Health & WellnessS


Question

Yemeni girl cries stones instead of tears?


A 12-year-old Yemeni girl has baffled doctors as her eyes oozed out stones instead of tears, triggering panic in her rural area that it could be either magic or epidemic.

Doctors said they still could not give an explanation for such a phenomenon since the girl, Saadiya Saleh, is not suffering from any know disease.

A YouTube film aired by Yemen's Azal satellite TV channel showed doctors gathered a small box full of stones that dropped out of the girl's eyes in just a few hours.

Health

More evidence that sweetened foods and beverages are killing you

Sugary Drinks
© nito/Shutterstock
New research published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows that eating added sugar in foods such as soft drinks, cereals, and cakes does more than just make us pack on the pounds, it can also increase our risk of dying from heart disease - and by a significant margin.

In a nutshell, here's what the research says: If you get more than 25% of your daily calories from foods and drinks containing added sugar, you have triple the risk of dying from heart disease. Even moderate intake is nasty; 10 to 25% daily caloric consumption increases cardiovascular risk by 30%. This means that even one sugar-sweetened drink a day is enough to increase the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

According to the World Health Organization, we should limit added sugar to about 10% of our total daily calories. But the study, which was led by Quanhe Yang from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, revealed that 71.4% of U.S. adults get more than the recommended intake.

To reach their conclusions, the researchers examined data from the mortality-tracking National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) which was conducted in stages between 1988 and 2010. The data was pulled from more than 43,000 individual cases. The data was then matched against heart disease mortality over a typical period of about 14 years, during which a total of 831 cardiovascular-related deaths were recorded.

Magnify

Chemical cotton

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Did you know that every conventional cotton product we use has an effect on what we eat and that the by-products of conventional cotton production used in our clothing, personal care, bedding, furniture etc. go back into our food supply? Here are a few facts you need to know about cotton...

Cotton is considered the world's dirtiest crop due to its heavy use of pesticides. Aldicarb, cotton's second best-selling insecticide and most acutely poisonous to humans and wildlife, is still used in 25 countries, including the U.S., where 16 states reported it in their groundwater. The dangers are recognized by the EPA and they have signaled its phase out in 2018.

Worldwide, cotton covers 2.5% of the cultivated land and cotton growers use 16% of the world's pesticides. Eight of the top 10 pesticides most commonly used on U.S. conventionally produced cotton were classified as moderately to highly hazardous by the World Health Organization. The Environmental Justice Foundation elaborates more on the world wide negative effects of pesticide use in cotton.

Cotton (83%) is one of the top four GMO crops produced in the world which includes soy (89%), canola (75%) and corn (61%). GMO cotton production ranks ninth in global crop production.

On an average, 90 percent of U.S. cotton in 2010 was genetically engineered, according to a USDA survey. However 95 to 98% of all cotton is now genetically engineered in nine of the eleven cotton producing states surveyed. (Source USDA Economic Research Service, July 1, 2011.) The Huffington Post recently posted an excellent blog with more information and commentary on the issue.

Cupcake Pink

SOTT Focus: 'World Cancer Day 2014' - The Cancer Pandemic: Forget Sugar! Blame The Smokers!

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Earlier today I posted a comment on this BBC article. It was one of those comment boxes where you submit your name, location, ph. number and email address and it gets sent off to the BBC's department of censorship for rejection.

My comment went something like: "It's nice to finally see some official recognition that sugar is involved in cancer. Governments should redirect the funds they allocate to anti-smoking campaigns towards a campaign to inform people about the dangers of a high-carb diet and to promote a Paleo diet, as a way to prevent the spread of cancer".

The strange thing is, right now there are no comments at all under that article, and there is no longer any option to comment, so I was wondering what actually happens to them and what the point of asking for comments is.

A while ago I found out. A nice program researcher from the BBC called me and referred to my comment and asked me if I would like to take part in a BBC radio show that is to discuss the 'tidal wave' of cancer that is bearing down on us all. The researcher asked me what the Paleo diet was and how I found out about it and, after I explained the basics to her, she said would email me back and let me know if they wanted to talk to me. Well, the radio show is airing as I write this, and I haven't heard back from the nice researcher lady, so I guess they didn't like what I had to say. So I'll just say it here.

