Health & WellnessS


Bulb

Organic vs. Conventional: Pundits are welcome to their own opinion, but not their own facts

Mark Kestal
Food Safety News
Mon, 24 Jun 2013 15:35 UTC
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Because Food Safety News holds an important perspective in the industry, I was surprised to see the website publish a commentary by Mr. Mischa Popoff.

Mr. Popoff has spent the last few years promoting his self-published book, Is It Organic. He has made irresponsible and unsupported claims that 80 percent of all organic food in North America is imported and riddled with fraud - a grave disservice to the hard-working organic farmers in this country and their loyal customers.

The subtitle of his book says it all: The Inside Story of Who Destroyed the Organic Industry, Turned It into a Socialist Movement and Made Million$ in the Process, and a Comprehensive History of Farming, Warfare and Western Civilization from 1645 to the Present.

Whoa Nelly! If you connect the dots, by looking at the other issues that Mr. Popoff writes about, and commonly published on ultraconservative websites (challenging climate change, defending genetically engineered food production, challenging the efficacy of hybrid automobiles and even parenting issues) you would have to conclude that organic food is a component of some kind of Bolshevik plot to take over this country.

Comment: Read more about the ongoing debate between organic and conventional food and how the Mainstream media launches another phony war against organic:

Organic Food: Cutting Through The Confusion
Debunked: Ridiculous Study Claims Organic Same as Conventional
Sound Science and Common Sense are On the Side of Organics
State of Science Review 'New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods'
New 'Study' Based on Crops No Longer Grown, Twists Its Own Results, and Fails to Analyze Other Key Health Benefits of Organic Food
Whoa, Is Organic Food No Healthier Than Non-Organic? Controversy Erupts Over Study
Stanford Scientists Shockingly Reckless on Health Risk and Organics
Cargill and Others Behind anti-Organic "Stanford Study"
Thinking Outside the Processed Foods Box: Health and Safety Advantages of Organic Food

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Cheeseburger

Why The Atlantic's defense of junk food fails

Tom Philpott
Mother Jones
Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:10 UTC
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© Image courtesy of McDonald's. The McDonald's Egg White Delight McMuffin
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 69 percent of US adults are overweight or obese. How did this happen? In a long article in the current Atlantic, David H. Freedman offers a mechanistic explanation: People are ingesting too many calories, particularly "energy-intense" fat, sugar, and "other problem carbs." The simple diagnoses leads to an easy solution: The food industry should apply its flavor-engineering wizardry to churn out lower-cal products that people will still scarf up, preserving its own bottom line while solving the obesity crisis. Indeed, he writes, this remedy is already playing out under our noses:
Popular food producers, fast-food chains among them, are already applying various tricks and technologies to create less caloric and more satiating versions of their junky fare that nonetheless retain much of the appeal of the originals, and could be induced to go much further.
Among the examples Freedman cites are McDonald's Egg White Delight McMuffin, a "lower-calorie, less fatty version of the Egg McMuffin," a "new line of quarter-pound burgers, to be served on buns containing whole grains," and Carl's Jr.'s "Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich."
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Info

Warning over 'epidemic' of skin allergies from chemical in cosmetics and household products

Claire Duffin
The Telegraph, UK
Sun, 07 Jul 2013 12:20 UTC
A chemical found in everyday cosmetics and household cleaning products may be responsible for an "epidemic" of painful skin allergies, doctors have warned.

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© AlamyMI, which is short for methylisothiazolinone, is a preservative and it is added to products to prevent unwanted growth of bacteria and yeasts
The preservative - known as MI - is used in a wide range of shampoos, moisturisers and shower gels as well as make-up and baby wipes.

But dermatologists warn people are being exposed to much higher doses than before, leading to a steep rise in allergies known as contact dermatitis where the skin becomes red and itchy and can sting and blister.

Experts say the chemical is second only to nickel in causing contact allergies. One in 12 adults and one in five children in the UK now have eczema, of which contact dermatitis is one of the most common types.

MI, which is short for methylisothiazolinone, is a preservative which is also found in paint. It is added to products to prevent unwanted growth of bacteria and yeasts.

