Six signs you're gluten intolerant - and don't even know it
Heart Disease and Gluten Sensitivity
Food Cravings, Obesity and Gluten Consumption
Sugar, Sugar - A Poison By Any Other Name Would Be As Toxic
A gluten for punishment: The whole grain assault on health
Hippies Weren't the Only Ones Tripping in the Sixties
Opening Pandora's Bread Box: The Critical Role of Wheat Lectin in Human Disease
Beyond Gluten-Free: The Critical Role of Chitin-Binding Lectins in Human Disease

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Coffee

Late afternoon and early evening caffeine can disrupt sleep at night

Lynn Celmer
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:21 UTC
A new study shows that caffeine consumption even six hours before bedtime can have significant, disruptive effects on sleep.

"Sleep specialists have always suspected that caffeine can disrupt sleep long after it is consumed," said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President M. Safwan Badr, MD. "This study provides objective evidence supporting the general recommendation that avoiding caffeine in the late afternoon and at night is beneficial for sleep."

Results show that 400 mg of caffeine (about 2-3 cups of coffee) taken at bedtime, three and even six hours prior to bedtime significantly disrupts sleep. Even when caffeine was consumed six hours before going to bed, objectively measured total sleep time was dramatically reduced (more than one hour). However, subjective reports suggest that participants were unaware of this sleep disturbance.
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Red Flag

Connecting the Dots: GMOs and Vaccines

Dr. Kelly Brogan, M.D.
Greenmedinfo.com
Tue, 12 Nov 2013 10:19 UTC
Image
I've never been very politically minded. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I've never been arrested and I don't like to get in trouble. I do like, and always have, to think for myself. I'm a natural skeptic and pragmatist. These days, there are a couple of issues that are getting under my skin, and connecting the dots between them helps to establish a framework for a truth in science "sniff-test". Be warned, you may find that many arenas in which you have come to believe that you were being protected by your authority figures and government, in fact, you've been led down a blind path, and will be left there to fend for yourself when it all goes down. That's why I advocate for consumer empowerment and thoughtful decision-making about what we put in our bodies.

Humans suffer from hubris - we think we know better than nature, can fix it, manipulate it, and master it. There are (at least) two major transgressions that follow similar patterns, raise important red flags, and most certainly do not pass the sniff test: GMOs (genetically modified "foods") and vaccination.
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