The premise behind vaccines is that it will help children fight viral infections as they age. But a U-M study suggests the natural ability to fight infection is there early on. Vaccines can inhibit the growth of essential immune cells early in life, and avoiding vaccines could actually improve an infant's response to infection. More specifically, vaccines are suppressing a very specific type of protein which inhibits the growth of specific cancers.

"What happens at early age is that natural killer cells, like many other immune cells, do not complete their functional maturation until adulthood," says study senior author Yasmina Laouar, Ph.D., assistant professor in the U-M Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

"During this time we are left with an immature immune system that cannot protect us against infections, the reason why newborns and infants are more prone to infection," she says.

Vaccines promote and extend the immature immune system of infants preventing the natural formation of immune cells. This is not only accomplished by interfering with DNA but introducing heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury and other toxic preservatives found in vaccines.

There is a large gap in understanding infant immunity, specifically why the natural killer cell responses are deficient. The study by immunologists at the U-M demonstrates the role of a cell called transforming growth factor beta that can explain why most vaccine scientists mistakenly believe that suppression of the body's natural signaling mechanisms benefits immunity when it actively suppresses it.

Although many studies have been conducted about the association between a vegetarian diet and physical health, very little work has been done on the associations between a vegetarian diet and mental health.

And as more people are persuaded that a vegetarian diet is a healthy diet, it is essential that they are made aware of the possible adverse effects of such a diet.

In 2008, a study was published which showed that adopting a vegetarian lifestyle could lead to a significant amount of brain shrinkage, and that the more extreme the diet (vegan) caused the most extreme brain loss.[1] I reported this at Vegetarians have smaller brains

Now, a 2012 study links vegetarianism with other mental conditions.[2] The mental conditions studied include:

• Unipolar Depressive Disorders
• Anxiety Disorders
• Somatoform Disorders and Syndromes
• Eating Disorders

This latest study adds to previous evidence that concerns about the healthiness of vegetarianism are well-founded and need to be taken very seriously.

Could we be human guinea pigs being fed food that hurts us and causes new disease? Despite intense protests from consumer groups and environmentalists, genetically modified organisms, (GMOs) foods, have been dubbed as the 'human feeding experiment' and are continuing to be integrated into the food supply. Most of us do not even know the extent of it, as it is not in mainstream news.

In Kansas, for instance, an experimental 3200 acres of GMO rice have been planted with inserted DNA from human organs. It is believed by the cultivators that this becomes a catalyst for 'medications'-'pharmaceuticals'. Some rice is designed to stop intestinal disease, to be used in the third world which will in theory overcome chronic diarrhea. Besides the human health risks, there are also unintended risks of contaminating normal rice fields. Rice is not the only food experiment going on.

Resuming its upward trend after dropping in the Spring, Los Angeles air radiation has doubled in a recent 52-day period ending August 1, 2012. This reading was taken from the dust aggregate of three HEPA air filter machines that showed radiation emanation reading 205% of normal. The previous 96-day period registered 192% of normal. This equates in the present period, on a per day basis, to represent roughly a doubling of the last period's alpha and beta dust. Spot checks of the HEPA filters before vacuuming to create the aggregate dust pile showed a hot spot on one HEPA filter topping out at ~284% of normal eventually settling down to ~239% of normal. These readings were taken at Radiation Station Santa Monica where there is no "radon progeny" to influence the readings meaning that these numbers are accurate. The possible reason for this doubling of the radiation could be explained by a surge in beta and gamma radiation detected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Rad Net station at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles during early July. That graph will appear on an upcoming EnviroReporter.com post called "L.A Air Radiation Doubles."

Everyone is aware of the importance of a good night sleep to keep one's cognitive and physical abilities at a healthy level. Experts recommend eight hours of sleep as the ideal. However, many people often get only five or six hours of sleep, and many have grown accustomed to that level. It does not bother them one bit that they are not getting their eight hours. For these people, does this lower level of sleep really affect their work in a negative way? A new study has found that regardless of whether or not a person feels tired, a lack of sleep can influence your daily actions for certain tasks.

In my last blog, I promised to visit the inflammatory theory of depression, and so I am. When we have a flu or an infection or we are stressed, our immune cells produce molecules (pro-inflammatory cytokines) to help us fight if off. While these signaling molecules activate our immune system, they also act upon the brain, making us feel sick. When our immune systems continues to be activated for long periods of time, such as occurs during chronic stress, the effects of cytokines on the brain can worsen this feeling of sickness and lead to the symptoms of depression. Inflammation may be an important way in which life's overwhelming events and unresolvable stresses culminate in depression.

Anyone who has experienced a viral or bacterial infection knows what it means to feel sick. Sick people often feel feverish and nauseated, ignore food and beverages, and lose interest in their surroundings and in other people. They tire easily and their sleep is often disturbed. They lose interest in activities and become irritable, and can experience difficulty thinking, including problems with attention and memory. When we are acutely ill, we usually try to ignore these symptoms, knowing that our illness will pass and the symptoms will disappear.

Feeling sick is a normal response to infection, just as being afraid is a normal response to seeing a bear with two cubs ahead of us on the hiking path. The molecules that mediate inflammation and make us feel sick are known as pro-inflammatory cytokines, and include such colorful characters as interleukin-1 α (alpha) and β (beta, usually shortened to IL-1 α and IL-1 β ), tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α ) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). It's their effect on the brain that makes us feel sick, which may paradoxically help us to recover (at least from acute illnesses) by putting us into a state of rest and repair. Exposure to these pro-inflammatory cytokines on a long-term basis triggers the development of depression in vulnerable individuals.