Well-known products that contain MI found on sale in shops included Nivea body lotion, Wet Ones and Boots men's face wash.
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Cheesecake

Sugar makes cancer light-up in MRI scanners

David Weston
University College London
Sun, 07 Jul 2013 11:01 UTC
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© UCLUCL scientists have developed a new technique for detecting the uptake of sugar in tumors, using magnetic resonance imaging.
A new technique for detecting cancer by imaging the consumption of sugar with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been unveiled by UCL scientists. The breakthrough could provide a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques and enable radiologists to image tumours in greater detail.

The new technique, called 'glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer' (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth.


Comment: But notice how this important information isn't being utilized by many doctors to prevent or treat cancer. While, the fact is, that ketogenic - no sugar/ low carbohydrates/ high fat - diet is known to help with many diseases. Read the following articles to learn more:

Ketogenic diet, calorie restriction and hyperbaric treatment offer hope for non-toxic cancer treatment and alleviation of multiple health issues
Ketogenic diet: Role in epilepsy and beyond
Is the Ketogenic Diet the cure for multiple diseases?
Ketogenic diet may be key to cancer recovery


The researchers found that sensitising an MRI scanner to glucose uptake caused tumours to appear as bright images on MRI scans of mice.

Lead researcher Dr Simon Walker-Samuel, from the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI) said: "GlucoCEST uses radio waves to magnetically label glucose in the body. This can then be detected in tumours using conventional MRI techniques. The method uses an injection of normal sugar and could offer a cheap, safe alternative to existing methods for detecting tumours, which require the injection of radioactive material." Professor Mark Lythgoe, Director of CABI and a senior author on the study, said: "We can detect cancer using the same sugar content found in half a standard sized chocolate bar. Our research reveals a useful and cost-effective method for imaging cancers using MRI - a standard imaging technology available in many large hospitals."
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Clipboard

Got Proof? Lack of evidence for milk's benefits

Dr Mark Hyman
drhyman.com
Fri, 05 Jul 2013 16:14 UTC
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There is no biological requirement for cow's milk. It is nature's perfect food but only if you are a calf. The evidence of its benefits is overstated, and the evidence of its harm to human populations is increasing.

The white mustached celebrities paid by the Dairy Council promote the wonders of milk in their "Got Milk" ads. Scientists are increasingly asking, "Got Proof?" Our government still hasn't caught on, in part because of the huge dairy lobby driving nutrition guidelines. When I once lamented to Senator Harkin that all we wanted to do was to make science into policy, he cocked his head and with a wry smile and said, "that would make too much sense."

And the media is also influenced heavily by advertising dollars. Once, when I was on Martha Stewart's television show, the dairy lobby sponsored the episode, and her trainer was forced to mouth the talking points of the Dairy Council touting milk as a fabulous sports drink. Studies may show some benefit, but studies funded by the food industry show positive benefits eight times more than independently funded studies.

In a new editorial by two of the nation's leading nutrition scientists from Harvard, Dr. David Ludwig and Dr. Walter Willett, in JAMA Pediatrics, our old assumptions about milk are being called into question. Perhaps it doesn't help you grow strong bones, and it may increase the risk of cancer and promote weight gain.

Comment: Additional information about the evils of milk:

Why Milk Is So Evil
6 reasons why you should avoid milk at all costs...
Your Milk on Drugs - The Dangers of rBGH in Dairy Products
The Cancer Time Bomb Sitting in Your Refrigerator - Will You Stop Consuming It?
Milk industry desperation setting in as America decides it doesn't really want to drink it

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Health

New tick-borne illness could be worse than Lyme disease


CBS New York
Tue, 02 Jul 2013 11:09 UTC

A new disease spread by deer ticks has already infected 100,000 New Yorkers since the state first started keeping track.

As CBS 2's Dr. Max Gomez reported, the new deer tick-borne illness resembles Lyme disease, but is a different malady altogether - and it could be even worse.

The common deer tick is capable of spreading dangerous germs into the human bloodstream with its bite. However, Lyme disease is one of many diseases that ticks carry.

The latest disease is related to Lyme, and an infected person will suffer similar symptoms.

