Health & WellnessS


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Regulated or Not, Nano-Foods Coming to a Store Near You

Andrew Schneider
Aol News
Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:18 UTC
For centuries, it was the cook and the heat of the fire that cajoled taste, texture, flavor and aroma from the pot. Today, that culinary voodoo is being crafted by white-coated scientists toiling in pristine labs, rearranging atoms into chemical particles never before seen.

At last year's Institute of Food Technologists international conference, nanotechnology was the topic that generated the most buzz among the 14,000 food-scientists, chefs and manufacturers crammed into an Anaheim, Calif., hall. Though it's a word that has probably never been printed on any menu, and probably never will, there was so much interest in the potential uses of nanotechnology for food that a separate daylong session focused just on that subject was packed to overflowing.

In one corner of the convention center, a chemist, a flavorist and two food-marketing specialists clustered around a large chart of the Periodic Table of Elements (think back to high school science class). The food chemist, from China, ran her hands over the chart, pausing at different chemicals just long enough to say how a nano-ized version of each would improve existing flavors or create new ones.

One of the marketing guys questioned what would happen if the consumer found out.
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First they came for the dogs... Microchipped pets develop aggressive, lethal tumors

Katherine Albrecht, Ed.D
AntiChips..com
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:00 UTC
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Owners, Medical Reports Point to Link Between RFID Chips and Cancers in Canines

Highly aggressive tumors developed around the microchip implants of two American dogs, killing one of the pets and leaving the other terminally ill. Their owners --- and pathology and autopsy reports --- have suggested a link between the chips and the formation of the fast-growing cancers.

In the town of Paeonian Springs, Va., a five-year-old male Bullmastiff named Seamus died in February, nine months after developing a "hemangio-sarcoma" --- a rare, malignant form of cancer that strikes connective tissues and can kill even humans in three to six months. The tumor appeared last May between the dog's shoulder blades where a microchip had been implanted; by September, a "large mass" had grown with the potential to spread to the lungs, liver and spleen, according a pathology report from the Blue Ridge Veterinary Clinic in Purcellville, Va.
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The Antioxidant Alpha Lipoic Acid Can Smash Insulin Resistance and Autoimmune Disease


Dr. Mercola
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:29 UTC

I first became aware of the alpha lipoic regimen by Dr. Burt Berkson in the late 90's. Early on in his career, while an internist, he was given several patients who were expected to die from hepatitis C. His job was more or less to simply baby sit them in the ICU and watch them die.

But Dr. Berkson was a rebel at heart and he simply couldn't do that. Instead he called an associate at the National Institutes of Health and found out how he could treat them. He learned that alpha lipoic acid had some impressive experimental support. Remarkably, although these patients were expected to die within a few weeks, they all completely recovered!

However not all went well for Dr. Berkson. As he made his superiors look foolish, they simply could not tolerate that so rather than embrace his findings, they actively suppressed the results and made his life miserable for showing them up.

This was a pivotal moment in Dr. Berskson's career and caused him to make choices that eventually led to where he is at now. Since then, Dr. Berkson has lectured all over the world on this topic, and published a study on the use of antioxidants for the treatment of hepatitis C.

His first book, The Alpha-Lipoic Acid Breakthrough was published in 1998.

As many of you already know, I am not fond of recommending many supplements, but I do believe that antioxidants make sense for many of us.

Comment: For more information about Alpha Lipoic Acid read the forum discussion here

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Caesarean Births Are at a High in U.S.

Denise Grady
The New York Times
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:48 UTC
The Caesarean section rate in the United States reached 32 percent in 2007, the country's highest rate ever, health officials are reporting.

The rate has been climbing steadily since 1996, setting records year after year, and Caesarean section has become the most common operation in American hospitals. About 1.4 million Caesareans were performed in 2007, the latest year for which figures are available.

The increases - documented in a report published Tuesday - have caused debate and concern for years. When needed, a Caesarean can save the mother and her child from injury or death, but most experts doubt that one in three women need surgery to give birth. Critics say the operation is being performed too often, needlessly exposing women and babies to the risks of major surgery. The ideal rate is not known, but the World Health Organization and health agencies in the United States have suggested 15 percent.
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Mediterranean Diet Protects Against Stomach Cancer

Ethan Huff
NaturalNews
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00 UTC
A study conducted by the Catalan Institute for Oncology in Barcelona has concluded that eating a "Mediterranean" diet significantly reduces the risk of developing stomach cancer. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study focused specifically on gastric cancer which is the second most common cause of cancer death in the world.

Dr. Carlos Gonzalez and his colleagues evaluated a European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study of over 485,000 people from ten European countries. In the study, participants were evaluated based on how closely their diets aligned with the traditional Mediterranean diet. Such a diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and fish, as opposed to the Western diet which is rich in meat and dairy products.

What they found was that those whose diets most closely matched the traditional Mediterranean diet were 33 percent less likely to develop stomach cancer than those who fell on the opposite end of the diet spectrum. Developed on an 18-point scale, the study revealed that for each point gained on the Mediterranean diet spectrum, a person's risk of developing stomach cancer drops by 5 percent.