Comment: See also:

Ketogenic Diet improves insulin sensitivity and numerous aging markers


Smoking

Signs of Desperation, Catapulting the Propaganda: Third-Hand Smoke Exposure As Deadly As Smoking

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© Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/GettyImages
Exposure to surfaces and objects that have been saturated in cigarette smoke, labeled as "third-hand smoke," is just as deadly as smoking the cigarette itself.

A new study from the University of California, Riverside finds that the third-hand smoke that has soaked into the surfaces, objects and environment around people becomes increasingly toxic over time. Third-hand smoke is defined as the second-hand smoke that is allowed to settle on objects in any environment. Non-smoking children, co-workers, spouses and friends of smokers breathe in such carcinogens left in rooms exposed to smokers.

Comment: Smokers' lungs used in half of transplants: Improves Survival Rate!
Smoking Does Not Cause Lung Cancer
Smoking Does Not Cause Lung Cancer (According to WHO/CDC Data)
Air pollution causes lung cancer in non-smokers (erm, can't it cause it in smokers too then?)
Government Suppresses Major Public Health Report
Air pollution leading cause of cancer, World Health Organisation warns
5 Health Benefits of Smoking
'World No Tobacco Day'? Let's All Light Up!


Donut

Excess sugar doubles the risk of heart disease

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© Luke Sharrett/BloombergPeople whose sugar intake is about a quarter or more of their total daily calories had twice the risk of dying from heart disease than those who whose intake was 7 percent, according to the research today in JAMA Internal Medicine
High sugar consumption may double the chance of dying from heart disease, according to a study that adds to evidence that high levels of the sweetener in processed foods and drink is bad for a person's health.

People whose sugar intake is about a quarter or more of their total daily calories had twice the risk of dying from heart disease than those who whose intake was 7 percent, according to the research today in JAMA Internal Medicine. For those whose intake of added sugar was about 19 percent, their risk of dying from heart disease was about 38 percent higher.

Today's study is the first to link on a national level the amount of sugar American adults eat to their risk of dying from heart disease after taking into account weight, age, health, exercise and diet, said lead study author Quanhe Yang, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research has already linked sugar consumption to diabetes, weight gain and obesity.

"Too much sugar can make you fat; it can also make you sick, sick from diseases like cardiovascular disease, which is the No. 1 killer in America," said Laura Schmidt, a school of medicine professor at the University of California at San Francisco, in a telephone interview. "Small amounts of sugar are fine. It's consuming massive amounts of sugar that's a growing problem in America."


Comment: "Scientists don't have a clear understanding why sugar may raise the risk of dying from heart disease". Actually, they do have a pretty good idea! Hopefully everyone else will catch up too including the authors of this study.

Food Politics and Power: The Men Who Made Us Fat.
The surprising truth about wheat, carbs, and sugar - Your brain's silent killers
It's official - Time to drop hazardous low fat guidelines
Swedish Expert Committee: A Low-Carb Diet most effective for weight loss
Saturated fat heart disease 'myth': UK cardiologist calls for change in public health advice on saturated fat
Everything you've been told about how to eat is wrong
The Obesity Epidemic, Courtesy of the Agricultural Industry
The food industry's self-regulation is a spectacular failure
Food Industry Is Now Calling Junk Food 'Healthy' - Why Could That Be?


Cupcake Pink

"Gluten sensitivity" may be a misnomer for distinct illnesses to various wheat proteins

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Gluten makes people sick
Two years ago, at the recommendation of a nutritionist, I stopped eating wheat and a few other grains. Within a matter of days the disabling headaches and fatigue that I had been suffering for months vanished. Initially my gastroenterologist interpreted this resolution of my symptoms as a sign that I perhaps suffered from celiac disease, a peculiar disorder in which the immune system attacks a bundle of proteins found in wheat, barley and rye that are collectively referred to as gluten. The misdirected assault ravages and inflames the small intestine, interfering with the absorption of vital nutrients and thereby causing bloating, diarrhea, headaches, tiredness and, in rare cases, death. Yet several tests for celiac disease had come back negative. Rather my doctors concluded that I had nonceliac "gluten sensitivity," a relatively new diagnosis. The prevalence of gluten sensitivity is not yet clear, but some data suggest it may afflict as many as 6 percent of Americans, six times the number of people with celiac disease.

