Health & WellnessS


Magic Wand

Weekly Curry 'May Fight Dementia'


BBC News
Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:21 UTC
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The key ingredient appears to be turmeric
Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, a US researcher suggests.

The key ingredient is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric.

Curcumin appears to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques - thought to cause dementia - in the brain.

But the theory, presented at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' annual meeting, has been given a lukewarm reception by UK experts.
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Info

Many Floors In U.S. Homes Have 'Measurable' Levels Of Pesticides


Science Daily
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:29 UTC
crawling baby
© iStockphoto/Brian McEntireInsecticides used in and around homes -- including products voluntarily removed from the market years ago -- were measured on the floors of U.S. residences, according to the first study large enough to generate national data on pesticide residues in homes.
Insecticides used in and around homes - including products voluntarily removed from the market years ago - were measured on the floors of U.S. residences, according to the first study large enough to generate national data on pesticide residues in homes.

Scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collected samples with surface wipes from U.S. kitchen floors. Additionally, occupants were surveyed regarding pesticide use and housing factors.

The most frequently detected pesticides, after permethrin (89 percent), were chlorpyrifos (78 percent); chlordane (74 percent); piperonyl butoxide (52 percent); cypermethrin (46 percent); and fipronil (40 percent). While in most cases, the pesticide concentrations measured were low, the insecticides may serve as a potential source of exposure to occupants.
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Health

Pesticide Susceptibility In Children Lasts Longer Than Expected


Science Daily
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:24 UTC
Although it is known that infants are more susceptible than adults to the toxic effects of pesticides, this increased vulnerability may extend much longer into childhood than expected, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

Among newborns, levels of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), an enzyme critical to the detoxification of organophosphate pesticides, average one-third or less than those of the babies' mothers. It was thought that PON1 enzyme activity in children approached adult levels by age 2, but instead, the UC Berkeley researchers found that the enzyme level remained low in some individuals through age 7.

Based upon the findings, reported this month in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the study authors recommend that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-evaluate the current standards for acceptable levels of pesticide exposure.
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Heart

Story of a mother's struggle to help her autistic son and others

Sally Beck
Daily Mail
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:29 UTC
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Polly Tommey with her autistic son Billy.
A few weeks ago, a one-woman campaign culminated in Polly Tommey meeting the Prime Minister to improve support for the families of children with autism.

She was fighting for the sake of thousands of other parents around the country, having become an unofficial 'Good Samaritan' for the desperate parents of autistic children.

Here, Polly, 42, the mother of an autistic child, tells her extraordinary story . . . months that was the case with Billy.

Any normal child would have been taken to A&E at some point and given a battery of tests, but with autistic children doctors say it's just part of their autism.

Billy stopped eating most things, and eventually all that was left in his diet was cow's milk and Weetabix. He was so skinny his hair started falling out, and he had sores all over his lips and up his arms.

Then, one day, a leaflet dropped through my door explaining how a wheat and dairy-free diet could help autistic children. Jon was sceptical, but I thought it was worth a try.
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Attention

The dark side of shopping

Neal Lawson and Julie Bindel
The Guardian
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:51 UTC
Shoplifting is a huge and rising epidemic: it's the reason why one in three women prisoners is sent to jail. Neal Lawson looks at the true human cost of consumer desire - and five women tell Julie Bindel their stories.
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Sun

Green Tea Could Delay Prostate Cancer


Reuters
Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:17 UTC
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© unknown
Active compounds in green tea may slow down the progression of prostate cancer, researchers reported on Friday.

Capsules made using green tea extracts called polyphenols lowered levels of proteins that tumors use to grow, the researchers found.

Made by Polyphenon Pharma, the capsules called Polyphenon E contain epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, a green tea extract that has antioxidant properties.
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Pills

Taking Paxil during pregnancy causes heart defects in fetuses

Jessica Fraser
NaturalNews.com
Fri, 01 Dec 2006 05:46 UTC
Pregnant women and those who might become pregnant should avoid taking the antidepressant Paxil because of a high risk of birth defects, according to a committee of obstetricians who published their opinion yesterday in the December issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The obstetric practice committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said pregnant women should not take Paxil -- a member of a class of antidepressants known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) -- because two previous studies found that the drug posed up to double the risk of heart defects in fetuses.
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Health

Antidepressants linked to Male Infertility

S. L. Baker
NaturalNews.com
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:39 UTC
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning a few years ago that pregnant women taking the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant paroxetine risk giving birth to infants with major birth defects, including heart abnormalities. Now comes word that the same drug (sold as Paxil, Paxil CR, Seroxat, Pexeva, and generic paroxetine hydrochloride) carries another danger that could keep babies from being born in the first place. A new study just published in the online edition of the journal Fertility and Sterility concludes as many as fifty percent of all men taking the antidepressant could have damaged sperm and compromised fertility.
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Health

Snoring due to sleep apnea can damage brain severely


RxPG
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:20 UTC
Snoring due sleep apnea may impair brain function in a much worse way than previously thought, according to a new study.

Sufferers of Obstructive Sleep Apnea - experience similar changes in brain biochemistry as people who have had a severe stroke or who are dying, the research shows. OSA is caused by obstruction of the airway, a disorder characterised by pauses in breathing during sleep.

A study by University of New South Wales - Brain Sciences is the first to analyse, in a second-by-second timeframe, what is happening in the brains of sufferers as they sleep. Previous studies have focussed on recreating oxygen impairment in patients who are awake.
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Health

Prenatal Vitamins Prevent Hydrocephalus - A Common Baby Brain Birth Defect

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:18 UTC
A vitamin supplement composed of several different forms of folate may help prevent or even treat the brain defect hydrocephalus in children, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Universities of Lancaster and Manchester, England, and published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology.

"Hydrocephalus can cause severe disability and learning difficulties, so the possibility of prevention through a specific vitamin supplement is exciting," said Andrew Russell, head of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.

In hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid abnormally gathers in the brain's cavities, placing pressure on the tissues and leading to neurological dysfunction. Symptoms include an unusually large head, irritability, sleepiness, vomiting, drooping eyes, verbal aggression, hyperactivity and other abnormal behavior, and even seizures.
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