Health & Wellness

Dietitians Are Buying Coke's Line: Sugar, Fluoride, Artificial Colors are SAFE for Children!

Alliance for Natural Health
Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:56 UTC

We wish we could say we are surprised. Registered dietitians are now being given formal education by the Coca-Cola Company on how safe its ingredients are.

The credentialing arm of the American Dietetic Association, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), has approved a program created by the The Coca-Cola Company Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness. This covers what it calls "urban myths" about the safety of food ingredients. Participating in this program will earn registered dietitians Continuing Professional Education unit credits.

"Children's Dietary Recommendations: When Urban Myths, Opinions, Parental Perceptions & Evidence Collide," tells dietitians that fluoride, sugar, artificial colors and nonnutritive sweeteners have been "carefully examined for their effects on children's health, growth, and development." The presenter, Dr. Ronald Kleinman, "explores prevalent misconceptions about these food ingredients" and suggests ways the dietitian can help quell unnecessary "concern among parents about their children's health."

Comment: 'Children's Dietary Recommendations tells dietitians that fluoride, sugar, artificial colors and nonnutritive sweeteners have been "carefully examined for their effects on children's health, growth, and development.' Are they serious?! This campaign sounds like an example of how Big Business Fights Against the Health of Children

Dr. Ronald Kleinman, "explores prevalent misconceptions about these food ingredients" and suggests ways the dietitian can help quell unnecessary "concern among parents about their children's health."

Dr. Ronald Kleinman obviously is not exploring the effects these food ingredients have on children and parents should be concerned! Read the following articles for more information on the toxic effects of fluoride, food dyes, sugar and artificial sweeteners especially in children:

Fluoride
Fluoride in Water Linked to Lower IQ in Children
Fluoride in Drinking Water may Negatively Affect Health of Fetuses and Infants
Exposure to fluoride induces early puberty
Fluoride 'Can Affect Brain'
Fluoride-Caused White Spots on Teeth Damage Kids' Self Esteem

Food Dyes
Food Dyes: The Toxic Situation
New Study! Fears over additives in children's food
Food Dyes Linked to Hyper Kids, Group Asks FDA to Ban
Is It Really Worth Using Food Dyes If They Cause Cancer?
The Rainbow Of Food Dyes In Our Grocery Aisles Has A Dark Side

Sugar and artificial sweeteners
Sweet Sabotage: The Harsh Reality of Sugar, Sugar Substitutes and "Natural Sweeteners"
A Spoon Full of Sugar.... Is Toxic?
Never mind the sugar! Are our children being poisoned by their sweets?
The Real Dangers of Soda to You and Your Children

After researching the negative effects of the toxic additives listed above it is obvious that the program created by the the Coca-Cola Company Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness is an striking example of how corporations like Coca Cola want to justify unhealthy eating habits and convince parents that their 'concerns are unnecessary' and as a result of such campaigns: Kids Fed Unhealthy Foods Learn to Prefer Them

Texas A&M study shows 'bad' cholesterol not as bad as people think

Eurekalert
Wed, 04 May 2011 12:48 UTC

The so-called "bad cholesterol" - low-density lipoprotein commonly called LDL - may not be so bad after all, shows a Texas A&M University study that casts new light on the cholesterol debate, particularly among adults who exercise.

Steve Riechman, a researcher in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, says the study reveals that LDL is not the evil Darth Vader of health it has been made out to be in recent years and that new attitudes need to be adopted in regards to the substance. His work, with help from colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh, Kent State University, the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, is published in the Journal of Gerontology.

Riechman and colleagues examined 52 adults from ages to 60 to 69 who were in generally good health but not physically active, and none of them were participating in a training program. The study showed that after fairly vigorous workouts, participants who had gained the most muscle mass also had the highest levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, "a very unexpected result and one that surprised us."