A team of researchers looking into why cancer cells are so resilient accidentally stumbled upon a far more important discovery. While conducting their research, the team discovered that chemotherapy actually heavily damages healthy cells and subsequently triggers them to release a protein that sustains and fuels tumor growth. Beyond that, it even makes the tumor highly resistant to future treatment.

Reporting their findings in the journal Nature Medicine, the scientists report that the findings were 'completely unexpected'. Finding evidence of significant DNA damage when examining the effects of chemotherapy on tissue derived from men with prostate cancer, the writings are a big slap in the face to mainstream medical organizations who have been pushing chemotherapy as the only option to cancer patients for years.

The news comes after it was previously ousted by similarly-breaking research that expensive cancer drugs not only fail to treat tumors, but actually make them far worse. The cancer drugs were found to make tumors 'metasize' and grow massively in size after consumption. As a result, the drugs killed the patients more quickly.

New Research: Statins Increase Risk of Polymalgia Rheumatica 14-Fold

Few drugs are as toxic to the organ they are prescribed to "treat" as statins. There are already hundreds of studies indicating that statin drugs are muscle-damaging (myotoxic) and nerve-damaging (neurotoxic), and yet they are somehow still legally allowed to be sold to millions of patients worldwide, ostensibly to protect the human heart -- which is, mind you, a muscle with an exceptionally high density of nerves.

After research published back in 2009 in the journal Cardiology found that statin drug use was associated with impaired heart muscle function, there is little doubt remaining that they do far more harm than good. In fact, no less than 300 adverse health effects have been linked to this chemical class of drugs.

Some of the most consistently observed effects listed below

• Liver Damage
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Cataract
• Pancreatitits
• Cognitive Decline/Dysfunction
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Peripheral Neuropathies
• Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Recently published research reveals another way in which the obvious damage caused by statin drugs is being covered up, whether by ignorance or intention. Statin drug-induced symptoms have been renamed in Greek as a newly minted, seemingly unrelated disease: Polymyalgia Rheumatica.

© thehealthage.com

Abstract Background

Malignant brain cancer persists as a major disease of morbidity and mortality in adults and is the second leading cause of cancer death in children. Many current therapies for malignant brain tumors fail to provide long-term management because they ineffectively target tumor cells while negatively impacting the health and vitality of normal brain cells. In contrast to brain tumor cells, which lack metabolic flexibility and are largely dependent on glucose for growth and survival, normal brain cells can metabolize both glucose and ketone bodies for energy. This study evaluated the efficacy of KetoCal^®, a new nutritionally balanced high fat/low carbohydrate ketogenic diet for children with epilepsy, on the growth and vascularity of a malignant mouse astrocytoma (CT-2A) and a human malignant glioma (U87-MG).

Methods

Adult mice were implanted orthotopically with the malignant brain tumors and KetoCal^® was administered to the mice in either unrestricted amounts or in restricted amounts to reduce total caloric intake according to the manufacturers recommendation for children with refractory epilepsy. The effects KetoCal^® on tumor growth, vascularity, and mouse survival were compared with that of an unrestricted high carbohydrate standard diet.

Results

KetoCal^® administered in restricted amounts significantly decreased the intracerebral growth of the CT-2A and U87-MG tumors by about 65% and 35%, respectively, and significantly enhanced health and survival relative to that of the control groups receiving the standard low fat/high carbohydrate diet. The restricted KetoCal^® diet reduced plasma glucose levels while elevating plasma ketone body (β-hydroxybutyrate) levels. Tumor microvessel density was less in the calorically restricted KetoCal^® groups than in the calorically unrestricted control groups. Moreover, gene expression for the mitochondrial enzymes, β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and succinyl-CoA: 3-ketoacid CoA transferase, was lower in the tumors than in the contralateral normal brain suggesting that these brain tumors have reduced ability to metabolize ketone bodies for energy.

Conclusion

The results indicate that KetoCal^® has anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic effects in experimental mouse and human brain tumors when administered in restricted amounts. The therapeutic effect of KetoCal^® for brain cancer management was due largely to the reduction of total caloric content, which reduces circulating glucose required for rapid tumor growth. A dependency on glucose for energy together with defects in ketone body metabolism largely account for why the brain tumors grow minimally on either a ketogenic-restricted diet or on a standard-restricted diet. Genes for ketone body metabolism should be useful for screening brain tumors that could be targeted with calorically restricted high fat/low carbohydrate ketogenic diets. This preclinical study indicates that restricted KetoCal^® is a safe and effective diet therapy and should be considered as an alternative therapeutic option for malignant brain cancer.

Scientists are uncovering evidence that short periods of fasting, if properly controlled, could achieve a number of health benefits, as well as potentially helping the overweight, as Michael Mosley discovered.

I'd always thought of fasting as something unpleasant, with no obvious long term benefits. So when I was asked to make a documentary that would involve me going without food, I was not keen as I was sure I would not enjoy it.

But the Horizon editor assured me there was great new science and that I might see some dramatic improvements to my body. So, of course, I said, "yes".

I am not strong-willed enough to diet over the long term, but I am extremely interested in the reasons why eating less might lead to increased life span, particularly as scientists think it may be possible to get the benefits without the pain.