Health & WellnessS


Extinguisher

SOTT Focus: Are you inflamed over GMO foods?

Erica Burt
Sott.net
Thu, 13 Feb 2014 16:54 UTC
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Several years ago the general public was completely unaware of GMOs and GE foods (genetically modified organisms or genetic engineering), but today the topic is becoming rather well known, thanks to growing education and alternative media coverage. The general public is becoming better informed about the potential harms and health issues associated with biotechnology and bioengineered foods, but the smoke and mirrors the mega-corporations use to obfuscate deeper understanding of the dangers inherent in such 'mad science' increases in tandem with growing awareness.

Ok, so a lot of people know they are eating GMO's and what they are, but the real question is: are GMOs actually safe, as proponents and supporters of biotechnology claim, or are they not? Should we be worried about the long-term health and environmental effects of genetically altered foods? In the following article I hope to present clear evidence and data for stating very definitively: YES! We should be very concerned!

As an organic farmer, agriculture consultant and researcher, I became interested in the GMO issue over seven years ago, particularly their effects on the soil and the contamination or mutation of various plant species. 'Connecting the dots', so to speak, it dawned on me how serious this issue is, not just in terms of the environmental effects of GMOs, but also the consequences of eating GMO foods for human health.

A very disturbing picture began to emerge.
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Health

Vast study casts doubts on value of mammograms

Gina Kolata
New York Times
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 00:35 UTC
Mammograms
© Damian Dovarganes/Associated PressNearly 75 percent of American women 40 and over say they had a mammogram in the past year.
One of the largest and most meticulous studies of mammography ever done, involving 90,000 women and lasting a quarter-century, has added powerful new doubts about the value of the screening test for women of any age.

It found that the death rates from breast cancer and from all causes were the same in women who got mammograms and those who did not. And the screening had harms: One in five cancers found with mammography and treated was not a threat to the woman's health and did not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.

The study, published Tuesday in The British Medical Journal, is one of the few rigorous evaluations of mammograms conducted in the modern era of more effective breast cancer treatments. It randomly assigned Canadian women to have regular mammograms and breast exams by trained nurses or to have breast exams alone.

Researchers sought to determine whether there was any advantage to finding breast cancers when they were too small to feel. The answer is no, the researchers report.

The study seems likely to lead to an even deeper polarization between those who believe that regular mammography saves lives, including many breast cancer patients and advocates for them, and a growing number of researchers who say the evidence is lacking or, at the very least, murky.

"It will make women uncomfortable, and they should be uncomfortable," said Dr. Russell P. Harris, a screening expert and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who was not involved in the study. "The decision to have a mammogram should not be a slam dunk."
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Yoda

War on Integrative Medicine, Part One: Eliminate the Integrative doctors


Alliance for Natural Health
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:53 UTC
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The basic idea is to preserve the conventional medicine monopoly by all means possible, including the use of state medical boards and physician credentialing groups.

There's a close-knit confederacy of three powerful conventional medical organizations in the United States. These groups work closely together and are allied with both federal and state government. One of their prime objectives appears to be to eliminate competition from natural health practitioners, especially integrative MDs and DOs, whom they seem to regard as traitors.

Decades ago, chiropractors sued the American Medical Association for similar assaults which they believed represented an illegal restraint of trade. The case went to the Supreme Court, which sided with the chiropractors. The present assault on integrative doctors seems to us to be just more of the same, motivated by the same crass business reasons - though it's even worse this time.

If this sounds like a conspiracy theory, it's not. Let's look more closely at the AMA and its allies.

Comment: The AMA's attempt to demonize intergrative medicine may have to do with the following fact: Many Americans turning to alternative medicine. Read more about this ongoing battle:

Brutal Attacks on Integrative Medicine Practitioners: Is the Federation of State Medical Boards Behind This?
Woman Warned: Alternative Health Techniques are Illegal Practice of Medicine
Can My Doctor Get Into Big Legal Trouble by Offering Natural Health Treatments?
Doctors Use Natural Remedies (But Don't Prescribe Them)

Homeopathy: Modern Medicine's First Target:
The Swiss Government's Exceedingly Positive Report on Homeopathic Medicine
What Science And History May Owe To Homeopathic Medicine

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Alarm Clock

Pesticides linked to Parkinson's risk in people with specific gene

Joseph Brownstein
Livescience.com
Sun, 02 Feb 2014 16:44 UTC
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Several studies have linked pesticides with the development of Parkinson's disease, and now a new study has found a specific gene that may explain why some people are particularly susceptible to developing Parkinson's after exposure to certain pesticides.

