Health & WellnessS


Eye 1

A baby's gaze may signal autism, study finds

Pam Belluck
The New York Times
Wed, 06 Nov 2013 17:22 UTC
Image
© Kay Hinton/Emory UniversityIn the eye-tracking lab at Marcus Autism Center, researchers are tracking a baby’s eye movements on a video.
Scientists are reporting the earliest behavioral sign to date that a child is likely to develop autism: when and how long a baby looks at other people's eyes.

In a study published Wednesday, researchers using eye-tracking technology found that 3-year-olds diagnosed with autism looked less at people's eyes when they were babies than children who did not develop autism.

But contrary to what the researchers expected, the difference was not apparent at birth. It emerged when babies were 2 to 6 months old, and autism experts said that may suggest a window during which the progression toward autism can be halted or slowed.

The study, published online in the journal Nature, found that infants who later received a diagnosis of began spending less time looking at people's eyes between 2 and 6 months of age and paid less and less attention to eyes as they grew older. By contrast, babies who did not develop autism looked increasingly at people's eyes until about 9 months old, and then kept their attention to eyes fairly constant into toddlerhood.
Read More...
Health

Gluten free healing

Dr. Osborne
Gluten Free Warrior
Sun, 22 Apr 2012 06:28 UTC
Image
© realfoods.co.uk
More and more people are turning toward a gluten free diet to help improve mysterious medical conditions. This new awareness of the gluten free lifestyle is definitely very positive. The problem however lies in the foods being sold as gluten free replacements. The gluten free food industry has blossomed into a multi-billion dollar business. With this, we see a rash of unhealthy, highly processed foods being used as replacement fillers.

Breaking The Cardinal Rule of Nutrition

It is in this that the cardinal rule of nutrition is being broken. What is the cardinal rule? Simple - one cannot achieve or maintain health eating unhealthy foods. Now all we have to do is define healthy. This is where a lot of confusion sets in. Healthy for one, many not be healthy for another. I have had patients react to blueberries and broccoli. So part of how we define healthy for an individual is by following the next three rules -
  1. Don't eat foods that you are allergic or intolerant to (get tested to avoid confusion)
  2. Don't eat it if it makes you feel bad.
  3. If you can't pronounce the terms on the ingredients label without a biochemistry degree or lots of practice, then it is not healthy.
Read More...
Red Flag

A tomato tale that's hard to stomach

Jim Hightower
jimhightower.com
Sun, 24 Nov 2013 06:50 UTC
Image
© gm.org
"I'm 98 percent confident we can make a tomato that tastes substantially better," Professor Harry Klee recently exulted to the New York Times.

Hmmm. Excuse me, professor, but "substantially better" than what? One of Momma Nature's own heirloom varieties perhaps? No, no - Klee knows that tomato-tampering flavorologists like him can't get near that quality. Rather, he's merely out to endow the industrial, massed-produced fruits of agribusiness with enough tomato-y taste to pass as a minimally-acceptable version of the real thing.
Read More...
Eggs Fried

Eating fat is good for you: Doctors change their minds after 40 years

Jo Willey
Express
Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:53 UTC
Image
A DIET packed with fat is the healthy way to prevent heart disease, a leading British expert has claimed.
Cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra says the obsession with a low-fat diet has "paradoxically increased" the risk of heart disease.

Other experts have added their voices to his controversial call to end 40 years of advice to cut saturated fat - which has been described as "the greatest medical error of our time".

They claim the guidance has left millions of people at risk of developing cardiovascular ­disease and "led to the over-medication of millions of people with statins".

The public could just as effectively protect themselves by eating "real" food such as butter, milk and cheese and adopting the Mediterranean diet.


Comment: Before reaching out for dairy products, see Why Milk Is So Evil


Dr Malhotra, an interventional cardiology specialist registrar at Croydon University Hospital, London, slammed the routine prescriptions of statins and claimed a diet high in saturated fats could be three times more effective at lowering cholesterol.

Writing on bmj.com, he said a preoccupation with levels of total cholesterol "has diverted our attention" from the worse risks of a condition known as atherogenic ­dyslipidaemia, which is an unfavourable ratio of blood fats.

