Health & WellnessS


Health

Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead Found in Commercial Apple and Grape Juice

Mike Barrett
Natural Society
Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:16 UTC
Apple
© Natural Society

A new report was recently released by Consumer Reports showing that many common apple juice and grape juice brands actually contain high enough levels of arsenic to increase the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. These chronic illnesses are the top health problems rising today. Unfortunately, children are especially prone increased risks for these diseases as they make up a very large portion of individuals who consume fruit juices such as apple and grape.

The investigation, led by Consumer Reports, tested 88 samples of apple juice and grape juice coming from 28 different brands. What the investigators found was that roughly 10% of samples from 5 different brands had total arsenic levels rising above 10 parts per billion (ppb), a limit set by the FDA for bottled water. To add to the over-contamination, the investigators also found very high levels of lead.

The investigators were also interested to see if Americans consume enough of these juices for arsenic levels to be significantly higher than normal or for other adverse health reactions to occur. They analyzed federal health data from 2003-2008 which tracked what people ate before measuring arsenic levels in urine. CR states:
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People

Frontal Lobe Injury Therapy May Benefit Psychopathic Patients


ABC News Radio
Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:23 UTC
head,brain
© Getty Images
Haifa, Israel -- New research has revealed similarities in emotional deficiencies between people who have suffered frontal brain injuries and people diagnosed as psychopathic, according to HealthDay News.

Researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel suggest that therapy used to treat frontal brain injuries could also benefit psychopathic patients.

"Seeing as psychopathic behavior is similar to that of a person with brain damage, it could be that it could benefit from similar forms of treatment," study author Dr. Simone Shamay-Tsoory said in a news release.
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Arrow Up

Benefits of a Paleo Diet

Dr. Mercola
Mercola.com
Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:04 UTC
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© themmazone.net
During the Paleolithic period, many thousands of years ago, people ate primarily vegetables, fruit, nuts, roots and meat - and a wide variety of it.

Today, these staples have been largely replaced with refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cereal, bread, potatoes and pasteurized milk products... and a much narrower selection of fruits, vegetables, roots and nuts.

While we may consider ourselves to be at the pinnacle of human development, our modern food manufacturing processes have not created a race of super-humans in possession of great health and longevity.

Quite the contrary...

Humans today suffer more chronic and debilitating diseases than ever before. And there can be little doubt that our food choices play a major role in this development.

Comment: For more information about the benefits of a Paleo Diet read the following articles:

The Paleo Diet: Should You Eat Like a "Caveman"?
A Real Paleo Diet - Grassfed Meat, Fat, and Organ Meats
Have you heard about the Paleo diet?
Should You Eat a Paleo-Diet for Health Like These Californians?
The Paleo Diet Cures PCOS


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Ambulance

More Accidental Drug Poisonings of Children

Tara Parker-Pope
New York Times
Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:04 UTC
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© Tony Cenicola/The New York TimesThe number of accidental drug poisonings among young children has grown over the last seven years.
The growing use of prescription drugs by adults, from pain relievers to sleep aids and heart medications, has led to an increase in accidental drug poisonings of children, new research shows.

Despite childproof caps and safety warnings, the number of accidental drug poisonings among young children surged 22 percent from 2001 to 2008, according to a new study in The Journal of Pediatrics. The reason, say researchers, is that prescription drug use by both adults and children is on the rise, and there are simply more bottles of pills in the home that can potentially be accessed by curious children.

Researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati analyzed national poison control center data on 544,133 children ages 5 and younger who had visited an emergency department between 2001 and 2008 after an accidental medication poisoning.
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Attention

What's Next? Starting Children on Drugs the Moment They're Born?


Alliance for Natural Health
Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:51 UTC
Image
© Alliance for Natural Health
That seems to be the path a new recommendation is putting us on.

An expert panel appointed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, is now urging cholesterol screening for all children between ages 9 and 11 - before puberty, when cholesterol temporarily dips - and again between ages 17 and 21. News accounts discuss a family who put their daughter on cholesterol-lowering medicines when she was 5 ("that gives me hope that she'll be healthy") and a doctor at Johns Hopkins who thinks his 12-year-old son should be tested "because he has a cousin with very high 'bad' cholesterol."

What is "bad" cholesterol, anyway? Conventional medicine says HDL cholesterol is good, and LDL is bad. But scientists at Texas A&M University have found that LDL cholesterol is actually needed by the body to build new muscle - a finding that is particularly important both for kids and for the rest of us as we get older and lose muscle more rapidly. It also helps get vitamin D around our body.
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Bacon

How to Eat More Fat


marksdailyapple.com
Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:16 UTC
Image
© marksdailyapple.com
The leaders of the dietary establishment either keeled over or started arming themselves with pitchforks as I wrote that title. (It's a good day to enjoy the subversion, I think.) On a serious note, let me unpack this worthy question - one I tend to get often: how does one incorporate more fat into a day's eating? This common inquiry usually comes from someone new to the Primal way of eating; someone that has just started ditching grains and sugars and is having a hard time replacing carbs with the fats they've always been told to avoid. And replace, at least in part, they must, or experience the inevitable crankiness and hunger (and possible failure) associated with not eating enough food.

