Health & WellnessS


Syringe

FDA Faults Merck Plant For Charred Shrink Wrap In Vaccine Vials

Vaccine scam
© Unknown
  • Charred bits of plastic shrink wrap found in some vials of Merck vaccines
  • Merck said it is still working to resolve the problem
  • Company said it isn't aware of any adverse health events from the issue
Charred bits of plastic shrink wrap have been found in vials of Merck & Co. (MRK) vaccines, the latest quality problem identified by U.S. regulators at the company's biggest vaccine-making plant and an issue the drug maker said it is still working to resolve.

Merck said it isn't aware of any adverse health events associated with the problem, and that it is confident in the safety and efficacy of its products. The affected vaccines included Gardasil for the prevention of HPV infection, Varivax for chicken pox, Pneumovax for pneumococcal disease, Zostavax for shingles and MMR II for measles, mumps and rubella.

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a formal warning letter about deficiencies at Merck's West Point, Pa., plant. Since then, FDA inspection reports have cited more problems: the presence of metal particles in certain products, cracks in vaccine vials and delays in Merck's reporting to the FDA of adverse events from products made at the plant.

Comment: Just another reason (in a very long list) to think twice about getting any vaccine. See this partial list below:

Young people should not take flu vaccine, watchdog says

Warning to Parents: This Vaccine Linked to Sudden Infant Death...

60 Lab Studies Confirm Cancer Link to a Vaccine You Probably Had as a Child

9 Questions That Stump Every Pro-Vaccine Advocate and Their Claims

Video: Doctors speak out about H1N1 VACCINE DANGERS

Video: Doctor Admits Vaccine More Deadly Than Swine Flu Itself

Makers Of Vaccine Refuse To Take H1N1


Info

In Defense of Organic

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© GristPoking holes in Scientific American's take on organic agriculture.
As Grist readers know, "mythbusting" Scientific American blogger Christie Wilcox took on organic agriculture recently in "Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming Conventional Agriculture." Now, I do agree that there should be no sacred cows - we should examine everything with a critical, if not jaundiced, eye. And indeed Wilcox brings up issues surrounding organic ag about which many people may not be aware. But sadly, her analysis goes quickly and seriously off the rails.

First the good points: Organic ag does use pesticides, sometimes in large quantities. This is not a new revelation: There are a set of pesticides approved for organic use, including copper and sulfur anti-fumigants and the naturally occurring Bt toxin. Copper and sulfur in particular are often overused, especially among fruit growers. While these chemicals can be used by any scale of farmer, it's a particular problem among so-called "industrial organic" farmers.

As the organic industry has taken off, many large-scale farmers have in essence adapted the industrial agriculture mindset - with its monocropping, its focus on inputs and outputs and maximizing productivity -- if not all its techniques. Tom Philpott has written about the problematic nature of this phenomenon; for a deep dive on the subject, I recommend Sam Fromartz's excellent Organic, Inc.

Attention

5 Reasons NOT to Eat Genetically Modified Foods

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© Activist Post
We are confronted with the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and it is being rapidly deployed with almost no thought whatsoever to its consequences." - Dr Suzanne Wuerthele, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toxicologist.
Most Americans are unaware that they eat a steady diet of genetically modified food. This is mainly because the GMO giants, as if ashamed of their creation, refuse to allow labels on food that contains genetic engineering.

Consumers are also generally distracted by all the other things on food labels that they're supposed to be concerned about. And when they are exposed to information on GMOs, it's usually from a mainstream source featuring "philanthropist" Bill Gates beaming a smile while expounding the "benefits" that GMOs bring to starving people.

They typically don't hear about studies that show crop yields with GMOs are actually lower than with non-GM crops, or that they require far more pesticides than heirloom seeds, or that some are patented "terminator" seeds that don't re-germinate, which ensures an eventual monopoly over food. Or, perhaps one of the worst findings, that hamsters in one study became completely infertile, among other disturbing effects, after only 3 generations of eating GM soy.

Health

Omega-3 Fats Reduce Stress

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© drweilblog.com
Could omega-3 fats, the kind most often found in fish oil, help reduce stress?

A new study from Ohio State University sought to answer that question, by looking at how omega-3 fats could help decrease anxiety among university students.

Inflammation and Anxiety Reduced by Omega-3 Fats

Consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among the healthy young people in the study.

The findings suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more.

Cell Phone

Techno Addicts: Phone Withdrawal Has Physical Impact

For many people, old-fashioned tools like maps, cameras, books, and even iPods have been replaced and integrated into one small device, the smartphone.

But now, there's concern among psychologists that the growing number of people who favor smartphones over face-to-face interaction, might be suffering from a form of addiction, CBS News correspondent Betty Nguyen reports.


New York City public relations executive, Matthew Berritt, 32, admits he's hooked.

"To be honest, I'm never without it. I know I'm addicted, because I know without it, I do have withdrawal," he said.

Arrow Up

Increased muscle mass may lower risk of pre-diabetes

Study shows building muscle can lower person's risk of insulin resistance.

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual's total muscle mass, the lower the person's risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes.

With recent dramatic increases in obesity worldwide, the prevalence of diabetes, a major source of cardiovascular morbidity, is expected to accelerate. Insulin resistance, which can raise blood glucose levels above the normal range, is a major factor that contributes to the development of diabetes. Previous studies have shown that very low muscle mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance, but until now, no study has examined whether increasing muscle mass to average and above average levels, independent of obesity levels, would lead to improved blood glucose regulation.

