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Curcumin and Black Pepper Combine to Stop Breast Cancer Tumor Cells

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00 UTC
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© iStockphoto
Curcumin
Natural chemicals found in the spices turmeric and black pepper appear to stop the growth of breast tumors, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Researchers applied a solution containing both curcumin, found in turmeric, and piperine, which makes black pepper spicy, to breast cancer cells in a laboratory, using concentrations 20 times higher than those found in the human diet. They found that the solution hampered the ability of stem cells to propagate but did not affect the differentiation of normal breast cells.

"This shows that these compounds are not toxic to normal breast tissue," lead author Madhuri Kakarala said.

Cancer stem cells are the cells in tumors that allow it to keep growing without limit. Current chemotherapy treatments are unable to affect stem cells, which is part of the reason that cancers can spread and recur even in those undergoing treatment.
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Magnify

Behind the Label: Talcum Powder

Pat Thomas
The Ecologist
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:28 UTC
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Keeping your baby's bottom soft and dry shouldn't mean exposing it to a potentially harmful and environmentally costly substance

Talcum powder is a traditional mainstay of freshness. We use it liberally on babies' bottoms and to absorb perspiration on hot summer days and nights. A few of us are old enough to remember our mothers having special dishes of talc in the bathroom which had big inviting powder puffs to help you dust your body, and most of the bathroom floor, with the stuff.

But time marches on and the benign image of talc has taken a something of a knock.

In recent years considerable doubt has been cast on the safety of powders containing talc, particularly when used on babies. Indeed, some baby powders now include a warning on the label to keep the powder away from the child's nose and mouth.
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Arrow Up

European Union Votes for Labels on Nano, Cloned and GM food


The Ecologist
Wed, 05 May 2010 18:45 UTC
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EU MPs have voted strongly in favour of tougher rules on the labelling of GM, cloned and nano foods
UK and other member states expected to fight proposals to bring in compulsory labeling for consumers on novel foods

MEPs have voted almost unanimously in favor of introducing compulsory labeling on food containing nanoparticles, meat from cloned animals and animals fed on genetically modified (GM) feed.
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Alarm Clock

New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer

Nicholas D. Kristof
New York Times
Wed, 05 May 2010 18:21 UTC
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Toxic bodies, toxic world
The President's Cancer Panel is the Mount Everest of the medical mainstream, so it is astonishing to learn that it is poised to join ranks with the organic food movement and declare: chemicals threaten our bodies.

The cancer panel is releasing a landmark 200-page report on Thursday, warning that our lackadaisical approach to regulation may have far-reaching consequences for our health.

I've read an advance copy of the report, and it's an extraordinary document. It calls on America to rethink the way we confront cancer, including much more rigorous regulation of chemicals.

Traditionally, we reduce cancer risks through regular doctor visits, self-examinations and screenings such as mammograms. The President's Cancer Panel suggests other eye-opening steps as well, such as giving preference to organic food, checking radon levels in the home and microwaving food in glass containers rather than plastic.
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Monkey Wrench

Feds on GMO Labeling: Don't Tell, Don't Ask

Barry Estabrook
The Atlantic
Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:56 UTC
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© southerntabitha/flickr
If you were hoping there might be some change in the U.S. government's official position on genetically modified and genetically engineered (GM/GE) foods under the Obama administration, tough luck.

Last month there was the appointment of big-time GM/GE advocate (and former Monsanto lobbyist) Islam Siddiqui to Office of the United States Trade Representative as the country's chief agricultural negotiator . Now comes a position paper from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that opposes labeling for genetically modified food. The U.S. claims that letting consumers know whether or not food contains GM/GE products is "false, misleading, or deceptive."

You read that correctly. In Obama Newspeak, telling the public the truth is false, misleading, or deceptive, while concealing facts is not. Incidentally, the language is identical to that used by previous administrations. How's that for change?
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Attention

Toxic Chemicals: Neglected Threats to Health and Reproduction

Jennifer Rogers
Alternet
Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:00 UTC
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© Getty Images
The toothless Toxic Substances Control Act leaves us all at risk for serious illness. Take that plastic water bottle, for example -- no, please, take it.