He said saturated fat has been demonised since the 1970s when a landmark study found a link between coronary heart disease and total ­cholesterol, which correlated with the percentage of calories provided by saturated fat.

He said: "But correlation is not causation. Nevertheless, we were advised to cut fat intake to 30 per cent of total energy and a fall in saturated fat to 10 per cent."

Comment: Actually, smoking is another of those myths. See:

Smoking: The black lung lie
Nicotine Found To Protect Against Parkinson's-like Brain Damage
Nicotine can boost blood vessel growth
Nicotine - The Zombie Antidote
Let's All Light Up!
Pestilence, the Great Plague and the Tobacco Cure
Comets, plagues, tobacco and the origin of life on earth

For more information on this fat report see:

Swedish Expert Committee: A Low-Carb Diet most effective for weight loss
Saturated fat heart disease 'myth': UK cardiologist calls for change in public health advice on saturated fat
Everything you've been told about how to eat is wrong
Heart surgeon speaks out on what really causes heart disease
The Ketogenic Diet - An Overview
The Obesity Epidemic, Courtesy of the Agricultural Industry
Mass nervous breakdown: Millions of Americans on the brink as stress pandemic ravages society
Ate a High-Fat Diet - Lost 200 lbs
Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life

Read More...
Arrow Down

Living near highways may be hazardous to your health

Karen Graham
Digital Journal
Wed, 06 Nov 2013 17:36 UTC
Freeway
© Zzyzx11Eastshore Freeway in Berkeley, California.
A new study revealed how Americans living close to busy highways or roads are more likely to contract various diseases compared to those living far from congested streets.

We have known about the effects of motor vehicle pollution on people living near major highways for more than 20 years, yet that knowledge has not stemmed the building of tracts of homes and high-rises almost on top of those thoroughfares.

It's a vicious, never-ending cycle of increased population growth, with the need for more vehicles, leading to the need for more highways. Add to this conglomeration the increasing need for additional petroleum products and we have a problem of gigantic proportions.

Besides ongoing studies on the effects of noise pollution caused by highway noise, there have also been numerous studies on the pollution caused by vehicular emissions has on our health.

The health care community has known for a long time that people living within 300 feet of major roadways were more prone to respiratory ailments, allergies, certain kinds of cancers and heart disease. The elderly and very young children seemed to be hit even harder, studies have shown.
Read More...
Bacon

You need more salt: Advice to the contrary is criminal

iHealthTube.com
Youtube
Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:01 UTC

Don't lay off the salt!

Dr. Joel Wallach, BS, DVM, ND, author of Immortality and Dead Doctors Don't Lie, talks about the many conditions that stem from low salt levels in the body. You might be surprised to find out what those are!

Comment: See also:

Shaking Up The Salt Myth: Healthy Salt Recommendations
This Forbidden Indulgence Could Actually Spare You a Heart Attack
Low Salt Diet Increases Cardiovascular Mortality
Salt is 'natural mood-booster'
The Effects of Sodium on Health

Read More...
Question

Strange lung ailment revealed: A giant ball of fungus

Tia Ghoser
LiveScience
Wed, 06 Nov 2013 08:25 UTC
Fungal Infection
© BMJ Case ReportsA man whose bloody cough wouldn't go away was surprised to learn he had a giant ball of fungus in his lung.

A man who suffered from a bloody cough that persisted for more than a year was surprised to find that the cause was a giant ball of fungus growing in his lung, according to a recent report of his case.

The man, a farmworker in Italy, may have contracted a fungal infection, called aspergilloma, while working in the fields. For a year, he struggled with not only the cough but also fever and weight loss. His symptoms hadn't improved despite several courses of antibiotics, according to the report published Oct. 24 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

Aspergilloma, a fungal infection that mainly infects the lungs, is relatively uncommon, and this particular clump of fungus was extremely large, at nearly 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) wide.

"My experience is very large, and it's the biggest I've ever seen," said study co-author Dr. Marcello Migliore, a thoracic surgeon at the University of Catania in Italy.