Comment: There is anecdotal evidence that suggests that high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet, beside lowering insulin resistance, can increase muscle mass.


Book

The American Psychiatric Association's DSM5 proposal for ADHD - Making lifelong patients of even more healthy people

Speedup stilstill
© Martin WhitelySpeed Up and Sit Still: The Controversies of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has published its draft changes for the fifth edition of its internationally influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5), due for final release in May 2013. Along with other worrying changes the APA seems determined to further loosen its already absurdly broad diagnostic criteria for ADHD.

Four more ways to display ADHD

The most obvious of the changes is the inclusion of four extra ways of exhibiting ADHD. For a diagnosis of the primarily hyperactive subtype instead of children having to display 6 of 9 (67%) impulsive/hyperactive diagnostic criteria, 6 of 13 (47%) would be sufficient. The four additional criteria are;

1- Tends to act without thinking, such as starting tasks without adequate preparation or avoiding reading or listening to instructions. May speak out without considering consequences or make important decisions on the spur of the moment, such as impulsively buying items, suddenly quitting a job, or breaking up with a friend.

2- Is often impatient, as shown by feeling restless when waiting for others and wanting to move faster than others, wanting people to get to the point, speeding while driving, and cutting into traffic to go faster than others.

3- Is uncomfortable doing things slowly and systematically and often rushes through activities or tasks.

4- Finds it difficult to resist temptations or opportunities, even if it means taking risks (A child may grab toys off a store shelf or play with dangerous objects; adults may commit to a relationship after only a brief acquaintance or take a job or enter into a business arrangement without doing due diligence).1

(The full list of the proposed DSM5 behavioural criteria are listed at the end of this blog or from dsm5.org)

All of the new DSM5 criteria are normal human behaviours. I for one never read instructions, am often impatient, frequently give into temptation, sometimes speed (and occasionally get angry with those who don't and sit in the passing lane). I do these things because like the other 7 billion odd people on the planet I am far from perfect.

Smiley

Dreamfields Pasta is Wheat (Gluten You Don't Need)

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An active question on the blogosphere and elsewhere is whether Dreamfields pasta is truly low-carb. Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt of Diet Doctor detailed his high blood glucose experience with it. Jimmy Moore of Livin' La Vida Low Carb had a similar experience, observing virtually no difference when compared to conventional pasta.

The Dreamfields people make the claim that "Dreamfields' patent-pending recipe and manufacturing process protects all but 5 grams of the carbohydrates per serving from being digested and therefore lessens post-meal blood glucose rise as compared to traditional pasta." They call the modified carbohydrates "protected" carbs.

In other words, they are making the claim that they've somehow modified the amylopectin A and amylose molecules in durum wheat flour to inhibit conversion to glucose.

I'd like to add something to the conversation: Dreamfields pasta is wheat. It is a graphic demonstration that, no matter how you cut it, press it, sauce it up, "protect" it, it's all the same thing: wheat. (It reminds me of a bad girlfriend I had in my 20s: She'd put on makeup, a pretty dress, I'd take her out someplace nice . . . She was still an annoying person who whined about everything.)

Comment: For more information on the health consequences of ingesting gluten see:

Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You

New England Journal of Medicine: Gluten Can Cause 55 Diseases

The Many Heads of Gluten Sensitivity


Beaker

Are Chemicals Making Us Fat?

obesity diabetes
© puuikibeach
The global obesity/diabetes epidemic is receiving wide-spread attention like the June 26 article in The Washington Post by David Brown. One-fourth of our national health care bill of $2.3 trillion is linked to the treatment of diabetes and its complications. Average American life expectancy is now dropping because of this disease complex. Even children are being recommended for gastric bypass.

Fingers everywhere are pointing at the usual suspects: too much junk food and lack of exercise. But there is much more to the story than a recent, contagious lack of discipline among the masses.

A growing body of evidence in animals and humans suggests that many man-made chemicals contaminating our environment mimic some of the body's own hormones like testosterone and estrogen. Researchers have called these chemicals endocrine disruptors because they wreak havoc with endocrine organs like the thyroid, pancreas, testes and ovaries that depend on hormones to develop and function properly. But a new, more relevant term for these chemicals has emerged. They are now also called obesogens.

Exposure to tiny amounts of obesogens during embryonic development has startling effects on animals, resulting in obesity, infertility, feminization of male species, ambiguous sexual characteristics and high death rates.

Comment: Fortunately, you don't need to leave your health in the hands of your congress critter, the Supreme Court, or anyone else. Sound information on diet, nutrition, and detoxifying your body from harmful chemicals can be found here


Butterfly

Zinc Lozenges Shorten Common Cold Duration

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Using zinc lozenges may reduce the duration of a common cold episode, according to a new study recently published in The Open Respiratory Medicine Journal.

The study shows taking a dose of greater than 75 mg of zinc in the form of zinc lozenges per day cut the duration of the common cold by 20 to 42 percent.

Zinc lozenges were found capable of fighting cold for the first time in a young girl with leukemia, the University of Helsinki says in a press release. The common cold disappeared quickly after the girl dissolved a therapeutic zinc tablet in her mouth.