"Patients with this illness will develop, perhaps, fever, headache, flu-like symptoms, muscle pains - so they'll have typical Lyme-like flu symptoms in the spring, summer, early fall," said Dr. Brian Fallon of Columbia University. "But most of them will not develop the typical rash that you see with Lyme disease."
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Life Preserver

Super-common food that's ruining your skin, joints and blood sugar

Fiora Stevens
Daily Health Post
Sat, 06 Jul 2013 00:00 UTC
Sometimes it's difficult to discern trend diets from the truth about nutrition. It seems that everyone has an agenda, a special diet, a "limited time offer." However, we're here to tell you about one incredibly common food that is absolutely wrecking most people's skin, joints, and blood sugar.The best part? There's no agenda here. The worst part? This food is probably in just about every one of your meals. Curious to know what we're talking about? Wheat.
Wheat
© GreenMedInfo

Why Wheat Isn't All That Great

Let's start at the beginning. The "wheat" we're referring to is hardly wheat at all. In fact, if you could give someone from the 18th century a baked loaf of bread (even whole wheat), they would hardly even recognize it.

Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist, is one of many scientists and doctors that tries to educate others on the truth about modern wheat. If you want to learn more about the distinctions between modern wheat and the "true" wheat of centuries past, check out this interview he did with CBS News.
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Books

Does being a bookworm boost your brainpower in old age?


Sciencedaily.com
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 06:55 UTC
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© Andres Rodriguez / FotoliaNew research suggests that reading books, writing and participating in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory.
New research suggests that reading books, writing and participating in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory. The study is published in the July 3, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Our study suggests that exercising your brain by taking part in activities such as these across a person's lifetime, from childhood through old age, is important for brain health in old age," said study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

For the study, 294 people were given tests that measured memory and thinking every year for about six years before their deaths at an average age of 89. They also answered a questionnaire about whether they read books, wrote and participated in other mentally stimulating activities during childhood, adolescence, middle age and at their current age.
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Cheeseburger

Fast food rejection: McDonald's shuts down all restaurants in Bolivia

Elizabeth Renter
Natural Society
Sat, 06 Jul 2013 16:07 UTC
McDonald
© NaturalSociety
In some parts of the world, good food is food prepared with care, attention, and a plenty of time. This sort of food philosophy, where meals are made with fresh ingredients and patience, doesn't lend itself well to fast food where cheap ingredients are premade so they can be warmed and slapped together in record-time.

This sort of food dichotomy is exactly why McDonald's couldn't thrive in Bolivia - the first Latin America country to essentially kick the fast-food-giant out by keeping them in the red.

McDonald's restaurants operated in Bolivia for 14 years, according to Hispanically Speaking. In 2002, they had to shutter their final remaining 8 stores because they simply couldn't turn a profit - and if you know fast food companies, you know it's not because they didn't try.

The Golden Arches sunk plenty of money into marketing and campaigning - trying to get the food-loving Bolivians to warm to their French fries and burgers, but it simply wasn't happening.

Some 60 percent of Bolivians are indigenous. "Fast" and processed foods are simply a foreign concept to them. Why would you pay someone to provide you with a less-than-delicious and unhealthy alternative to real food? This attitude is one that the U.S. fast food nation could learn a thing or two from.
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Battery

Environmental chemical toxicity: Identifying the ongoing assault of environmental pollutants

Michael McEvoy
Metabolic Healing
Thu, 04 Jul 2013 08:08 UTC
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For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death.
There is no debating it: the modern world has become a cesspool of environmental toxins. Repeated scientific studies have identified the health-deteriorating effects of toxins of all kinds: mercury, lead, BPA, petrochemicals, pthalates, parabens, benzenes, and many types of chemicals whose names are difficult to pronounce.

The modern household has become a harbor for so many types of chemicals, it is remarkable, sad and very frightening. To illustrate the remarkable nature of household chemical exposure, take a 2003 study conducted by the Environmental Science & Technology Journal.

In this study, the authors evaluated 120 households for chemicals detected in dust and in the ambient air. The number of airborne chemicals ranged between 13 and 28 and 6 to 42 in the dust per household. Among the chemicals detected, a number of EPA-banned chemicals were identified, ranging from DDT, intermediate flame retardant chemicals, chlordane, heptachlor and methoxychlor.

Furthermore, of the chemicals discovered, 15 compounds exceeded government safety guidelines, while government safety guidelines did not exist for 28 of the chemical compounds.

Comment: For more information on how to detoxify, read Detoxify or Die by Sherry Rogers.

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