Health & WellnessS


Eye 1

Scientists discover new role for vitamin C in the eye -- and the brain


Oregon Health & Science University
Sun, 17 Jul 2011 09:40 UTC
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© Unknown
In a surprising finding, vitamin C is found to prolong proper functioning of retinal cells.

Nerve cells in the eye require vitamin C in order to function properly - a surprising discovery that may mean vitamin C is required elsewhere in the brain for its proper functioning, according to a study by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

"We found that cells in the retina need to be 'bathed' in relatively high doses of vitamin C, inside and out, to function properly," said Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D., a senior scientist at OHSU's Vollum Institute and a co-author of the study. "Because the retina is part of the central nervous system, this suggests there's likely an important role for vitamin C throughout our brains, to a degree we had not realized before."

The brain has special receptors, called GABA-type receptors, that help modulate the rapid communication between cells in the brain. GABA receptors in the brain act as an inhibitory "brake" on excitatory neurons in the brain. The OHSU researchers found that these GABA-type receptors in the retinal cells stopped functioning properly when vitamin C was removed.
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Attention

China: Flesh-Eating Disease Takes a Grim Toll in Hong Kong


Monsters and Critics.com
Fri, 15 Jul 2011 01:28 UTC
A flesh-eating bacterial disease has already killed more people in Hong Kong this year than in the previous two years combined, a newspaper report said Friday.

Five people have died so far this year from the disease, which mainly affects the elderly and chronically ill, compared with one death in all of 2010 and two in 2009, the South China Morning Post said.

Sixteen people with the disease have been admitted to public hospitals this year against 11 admissions for the whole of 2009.

The disease is caused by two bacteria - Vibrio vulnificus and group A streptococcus. Vibrio vulnificus is from the same family as cholera while group A streptococcus can cause scarlet fever in children.

Doctors said the surge in cases coincided with an outbreak of scarlet fever, which has infected more than 830 people this year against 128 last year and 187 in 2009.
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Cow Skull

Fortified Superfoods Aim to Convince Public of GM Food "Benefits"?


Activist Post
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 20:52 UTC
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© Unknown
Worldwide resistance to GM foods continues to build as ample evidence has shown negative health effects, crop contamination, and species degeneration that suggests we should tread lightly while attempting to alter the design of nature. Likewise, consumers are making it known that if GM food does enter the food chain that it must be clearly labeled.

The GMO industry has suffered negative press, but scientists and proponents of GMO appear undeterred. They have been steadily building a case for the benefits of GM food that go beyond simply what they can defend against, and aim to convince consumers of outright health benefits and even disease prevention.

Tomatoes were the very first target of genetic modification and came to the market in 1994. But after just four years they disappeared when it was discovered that the removal of the enzyme that leads to ripening was not the flavor enhancer (Flavr Savr) it was intended to be. Worse, after the FDA approval for human consumption, evidence was presented that showed an increase in stomach lesions as well as the possibility that altered genetic sequencing could lead to new forms of virulent viruses.
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Evil Rays

Natural Childbirth (Part 2B): Ultrasound Not as Safe as Commonly Thought

Chris Kresser
The Healthy Skeptic
Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
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The potential adverse effects of ultrasound
In the last article in this series on natural childbirth, I reviewed evidence suggesting that routine prenatal ultrasound does not improve birth outcomes for mothers or babies, and that organizations like the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists recommend ultrasound scans only for specific reasons.

In this article I'm going to review evidence on the safety of routine ultrasound and Doppler scanning, and make recommendations based on that research.
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Evil Rays

Natural Childbirth (Part 2A): Is Ultrasound Necessary & Effective in Pregnancy?

Chris Kresser
The Healthy Skeptic
Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
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"The routine use of ultrasound in pregnancy is the biggest uncontrolled experiment in history."
Beverly Beech, birth activist
In the first article in this series on natural childbirth, I presented evidence that - contrary to popular belief - hospital birth is no safer than home birth.

I'd like to begin this next article by telling you what it is not. It is not a blanket condemnation of ultrasound, nor is it a judgment of women who choose routine ultrasound during their pregnancy. It is not an argument against using ultrasound to investigate suspected problems, or to detect potential abnormalities, provided the woman is adequately informed.

