Five years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was commissioned by Congress to undertake a study on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on drinking water. This newer method of oil and gas extraction involves the pumping of highly pressurized water, sand and chemicals into underground rock formations.

Fracking has driven the boom in U.S. oil production and contributed to the steep drop in gasoline prices, but the environmental impacts of this relatively new technique are not well understood.

The EPA's draft study—released in June to solicit input from advisers and the public—found that fracking has already contaminated drinking water, stating in the report:

"We found specific instances where one or more mechanisms led to impacts on drinking water resources, including contamination of drinking water wells...

Approximately 6,800 sources of drinking water for public water systems were located within one mile of at least one hydraulically fractured well ... These drinking water sources served more than 8.6 million people year-round in 2013...

Hydraulic fracturing can also affect drinking water resources outside the immediate vicinity of a hydraulically fractured well."

The areas of nutrition and disease prevention are full of incompetence.

We have been wrongly advised to avoid saturated fat and cholesterol, despite no evidence of harm.

Here are the top 9 biggest lies, myths and misconceptions about dietary fat and cholesterol.

Butter is one of the healthiest fats on the planet.

It's not just a big pile of yellow-colored fat, there are many important nutrients in there, some of which have potent biological effects.

However, this does depend on the type of butter, and the amounts of these nutrients vary greatly depending on what the cows ate.

Butter From Grass-Fed Cows is a Major Source of Heart-Healthy Nutrients

Butter is basically just milk fat, also known as butterfat.

Butterfat is highly complex. It contains about 400 different fatty acids, and a decent amount of fat-soluble vitamins (1).

Fatty acids are actually more than just energy sources, some of them have potent biological activity.

When you finally realize that mainstream food companies are basically selling us food full of chemicals and devoid of nutrients, you may, like many others, start to become a little fanatic about reading ingredients lists, seeking out GMO-free products, supplementing with superfoods, and actually paying attention to what goes into your body.

Well, guess what? Now, you suddenly may have a mental disorder, at least according to scientists at the University of Northern Colorado who conducted a case study about the obsession of eating healthy. This new eating disorder is called orthorexia nervosa (ON) and is said to be driven by a fear of being unhealthy and disgust for low-quality food.

"Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a term introduced to describe a condition characterized by a pathologic obsession for bio-logically pure and healthy nutrition." ~Ryan M. Moroze, MD. et al [1]

The psychologists conducting the study argue that healthy eating can become dangerous if one becomes fixated on the types of ingredients in food, how the food is cooked, and what materials are used to prepare it. Those "suffering" from orthorexia may take extra time to prepare their food and carefully consider what they are willing to eat.

The positive ions from the salt tie with negative ions of the molecule of water and vice versa. The result is a new structure which is wonderfully absorbed by the body. So the water is not clear anymore and the salt is not just salt. This combination is beneficial for your health.

Scientists agree that only one glass of salted water has great effect on the human body. This is a pure detoxifier which helps the body to self regenerate. In India this practice of drinking salt water in the morning is well known for long time and the west world rejected it under the assumption that salt is harmful for the human body. The "thing" is in that water should be salted with natural, clean, sea salt. In that case her healthy effect is guaranteed.

Some of the many benefits from drinking salted water are sugar balance in the organism, stronger bones, regulating the metabolism, stronger immune system, stronger hormonal composition, good effect on varicose veins and many more. A glass of salted water has nutritive value and it is rich with minerals which the body recognizes fast and accepts. The positive ions in the body tie the negative ions from the molecules from the water and vice versa. The result is a new structure which the body absorbs. So the water is not clear anymore and the salt is not just salt. This combination is beneficial for your health.

Since prehistoric times, humans have used clays for medicinal purposes. Whether through ingestion, mud baths, or as a way to stop bleeding from wounds, clay has long helped keep humans healthy.

Scientists have found that certain clays possess germ-killing abilities, but how these work has remained unclear.

