Health & WellnessS


Attention

Best of the Web: Study Shows Monsanto Roundup Herbicide Link to Birth Defects

William Engdahl
Salem-News.com
Sun, 31 Oct 2010 21:33 UTC
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© unknown
New facts on one of America's most dangerous companies.

Frankfurt, Germany - A major new scientific study has confirmed growing conviction that the world's most widely used chemical herbicide, Monsanto Corporation's Roundup is toxic and a danger to human as well as animal organisms. The latest scientific research carried out by a multinational scientific team headed by Professor Andrés Carrasco, head of the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology at the University of Buenos Aires Medical School and member of Argentina's National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, presents alarming demonstration that Monsanto and the GMO agribusiness industry have systematically lied about the safety of their Roundup. Roundup in far lower concentrations than used in agriculture is linked to birth defects. The health implications are huge. All major GMO crops on the market today are genetically manipulated to "tolerate" the herbicide Roundup.

Glyphosate was patented by Monsanto in the 1970's well before GMO was commercialized, as a so-called broad-spectrum weed killer. It is typically sprayed and absorbed through the leaves, or used as a forestry herbicide. It was initially patented and sold by Monsanto under the trade name Roundup, which also contains non-disclosed added chemicals the company refuses to divulge for "trade secret" reasons. As of 2005, 87% of all US soybean fields were planted with glyphosate-resistant varieties of GMO soybeans and sprayed with Roundup.
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Scientists Turn a New Leaf to Discover a Compound in Daffodils that Targets Brain Cancer


Eurekalert.org
Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:42 UTC
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© crazyforacure2009.org
New research in the FASEB Journal suggests that narciclagsine, a natural compound found in daffodil bulbs, markedly reduces cancer cell proliferation and migration

When looking for new ways to treat aggressive brain cancers, an international team of scientists turned a new leaf and "discovered" the lowly daffodil. A new research study published in the November 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal offers hope that a natural compound found in daffodil bulbs, called narciclasine, may be a powerful therapeutic against biologically aggressive forms of human brain cancers.
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Info

Organic Food: Cutting Through The Confusion

Maria Rodale
Huffington Post
Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:10 UTC
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© Rodale Institute
As a third-generation insider and granddaughter of the original organic iconoclast, I've seen the evolution of the organic food industry happen in real time. Slow-motion real time. (My grandfather started Organic Gardening magazine in 1942 - although truthfully, I wasn't born until 1962.) On October 13, 2010, the current leaders of the organic movement in America convened at the Fourth Annual Organic Summit in Boston. Topics ranged from the challenges of procuring organic ingredients, to overall trends and perceptions of consumers, to strategies for defending against genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to ways of overcoming the seemingly hardwired American preference for everything cheap.

But three major issues became abundantly clear as the day wore on in that windowless, generic hotel ballroom - three major issues that could affect every single person on this planet for better or for worse.
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Attention

How toxins are making us fat and diabetic

Chris Kresser
The Healthy Skeptic
Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:32 UTC
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Each year the toxic burden in our air, food and water - and thus our bodies - grows higher than ever before. Companies manufacture 6.5 trillion pounds of 9,000 different chemicals each year. That's an almost incomprehensible amount. But to put it in perspective, an ocean supertanker carries about 3.25 billion tons. It would take 10,000 supertankers to carry the amount of chemicals that are manufactured in a single year.

A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found the average person has over 91 toxic chemicals in their body. Some people had as many as 165, including 76 known to cause cancer, 94 known to be toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 79 known to cause birth defects and abnormal fetal development.

Comment: For more information, or if you wish to discuss this topic, please visit our diet and health forum.

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Is the FDA doing its job?

Rob Stein
The Washington Post
Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:11 UTC
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© Unknown
A new report is renewing questions about the Food and Drug Administration's oversight of medical devices.

In a paper published in the British medical journal known as BMJ, investigative journalist Jeanne Lenzer and Shannon Brownlee of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice raise questions about the FDA's oversight, citing a device manufactured by Cyberonics, Inc., of Houston.