The purpose of this article is to clarify the issues surrounding ultrasound's use in clinical practice, to critically examine the clinical benefit of routine prenatal ultrasound, and to raise awareness of the potential risks associated with repeated ultrasound scans.
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Butterfly

Natural childbirth I: Is Home Birth More Dangerous Than Hospital Birth?

Chris Kresser
The Healthy Skeptic
Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
In this series we're going to explore natural childbirth (home birth) as an alternative to industrialized childbirth. Industrialized childbirth could also be called "disturbed birth", which Australian family physician Sarah J. Buckley, MD defines as follows:
Anything that disturbs a laboring woman's sense of safety and privacy will disrupt the birth process. This definition covers most of modern obstetrics, which has created an entire industry around the observation and monitoring of pregnant and birthing women. Some of the techniques used are painful or uncomfortable, most involve some some transgression of bodily or social boundaries, and almost all techniques are performed by people who are essentially strangers to the woman herself. All of these factors are as disruptive to pregnant and birthing women as they would be to any other laboring mammal - with whom we share the majority of our hormonal orchestration in labor and birth.1
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Buckley embraces an evolutionary perspective on pregnancy and childbirth. Such a perspective affirms the natural process of gestation and birth and recognizes a woman's genetically inherited capacity to give birth without medical intervention.
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Beaker

EPA: Fluoride must be phased out

Bob Tuskin
The Bob Tuskin Show
Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:30 UTC
The EPA recently released a proposal to "phase out fluoride pesticide" which is an "insecticide and fumigant used on stored grain, such as wheat and oats; driedfruit; coffee and cocoa beans; and other foods".

If EPA's plan becomes final, many food uses of this fluoride-based pesticide would stop within 90 days.

Although this is a major break through, the EPA has not yet announced any plans for the removal of this dangerous poison from our water supply.
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Health

Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business - Official 2011 Release


Burzynski the Movie
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:59 UTC
Burzynski: The
"She died because there is a government institution that disseminates false information and is not looking out for the welfare of the people."

About the film:

Burzynski, the Movie is the story of a medical doctor and Ph.D biochemist named Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski who won the largest, and possibly the most convoluted and intriguing legal battle against the Food & Drug Administration in American history.

His victorious battles with the United States government were centered around Dr. Burzynski's gene-targeted cancer medicines he discovered in the 1970's called Antineoplastons, which have currently completed Phase II FDA-supervised clinical trials in 2009 and could begin the final phase of FDA testing in 2011 - barring the ability to raise the required $300 million to fund the final phase of FDA clinical trials.

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Megaphone

How to prevent spending the last 10 years of your life in a diaper and a wheelchair


The Healthy Skeptic
Fri, 20 May 2011 11:34 UTC
depend
Everything you have every experienced, felt, or conducted in life is due to brain function. The ability to enjoy, perceive, sense and experience live is dictated by the firing rate and health of your brain. It is impossible for a person to become healthy mentally or physiologically without a healthy brain." - Datis Kharrazian, DC, M.S
Maybe this goes without saying, but I think it's worth pointing out: our ability to enjoy life is brain-based. The capacity to taste food, appreciate and create art and music, smell a flower, feel the sun or wind on our skin, experience orgasm, and contribute to life in a meaningful way is entirely mediated by the brain.

In fact, everything we've ever done, are doing now or will do depends on brain function.

With that in mind, consider this. Two things in life we can be absolutely sure of are:
  1. We are all going to die.
  2. Our brains are going to degenerate before we die.
While this might seem morbid to some, it's the simple truth. And the more you're able to accept this truth and act accordingly, the better chance you'll have of aging gracefully.
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Bizarro Earth

Philippines : Mysterious infection leaves 4 dead in Zamboanga

Queenie Casimiro
ABS CBN Zamboanga
Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:22 UTC
A mysterious infection in Zamboanga del Norte has left 4 people dead and 16 others hospitalized.

The hospitalized victims, all natives of Barangay Mantebo, Sibuco town in Zamboanga del Norte, complained of pain and numbness in the lower extremities.

One of the patients Pantera Nadjal said it was in May this year when she started feeling numbness and a tingling sensation in her feet and legs.

Fifteen other villagers experienced the same and are now at the Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC).

"Parang hangin dito sa paa nagsimula tapos umakyat hanggang sa tiyan," Nadjal said.
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