Evidence Shows the Advent of Agriculture was Bad News for our Health

drbriffa.com
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:26 UTC

Yesterday I had a email from a friend alerting me to an interesting piece in the Sunday Times. I went out especially to buy a copy. The piece, entitled 'Farmers, you've shrunk mankind', is based around presentation given at the Royal Society in London, last week. The lecture was delivered by Dr Marta Lahr of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies at Cambridge University, UK. It seems that the fossil record shows our ancestors 200,000 years ago to be about 10 per cent bigger and taller than we are now. And 20,000-30,000 years ago, our ancestors had brains about 10 per cent bigger than ours are now too.

A shrinking in the size of our bodies and brains happened about 10,000 years ago. What was it that caused this? The answer is our transition from hunter-gathering to a more farming-based existence.

The Sunday Times piece also relates research from Amanda Mummert, an anthropologist from Emory University in Altanta, US. Mummert has recently co-authored a paper [1] which provides evidence supporting the idea that our move to agriculture was bad news for our height and our health. One of the reasons that would explain this, according to Mummert, is an over-reliance on a grain-based diet deficient in key nutrients. Sound familiar anyone?

Comment: Read the following article to understand why scientists believe farming could be the reason people have got shorter and why our brains have shrunk: The Devastating Effects of Agriculture: We're Getting Shorter NOT Taller and Our Brains are Shrinking, So is Farming to Blame?

Sleep loss in early childhood may contribute to the development of ADHD symptoms

American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:06 UTC

Study shows that preschool-age children who got less sleep were more likely to be hyperactive and inattentive in kindergarten.

Short sleep duration may contribute to the development or worsening of hyperactivity and inattention during early childhood, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).

Results show that less sleep in preschool-age children significantly predicted worse parent-reported hyperactivity and inattention at kindergarten. In contrast, hyperactivity and inattention at preschool did not predict sleep duration at kindergarten. The sample consisted of approximately 6,860 children, and analyses controlled for gender, ethnicity and family income.

"Children who were reported to sleep less in preschool were rated by their parents as more hyperactive and less attentive compared to their peers at kindergarten," said lead author Erika Gaylor, PhD, senior researcher for SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute in Menlo Park, Calif. "These findings suggest that some children who are not getting adequate sleep may be at risk for developing behavioral problems manifested by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and problems sitting still and paying attention."

Average Drug Label Lists Over Whopping 70 Side Effects

Dr. Mercola
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:32 UTC

Using a computer program, scientists analyzed 5,600 drug labels and more than 500,000 labeled effects. They found that the average drug comes with a list of 70 potential reactions, according to researchers.

In fact, the more commonly prescribed drugs averaged around 100 side effects each, with some drugs containing as many as 525 listed reactions.

MSNBC reports:

"The greatest number of side effects was found in antidepressants, antiviral medications and newer treatments for restless leg syndrome and Parkinson's disease. In general, medications typically used by psychiatrists and neurologists had the most complex labels, while drugs used by dermatologists and ophthalmologists had the least."

Sources

MSNBC May 23, 2011

Archives of Internal Medicine May 23, 2011; 171(10):944-6

Cooling the brain during sleep may be a natural and effective treatment for insomnia

American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:50 UTC

Study finds that treatment with frontal cerebral thermal transfer can eliminate insomnia symptoms.

People with primary insomnia may be able to find relief by wearing a cap that cools the brain during sleep, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Monday, June 13, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).

According to the authors, a reduction in metabolism in the brain's frontal cortex occurs while falling asleep and is associated with restorative sleep. However, insomnia is associated with increased metabolism in this same brain region. One way to reduce cerebral metabolic activity is to use frontal cerebral thermal transfer to cool the brain, a process known as "cerebral hypothermia."

Results show that there were linear effects of all-night thermal transfer intensities on sleep latency and sleep efficiency. The time that it took subjects with primary insomnia to fall asleep (13 minutes) and the percentage of time in bed that they slept (89 percent) during treatment at the maximal cooling intensity were similar to healthy controls (16 minutes and 89 percent).