The device, known as a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS), is implanted under the skin and sends electrical impulses to stimulate the vagus nerve in the neck. It was approved in 1997 to prevent epileptic seizures on the condition that the company that Cyberonics carry out a post-approval study to examine the safety of the device. The company conducted a study, but did not include any information about deaths among patients who received the device, according to the report. In the 13 years since the device was approved 900 deaths have been reported, according to the report.

Comment: You can stimulate your vagus nerve naturally and thus control epileptic seizures by the simple act of breathing.

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Attention

Study Finds Plenty of Foods Harbor BPA

Janet Raloff
Sciencenews.org
Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:38 UTC
Some communities have banned the sale of plastic baby bottles and sippy cups manufactured using bisphenol A, a hormone-mimicking chemical. In a few grocery stores, cashiers have already begun donning gloves to avoid handling thermal receipt paper out of fear its BPA-based surface coating may rub off on the fingers. But how's a family to avoid exposure to this contaminant when it taints the food supply?

It's a question many people may start asking in response to data posted online November 1 in Environmental Science & Technology by a team of university and government scientists. Indeed, the last author on the paper is Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

In recent years, she's teamed up with toxicologist Arnold Schecter of the University of Texas School of Public Health on market-basket analyzes of foods for various potentially toxic pollutants. Like Birnbaum, Schecter initially gained renown for studying dioxins. Now, both have moved into the BPA arena.
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Pills

Why Medication Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

Dr. Leo Galland
Pill Advised
Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:31 UTC
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Did you know that the majority of FDA approved drugs have serious potential side effects that were not detected before marketing approval? (1)

That about three quarters of a million people a year are rushed to emergency rooms in the U.S. because of adverse drug reactions, according to the CDC? (2)

That the number of medication-related deaths in the U.S. is estimated at over 200,000 a year, making medications the third or fourth leading cause of death in this country? (3)

That even common pain relievers called NSAIDs, examples of which include Advil, Motrin, Aleve and aspirin, account for an estimated 7,600 deaths and 76,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. every year? (4)
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Info

American Food 2010

Sue McIntosh M.D.
OpEd News
Mon, 17 May 2010 21:58 UTC
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© unknown
Organic food for optimal health has been our mantra for many years. Indeed, lord science has confirmed that certified organically grown fruits and vegetables are higher in antioxidants, vitamins, fiber and other beneficial substances.

Today the "organic" label is being usurped and manipulated by corporate agriculture (BigAgra), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Natural," "USDA certified" and "organic" are grocery-store terms for food and drink which contains less pesticide residue than other processed items but often contains genetically modified or nano-modified components, as well as harmful additives.
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Health

Spice of Life: Turmeric Boosts Effects of Chemo in Fighting Tumors

Amanda Chan
myhealthnewsdaily.com
Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:05 UTC
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© Vishakha Shah | Dreamstime
The main component in the spice turmeric, known as curry powder, can add to the power of chemotherapy in suppressing head and neck tumors, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found the chemical compound called curcumin, the main ingredient in turmeric, enhances the effects of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, which is commonly used to treat head and neck cancers, in addition to radiation. Curcumin has been found to help curb the growth of breast, colon and pancreatic cancers.

But because cisplatin can have toxic side effects, researchers were "looking for an agent that would enhance the effect of cisplatin, allowing the use of lower, less-toxic doses," said study researcher Dr. Marilene Wang, a professor of head and neck surgery at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center.
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Arrow Down

Long Hours Put Surgeons, Patients at Risk, Study Suggests


Bloomberg.com
Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:58 UTC
Many surgeons working more than 80 hours a week burned out, depressed, making errors

Surgeons who work long hours can suffer burnout and depression, which can lead to patient safety issues and increased risk of personal problems such as addiction and suicide, a new study suggests.

Among surgeons who reported working more than 80 hours a week, 50 percent met the criteria for burnout and nearly 40 percent were depressed, according to Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic researchers who analyzed 2008 survey data from 7,905 U.S. surgeons.

In addition, 11 percent admitted making a significant medical error in the previous three months, and 20 percent said they would not become a surgeon again if they had the choice today.
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