Health & WellnessS


Attention

Best of the Web: Doctors Warn: Avoid Genetically Modified Food

monsanto
© Unknown
On May 19th, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on "Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks."[1] They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM's position paper stated, "Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food," including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. They conclude, "There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation," as defined by recognized scientific criteria. "The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies."

More and more doctors are already prescribing GM-free diets. Dr. Amy Dean, a Michigan internal medicine specialist, and board member of AAEM says, "I strongly recommend patients eat strictly non-genetically modified foods." Ohio allergist Dr. John Boyles says "I used to test for soy allergies all the time, but now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it."

Alarm Clock

Health Craze Deprives Poor Brazilians of Acai Berries

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© Adriana Brasileiro/Bloomberg NewsBaskets full of acai fruit from the riverbanks of the Amazon sit at the Acai Market in Belem, Brazil.
Rising U.S. sales of acai, a purple Amazon berry promoted as a "superfood" on Oprah Winfrey's Web site, are depriving Brazilian jungle dwellers of a protein-rich nutrient they've relied on for generations.

U.S. consumers are turning "a typical poor people's food into something like a delicacy," said Oscar Nogueira, who specializes in the fruit at Embrapa, Brazil's agricultural research company.

Health

The Quackery of Chemotherapy, Gunpoint Medicine and the Disturbing Fate of 13-Year-Old Daniel Hauser

You see it in newspapers and websites across the 'net: People insisting that 13-year-old Daniel Hauser must be injected with chemotherapy in order to "save his life," and that anyone refusing to go along with that is a criminal deserving of arrest and imprisonment.

What's most astonishing about the mainstream reaction to the forced chemotherapy of Daniel Hauser is not merely that they believe states now own the children, but that they believe in the entire world there exists but one single treatment for cancer, and it happens to be the one that makes pharmaceutical companies the most money. The arrogance (and ignorance) of that position is mind boggling.

There was once a time when western medical doctors believed that the heavy metal mercury was a medicine, too. They methodically used mercury to treat hundreds of different diseases and conditions, oblivious to the fact that they were actually poisoning people with this toxic heavy metal.

Comment: Without a doubt, criminalizing personal medical decisions is abhorrent. That said, it is irresponsible to advocate any sort of armed resistence as a solution. More than likely the author was just using this extreme example to make a point but it is a dangerous point to make none-the-less.

This article is interesting in several ways. It certainly makes some valid points about chemotherapy, and the pharmaceutical industry in general. However, it completely undermines the validity of those observations, by its means of delivery.

Firstly, there is absolutely no solid data provided to back up the author's point of view. This does not mean that no data is available, simply that the author hasn't provided it.

This is somewhat akin to the tactic used in the movie 'Sleepers' where a court case is undermined from within by the prosecution counsel who is actually on the side of the defendants: He successfully turns the case around by 'playing the role' of prosecution attourney, while deliberately undermining the case against the defense by using convincing words (to make it seem as if he represents the prosecution) but consistently failing to provide any concrete evidence.

Also, the author turns to 'hysterical reaction' mode. By advocating violence against his oppressors he again undermines his position. This is ponerisation at work (get the people mad, cloud their judgement, make them easier to manipulate), and is exactly the reaction that the 'powers that be' want - it acts to undermine our freedoms by providing the justification they need to impose ever more restrictive and draconian measures against us.

This may be intentional or not (in which case the author fulfills the role of COINTELPRO 'useful idiot') but either way, the subtle result is the same - it devalues his observations so that they will appear to many to be the 'rantings of a conspiracy loonie', and it strengthens the pathocracy.


Health

Martek Biosciences, Infant Formula and the Toxic Solvent Hexane

In 2003, an explosion occurred downstream from the Martek Biosciences manufacturing facility where hexane is used to extract DHA used in infant formula products. Hexane is a highly explosive chemical, and a Kentucky State Fire Marshal concluded it was the release of hexane from the Martek manufacturing facility that caused the explosion.