Parkinson's disease results from the loss of neurons involved in processing the neurotransmitter dopamine. Researchers had previously found a gene that was involved in dopamine processing, and in animal experiments, they determined which pesticides inhibited this gene's pathway.

In the new study, they found that one variant of the gene, called ALDH2, may be even more susceptible to inhibition from pesticides. They then tested for this gene variant in Californians with Parkinson's disease whose exposure to various pesticides could be measured by comparing where they had lived with charts of pesticide use in the state.

Comment: Additional information about the growing concern that Pesticides Cause Parkinson's Disease:

Pesticides and Parkinson's
NIH Links Pesticides to Parkinson's
Study: Many pesticides in EU may damage human brain
Pesticides Shown to be Huge Parkinson's Disease Risk
Pesticide Exposure Boosts Parkinson's Risk by 60 Percent
Study: Roundup and other pesticides directly linked to Parkinson's and neurodegenerative disorders

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Handcuffs

Los Angeles sushi chefs plead guilty to serving whale meat

David Kirby
takepart.com
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:16 UTC
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© Gerard Soury/Getty ImagesChefs Kiyoshiro Yamamoto and Susumu Ueda pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to selling the illegally imported meat of sei whales.
The plea comes nearly four years after the chefs were caught in an undercover sting and months after being indicted by a grand jury.

Two sushi chefs who worked at a Santa Monica, Calif., restaurant pleaded guilty Monday to buying and serving illegally imported whale parts in a stomach-turning case that began four years ago, when staff from the Oceanic Preservation Society and their boss, The Cove director Louie Psihoyos, launched a series of sting operations against the now-defunct establishment.

In a plea deal with federal officials, Kiyoshiro Yamamoto and Susumu Ueda each agreed to three misdemeanor charges in exchange for providing evidence against the owners of the restaurant, the Hump, which went out of business in 2010.

The chefs pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to selling illegally imported meat from sei whales caught off the coast of Japan, a violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. Sei whales are protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Comment: Truly Psychopathic behavior on the part of Typhoon Restaurant Inc.! As the author clearly states: "I hope all of them sustain the wrath reserved for such inhumane behavior. What I would like to see done to all of them would not be suitable for print." Hopefully there is a special place in hell for such sadistic deviants!

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Donut

Five dangers to indulging in simple carbs

Anita Khalek
Natural News
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:03 UTC
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While sugarcane remains one of the world's leading crops, its refined version has become the subject of escalating scrutiny. The white crystals are devoid of nutrients and have a slew of negative effects on health, including diseases such as metabolic syndrome (Type II Diabetes, Obesity, Cholesterol), brain atrophy, substance addiction, cancer and fatty liver disease.

Brain atrophy

A recent study from the American Academy of Neurology argues that even within the upper levels of the normal range (approaching 110 mg/dL), blood sugar accounts for 6 to 10 percent of the brain shrinkage in the hippocampus and the amygdala. These two brain structures are part of the limbic system, also known as the emotional brain. They regulate autonomic and endocrine functions and affect associative learning, focus, memory, and fight or flight responses. Shrinkage in these areas leads to depression, mood swings, rage, aggression, Alzheimer's and other dementia and emotional diseases.


Comment: Do carbs kill your brain? Yes! Food for thought:

Eat your way to dementia - sugar and carbs cause Alzheimer's Disease

'Carbohydrates rot the brain': Neurologist slams grains as 'silent brain killers' - and says we should be eating a high-fat diet

The surprising truth about wheat, carbs, and sugar - Your brain's silent killers

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Cheeseburger

Eleven charts that show how the modern diet is destroying our health

Kris Gunnars
Authority Nutrition
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:27 UTC
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The modern diet is the main reason why people all over the world are fatter and sicker than ever before. Everywhere modern processed foods go, chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease soon follow.

