When it came to their own well-being, large percentage chose a different option, research shows

When faced with a choice of treatments, primary care doctors often choose a different option than they would recommend to their patients, a new study finds.

In fact, physicians who were surveyed in the research more often chose a treatment in which they were more likely to have long-term repercussions, such as paralysis, than to die.

But when it came to advising their patients, doctors were more likely to urge the treatment with a greater chance of death vs. the one with non-lethal adverse effects, say researchers publishing their findings in the April 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Video length: 1:29:28

Though the role of vitamin D, the 'sunshine vitamin' in many chronic diseases is well known, now a new study claims that the nutrient may be good for our eyes too.

According to experts, regular intake of the vitamin may prevent failing eyesight caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in women younger than 75 years.

AMD a chronic and progressive eye disease

AMD is a chronic and progressive eye disease that attacks the area of the eye called the macula, which causes permanent visual damage resulting in a blind spot in the center of vision.

It starts with blurring of images and progresses into inability to recognize faces, read or watch television. AMD cannot be cured by prescription glasses, medication, or surgery.

A new paper shows that consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. By reviewing data from 19 animal studies, Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and others reveal that 9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses (histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver of females followed, with 30.8%. The report, published in Environmental Sciences Europe on March 1, 2011, confirms that "several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects." The authors point out that livers and kidneys "are the major reactive organs" in cases of chronic food toxicity.

"Other organs may be affected too, such as the heart and spleen, or blood cells," stated the paper. In fact some of the animals fed genetically modified organisms had altered body weights in at least one gender, which is "a very good predictor of side effects in various organs."

The GM soybean and corn varieties used in the feeding trials "constitute 83% of the commercialized GMOs" that are currently consumed by billions of people. While the findings may have serious ramifications for the human population, the authors demonstrate how a multitude of GMO-related health problems could easily pass undetected through the superficial and largely incompetent safety assessments that are used around the world.

Poppy Brett thought she would just have to accept that her son Jago didn't have the energy to keep up with his friends, didn't like playing football and always seemed tired.

Their GP could find nothing wrong with him: he slept 12 hours a night and had a healthy diet. It never occurred to his mother that the factor 25 sun cream she slathered on him in the summer might be to blame for his exhaustion.

But a year ago a blood test revealed that Jago, 11, was severely deficient in vitamin D - vital for maintaining healthy bones and a well-functioning nervous system. Our bodies must have direct sunlight to produce it.
Twelve months on, after taking supplements and having more exposure to the sun, Jago is a different boy. The lethargy has gone - he loves playing in the park with his friends.

Gone, too, are the pains in his legs that would often cause him to wake in the night in agony. They had been dismissed as growing pains.

'I never thought in a million years that his tiredness could be down to a lack of sun,' says Poppy, 41, a charity fundraiser from Bristol. 'When camping in Cornwall, I'd cover Jago in sunscreen the moment the sun came out.'

Poppy first went to the GP about Jago's leg pains when he was seven, but the doctor simply showed him some stretching exercises. When this failed to have any effect, she went back to the GP twice, but the only suggestion was that he should get more sleep.

'It was utterly frustrating trying to get anyone to take me seriously,' says Poppy. 'Jago looked tired all the time, but they just told me to put him to bed earlier, which was crazy as he was sleeping 12 hours a night.

'I suggested it might be related to his dust-mite allergy, so they suggested I vacuum the house more!'

In February last year, Jago burst into tears at the side of a swimming pool because he felt so unwell. Poppy marched back to the GP and demanded a blood test.
I said: ''Look, there must be something wrong with him. Please can you test his blood?'' It seemed a good place to start.' And she was right.

The results showed Jago's vitamin D level was a quarter of what it should have been - this result was so worrying that the GP arranged for his legs to be X-rayed to check he didn't have the bone-softening disease, rickets. Fortunately, he didn't.

Most a.m. coffee drinkers don't realize it, but their morning cups of coffee set their bodies up for a rollercoaster day of highs and lows, only to bottom out at the point of exhaustion. Just a few hours after consumption, when the artificial high dies down, many people may reach for more coffee or something sugary to get another lift, leading to daily fluctuations in energy and alertness, and possibly to eventual chronic adrenal exhaustion.

Now, you don't have to explain your coffee addiction to me. I worked as an espresso barista for four years, so I know what it's like to drink coffee and espresso constantly. Throughout college, I drank about four espresso drinks a day, most of them doubles, and that's a conservative estimate. I only slept two or three hours most nights, but once a week or so, I would completely crash and sleep for twelve or thirteen hours straight. Since I graduated from college, I've also graduated to only drinking one cup of coffee a day and sometimes none at all. I feel much better and now I even have a somewhat normal sleeping schedule.

Many dentists now offer teeth-whitening services. Some will perform the whitening session in the office, while others will customize a bleaching tray that can be used with a special whitening formula. Because teeth whitening is such a lucrative business for dentists, they may hesitate when it comes to telling you the side effects of teeth whitening.

Tooth Sensitivity

Teeth whitening can cause teeth to become extremely sensitive to hot or cold beverages. A sharp pain in the tooth area, also known as a zinger, can also occur without eating or drinking. Some dentists will prescribe a desensitizing gel before and after whitening treatments, but this doesn't always keep away sharp pain from tooth sensitivity.

The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer "negligible," according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against "risky behaviour," such as consuming fresh milk or vegetables with large leaves.

In response to thousands of inquiries from citizens concerned about fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Europe, CRIIRAD has compiled an information package on the risks of radioactive iodine-131 contamination in Europe.

The document, published on 7 April, advises against consuming rainwater and says vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant or breastfeeding women should avoid consuming vegetables with large leaves, fresh milk and creamy cheese.

An Interview with Devra Davis

There is a book you ought to buy.

It's called Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Is Doing to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family by Devra Davis (Dutton, 2010).

Buy it from a book store - if you can find a book store that carries it.

Davis said that when the book was published in September 2010, she traveled to San Francisco, a hot bed of calls for right to know legislation when it comes to cell phone radiation.

"When I went there, I found out that no book store in the city had my book," Davis told Corporate Crime Reporter last week.

At such a tender age, they probably don't know their salamba kapotasana from their trikonasana.

But that hasn't stopped these primary school children benefiting from a spot of yoga.

Weekly lessons in the ancient discipline have helped to improve concentration and even raise academic performance among pupils as young as four, say their teachers.