Health & WellnessS


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Positive Brain Changes Seen After Body-Mind Meditation

Robert Preidt
Bloomberg Businessweek
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:00 UTC
Positive brain changes take hold after just 11 hours of practicing a form of meditation, the results of a new study suggest.

The study included 45 University of Oregon students who were randomly selected to be in either a study group that did integrative body-mind training (IBMT) or a control group that did relaxation training. IBMT was adapted from traditional Chinese medicine in the 1990s.

A comparison of scans taken of the students' brains before and after the training showed that those in the IBMT group had increased brain connectivity. The changes were strongest in connections involving the anterior cingulate, an area that plays a role in the regulation of emotions and behavior, Yi-Yuan Tang of Dalian University of Technology in China, University of Oregon psychologist Michael I. Posner, and colleagues found.

The boost in brain connectivity began after six hours of IBMT and became more apparent after 11 hours of practice, according to the report published in the Aug. 16-21 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Comment: Losing Focus? Studies Say Meditation May Help

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Syringe

Cocaine Addiction May Be Linked to a Protein in the Brain

Laura Blue
Time Wellness Blog
Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:39 UTC
White mouse
© Visuals Unlimited/Corbis
A protein known for its role in Rett syndrome -- a rare genetic brain disorder -- also works to regulate cocaine addiction, new research shows.

In a study published today in Nature Neuroscience, Florida researchers were able to mimic in rats a human's transition to cocaine addiction: the transition, that is, from controlled intake of the drug to compulsive intake. Rats that were exposed to cocaine over time saw increases in their levels of the protein MeCP2 expressed in the dorsal striatum, a region of the brain involved in executive function. These MeCP2 increases, it seems, then led to further cocaine cravings. Animals with access to cocaine, but in which MeCP2 levels were knocked down again to normal levels, appeared to lose interest in the drug -- and they vastly reduced their self-administered drug intake.
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Briefcase

SOTT Focus: Jim Humble, Nexus Magazine and The MMS Mafia

Joe Quinn
Sott.net
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:36 UTC
Image
© Unknown
As regular SOTT.net readers will know, a few months ago we inadvertently became caught up, albeit briefly, in the disturbing world of Jim Humble and his alleged cure-all potion 'MMS'. For those that are interested in how that unsavory episode played out, you can read the details here.

To be honest, by now we thought we had closed the book on the Right Honorable 'Bishop' Humble and his friends at Nexus Magazine. Lines had been drawn, positions taken, everyone knew where they stood. But we really should have known better. There's a strange phenomenon that crops up over and over again in our line of work: when you disagree with pathological people, they seem singularly incapable of letting it go and exercising a little 'live and let live' philosophy.

A little over two weeks ago, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert for MMS which stated that Humble's 'Miracle' solution created a "potent bleach". Now and again, even US government agencies have to get something right. Of course, they only did this after the controversy on SOTT.net brought the issue out into the open.
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Alarm Clock

Study: 1 in 5 US teenagers has slight hearing loss

Carla K Johnson
Associated Press
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:59 UTC
Matthew Brady, 17
© AP/Steven SenneIn this Aug. 13, 2010 photo, Matthew Brady, 17, of Foxborough, Mass., poses for a portrait in his home while wearing ear phones and displaying an iPod, Friday. Brady, who has some mild hearing loss, used to listen to the device while running on a treadmill with the volume turned up. A stunning number of teens have lost a little bit of their hearing _ nearly one in five _ and the problem has increased substantially in recent years, a new national study has found.

Chicago, Illinois - A stunning one in five teens has lost a little bit of hearing, and the problem has increased substantially in recent years, a new national study has found.

Some experts are urging teenagers to turn down the volume on their digital music players, suggesting loud music through earbuds may be to blame - although hard evidence is lacking. They warn that slight hearing loss can cause problems in school and set the stage for hearing aids in later life.
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Arrow Up

Based on Consumer Demand More Companies Eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup

Emily Bryson York
Los Angeles Times
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:11 UTC
Image
© unknown
Sara Lee is removing high-fructose corn syrup from its two best-selling breads.

First it was calories, then it was fat and sodium. The latest health concern: high-fructose corn syrup, and the trend is accelerating.

As the country struggles with obesity issues, ingredients in food have been under increasing scrutiny, bringing some confusion to the marketplace but also opportunities for companies as they try to differentiate themselves in a competitive grocery store.

Consumer concern has been getting a quick response from food companies, as many remove high-fructose corn syrup from well-known products, replacing it with cane or beet sugar. Sara Lee Corp. is the latest to jump on board, removing the sweetener from its two best-selling breads.

