The general belief is that vegetarians are usually healthier. However, studies conducted in the U.S. are showing some detrimental side-effects to the sperm of male vegetarians.

In an experiment done by researchers at Loma Linda University, 443 meat-eaters and 31 vegetarians and vegans were monitored between 2009 and 2013. They initially assumed vegetarians' sperm would be healthy, but here's what they found, according to lead study author Eliza Orzylowska:

"We found that diet does significantly affect sperm quality. Vegetarian and vegan diets were associated with much lower sperm counts than omnivorous diets. Although these people are not infertile, it is likely to play a factor in conception, particularly for couples who are trying to conceive naturally, the old-fashioned way."

They also found that vegetarians had 30 percent lower concentrations of sperm (50 million per milliliter versus 70 million) and that their sperm was also weaker in terms of movement. For vegetarians, only 30 percent of their sperm were active, as compared to 60 percent of their meat-eating counterparts.

A new study by researchers at Sanford-Burnham reveals the process that leads to changes in the brains of individuals with Down syndrome -- the same changes that cause dementia in Alzheimer's patients. The findings, published in Cell Reports, have important implications for the development of treatments that can prevent damage in neuronal connectivity and brain function in Down syndrome and other neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease.

Down syndrome is characterized by an extra copy of chromosome 21 and is the most common chromosome abnormality in humans. It occurs in about one per 700 babies in the United States, and is associated with a mild to moderate intellectual disability. Down syndrome is also associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. By the age of 40, nearly 100 percent of all individuals with Down syndrome develop the changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease, and approximately 25 percent of people with Down syndrome show signs of Alzheimer's-type dementia by the age of 35, and 75 percent by age 65. As the life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent years -- from 25 in 1983 to 60 today -- research aimed to understand the cause of conditions that affect their quality of life are essential.

"Our goal is to understand how the extra copy of chromosome 21 and its genes cause individuals with Down syndrome to have a greatly increased risk of developing dementia," said Huaxi Xu, Ph.D., professor in the Degenerative Diseases Program and senior author of the paper. "Our new study reveals how a protein called sorting nexin 27 (SNX27) regulates the generation of beta-amyloid -- the main component of the detrimental amyloid plaques found in the brains of people with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's. The findings are important because they explain how beta-amyloid levels are managed in these individuals."

We are witnessing a stunning reversal of events in the face of the present Ebola scare consuming North America. The drum beatings of fear played all to often by the mainstream media have given way to a symphony of personal empowerment, education, and a mass social movement to take back our health freedom.

The threat of Ebola initially grabbed headlines and paralyzed millions who lacked understanding. Answers were sought amidst the fear peddling and confusion yet few were being found. A disheartened population is now storming the 'alternative' media and independent health networks, websites, and radio shows for direction. What they are finding is currently propelling us all into a new, decentralized health paradigm.

To the disbelief of pharmaceutical companies, people across North America are taking the time to understand what their immune system is. They are then shocked to find out that it's weak, damaged, and under attack daily. Like true warriors, most are activated into action and begin researching.

Family doctors will be paid £55 for every patient they diagnose with dementia under a new NHS England scheme which has been condemned as an "ethical travesty".

Leading GPs said the national project amounted to "cash for diagnoses" - allowing doctors to make a direct profit if they classify patients as suffering from dementia.

In some parts of the country, NHS authorities have gone still further - offering family doctors £200 for each new diagnosis made, The Telegraph can reveal.

Patients groups and doctors have condemned the schemes, saying they amounted to a "bounty on the head" of the most vulnerable, which could cloud the judgements of those making diagnoses.

Under the national scheme, doctors can receive the £55 payment for every extra patient given a diagnosis of dementia in the six months ending in March.

GPs qualify for payment if they diagnose the patients themselves - with no checks on whether their assessment is correct - or if they update their records when their patients receive a diagnosis in hospital.

Family doctors are already financially rewarded for carrying a host of medical checks, with a portion of their pay related to tasks such as taking blood pressure, measuring cholesterol and carrying out tests for conditions such as diabetes.

But the scheme is understood to be the first national initiative to offer doctors financial rewards for diagnosing patients with any condition.

It follows pledges by ministers to dramatically improve rates of dementia diagnosis.