A new discovery by Arizona State University (ASU) scientists shows that two specific metallic elements in the right kinds of clay can kill disease-causing bacteria that infect humans and animals. Says Enriqueta Barrera, a program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research:

Despite the fact that there are many people who are doing good work in the intricacies of exploring the ideal diet for humanity, it often seems there are missing pieces of the puzzle as far as having a solid foundational understanding of the ponerized world we live in. Likewise, some who do a great job of exploring the playground of the psychopaths in which we live, looking into the corruption, violence and complete lack of logic in which we're embedded, yet don't seem to have a clue about the importance of getting the human machine into an optimal state of health.

Our question stands: does anyone out there have the whole banana? Can looking into the minutiae of dietary knowledge act as a distraction from a wider view of the world in which we live? Or can we get lost in the big picture and forget about the importance of working on ourselves?

Join us on Fridays at 10 am EST as we discuss this subject and more on the SOTT Radio Network's Health and Wellness Show. With us as always will be resident animal health expert Zoya with her weekly Pet Health Segment.

Running Time: 01:46:00

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Halfway into the first week of the new year, many resolutions have likely already fallen by the wayside. Luckily for those already off the diet and exercise bandwagon, there is an easy way to keep up heart health resolutions: Drink more tea.

In December, a group of Chinese doctors published findings in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showing that habitual tea consumption may protect against arterial stiffness, an important component of cardiovascular health. (More pliable, elastic arteries allow for easier blood flow; stiff arteries require the heart to work harder and can lead to stroke.)

China has reported six new cases of deadly H5N6 avian flu - three of them in Guangdong - but the virus has not mutated to a human-to-human transmission, according to local officials.

H5N6 attacked lung tissue rapidly and was likely to be deadlier than the H7N9 strain detected in previous years, Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday.

All three of the H5N6 patients in Guangdong had contact with live poultry or had been to live poultry markets, the report said.

A 40-year-old woman from Zhaoqing (肇慶) is the latest case.

She was pregnant when she was diagnosed with the virus on January 1. Doctors performed a caesarean section and the patient remained in severe condition in a hospital intensive care unit.

A 26-year-old woman from Shenzhen's Baoan district was diagnosed with the virus on December 29, three days after her symptoms emerged. She had bought a live duck from a local market and died on December 30.

A mutation of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, which has killed dozens during its South Korean outbreak, could have created a more potent and contagious stain, scientists have revealed.

After testing the bodily fluids of eight people infected with MERS, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) discovered that the virus had genetically mutated compared to previous cases reported in the world. In particular, the mutation resulted in a spike of glycoprotein, the element that is responsible for infiltrating human cells and proliferating.

The virus was first identified in humans in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and by February 2015 the global death toll had reached 385. MERS comes from the same family of viruses as SARS. Although it is more deadly, it is not as contagious, and there is currently no guaranteed cure or vaccine.

Since the outbreak of the virus in South Korea was first confirmed on May 20 last year, more than 15,000 have undergone isolation and incubation periods for possible infection. Before Seoul declared the country to be MERS free on December 23, the virus claimed the lives of 38 people. Overall, 187 people were infected.

But while potential danger of the new strain becoming more contagious exists, KCDC said that they cannot determine if the mutation indeed altered the way the virus spread.

"All we know for certain is that a mutation occurred, with more detailed analysis needed to see what affect it had on the spread," the agency said according to Yonhap. To better understand the possible threat, more tests are being conducted on clinical specimens from 32 people.

"There is a need to focus the country's research capability on finding the reason for the change," Paik Soon-young, a professor of microbiology at the Catholic University of Korea, told Yonhap. He stressed that research into the spike glycoprotein mutation is important to explain why the MERS disease spread so quickly in South Korea.

For now the disease no longer poses a threat in South Korea, but authorities continue to carefully monitor developments and said that they are ready to take immediate action if required.