Comment: See related articles on Mediterranean Diet:

Mediterranean Diet May Be Key To Avoiding Stroke, Dementia

Researchers Reluctantly Admit Mediterranean Diet Beats Diabetes Drugs for Controlling Blood Sugar

Association Between Mediterranean Diet and Reduced Risk of Depression

Mediterranean-Style Diet Good for Health, Studies Show

Longer Life with Mediterranean Diet

Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Risk of Cognitive Impairment

Mediterranean Diet Enriched With Nuts Cuts Heart Risks

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Eating Processed Food Leads to Depression

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00 UTC
People who eat more processed foods are significantly more likely to suffer from depression, while those who eat more fruits and vegetables are significantly less likely to be depressed, according to a study conducted by researchers from University College London and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

"This study adds to an existing body of solid research that shows the strong links between what we eat and our mental health," said Andrew McCulloch of the Mental Health Foundation. "The U.K. population is consuming less nutritious, fresh produce and more saturated fats and sugars. We are particularly concerned about those who cannot access fresh produce easily or live in areas where there are a high number of fast food restaurants and takeaways."

Researchers collected diet and lifestyle data on 3,500 middle-aged civil servants, then ranked them according to two different measures: how much of their diet was composed of whole foods, and how much was composed of processed foods. Whole foods included fruits and vegetables, while processed foods included high-fat dairy, processed meats, refined grains, fried food and sweetened desserts.
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Scientists Cannot Figure Out Why Type 1 Diabetes is Rising Three Percent Every Year

Mike Adams
NaturalNews
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00 UTC
Back in 1890, about one American child out of every 100,000 died each year from type 1 diabetes. Fast forward to the 21st century and the number is as high as 24. Each year, scientists estimate that the number of deaths among children due to type 1, or juvenile, diabetes increases by three percent with no signs of slowing down.

Type 2 diabetes, the kind most often associated with obesity and excessive sugar consumption, is often referenced in media reports and medical journals as increasing at a dangerously high rate, but type 1 is rarely addressed despite the fact that it is rising at a similar rate.

Dan Hurley, an investigative journalist who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1975, is compiling a report on his findings about the disease, noting that it is much more prevalent than people have been led to believe. Evidence is showing that, despite the widespread belief that type 1 diabetes is rare and develops from a genetic predisposition, juvenile diabetes is probably being triggered by environmental or lifestyle factors in a similar manner as type 2.
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Reproduction Industry Risks: Infertility Treatments Increase Risk of Stillbirths

S. L. Baker
NaturalNews
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00 UTC
The multi-billion dollar medical reproductive technology industry has resulted in the births of millions of kids. They were conceived through non-natural procedures including in vitro fertilization (IVF), also known as the process that produces "test tube" babies, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which involves injecting a single sperm into an egg in the laboratory. But more and more problems are being linked to these high tech baby-making techniques. For example, as NaturalNews previously reported, evidence is mounting that children conceived using some assisted reproductive technologies have an increased incidence of metabolic problems, such as high blood pressure, abnormally elevated fasting glucose levels and excess body fat.

Now new research raises even more troubling concerns about the safety of IVF and ICSI. A study just published in Human Reproduction, Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal, found that women who became pregnant with a single fetus after treatment with these techniques had a four-fold increased risk of their babies being born dead when compared to women who conceived naturally or after fertility treatments that did not involve IVF or ICSI.

Dr Kirsten Wisborg, a consultant in the neonatal and intensive care unit at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues investigated data from pregnant women taking part in the Aarhus Birth Cohort. These moms-to-be were all slated to deliver babies between August 1989 and October 2006. Out of 20,166 first-time pregnancies where only one baby was carried, there were 86 stillbirths -- placing the overall risk of stillbirths at 4.3 per thousand pregnancies.
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Atrazine Pesticide Causes Birth Defects

Ethan Huff
NaturalNews
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00 UTC
This year's annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) will include research showing a link between the agricultural chemical atrazine and the birth defect gastroschisis. Gastroschisis has been on the rise over the past several decades, having increased up to four times the level from 30 years ago, and scientists believe it is due to exposure to atrazine and other agricultural pesticides.

Gastroschisis is a birth defect in which a baby's intestines, and sometimes other organs as well, develop partially outside of the body rather than on the inside. Special care must be given to mothers of unborn children with this condition which is often emotionally and financially taxing on families.

In the study, researchers from the University of Washington at Seattle evaluated all infants with the condition who were born between 1987 and 2006 and compared their birth records with a database illustrating the areas in which atrazine had been used. They found that cases of gastroschisis were most common in infants whose mothers lived less than 16 miles from areas where surface water was highly contaminated with atrazine. Women who had gave birth in the springtime between March and May when atrazine is used most often were found to be more likely to have a child with disease.
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Boosting Circulation Can Benefit the Entire Body

Leigh Erin Connealy
NaturalNews
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00 UTC
Are you feeling weary? Are you having trouble focusing? Are your hands or feet chilly, even when the weather is warm? The reason could be a problem in your circulatory system.

Like breathing and other automatic bodily functions, circulation is something we seldom think about. When it is properly functioning, the circulatory system is like a smooth flowing highway. Traffic moves efficiently, delivering drivers to destinations in a timely manner.

A similar process occurs in the body. Blood moves through the heart, lungs, arteries and veins, providing the cells with life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients while removing carbon dioxide and other waste products. But if blood flow is obstructed, every cell in the body is affected. Symptoms of poor circulation run the gamut, from brain fog, numbness and burning or tingling sensations in toes or fingers to pain in the legs when walking, shortness of breath, fatigue and chilliness, especially in the extremities. Circulatory problems also contribute to serious health disorders, like high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.

Comment: An effective breathing techniques to aid in these results can be found here.

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