As contained in SEC documents on the public record:
Columbia, Maryland, April 8, 2003 - Martek Biosciences Corporation (Nasdaq: MATK), today announced that it has received a report from the Office of the Kentucky State Fire Marshal that concluded that the explosion that occurred in March, 2003 at a wastewater pretreatment facility in Winchester, KY resulted from the introduction of n-hexane, a class I flammable liquid, into the local sanitary sewer system. The Fire Marshal's report did not rule out other possible contributors to the explosion.

Info

Too Much Cola Zaps Muscle Power

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Sugars and caffeine in cola are probably to blame
Excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis, doctors are warning.

This is because the drink can cause blood potassium to drop dangerously low, they report in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Ladybug

Growing Better Mental Health

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Julian finds gardening relaxing
Julian Holland struggled to feel comfortable in social settings and had a debilitating lack of self-confidence.

For a long time he was reluctant to step outside his front door and took little care over the state of his home or appearance.

He suffered a breakdown last year and was hospitalized for three weeks.

Today however he is feeling much better and he puts that down to his involvement in a lottery funded special gardening project - Twigs (Therapeutic Gardening Work in Swindon) - that gives his life a new purpose.

Red Flag

Some Baby Foods are Worse Than Junk Food

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Some baby foods contain as much sugar and saturated fats as chocolate cookies or cheeseburgers.

A survey of more than 100 foods for babies and toddlers found examples that were 29 percent sugar, and others that contained trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease.

The Children's Food Campaign, part of food and farming campaign group Sustain, examined the nutritional content of 107 baby and toddler foods. Only half the products were low in saturated fat, salt and sugar.

Syringe

Army blasted for letting drug abusers slide

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© 2006 pool photoGen. Peter Chiarelli
Washington - Army commanders are failing to punish or seek treatment for a growing number of soldiers who test positive for substance abuse, possibly because they don't want to lose any more combat troops, the Army's vice chief of staff has warned.

In a May 8 memo to commanders provided to USA Today, Gen. Peter Chiarelli said hundreds of soldiers involved in "substance abuse-related misconduct (including multiple positive urinalyses)" were not processed for possible discharge. He also noted that many are not referred to the Army Substance Abuse Program for help.

Pills

Why do people with Down syndrome have less cancer?

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it's been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancer-protective genes. The late cancer researcher Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the Vascular Biology Program at Children's Hospital Boston, popularized the notion that they might be benefiting from a gene that blocks angiogenesis, the development of blood vessels essential for cancer's growth, since their incidence of other angiogenesis-related diseases like macular degeneration is also lower. A study from Children's confirms this idea in mice and human cells and identifies specific new therapeutic targets for treating cancer.

Publishing online May 20 in the journal Nature, cancer researcher Sandra Ryeom, PhD, and colleagues from Children's Vascular Biology Program show that a single extra copy of Dscr1 (one of the 231 genes on chromosome 21 affected by trisomy, with three copies rather than two) is sufficient to significantly suppress angiogenesis and tumor growth in mice, as well as angiogenesis in human cells. The team also found its protein, DSCR1, to be elevated in tissues from people with Down syndrome and in a mouse model of the disease.

Further study confirmed that DSCR1 acts by suppressing signaling by the angiogenesis-promoting protein vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In a mouse model of Down syndrome, endothelial cells (which make up blood vessel walls) showed a decreased growth response to VEGF when they had an extra copy of Dscr1. An extra copy of another chromosome 21 gene, Dyrk1A, also appeared to decrease cells' response to VEGF.

Family

Prevention Program Helps Teens Override A Gene Linked To Risky Behavior

A family-based prevention program designed to help adolescents avoid substance use and other risky behavior proved especially effective for a group of young teens with a genetic risk factor contributing toward such behavior, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia.

For two-and-a-half years, investigators monitored the progress of 11-year-olds enrolled in a family-centered prevention program called Strong African American Families (SAAF), and a comparison group. A DNA analysis showed some youths carried the short allele form of 5-HTTLPR. This fairly common genetic variation, found in over 40 percent of people, is known from previous studies to be associated with impulsivity, low self-control, binge drinking, and substance use.