Health & WellnessS


Attention

Warning: Major supplements openly contain GMO vitamin sources

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© permaculturenews.org
Genetically modified organisms have permeated much of the crop industry, absolutely infesting the processed food market, but are many 'health' supplements free from the presence of GMOs? As it turns out, major supplement producers actually will openly admit that they derive many of their formulas from GMO crops - consumers just aren't really paying attention!

If you know much about Monsanto or the prevalence of GMOs, you are likely aware that a large majority of corn (about 80-95% of the entire crop in the US, if not more, depending on what research you follow) is genetically modified. Being responsible for 90% of the US GM seed market, Monsanto has done its very best to create a genetically altered monopoly on the food supply. This is where the supplement factor comes in.

As you may or may not be aware, wildly popular substances like vitamin C are usually extracted from corn - one of the leading GMO crops in the US. It is from this that the question immediately comes into focus: could supplement makers be using GMO corn to create vitamin C supplements? What about the countless other formulas that can extract from GM foods as a source. And when you consider GMO-containing 'food' can legally be labeled as 'natural' under current regulations, what 'natural' supplements could be based on Monsanto's GMO crops?

Bulb

Stomach cancer breath test trialled successfully

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© Christopher Thomond for the GuardianCancer patients receiving treatment in Harrogate: a breath test could be routinely used by a GP to rule out cancer.
Simple breath test to detect stomach cancer could lead to earlier detection of stomach cancer and save lives

Scientists have successfully trialled a simple breath test to detect stomach cancer, using a new type of sensor made of nanomaterials.

The first trial of the device is small, involving 130 patients with a range of different stomach complaints, but it proved to be more than 90% accurate in differentiating between cancer and other diseases. It was also over 90% accurate in detecting which were early-stage cancers and which were advanced.

It has been known for some time that cancers can give off odours that may not be detectable to the human nose. A study published by German researchers in 2010 described how dogs had been trained to sniff out lung cancers - although they accepted it was possible the dogs were picking up the smell of drugs used to treat patients rather than the disease.

The stomach cancer breath test takes the concept into more measurable and probably useful territory. Stomach cancer can be detected by an endoscopic examination, which involves inserting a flexible tube through the nose and into the digestive system, but this is not pleasant. A breath test could be routinely used by a GP to rule out cancer.

Arrow Down

Lifespan for U. S. women declining

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© ource: University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and EvaluationFemale life expectancy by county, 2007.
A new study offers more compelling evidence that life expectancy for some U.S. women is actually falling, a disturbing trend that experts can't explain.

The latest research found that women age 75 and younger are dying at higher rates than previous years in nearly half of the nation's counties - many of them rural and in the South and West. Curiously, for men, life expectancy has held steady or improved in nearly all counties.

A new survey from the American Psychological Association reveals troubling findings about stress in the American workplace. WSJ's Lauren Weber and the American Psychological Association's David Ballard join Lunch Break to discuss.

Two studies that looked at the effects of smoking over a lifetime found that both men and women who smoke were about three times as likely to die before reaching age 80 in one study, and 75 in the other study. WSJ's Ron Winslow reports.

The study is the latest to spot this pattern, especially among disadvantaged white women. Some leading theories blame higher smoking rates, obesity and less education, but several experts said they simply don't know why.

Comment: Smoking is always demonized when the real reasons are unknown. U.S. life expectancy has been declining for some time and likely has numerous causes, such as the broken health care system, the fact that citizens are perpetually stressed, undernourished and lacking in vital nutrients, which lands many in an endless cycle of prescription drug addiction and ever-worsening health.

5 Health Benefits of Smoking
Smoking is down, use of painkillers is up
US life expectancy continues to plummet, but not because of inadequate health care
Poor Mental Health Linked to Reduced Life Expectancy
How women suffer 'double-shift' of stress at home and work


Attention

Deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria CRE spreading throughout U.S. healthcare system

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© www.usatoday.com
An antibiotic-resistant family of bacteria continues to spread throughout the U.S. health care system and is now prompting warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The bacteria, Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), kill up to half of the patients who get the bloodstream infections from the disease. The disease has evolved a resistance to carbapenems, also called last-resort antibiotics.

In addition, the CRE bacteria can reportedly transfer its resistance to other bacteria within its family. The transfer of resistance can create additional life-threatening infections for patients in hospitals, longer-term health care facilities, and possibly otherwise healthy people, according to the CDC.

The CDC said almost all CRE infections occur in people receiving "significant medical care in hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, or nursing homes."

Health

Stored blood may be ineffective when it is desperately needed

Blood
© Medical Daily
Blood transfusions are a revolutionary technology that has saved countless lives both in the operating room and on the battlefield. But longterm storage of blood may diminish its life saving properties, a new study says.

A report in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia from Johns Hopkins researchers indicated that storing blood for extended periods may reduce the flexibility that red blood cells have to fit into small capillaries. This would limit their ability to bring lifesaving oxygen to starved areas of the body such as vital organs and the brain when someone is in need of a transfusion.

