Health & WellnessS


Health

Studies About Relations Between Alzheimer's and Omega-3s, Alcohol

"Good Morning America" medical editor Dr. Tim Johnson has broken down brand new studies on Alzheimer's disease. and wants you to know what they mean. Find out his thoughts on the new research below.

Alzheimer's and Omega Three Fatty Acids

The findings from an 18-month, government-backed study suggest taking supplements of docosahexenoic acid, or DHA -- an omega-3 fatty acid -- does not arrest Alzheimer's in people who have already developed the mind-robbing disease.

Health

How to Detox Fluorides from Your Body

You can rid you body of most fluorides with some easy natural remedies. Fluorides have been linked to a variety of severe chronic, even acute health issues. First a quick review summary of fluoride.

Fluoride Toxicity

Fluoride is a soluble salt, not a heavy metal. There are two basic types of fluoride. Calcium fluoride appears naturally in underground water sources and even seawater. Enough of it can cause skeletal or dental fluorosis, which weakens bone and dental matter. But it is not nearly as toxic, nor does it negatively affect so many other health issues as sodium fluoride, which is added to many water supplies.

Health

Fluoridated water in tap water and bottled water unsafe for infants, children, adults, and elderly

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© Angela Schnaubelt
Decades of research have been conducted on the dangers of fluoride to human health. The ingredient in toothpaste is pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride. Even toothpaste tube labels have a warning to call the Poison Control Center if ingested. Fluoride is the poison.

Hydrofluorosilicic acid is what is added to drinking water. It is untreated toxic waste from the phosphate fertilizer industry added to city tap water, and has trace amounts of other toxins in the waste including arsenic and heavy metals. Fluoride is classified as a neurotoxin, just as harmful as lead and aluminum to the human developing brain.

Heart

Coconut Oil is the Antiviral of Nature

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In a time when strange viruses are making headlines around the world, perhaps it's time you knew about the most powerful natural antiviral around: coconut oil. The antiviral activity in coconut oil is remarkable, even among the most resistant viruses, and the best part is, if it's virgin and organic, there isn't a man-made chemical in the mix.

Ambulance

Alzheimer's Gene Carriers Show Memory Loss May Begin Before 60

People carrying a gene linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease have a higher risk of subtle memory loss as early as their 50s, far sooner than mental decline shows up from normal aging, a study found.

Tests given to 815 research participants in Arizona found 317 carried one or two copies of the gene, known as apolipoprotein E or APOE e4. Memory and IQ tests given over five years showed some of those with two copies of the gene had a higher risk of subtle memory changes as soon as their 50s compared with people who didn't carry the gene. Those with one gene copy started showing a higher risk of mental decline in their 60s, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Attention

Statins Given to Prevent Pneumonia in Elderly Actually Increase Pneumonia Risk by 61 Percent

Published reports say that between 11 million to 30 million Americans are taking the supposedly wonder drugs called statins. These cholesterol lowering medications brought in over $34 billion in sales last year and have raked in a quarter of a trillion dollars since they were introduced two decades ago, according to a report published by Forbes last fall. But this market is apparently not big enough to satisfy Big Pharma. The drugs, which are sold under familiar names like Lipitor, Vitorin, Zocor, Zetia, Crestor and others, are beginning to be pushed for reasons other than lowering cholesterol -- including the alleged prevention of pneumonia.

If this use of the drug doesn't seem to make sense to you, you aren't alone. In fact, giving statins to elderly people to prevent pneumonia increases the risk they will get the disease.

Magnify

The Next Global Pandemic? Drug-Resistant TB

The World Health Organization has warned that a global pandemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) may be imminent, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

"The situation is already alarming, and poised to grow much worse very quickly," said Dr. Margaret Chan, the director-general of the World Health Organization. "This is a situation set to spiral out of control. Call it what you may: a time bomb or a powder keg. Any way you look at it, this is a potentially explosive situation," Chan warned.

Radar

China stops shock therapy for Internet addicts

Beijing -- China's Health Ministry has ordered a hospital to stop using electric shock therapy to cure youths of Internet addiction, saying there was no scientific evidence it worked.

Linyi Mental Health Hospital in eastern Shandong province used the treatment as part of a four-month program that has so far treated nearly 3,000 youths, the China Youth Daily newspaper has reported, citing the psychiatrist who runs it, Yang Yongxin.

The ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site late Monday there is no domestic or international clinical evidence that electric shock therapy helps cure Internet addiction. Electric shock therapy is most often used to treat severe depression.

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Autism tied to autoimmune diseases in immediate family

Danish researchers have found another clue to the mysterious causes of autism, according to a study published online this month in Pediatrics.

In a study of children born in Denmark from 1993 to 2004, doctors found that many children with autism or related disorders also had a family history of autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, develop when antibodies that normally fight infectious organisms instead attack the body itself.

Syringe

Best of the Web: Flu Shots put children in the hospital

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© Unknown
At the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society recently held in San Diego, researchers presented a study showing that the flu vaccine - widely touted as a "must have" for children with chronic illnesses - isn't effective in preventing influenza-related hospitalizations in children, especially ones with asthma. But here's the most damning evidence that flu shots aren't the safe, helpful vaccine the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other government agencies claim: the researchers also found that children who get the flu vaccine are more at risk for hospitalization than their peers who do not get the vaccine.

Scientist Avni Joshi, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told the meeting, "The concerns that vaccination may be associated with asthma exacerbations have been disproved with multiple studies in the past, but the vaccine's effectiveness has not been well-established. This study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the TIV (trivalent inactivated flu vaccine in children overall, as well as the children with asthma, to prevent influenza-related hospitalization."

Paradoxically, he then presented the results that appeared to show the vaccine did cause health problems serious enough to result in children being admitted to hospitals for care.