America's bicentennial year, 1976, was one of phenomenal events and inventions: Apple Inc. was founded; West Point began to admit women; my husband was born; and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our primary chemical safety law, was enacted. In the ensuing 34 years, much has changed. The boxy desktop computer bears almost no resemblance to the recently launched iPad; women are serving valiantly in both Iraq and Afghanistan; and my husband has gone from a pudgy baby to a gray-haired professor.

Unfortunately, despite the introduction of thousands of new chemicals into the products we use every day, TSCA has undergone no revisions. Scientists, health care providers, reproductive and environmental health advocates agree: TSCA has not kept up with the times.
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Bad Guys

Companies Exploiting Socially-Networked Children to Push Junk Food Like Drug Dealers

Ethan A. Huff
NaturalNews
Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00 UTC
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© Fanta-Coca-Cola
In response to recent bans on junk food advertising in the U.K., junk food manufacturers like Fanta, which is part of Coca-Cola, have found a loophole to the restriction. Producers are paying children the equivalent of roughly $40 a week to plug company products to their friends through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

A recruitment site where thousands of kids as young as seven years old can take surveys to help companies formulate products is now luring them to promote brands and product lines to their friends in exchange for discount coupons and free samples. The site is encouraging children to put up flyers for products, write endorsements on message boards and social networking sites, and even host product parties for their friends.

While there are some safeguards in place for younger children, including mandatory parental consent for children under 12, many are concerned that the practice exploits children and promotes unhealthy food products that are causing widespread illness and obesity.
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Bad Guys

Dead Doctors Still Making Millions from Medicare Billings

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00 UTC
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© iStockphoto
Medicare issued as much as $92 million in payments between 2000 and 2007 for medical procedures or devices ordered under the names of doctors who had already died, according to a 2008 Senate committee report.

Prescriptions written in the names of deceased doctors are only one of the fraudulent techniques that plague the U.S. health care system, which has become a favorite target for organized crime.

"There are so many schemes involved," said John Gillies, a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). "Take any aspect of the healthcare industry and there's a fraud going on in there right now."

Medicare and other healthcare fraud have been targeted as major areas for reform by politicians seeking to reduce the country's medical spending. According to the FBI, between 3 and 10 percent of the country's yearly healthcare spending goes to fraud, or $200 billion. This is consistent with an October 2009 Thompson Reuters report, which estimated that fraud cost the U.S. healthcare system more than $220 billion in 2007, or 10 percent of its total spending.
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Bad Guys

Raw Milk Battle Reveals FDA Abandonment of Basic Human Right to Choose Your Food

Mike Adams
NaturalNews
Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00 UTC
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© NaturalNews
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), an organization whose mission includes "defending the rights and broadening the freedoms of family farms and protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient dense foods", recently filed a lawsuit against the FDA for its ban on interstate sales of raw milk. The suit alleges that such a restriction is a direct violation of the United States Constitution. Nevertheless, the suit led to a surprisingly cold response from the FDA about its views on food freedom (and freedoms in general).

In a dismissal notice issued to the Iowa District Court where the suit was filed, the FDA officially made public its views on health and food freedom. These views will shock you, but they reveal the true evil intent of the FDA and why it is truly a rogue federal agency.

The FDA essentially believes that nobody has the right to choose what to eat or drink. You are only "allowed" to eat or drink what the FDA gives you permission to. There is no inherent right or God-given right to consume any foods from nature without the FDA's consent.

This is no exaggeration. It's exactly what the FDA said in its own words.
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Arrow Down

Alzheimer's Drug Clinical Trial Halted After Nine Deaths

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00 UTC
Image
© Getty Images
Elan Corp. and Transition Pharmaceuticals have called a premature halt on trials on the two highest doses of their experimental Alzheimer's drug ELND005 after the deaths of nine study participants.

"Greater rates of serious adverse events, including nine deaths, were observed among patients receiving the two highest doses. A direct relationship between ELND005 and these deaths has not been established," the companies said.

The announcement was greeted as particularly bad news for Elan, which recently had to update the safety label of its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri after studies showed a heightened risk of death among patients taking it.

Elan and Transition had already completed a successful Phase I trial of the new drug, which showed that it built up in high concentrations in the brain and appeared to preserve higher levels of a key nerve-protecting enzyme. In the Phase II trial, the companies had been testing 353 people with either 250 milligram, 1,000 milligram or 2,000 milligram doses of the drug.
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