Although gluten sensitivity and celiac disease share many symptoms, the former is generally less severe. Compared with individuals with celiac disease, people with gluten sensitivity are more likely to report nondigestive symptoms such as headaches and do not usually suffer acute intestinal damage and inflammation. Lately, however, some researchers are wondering if they were too quick to pin all the blame for these problems on gluten. A handful of new studies suggest that in many cases gluten sensitivity might not be about gluten at all. Rather it may be a misnomer for a range of different illnesses triggered by distinct molecules in wheat and other grains.

Comment: The author of this article would benefit from learning more information about gluten sensitivity and its addictive properties:

Wheat is a Drug Like Morphine that is why Opiate Blockers Act as Diet Suppressors
What is gluten intolerance?
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


Book 2

Toast was toast, or how Wheat Belly and its author changed my diet

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Are modern wheat varieties to blame for a laundry list of ailments as suggested by the bestseller Wheat Belly? Jane Macdougall went off bread to investigate the thesis.
It began, as many misadventures do, innocently enough.

I had baked a loaf of bread. A simple, honest bread made from the best of simple, honest ingredients. Nonetheless, several dinner guests declined the bread. My friends, it turned out, were boycotting gluten. Hadn't I heard? Gluten was the new great Satan. It was as if I were offering cocktails of Red Dye No. 2 served with asbestos straws in leaded crystal tumblers.

I had misguidedly thought that homemade bread had placed me in the vanguard of healthy living. Apparently I was wrong. I'd inadvertently played into the hands of the industrial baking complex and their evil agenda.

This led me to an inquiry into the gluten gripe, that led to poking about the subject of commercial baking, that led to examining the GMO debacle that deposited me on a sofa opposite Dr. William Davis, author of the massively bestselling book, Wheat Belly, and now the Wheat Belly Cookbook.

The simple loaf of bread quickly became a can of worms. Food, it turns out, is really complicated these days.

Comment: Read more about Dr. Davis and his excellent book Wheat belly:

Interview with 'Wheat Belly' Author Dr. William Davis
Modern wheat is the 'perfect chronic poison' says expert
The Long Knives Are Out For 'Wheat Belly' - bring out the "Cult" accusation!
Doctor Says Whole Wheat Packs on Belly Fat - And Has a Lot in Common with Opiate Drugs


Beaker

Monsanto's Roundup: New deadly scam exposed

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© opednews.com
Roundup is the Monsanto herbicide that is touted as the cornerstone of GMO food crops. Monsanto claims these crops are genetically engineered to withstand heavy spraying of Roundup.

Therefore, the crops live and the weeds die. Breakthrough.

There are several key lies associated with these claims - but a new one has surfaced.

A study to be published this month indicts Roundup and, in fact, the general class of insecticides and herbicides. On what grounds? When they're tested for safety, only the so-called "active ingredients" are examined.

The untested ingredients are called "adjuvants," and they are said to be inert and irrelevant. But the new study concludes this is far from true. The adjuvants are actually there to INCREASE the killing power of the active ingredient in the herbicide or insecticide.

Safety tests don't take this into account. "Active ingredients" are already toxic, but the adjuvants ramp up their poisonous nature even higher.

Cheesecake

What does cancer eat? Sugar, mostly, and other lessons from my dinner with a professor of pathology

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© Sarah Lazarovic
What got my attention was his remark about celery.

You know: the dieters' wishful thinking on whether eating celery is a sum negative activity, or not.

He was certainly entitled to speak. His name is Dr. Gerald Krystal and he's a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at University of British Columbia, as well as Distinguished Scientist at the Terry Fox Laboratory at the BC Cancer Agency.

We were perched like vultures over a buffet table, commenting on the many ways to die. Fats, salts, sugars, alcohol: pick your delicious poison. I like 'em all.

The dietary folklore related to celery hardly registers in Dr. Krystal's purview. He started his career as molecular biochemist working on cell signalling, which is to say the ways cells communicate with each other. Delightfully, he describes it as a molecular square dance, with cells reacting to specific instructions that we're still just beginning to comprehend.

Comment: For more on the ketogenic diet (high fat, moderate protein and low carb) and cancer see:

The Ketogenic Diet - An Overview

Can a High-Fat Diet Beat Cancer?

Diet for cancer cure: Starving cancer ketogenic diet a key to recovery

Sugar makes cancer light-up in MRI scanners