The studies are clear on this... when people abandon their traditional foods in favor of modern processed foods high in sugar, refined flour and vegetable oils, they get sick (1, 2, 3). Of course, there are many things that can contribute to these health problems, but changes in the diet are the most important factor.

Here are 11 graphs that show everything that is wrong with the modern diet.

1. Total Sugar Intake Has Skyrocketed in The Past 160 Years

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People in Western countries are consuming massive amounts of refined sugars, reaching about 150 lbs (67 kg) per year in some countries. This amounts to over 500 calories of sugar per day.

The sources vary on the exact figures, but it is very clear that we are consuming way more sugar than our bodies are equipped to handle (4). Controlled human studies show that large amounts of sugar can lead to severe metabolic problems, including insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides - to name a few (5, 6).

Added sugar is believed to be one of the main drivers of diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer (7, 8, 9, 10).

Comment: The lack of nutritional value isn't the only problem with wheat. Check out these articles for more information:

Gluten sensitivity & nerve damage

What's behind 'Grain Brain': Are gluten and carbs wrecking our brains and our health?

Gluten and the autoimmune disease spectrum

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Bacon

Bacon sales sizzle to all-time high‏

Charles Passy
Market Watch
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 07:52 UTC
Bacon illustration
© Inconnu

It's a question that veteran "As Seen on TV" marketer Scott Boilen asked when he was given the opportunity to introduce yet another bacon product to an already crowded marketplace. But Boilen couldn't resist the invention, a simple gizmo that turns a few strips of bacon into an edible shell. And so the Bacon Bowl was launched by Boilen's Allstar Products Group via a series of infomercials in late 2013.

In a brief period, Boilen's New York-based company has sold more than two million units of the $10.99 bacon cooker, making the Bowl a success story potentially on par with the Snuggie, to name Boilen's biggest "As Seen on TV" hit.

The lesson? Never underestimate the power of bacon, says Boilen: "It's almost become a cult-like food."

Comment: Perhaps another reason for this upward trend in bacon sales is the rising popularity of the paleo diet.

For more reading about the wonders of bacon, check out:
The Ketogenic Diet - An Overview

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Health

New evidence that chronic stress predisposes brain to mental illness

Robert Sanders
News Center UC Berkeley
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 01:16 UTC
stress depression
University of California, Berkeley, researchers have shown that chronic stress generates long-term changes in the brain that may explain why people suffering chronic stress are prone to mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders later in life.

Their findings could lead to new therapies to reduce the risk of developing mental illness after stressful events.

Doctors know that people with stress-related illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), have abnormalities in the brain, including differences in the amount of gray matter versus white matter. Gray matter consists mostly of cells - neurons, which store and process information, and support cells called glia - while white matter is comprised of axons, which create a network of fibers that interconnect neurons. White matter gets its name from the white, fatty myelin sheath that surrounds the axons and speeds the flow of electrical signals from cell to cell.

How chronic stress creates these long-lasting changes in brain structure is a mystery that researchers are only now beginning to unravel.
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Pills

Big Pharma lobbyists exploit patients and doctors

Oliver Wright
The Independent
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 08:00 UTC
Prescription Drugs
© PressTV
Ten years ago, when I was a health journalist, I was once contacted by lobbying company working for a large pharmaceuticals firm.

They asked me if I would be interested in travelling to Chicago to attend a cancer conference where, they said, the company was about to make an exciting and important announcement.

Foolishly I accepted. The conference was fascinating, the hospitality generous - but the announcement which I was supposed to write about could not in any way be regarded as news.

I'm ashamed to say I still wrote about it - feeling some sense of misplaced obligation to my 'hosts'.

I should never have done so but in the process learnt an important lesson about the way in which the medical lobbying industry works.

Of several hundred doctors, nurse leaders and pharmacists from the UK who were in Chicago that year almost all were also there at the largesse of the drugs industry.
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