Health & WellnessS


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3,000 Professionals Petition to Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water


environmentalgraffiti.com
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:00 UTC
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© creativecommons
According to the Fluoride Action Network, as of July 2010, more than 3,000 professionals from around the globe have banded together in an attempt to end the fluoridation of drinking water. Why? Since the petition first began circulating in 2007 - to the chagrin of dentists everywhere - evidence continues to mount that sodium fluoride isn't something to smile about. In fact, it could actually be one of the biggest health risks of our time. And it's not just the aptly named Fluoride Action Network that thinks so. Sources such as Natural News, Prevention Magazine and even the Wall Street Journal have all questioned the merits of fluoridation of drinking water.

So why is Fluoride still being added to our water? The story begins as many stories do when well-meaning folks try to mimic something in nature and it goes horribly wrong. Way back when, people recognized the positive effects of calcium fluoride in drinking water and wanted to replicate it. Thus, Grand Rapids, MI, began adding sodium fluoride - a less expensive version of calcium fluoride - to its water supply in 1945. The key difference being that calcium fluoride is naturally occurring and sodium fluoride is not. Not to mention that sodium fluoride is a synthetic waste product of the nuclear industry and often contaminated with lead, aluminum and cadmium.

Comment: For a more in depth look at the issue of Fluoride read the following articles carried on SOTT:

Fluoride: Worse than We Thought
The Price of Too Much Fluoride
The Consequences of Using Fluoride
Video: Parents Warned Against Fluoride In Water
'Second Thoughts about Fluoride,' Reports Scientific American
Information on fluoride isn't really new - A recap on the poisoning of the public
Mercury and Fluoride - The Dumbing Down Of A Population

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Red Flag

Canadian Medical Journal: Energy Drinks Pose Serious Health Risk to Kids

Carly Weeks
Globe and Mail
Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:36 UTC
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© Nina Linton/Globe and MailSamm Robbins, 14, enjoys the occasional energy drink but sees it taking hold of people her age who become far to reliant on the beverage's buzz.
Federal minister of health needs to be 'awakened' to danger of sky-high caffeine levels

A critical editorial published by Canada's leading medical journal is the latest move a mounting effort to convince the federal government to crack down on the sale of caffeinated energy drinks to minors.

Energy drinks that contain high amounts of caffeine - some more than five times the amount in a can of cola, or nearly double the amount in a cup of brewed coffee - can pose serious health risks to children and adolescents and require stronger warning labels, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal's editorial.
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Attention

The Dangers of Genetically Engineered Milk

Samuel S. Epstein, MD
Huffington Post
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:45 UTC
As reported in the June 25 New York Times article on "Genetically Altered Salmon," genetically altered foods "must be labeled - if they are different in their nutritional or natural properties or other characteristics." Genetically engineered milk is very different than natural milk, and clearly qualifies for FDA's explicit mandatory labeling.

This warning is also responsive to a June 21 announcement by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) that "he would introduce three bills to comprehensively regulate all genetically engineered products and foods," and require that all such foods should be explicitly labeled.

Congressman Kucinich's concerns are well-based. These were detailed in a May 11, 2007 "Imminent Health Hazard" Citizens Petition submitted to Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, by Samuel Epstein, M.D., Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition and four other leading scientific experts: Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director, Organic Consumers Association; John Kinsman, President, Family Farm Defenders; Arpad Pusztai, PhD, FRSE; and Jeffrey M. Smith, Executive Director, Institute for Responsible Technology.
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Bulb

Stress of an enriched environment might curb cancer growth


Eurekalert!
Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:14 UTC
Effect linked to a brain-fat-hormone pathway

Living in an environment rich with physical, mental and social stimulation - a setting that causes mild stress - might by itself curb cancer growth, according to a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

The animal study, published in the July 9 issue of the journal Cell, also shows how this effect happens and that it might have therapeutic use.

The researchers discovered that an enriched environment activates a nervous-system pathway by which the brain talks to fat tissue. That pathway, called the hypothalamic-sympathoneural-adipocyte (HSA) axis tells fat cells to stop releasing a hormone called leptin into the bloodstream. Leptin normally helps restrain appetite, but this study discovered that it also accelerates cancer growth.
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Health

Calcium Supplements May Raise Risk of Heart Attack

Tan Ee Lyn
Reuters
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:20 UTC
Calcium supplements, which many people consume hoping to ward off osteoporosis, may increase the risk of heart attack by as much as 30 percent, researchers reported Friday.