"The most significant finding from this study is that we can have a beneficial impact on the sleep of insomnia patients via a safe, non-pharmaceutical mechanism that can be made widely available for home use by insomnia sufferers," said principal investigator and lead author Dr. Eric Nofzinger, professor and director of the Sleep Neuroimaging Research Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "The finding of a linear dose response effect of the treatment implies a direct beneficial impact on the neurobiology of insomnia that can improve the sleep of insomnia patients. We believe this has far-ranging implications for how insomnia can be managed in the future."

India: City Falls Prey to Viral Fever Outbreak

Tomonash Bhattacharya
Times of India
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:41 UTC

Kolkata: The city is in the grip of a viral fever that has affected thousands, including many in Ballygunge, Alipore and parts of central Kolkata. It has been leading to high fever accompanied by a severe lung and chest infection, often causing severe respiratory problems. Experts have been taken by surprise by the late outbreak of this viral epidemic which usually occurs during change of seasons.

The new virus is far more potent and different from the ones that have struck in previous years, said doctors. "This one has been attacking the respiratory system which makes it more risky. Patients have been suffereing from severe breathlessness along with an intense joint and muscle pain. Many are also falling prey to secondary bacterial infections.

There have been several cases where malaria has been detected in these patients as well," said Tomonash Bhattacharya, tropical medicine expert. Typical symptoms of the viral attack has been a dry cough, followed by high fever and joint pain. From the third day onwards, patients have had a severe lung congestion with respiratory trouble. The fever has not been subsiding before a week leaving victims too frail to resume normal activities. "It is the reactive phenomenon that has been causing the joint and muscle pain. Anti-bodies triggered to fight the virus is responsible for this.

Widen evacuation zone for children, pregnant women: Greenpeace chief

Jun Hongo
Japan Times
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 06:14 UTC

The government should consider evacuating children and pregnant women from a wider area around the Fukushima No. 1 power plant because radiation levels remain high even outside the 20-km no-go zone, Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace International, said Thursday in Tokyo.

Naidoo's team of radiology experts found hot spots that had a maximum hourly reading of 45 microsieverts of radiation alongside a school zone.

While the area likely had high levels of radiation as a result of the landscape or other natural conditions, Naidoo insisted the central government should conduct thorough checks and provide accurate and fast information to local residents.

Genetics May Determine How Smokers Metabolize Nicotine

Christine Emmick
Ready To Quit!
Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:40 UTC

© Jeff Schrier | The Saginaw News
Keith A. Boesnecker, 55, the owner of Frankenmuth Original Cigar Co., 135 S. Franklin in Frankenmuth lights up one of his specialty Fat Rum Tavern cigars.

In a study funded by the American Lung Association researchers studied several hundred metabolites of 19 patients divided into groups of smokers and non-smokers. They found a significant difference in the metabolites in smokers and non-smokers.

"This gives us an idea of how people produce metabolites differently when smoking cigarettes, which is based on their particular genetic profile and other biological and environmental factors," says researcher Ping-Ching Hsu, who is a doctorial student and lead investigator in the study.

The ultimate goal of the research is to define the metabolomic profile or "metabolome" that might predict who may be most likely to develop disease from smoking, as well as more clearly define how smoking causes that disease. "Metabolomics provides a broad picture of what is happening in the body of smokers," Hsu says. In further research Hsu studied how heavy smoking affects the metabolome verses light smoking and found several biological pathways could be changed.

Chinese Scientists Genetically Modify Dairy Cows to Produce Human Breast Milk

news.com.au
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC

Scientists create breast milk produced by cows
Special cow herd created with human genes
Expected to hit supermarkets in three years

Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.

The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety, with the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing said.

The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows, Sky News reported.

The technology used was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned by scientists, in Scotland.

The milk is still undergoing safety tests, but with government permission will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.

Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk - and said it is sweeter and stronger than the bovine variety.

Comment: Read more about effects of GMOs on human body and why you should avoid it.

GMOs Alter the Genetic Make Up of Our Healthy Bacteria
GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food in Humans
Top 10 Ways to Avoid GMOs
Monsanto's Bt Cotton Kills Soil As Well As Farmers