Nigeria was declared free of the deadly Ebola virus on Monday after a determined doctor and thousands of officials and volunteers helped end an outbreak still ravaging other parts of West Africa and threatening the United States and Spain.

Caught unawares when a diplomat arrived with the disease from Liberia, authorities were alerted by Doctor Ameyo Adadevoh, who diagnosed it, kept him in hospital despite protests from him and his government and later died from Ebola herself.

They then set about trying to contain it in an overcrowded city of 21 million where it could easily have turned a doomsday scenario if about 300 people who had been in direct or indirect contact with him not been traced and isolated.

"This is a spectacular success story," Rui Gama Vaz from the World Health Organization (WHO) told a news conference in the capital Abuja, where officials broke into applause when he announced that Nigeria had shaken off the disease.

"It shows that Ebola can be contained, but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola."

This year's outbreak of the highly infectious hemorrhagic fever thought to have originated in forest bats is the worst on record.

According to Dr. Frank Shallenberger, when it comes to fighting cancer, he's always looking for natural substances that interrupt the odd metabolism of cancer cells. Some of his discoveries include resveratrol, green tea, Seanol, and others. Most recently, he found a fruit that was effective in killing pancreatic cancer cells. The fruit is called "bitter melon" and is popular in Okinawa, Japan.

When bitter melon juice is diluted to 5% in water, it proved itself to be incredibly damaging to pancreatic cancer cell lines. According to researchers, bitter melon juice reduced the viability of two cancer cell lines by 90% and killed the remaining two lines at a rate of 98%.

So, great, these studies work in cancer cells in a dish. But do they work in animals? Will they work in people? Apparently yes. University of Colorado researchers administered bitter melon doses to mice and found a 64% reduction in pancreatic tumor size without any kind of side effect.

New research shows that eating a good breakfast - particularly one rich in protein - boosts a critical neurotransmitter, which may lower food cravings later in the day.

The research comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that many teens skip breakfast and adolescent obesity has quadrupled in the last 30 years.

Dr. Heather Leidy, an assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology who led the study, said:

"Our research showed that people experience a dramatic decline in cravings for sweet foods when they eat breakfast.

However, breakfasts that are high in protein also reduced cravings for savory - or high-fat - foods.

On the other hand, if breakfast is skipped, these cravings continue to rise throughout the day."

What if the simple act of doing yoga could heal your diseased heart?

A new study titled, "Effects of Yoga in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis," reveals that this ancient practice, ever-increasing in popularity in the West, has profound benefits to those who are suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Previous to this study, the idea that yoga could heal a diseased heart was considered strictly theoretical, which is what motivated a team of Portuguese researchers to put the concept to the test.

The team performed a meta-analysis of the published research on the topic of how yoga might improve exercise capacity and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure.

Dr. Don Huber was hit by a car last night. He is a whistle blower in the food world and someone I have had the honor of knowing.

Dr. Huber is Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology at Purdue University, a land grant institution, and has been studying plants for 55 years. He has received various awards for his scientific accomplishments and contributions to government.

He was Cereal Pathologist at the University of Idaho for 8 years before joining the Department of Botany & Plant Pathology at Purdue University in 1971.

His agricultural research the past 50 years has focused on the epidemiology and control of soil borne plant pathogens with emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological controls, and physiology of host parasite relationships.

He's in his 80s, and he is also a father, a grandfather and has had a 41-year military career as a retired Colonel.

He is someone I have turned to in this work when I read,"Pesticides may be putting young children at risk of cancer." Other headlines have suggested that pesticides are linked to Parkinson's, autism and other conditions.

The experts were expressing grave doubts all the way back in 1977. Right at the beginning.

They were questioning the validity of standard tests used to diagnose Ebola - tests being the only way to say the virus is present in humans.

Of course, if the tests are unreliable, the whole premise of an epidemic caused by a single virus has no value. It's an unwarranted assumption.

At that point, you can look for illness and death stemming from a number of causes. And you're driven to the fact that, in Africa, large numbers of people have been dying for a very long time, for reasons that have nothing to do with germs:

Grinding poverty, war, starvation and severe malnutrition, contaminated water, pesticides, lack of basic sanitation, extreme overcrowding, stolen farm land, toxic medicines, and so on.

Not a viral epidemic.