Of all the things we do for our health, I think we all find this to be one of the more enjoyable efforts - at least once we get the hang of it. Go as clean as you can of course - pastured and organic or as close to it as you can obtain and afford. (It ensures better nutrition and fewer toxins.) But let's not get caught up in details today. I'm ready to dig in. Are you?
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Wine

US: High levels of arsenic found in fruit juice

Linda Carroll
MSNBC-Today
Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:00 UTC
The apple and grape juice your kids are drinking may have arsenic at levels high enough to increase their risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, according to a new study by Consumer Reports.

A full 10 percent of the juices tested by the magazine had arsenic levels higher than what is allowed in water by the Food and Drug Administration.


"What we're talking about here is not about acute affects," Urvashi Rangan, senior scientist at Consumer Reports, told TODAY's Savannah Guthrie. "We're talking about chronic effects. We're talking about cancer risk. And so, the fact that 10 percent of our samples exceeded the drinking water standard underscores the need for a standard to be set in juices."

The fear is that over time arsenic will accumulate in children's bodies and raise their risk of cancer and other serious illnesses, Rangan explained.
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Info

US: Childhood Vaccine Exemption Rates Increasing Nationwide

Mike Barrett
Natural Society
Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:12 UTC
Rejection
© Natural Society

It seems as though the "necessity" of childhood vaccinations, widely voiced by many mainstream health officials and government figureheads, is simply not being accepted by parents around the country. While the rates of children receiving vaccines remains high, we are seeing an increase in childhood vaccine exemption rates. In eight different states, more than 1 in 20 public kindergartners are not receiving all the vaccines that the government 'requires' for school attendance.

Where are the highest vaccine exemption rates?

States in the West and Upper Midwest currently hold the highest vaccine exemption rates. In Washington, an overall 6 percent of public school parents decided against at least one of the vaccines "required" for their child's attendance, while some specific locations in Washington have exemption rates as high as 20 or even 50 percent. Some other states with high vaccine exemptions rates are:
  • Alaska
  • Colorado
  • Minnesota
  • Vermont
  • Oregon
  • Michigan
  • Illinois
In addition, vaccine exemption rates increased in over half of the states, including many of the states with already high exemption rates. Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin were all states with increasing vaccine exemption rates.
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Attention

Atrazine in Water Tied to Menstrual Irregularities, Low Hormones

Lindsey Konkel
Environmental Health News
Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:17 UTC
Image
© University of GeorgiaThe herbicide atrazine is frequently detected in surface and groundwater, especially near cornfields in the Midwest.
Women who drink water contaminated with low levels of the weed-killer atrazine may be more likely to have irregular menstrual cycles and low estrogen levels, scientists concluded in a new study. The most widely used herbicide in the United States, atrazine is frequently detected in surface and ground water, particularly in agricultural areas of the Midwest. The newest research, which compared women in Illinois farm towns to women in Vermont, adds to the growing scientific evidence linking atrazine to altered hormones.

The most widely used herbicide in the United States, atrazine is frequently detected in surface and ground water, particularly in agricultural areas of the Midwest. Approximately 75 percent of all U.S. cornfields are treated with atrazine each year.

The newest research, which compared women in Illinois to women in Vermont, adds to the growing scientific evidence linking atrazine to altered hormones.

Comment: To learn more about how Endocrine Disruptors like atrazine negatively effect human health, wellness and the environment read the following articles:

More Stark Evidence of the Hazards of Atrazine
EPA Takes a Second Look at Popular Pesticide Atrazine
EPA Fails To Inform Public About Weed-Killer In Drinking Water
Serious Birth Defects Linked to the Agricultural Chemical Atrazine
Debating How Much Weed Killer Is Safe in Your Water Glass
An End to Atrazine

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Evil Rays

Tinnitus Drives Sufferers to Distraction, Desperation

Jane E. Allen
ABC News
Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:56 UTC
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

The unrelenting screeching sounds from tinnitus sometimes left actor William Shatner unsure "whether I would survive," while jazz guitarist Al Di Meola said tinnitus has meant living with "this screaming, and you can't shut it off." Little wonder the inability to silence the noise in their heads has led some sufferers to contemplate, and even commit suicide.

Shatner's tinnitus dates to the 1960s, when he stood too close to a special effects explosion while filming an episode of the legendary Star Trek TV series. "There were days when I didn't know whether I would survive, I was so tormented by the screeching in my head," the actor known for portraying Capt. James T. Kirk said in a public service video for the American Tinnitus Association. "The help they gave me literally saved my life."

An estimated 50 million Americans have some degree of tinnitus in one or both ears; 16 million of them have symptoms serious enough for them to see a doctor or hearing specialist. As many as 2 million become so debilitated by the unrelenting ringing, hissing, chirping, clicking, whooshing or screeching, that they cannot carry out normal daily activities, their lives "essentially ruined," said Jennifer Born, an ATA spokeswoman in Portland, Ore.

Comment: Read also: Vagus nerve stimulation - Tinnitus: Latest Research Results May Help to "eliminate the source of the tinnitus"

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