These tiny tablets which carry concentrated doses of calcium were also associated with higher incidences of stroke and death, but they were not statistically significant.

The researchers advised people consuming calcium supplements to seek advice from their doctors, take more calcium-rich foods and try other interventions like exercise, not smoking and keeping a healthy weight to prevent osteoporosis.

"People regard calcium supplements as natural but they are really not natural at all," Ian Reid, professor of medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said in a telephone interview.

Comment: See this article for more information about calcium:

Calcium Alone is Not Enough for Healthy Bones

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Info

Study: Western Diet Link to ADHD


Phsyorg.com
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:13 UTC
A new study from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a 'Western-style' diet in adolescents.

The research findings have just been published online in the International Journal of Attention Disorders.

Leader of Nutrition studies at the Institute, Associate Professor Wendy Oddy, said the study examined the dietary patterns of 1800 adolescents from the long-term Raine Study and classified diets into 'Healthy' or 'Western' patterns.

"We found a diet high in the Western pattern of foods was associated with more than double the risk of having an ADHD diagnosis compared with a diet low in the Western pattern, after adjusting for numerous other social and family influences," Dr Oddy said.
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Bell

One in Five Californians Say They Need Mental Health Care

Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:33 UTC
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© ccstcloud.org
Almost 5 million California adults say they could use help with a mental or emotional problem, according to a survey released Wednesday by researchers at UCLA. About 1 million of them meet the criteria for "serious psychological distress."

However, only one in three people who perceive a need for mental health services or are in serious distress have seen a professional for treatment, the survey found.

The survey was conducted among more than 44,000 adults as part of the 2005 California Health Interview Survey, administered through the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Since the survey was conducted, the recession probably has contributed to worsening mental health for even more people, said the lead author of the study, David Grant.
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Magic Wand

Avocados: A Super Cancer Fighting Food

Dr. Nalini Chilkov
Huffington Post
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:07 UTC
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© paltita.com
Avocados are one of the great cancer fighting foods, rich in a multiplicity of nutrients, including many potent anti-oxidants and phytochemicals as well as vitamins, minerals, fiber and monounsaturated healthy fats.

Phytochemicals (plant chemicals) are defined as bioactive non-nutrient plant compounds in fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plant foods that have been linked to reducing the risk of major chronic diseases including cancer.
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Light Sabers

Getting defensive is good for men - but not women

Adam Bean
MSNBC
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:04 UTC
Study shows such behavior makes men feel less stressed; women have opposite reaction

You might think that defensiveness - which psychologists describe as avoiding, denying, or repressing information one perceives as threatening - would not be a good thing, and maybe even causes you stress. But a new Canadian study finds men may actually feel better, and less stressed, when they are more defensive. By contrast, women are better off not feeling defensive.
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Health

What Do You Lack? Probably Vitamin D

Jane E. Brody
The New York Times
Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:00 UTC
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© Zeitgeist Australia
Vitamin D promises to be the most talked-about and written-about supplement of the decade. While studies continue to refine optimal blood levels and recommended dietary amounts, the fact remains that a huge part of the population - from robust newborns to the frail elderly, and many others in between - are deficient in this essential nutrient.

If the findings of existing clinical trials hold up in future research, the potential consequences of this deficiency are likely to go far beyond inadequate bone development and excessive bone loss that can result in falls and fractures. Every tissue in the body, including the brain, heart, muscles and immune system, has receptors for vitamin D, meaning that this nutrient is needed at proper levels for these tissues to function well.

Studies indicate that the effects of a vitamin D deficiency include an elevated risk of developing (and dying from) cancers of the colon, breast and prostate; high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease; osteoarthritis; and immune-system abnormalities that can result in infections and autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

Most people in the modern world have lifestyles that prevent them from acquiring the levels of vitamin D that evolution intended us to have. The sun's ultraviolet-B rays absorbed through the skin are the body's main source of this nutrient. Early humans evolved near the equator, where sun exposure is intense year round, and minimally clothed people spent most of the day outdoors.
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