Aspergilloma enters the lungs through the respiratory tract. It creates a cavity inside the lungs, and then a ball of fungus grows inside that space. The fungus typically infects people with suppressed immune systems or lung problems such as tuberculosis. If left untreated, aspergillomas can cause pneumonia and death, Migliore said.
Read More...
Attention

Ractopamine: The meat additive on your plate that's banned almost everywhere but America

Martha Rosenberg
Alternet
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 06:15 UTC
Image
The asthma drug-like growth additive has enjoyed stealth use in the US food supply for a decade despite being widely banned overseas.

Have you ever heard of ractopamine? Neither have most US food consumers though it is used in 80 percent of US pig and cattle operations. The asthma drug-like growth additive, called a beta-agonist, has enjoyed stealth use in the US food supply for a decade despite being widely banned overseas. It is marketed as Paylean for pigs, Optaflexx for cattle and Topmax for turkeys.

This month, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) have sued the FDA for withholding records pertaining to ractopamine's safety. According to the lawsuit, in response to the groups' requests for information "documenting, analyzing, or otherwise discussing the physiological, psychological, and/or behavioral effects" of ractopamine, the FDA has only produced 464 pages out of 100,000 pages that exist. Worse, all 464 pages have already been released as part of a reporter's FOIA. Thanks for nothing.

Comment: Additional information about the health concerns of meat additives like Ractopamine:

U.S. demands Russia 'immediately' lifts meat ban
Dispute over drug in feed limiting US meat exports
U.S. calls on Russia to lift restrictions and accept its toxic meat
If you liked Bovine Growth Hormone, you'll love Beta Agonists
Banned in 160 Nations... Yet U.S. FDA Regards it as Safe?
There's a good chance you may be eating a livestock drug banned in 160 nations.

Read More...
Magnify

Nanotech labels for food wanted, consumers willing to pay more for labeling


medicalnewstoday.com
Wed, 30 Oct 2013 08:54 UTC
Image
New research from North Carolina State University and the University of Minnesota finds that people in the United States want labels on food products that use nanotechnology - whether the nanotechnology is in the food or is used in food packaging. The research also shows that many people are willing to pay more for the labeling.

"We wanted to know whether people want nanotechnology in food to be labeled, and the vast majority of the participants in our study do," says Dr. Jennifer Kuzma, senior author of a paper on the research and Goodnight-Glaxo Wellcome Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at NC State.
"Our study is the first research in the U.S. to take an in-depth, focus group approach to understanding the public perception of nanotechnology in foods."

Comment: Additional information about Nanotechnology and associated risks:

Nanotech: The Unknown Risks
Nanotechnology - the new threat to food
Nanotech in Our Food: Should We Be Afraid?
Study: Potential Hazards of Nanotechnology Not Known
Food Industry 'Too Secretive' Over Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology could reduce plant's ability to produce food
Alert over the march of the 'grey goo' in nanotechnology Frankenfoods
Stunning Research Shows High Potential for DNA Damage from Nanoparticles

Read More...
Syringe

Narcolepsy linked to 2009 H1N1 vaccine

W5
CTV
Sat, 02 Nov 2013 00:00 UTC
Narcoleptic teenager
© Google Images
Narcolepsy is an under-recognized and underdiagnosed condition. Many patients say it takes years to get a proper diagnosis. Some cases are mistakenly labelled as ADHD or depression. Children struggle in school and can be placed in classes for the learning disabled. Yet many teachers, parents even doctors may not realize is that the symptoms are due to narcolepsy.

Some of the families we interviewed took us it took over a year to get properly diagnosed. Once diagnosed, patients often struggle to get the right mixture of medications, to help patient stay awake and sleep properly, while preventing the cataplexy attacks. Doctors are hoping to find better treatments.

The increase in cases of narcolepsy in various countries is leading to more research into the condition with the possible link to H1N1 -- the first time that a virus has been directly linked to Narcolepsy. We believe people should be aware of this research. The flu can cause a lot of nasty problems, some we still don't yet know about.

It also raises questions about the possible role of a vaccine used only for a short time during the 2009 pandemic.

Comment: Also see:

European report links child swine flu vaccine to narcolepsy

GSK swine flu shot sparks another case of life-threatening narcolepsy

Read More...