Health & WellnessS


Cell Phone

Conflicting studies on possible health threats send mixed signals to cell phone users

Brie Zeltner
Cleveland.com
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:59 UTC
Students on cell phones
© Associated PressIs this a healthy habit? College students talk away at the University of Cincinnati.
We clip them to our belts or slip them in our pockets, manically text until our thumbs require medical attention, and are ditching the landline for them at a steady pace.

Statistically speaking, it's almost impossible to escape them.

With 262 million American wireless subscribers, we're very close to a cell phone democracy.

Almost 80 percent of American teens have a mobile device, mostly provided by a parent with safety in mind.

But are they safe?

Two recently released studies, a large one from Sweden of the long-term risk of brain cancer from cell phone use and a pilot study from a Cleveland Clinic fertility specialist, suggest they are not.

Comment: Don't forget just who funds most research projects and that if the analysis doesn't fit the agenda, then the funds dry up and researchers are without a job.

Also, the FDA, WHO and the American Cancer Society are not interested in the truth nor your wellbeing, but in lining their own pockets as well as keeping the corporate elite/pharmaceutical giants rich and happy. The sicker you are, the richer they become.

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Better Earth

Tyson Foods Injects Chickens with Antibiotics Before They Hatch to Claim "Raised without Antibiotics"

David Gutierrez
Natural News
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:59 UTC
Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat processor and the second largest chicken producer in the United States, has admitted that it injects its chickens with antibiotics before they hatch, but labels them as raised without antibiotics anyway. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) told Tyson to stop using the antibiotic-free label. The company has sued over its right to keep using it.

The controversy over Tyson's antibiotic-free label began in summer 2007, when the company began a massive advertising campaign to tout its chicken as "raised without antibiotics." Already, Tyson has spent tens of millions of dollars this year to date in continuing this campaign.

Poultry farmers regularly treat chickens and other birds with antibiotics to prevent the development of intestinal infections that might reduce the weight (and profitability) of the birds. Yet scientists have become increasingly concerned that the routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture may accelerate the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could lead to a pandemic or other health crisis.
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Better Earth

Cities, States Questioning Wisdom of Adding Fluoride Chemicals to Public Water Supplies


NaturalNews
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:32 UTC
Grand Rapids, Mich. has become the most recent city to question the practice of fluoridating public water, as part of a growing tendency for local governments to question the use of many chemicals that formerly been taken for granted.

"I think this pattern has been growing because there is better environmental health research that draws connections between low levels of chemical exposure and changes in our bodies," said Dr. Howard Hu of the University of Michigan. "As the research has become more sophisticated, it shows that environmental toxicants can do other things beyond just kill you: they can stunt your growth, change behavior and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease."

Grand Rapids was the first city in the world to fluoride its public water supply, based on assurances from the government that the chemical reduces the risk of tooth decay while posing no serious risks. But based on a number of studies linking fluoride to problems with the thyroid, kidneys, central nervous system and skeletal system - including cancers - the city's director of environmental sustainability, Corky Overmyer, has ordered a new review of the scientific evidence concerning the risks and benefits of the chemical.
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Info

Flashback Narcissists Tend to Become Leaders


LiveScience
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:27 UTC
Narcissists like to be in charge, so it stands to reason that a new study shows individuals who are overconfident about their abilities are most likely to step in as leaders, be they politicians or power brokers.

However, their initiative doesn't mean they are the best leaders. The study also found narcissists don't outperform others in leadership roles.

Narcissists tend to be egotistical types who exaggerate their talents and abilities, and lack empathy for others. The researchers stress that narcissism is not the same as high self-esteem.
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Health

Researchers raise alarm after chemical leak found in common plastic

Martin Mittelstaedt
Globe and Mail
Sun, 09 Nov 2008 01:11 UTC
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta say that two chemicals leaking from plastic laboratory equipment were so biologically active they ruined a drug experiment.

The inadvertent discovery could have wide-ranging consequences because the chemicals causing the experiment to go awry were leaching from polypropylene, one of the most commonly used plastics in the world. Besides being found in scientific equipment, the plastic is used to make everything from yogurt tubs to clothing.

The findings were so alarming to the researchers, from the university's faculty of medicine, that they issued a warning yesterday in the journal Science, alerting others scientists to the possibility that contaminants from plastic ware in their laboratories could put experiments at risk.
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Question

Science or Sham: Does cognitive behavioural therapy work?

Jane Dreaper
BBC News
Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:57 UTC
CBT
CBT has been hailed as quick and effective
There was huge excitement last autumn when the health secretary, Alan Johnson, announced that £170m would be spent on talking therapies in England. The programme focuses on one specific branch of treatment - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

But a tide of doubt has begun to be expressed about whether CBT is getting too much prominence - and money. However, the therapy's supporters say its attackers do not understand the latest versions that are being used for NHS treatment.
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Pills

Injuries link to ADHD diagnosis


BBC News
Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:49 UTC
Injuries in very young children are associated with later diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, UK research suggests. A study of 62,000 children shows both head and burn injuries before the age of two are linked with almost double the risk of ADHD diagnosis by age 10.

It suggests injuries in general are an early sign of ADHD behaviour. The British Medical Journal study may help GPs spot children who need specialist referral, experts said. Previous research has suggested mild brain injury is associated with behavioural changes in children.
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Pills

More Children on Drugs Than Ever: Chronic Prescriptions Increase Dramatically

Derek Markham
Natural News
Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:25 UTC
Are your kids on drugs? Did they get them from your doctor? You're not alone. A new study published in the November issue of Pediatrics Journal shows that the trends for chronic medication in children are way up. The three year study found that the number of type 2 diabetes medications prescribed for kids and adolescents more than doubled from 2002 to 2005, with a high prevalence among girls aged 10 to 19. Researchers from the Pediatric Research Institute of St Louis University and the Kansas Health Institute reported that the number of asthma medication prescriptions for children increased 46.5% over the three year study. ADHD medication prescriptions were up over 40%, and girls again accounted for a larger percentage of the increase than boys.
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Info

New Study Shows Omega-3s Reduce Appetite

David Gutierrez
Natural News
Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:18 UTC
Omega-3 fatty acids can help dieters feel full longer and eat less, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Navarra, University of Iceland and University College Cork and published in the journal Appetite.
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Attention

XDR-TB: Deadlier and More Mysterious than Ever


Newswise
Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:45 UTC
New research has found that XDR-TB is increasingly common and more deadly than previously known. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is a growing public health threat that is only just beginning to be understood by medical and public health officials.

Patients with XDR-TB are four times as likely to fail treatment and three times more likely to die than patients with other forms of multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), according to a recent study that directly compared patients with XDR-TB to individuals with other types of MDR-TB to determine the differences in treatment outcomes and long-term survival rates. Researchers also found that MDR-TB was "a major threat to public health," representing 2.7 percent of new TB cases in South Korea in 2004, up from 1.6 percent in 1994.

The results were published in the second issue for November of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a journal of the American Thoracic Society.
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