Health & WellnessS


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Insufficient Vitamin D Tied to Severe Asthma Attacks


Reuters
Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:58 UTC
Asthmatic children with relatively low vitamin D levels in their blood may have a greater risk of suffering severe asthma attacks than those with higher levels of the vitamin, a new study suggests.

The study, which followed more than 1,000 children with asthma for four years, found those with vitamin-D "insufficiency" at the outset were more likely to have an asthma attack that required a trip to the hospital.

Over the four-year study, 38 percent of children with insufficient vitamin D levels went to the emergency room or were hospitalized for an asthma exacerbation. The same was true of 32 percent of children with sufficient levels of the vitamin.
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X

Kellogg recalls 4 cereals for odd odor, flavor


The Los Angeles Times
Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:22 UTC
Kellogs
© Gene J. Puskar, Associated PressKellogg Co. is voluntarily recalling about 28 million boxes of Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks cereals because a "waxy" smell and flavor coming from the package liners could make people sick
Kellogg Co. is voluntarily recalling about 28 million boxes of Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks cereals because an unusual smell and flavor from the packages' liners could make people ill, the company said Friday.

Kellogg said about 20 people complained about the cereals, including five who reported nausea and vomiting. The company said the potential for serious health problems is low.

Consumers reported the cereal smelled or tasted waxy or like metal or soap. Company spokeswoman J. Adaire Putnam said some described it as tasting stale.
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Magic Wand

Breathe in: Exercises may help sleep apnea

Anahad O'Connor
Winston-Salem Journal
Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:09 UTC
The claim: Throat exercises can relieve sleep apnea.

The facts: For people suffering from sleep apnea, specialized breathing machines are the standard treatment.

The machines employ a method called continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, which keeps the airway open and relieves potentially dangerous pauses in breathing during the night. But the machines are expensive, and some people complain that the mask and headgear cause uncomfortable side effects, like congestion.

One free and fairly simple alternative may be exercises that strengthen the throat. While they aren't as established or as well studied as breathing machines, some research suggests they may reduce the severity of sleep apnea by building up muscles around the airway, making them less likely to collapse at night.
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Ambulance

100,000 Americans Die Each Year from Prescription Drugs, While Pharma Companies Get Rich


Alternet
Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:53 UTC
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Prescription drugs taken as directed kill 100,000 Americans a year. That's one person every five minutes. How did we get here?

How many people do you know who regularly use a prescription medication? If your social group is like most Americans', the answer is most. Sixty-five percent of the country takes a prescription drug these days. In 2005 alone, we spent $250 billion on them.

I recently caught up with Melody Petersen, author of Our Daily Meds, an in-depth look at the pharmaceutical companies that have taken the reins of our faltering health care system by cleverly hawking every kind of drug imaginable. We discussed how this powerful industry has our health in its hands.
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Health

Mystery of the Appendix


KVOA
Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:42 UTC
Appendix
© KVOA
Tucson - Appendicitis is the most common reason for emergency general surgery, but what causes the appendix to inflame is a medical mystery.

For more than a hundred years, it's been the routine medical treatment: the appendix gets inflamed, remove it. That practice has never been challenged until now. Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas questions whether emergency surgery is really necessary.

"We have no idea what causes appendicitis. We have no idea why one morning, you might wake up and get appendicitis or not," said Dr. Edward Livingston.

The surgeon got curious about this common disease after operating on a patient with a ruptured appendix. "He almost died from the disease and that really struck me because he was a young healthy person who shouldn't be ill at all."
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Life Preserver

Ignoring stress leads recovering addicts to more cravings


Penn State University
Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:47 UTC
Recovering addicts who avoid coping with stress succumb easily to substance use cravings, making them more likely to relapse during recovery, according to behavioral researchers.

"Cravings are a strong predictor of relapse," said H. Harrington Cleveland, associate professor of human development, Penn State. "The goal of this study is to predict the variation in substance craving in a person on a within-day basis. Because recovery must be maintained 'one day at a time,' researchers have to understand it on the same daily level."
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Arrow Up

Study: Healthy Lifestyle Triggers Genetic Changes

Will Dunham
Reuters
Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:42 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Darren StaplesA woman rides a bicycle in Cambridge, central England.
Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.

The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.


Comment: Éiriú Eolas - 'Growth of Knowledge' is excellent breathing and meditation technique. Regular application and practice with Éiriú Eolas will help detoxify your mind, body and spirit in addition to improving overall health and wellness. Learn more about the many benefits of Éiriú Eolas here.

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Health

Oil Spill Stress Starts to Weigh on Gulf Residents

Kim Murphy
The Los Angeles Times
Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:37 UTC
Gulf of Mexico
© Associated PressThe Gulf of Mexico catastrophe
As the slick looms larger, mental health workers fear a rising tide of despair.

Ordinarily this time of year, Adam Trahan would be out on the Gulf of Mexico on a shrimp boat, trawling from South Pass to the Chandeleur Islands. Instead, last week he was trawling between the bar at Cisco's Hideaway on Oak Lane and Artie's out on the highway, fishing for Bud Light.

"I look out there and I see my life ruined," Trahan, 53, said in his long Cajun drawl from the ocean-side deck at Artie's. "There ain't no shrimpin', there ain't no crabbin', there ain't no oysterin'. Well, the only thing I know is shrimpin'. That's all I know. Now you tell me: Where do I go from here? It's heartbreakin', baby."

Comment: Everybody read, All For One and One For All. Any of you who own Éiriú Eolas sets and live around the affected areas, you could make copies and distribute in your area. People need to control their stress before they can think with clarity. People need hope.

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Red Flag

Toxins Found in Whales Bode ill for Humans

Arthur Max
Salon.com
Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:00 UTC
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© AP Photo/Tasmania Parks and Wildlife ServiceIn this Jan 23, 2009 file photo provided by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, a pod of sperm whales are seen stranded on a sand bar off Perkins Island, Australia's Tasmania state.
Sperm whales feeding even in the most remote reaches of Earth's oceans have built up stunningly high levels of toxic and heavy metals, according to American scientists who say the findings spell danger not only for marine life but for the millions of humans who depend on seafood.

A report released Thursday noted high levels of cadmium, aluminum, chromium, lead, silver, mercury and titanium in tissue samples taken by dart gun from nearly 1,000 whales over five years. From polar areas to equatorial waters, the whales ingested pollutants that may have been produced by humans thousands of miles away, the researchers said.

"These contaminants, I think, are threatening the human food supply. They certainly are threatening the whales and the other animals that live in the ocean," said biologist Roger Payne, founder and president of Ocean Alliance, the research and conservation group that produced the report.
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Info

Average Age of Girls Starting Puberty Falls Below 10

Tamsin Kelly
Parent Dish
Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:38 UTC
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More and more girls are hitting puberty before the age of 10, while they are still at primary school, a Danish study has found.

A study of 1,000 girls found that breast development now begins on average a year earlier than 20 years ago - around the age of nine years and ten months.

The research underlines a long-term trend that has seen the average age at which girls start puberty falling sharply. In the 19th century it was around 15 - six years later than now.

Scientists yesterday spoke of the serious implications for girls' physical and emotional health. There are fears that early puberty could put girls at higher risk of breast cancer and heart disease because of the increased exposure to estrogen.
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