Comment: For a much more in depth look at the health issues associated with High Fructose Corn Syrup read the following articles:

The High Fructose Corn Syrup Monopoly is Finally Cracking
High fructose corn syrup: How dangerous is it?
Sugar coated / We're drowning in high fructose corn syrup. Do the risks go beyond our waistline?
High Fructose Corn Syrup: a Recipe for Hypertension, Study Finds
High Fructose Corn Syrup - The Poison that Promotes Obesity and Liver Damage
High-Fructose Corn Syrup Prompts Considerably More Weight Gain, Researchers Find
High Fructose Corn Syrup Linked to Liver Scarring, Research Suggests
Child diabetes blamed on food sweetener fructose syrup
One More Link in the Mercury-High Fructose Corn Syrup Chain: Autism
Is High Fructose Corn Syrup Turning Us Into Mad Hatters?
High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated with Toxic Mercury, Says Research

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Sun

Discover the Benefits of Lemon Grass Tea


Motherearthnews.com
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:38 UTC
Image
© unknown
No Spanish American's herb garden was complete - at least here in California during the state's early days - unless it contained te-de-limon, or lemon grass. Then, over the years, the plant, like so many other sources of natural drinks and "cures," slowly faded from use and cultivation. Today's renewed and still-growing interest in herbs and herb teas, however, is now bringing te-de-limon back once again: For the first time in years, dried lemon grass is being sold - and purchased! - in health food stores throughout southern California.

Although there seems to be little scientific basis for the claims, Mexican folk medicine holds that the benefits of lemon grass include: aiding digestion, calming nervous disorders and helping in the treatment of high blood pressure. Cymbopogon citratus - as the plant is known to the botanist - is also cultivated and distilled in Java, Ceylon, Malaysia and Central America for its oil (which is used in pharmaceutical preparations and skincare products). Furthermore, according to Dorothy Hall's The Book of Herbs, lemon grass contains vitamin A and is good for "those who wish to have bright eyes and a clear skin."

Comment: For more information about the benefits of Lemongrass Tea read the following:

Lemon Grass Fights Headaches
Lemon Grass Halts Headaches Much Like Aspirin

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Red Flag

Study Says: More BPA in Canadian Teens


NewsInferno
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:25 UTC
According to a recent Statistics Canada study, conducted with Health Canada, some disturbing facts surrounding the controversial plastic hardening chemical bisphenonl A (BPA) and the Canadian population were revealed, the Calgary Herald just announced. This is the government's first national survey conducted on chemical exposure.

It seems that nine out of 10 Canadians aged six to 79 - 91 percent of the population - have BPA in their urine. These figures indicate that Canadian children and teenagers have higher BPA urine levels today than ever before, wrote the Calgary Herald. The survey also revealed that just about every Canadian has BPA in their bodies.
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Evil Rays

Update: First parents, now teachers concerned about Wi-Fi in Ontario schools

Dominique Jarry-Shore
The Canadian Press
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:40 UTC
Toronto - A group of Ontario teachers is joining a push to remove wireless Internet from classrooms in the province for fear it's harming children's health.

Some parents in central Ontario formed the Simcoe County Safe School Committee when they became concerned Wi-Fi was the cause of symptoms their kids experienced that would clear up on weekends and holidays.

Health Canada says scientific evidence shows that exposure to low-level radiofrequency energy, such as that from Wi-Fi systems, is not dangerous to the public.

But that hasn't stopped the parents from urging the Simcoe County District School Board to turn off the Wi-Fi and plug back in to the Internet. The board has said no such action will be taken because there is no evidence to show children are being made ill by the wireless technology in their classrooms.

Now teachers from the Niagara region are adding their voices to the call to reconsider Wi-Fi in schools. They say even though wireless technology is all around, they want to minimize children's exposure.
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Pills

85% of New Drugs 'Offer few Benefits'

John von Radowitz
The Independent
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:17 UTC
Image
© Getty Images
Drug companies were accused today of conning the public by hyping up patented medicines with little new to offer while downplaying their side-effects.

An estimated 85% of new drugs offer few if any new benefits while having the potential to cause serious harm due to toxicity or misuse, a study has concluded.

The author of the research delivered a damning attack on "Big Pharma" at a meeting of sociology experts in the US.

Professor Donald Light described the pharmaceutical industry as a "market for lemons" - one in which the seller knows much more than the buyer about the product, and takes advantage of this fact.
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Pills

America's most medicated state? West Virginia

Nathalie Tadena
MSNBC
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:37 UTC
West Virginia has highest rate of prescription drug use in the country

Open the medicine cabinet in anyone's home, and chances are good you find at least a couple - and perhaps many - plastic prescription drug bottles.

Spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. multiplied nearly six times from $40.3 billion in 1990 to $234.1 billion in 2008, according to the nonprofit Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. From 1999 to 2009 the number of prescriptions dispensed rose 39% (from 2.8 billion to 3.9 billion) compared to a U.S. population growth of only 9% over the same period.

Who takes the most medication? In 2009 West Virginia had the highest prescription drug use of all states, according to data gathered from retail pharmacies and compiled by health care information company SDI.

Comment: The obvious missing correlation in this article is that of a diet high in gluten, dairy, sugar and processed foods to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. 18.4 prescription medications per person is more akin to poisoning than healing, complicating the issues of obesity, diabetes and heart disease even further.

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