The shelf life of blood, according to standard medical procedure is six weeks and is usually stored at a cold temperature.

"There's more and more information telling us that the shelf life of blood may not be six weeks, which is what the blood banks consider standard," said study leader Steven M. Frank, M.D., an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "If I were having surgery tomorrow, I'd want the freshest blood they could find."

Rose

Herbal defluoridation of drinking water

Researchers in India have developed a filter system based on a medicinal herb, which they say can quickly and easily remove "fluoride" from drinking water. The technology described in the March issue of the International Journal of Environmental Engineering uses parts of the plant Tridax procumbens as a biocarbon filter for the ion.

Drinking water can contain natural fluoride or fluoride might be added as a protective agent for teeth by water companies. However, its presence is not without controversy while in some natural drinking water levels may be above those considered safe by the World Health Organisation. Chemist Malairajan Singanan of the Presidency College (Autonomous), in Chennai, points out that the WHO guidelines suggest that a safe level of fluoride is 1.5 milligrams per liter. He adds that various techniques to reduce fluoride content have been tried including coagulation, adsorption, precipitation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and electrodialysis. However, metal ions with an affinity for fluoride in a biocarbon matrix represent a promising new approach.

Arrow Down

Aspirin use linked to blindness in the elderly

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© Getty Images
An Australian study that looked at 2,389 patients over a period of 15 years showed that regular usage of Aspirin leads to an increase in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Macular degeneration occurs when the light sensitive cells in the back of the eye start dying either because the blood vessels in the back are leaking (wet Macular Degeneration) or when the retina starts to thin and the cells start dying (Dry Macular Degeneration). Smoking is a known factor that contributed to Macular Degeneration.

Aspirin is used in the elderly to thin the blood and is known to be good for the heart and possibly prevent heart attacks.

Health

U.S. doctors cure child born with HIV

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© Geostock/Getty ImagesUS doctors have managed the effective cure of a child born with the HIV virus.
Medical history made with first 'functional cure' of unnamed two-year-old born with the virus but now needing no medication

Doctors in the US have made medical history by effectively curing a child born with HIV, the first time such a case has been documented.

The infant, who is now two and a half, needs no medication for HIV, has a normal life expectancy and is highly unlikely to be infectious to others, doctors believe.

Though medical staff and scientists are unclear why the treatment was effective, the surprise success has raised hopes that the therapy might ultimately help doctors eradicate the virus among newborns.

Doctors did not release the name or sex of the child to protect the patient's identity, but said the infant was born, and lived, in Mississippi state. Details of the case were unveiled on Sunday at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

Dr Hannah Gay, who cared for the child at the University of Mississippi medical centre, told the Guardian the case amounted to the first "functional cure" of an HIV-infected child. A patient is functionally cured of HIV when standard tests are negative for the virus, but it is likely that a tiny amount remains in their body.

"Now, after at least one year of taking no medicine, this child's blood remains free of virus even on the most sensitive tests available," Gay said.

"We expect that this baby has great chances for a long, healthy life. We are certainly hoping that this approach could lead to the same outcome in many other high-risk babies," she added.

Easter Egg 2

Easter candy recall: Chocolate eggs may contain salmonella

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© Food and Drug AdministrationOut of an abundance of caution, Zachary Confections is recalling lots of chocolate covered marshmallow Easter eggs because of possible salmonella contamination. The Easter candy recall applies to five states.
The FDA has announced an Easter candy recall of certain lots of Zachary Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs in five states that may be contaminated with salmonella.

The marshmallow eggs were manufactured by Zachary Confections, of Frankfurt, Ind., which makes chocolates, candy corn, and jelly beans, among other candies. So far, no illnesses have been reported as a result of the recall. No other Zachary products are affected.

The recall was initiated "in response to a test result indicating the potential for Salmonella contamination in a sample taken during routine post-production testing from one of the production lots of product that is the subject of this recall," a statement on the Food and Drug Administration's recalls page reads. "Out of an abundance of caution, Zachary Confections is recalling all lots of product that may have been affected."

Health

Are we soon to see a relaxing in cholesterol guidelines?

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What is deemed a desirable cholesterol level in the mind of many health professionals has a lot to do with the opinion of panels of 'experts' who, essentially, tell doctors what to think and how to manage their patients. One such endeavour in the US is known as the Adult Treatment Protocol (ATP), which itself is part of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The ATP has seen three versions, the last of which (ATP III) was published in 2002 and updated in 2004. The message from ATP III was loud and clear - individuals should strive to lower their cholesterol levels to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

ATP IV is due later this year. According to this report in the journal Nature, there may be relaxing of the rules on cholesterol management. The piece draws attention to some key deficiencies in current cholesterol policy.

Firstly, the idea that 'lower is better' has not been formally tested. It's actually based on assumptions. And these assumptions come from studies that were never able to determine whether getting cholesterol levels down to a certain level is better for patients than other levels. In fact, it's been previously noted in the scientific literature that the idea of treating people according to predetermined cholesterol levels is not founded in science at all [1].