When we think of hormones, we think of spotty teenagers and grouchy middle aged women. The truth is, we are all affected by hormones all of the time. Hormones play specific roles in our health and wellbeing. Some of our hormones are sexual in nature, but hormones play a whole range of other functions. When our hormones are balanced, we feel energetic and alive.

The endocrine system is a complex system made up of the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, thyroid, adrenals, gonads, pancreas, and pineal gland. These organs and glands release hormones which act as chemical messengers to transmit information from one cell to another. Tissue function, mood, growth, puberty, and metabolism are all regulated by these hormones. These hormones exist in a delicate and closely regulated balance. Hormonal imbalances, which can influence anyone at any age, not just menopausal women, can be caused by multiple factors and often result in vague symptoms that can be mistaken for other conditions or illnesses.

The symptoms of hormone imbalance can include fatigue, depression, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, headaches, low libido, weight loss, weight gain, hair loss, and much more. Because of their vague nature, these symptoms are often overlooked by people suffering from them. When a doctor is consulted it can be difficult to reach a diagnosis for the same reason. There is no one symptom that points specifically to a hormone imbalance. Often many other conditions are ruled out before a blood test is done to check for a hormonal imbalance.

The number of new cancer cases diagnosed annually in the United States will increase by 45 percent in the next 20 years, U.S. researchers said.

New cancer cases diagnosed annually will increase from 1.6 million in 2010 to 2.3 million in 2030, with a dramatic spike in incidence predicted in the elderly and minority populations, researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center said.

The study, published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, predicts a 67 percent increase in the number of adults age 65 or older diagnosed with cancer, from 1 million in 2010 to 1.6 million in 2030. In non-white individuals over the same 20-year span, the incidence is expected to increase by 100 percent, from 330,000 to 660,000.

Sunflowers are the earthly representation of the sun. They have such an affinity for the life giving force that they twist on their stems so their faces can bask in sunlight all through the day. Photons from the sun are stored in the DNA of the sunflower, making its seed resonate with the photons in human cells. This resonance is good for mind as well as body, and makes sunflowers one of the top foods for fighting depression.

Vegetarians and vegans often find it difficult getting enough protein in to their diets. They are usually stuck eating beans and soy products most of which do not actually contain all the necessary amino acids, or what is known as complete protein. A diet lacking in protein can cause many health problems ranging from lethargy and irritability to serious skin conditions, wasting muscles and a weakened immune system. This makes it essential for non meat eaters to get as much protein into their body as possible. The answer to this problem could come from a long forgotten South America Grain called Quinoa. Quinoa grain was once called "The gold of the Incas" and "The mother of all grains" and is known for its high protein content that contains all the amino acids essential for our wellbeing. The name Quinoa grain is in fact very misleading. Quinoa is actually the seed from a plant that is closely related to leafy green vegetables such as spinach and beets. It has recently become very popular because of its distinctive nutty taste, amazing versatility and incredibly high mineral content.

Caitlyn & Marguerite sat knee to knee in a sunny room at the Hawks Camp in Park City, Utah. On one wall was a white board with these questions: What's your favorite vacation and why? What's your favorite thing about yourself? If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Caitlyn, who is 13, and Marguerite, who is 16 (I've used only their first names to protect their privacy), held yellow sheets of paper on which they had written their answers. It was the third day of the weeklong camp, late for icebreakers. But the Hawks are kids with autistic disorders accompanied by a normal or high I.Q. And so the main goal of the camp, run on a 26-acre ranch by a Utah nonprofit organization called the National Ability Center, is to nudge them toward the sort of back and forth - "What's your favorite video game?" - that comes easily to most kids.

Along with Caitlyn and Marguerite, there were nine boys in the camp between the ages of 10 and 18. They also sat across from one another in pairs, with the exception of one 18-year-old who was arguing with a counselor. "All I require is a purple marker," the boy said over and over again, refusing to write with the black marker he had been given. A few feet away, an 11-year-old was yipping and grunting while his partner read his answers in a monotone, eyes trained on his yellow paper. Another counselor hurried over to them.

Marguerite was also reading her answers without eye contact or inflection. "My favorite vacations were to India and Thailand my favorite thing about myself is that I'm nice to people if I could choose any superpower I'd be invisible," she said in an unbroken stream. She looked up from her paper and past Caitlyn, smoothing her turquoise halter top over the waist of a pair of baggy cotton pants. Caitlyn was also staring into the middle distance. She has gold-streaked hair, which was bunched on top, and wore a black T-shirt with a sunburst on the front and canvas sneakers with skulls on the tops. The girls didn't look uncomfortable, just unplugged.

A new landmark study documents for the first time the process in which increased mercury emissions from human sources across the globe, and in particular from Asia, make their way into the North Pacific Ocean and as a result contaminate tuna and other seafood. Because much of the mercury that enters the North Pacific comes from the atmosphere, scientists have predicted an additional 50 percent increase in mercury in the Pacific by 2050 if mercury emission rates continue as projected.

"This unprecedented USGS study is critically important to the health and safety of the American people and our wildlife because it helps us understand the relationship between atmospheric emissions of mercury and concentrations of mercury in marine fish," said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. "We have always known that mercury can pose a risk, now we need to reduce the mercury emissions so that we can reduce the ocean mercury levels."

ProPublica has been reporting for months about how natural gas drilling is affecting the environment, but of all the causes for concern we've reported, here's a doozy.

Sixteen cattle dropped dead in a northwestern Louisiana field this week after apparently drinking from a mysterious fluid adjacent to a natural gas drilling rig, according to Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality and a report in the Shreveport Times. At least one worker told the newspaper that the fluids, which witnesses described as green and spewing into the air near the drilling derrick, were used for a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. But the company, Chesapeake Energy , has not identified exactly what chemicals are in those fluids and is insisting to state regulators that no spill occurred.

Economic stress is usually blamed, but a bunch of government-approved psychoactive drugs have proven homicidal and suicidal side effects.

The late comedian Richard Pryor used to riff about a fictitious interview with a mass murderer.

"But why did you kill [gulp] everyone in the house?" asks the reporter.

"They was home."

Today it wouldn't be funny.

The occasional Susan Smith or Andrea Yates who kills her kids has given way to the weekly child, sibling, parent, grandparent, spouse and all-of-the-above killer.

If we are to believe what our trusted international media report, the world is on the brink of a global pandemic outbreak of a new deadly strain of flu, H1N1 as it has been labelled, or more popularly, Swine Flu. As the story goes, the outbreak of the deadly flu was first discovered in Mexico. According to press reports, after several days, headlines reported as many as perhaps 150 deaths in Mexico were believed caused by this virulent people-killing pig virus that has spread to humans and now is allegedly being further spread from human to human. Cases were being reported hourly from Canada to Spain and beyond. The only thing wrong with this story is that it is largely based on lies, hype and coverup of possible real causes of Mexican deaths.

One website, revealingly named Swine Flu Vaccine, reports the alarming news, 'One out of every five residents of Mexico's most populous city wore masks to protect themselves against the virus as Mexico City seems to be the epicenter of the outbreak. As many as 103 deaths have been attributed to the swine flu so far with many more feared to be on the horizon. The health department of Mexico said an additional 1,614 reported cases have been documented.' We are told that the H1N1 'shares genetic material from human, avian and swine influenza viruses. '1

Airports around the world have installed passenger temperature scans to identify anyone with above normal body temperature as possible suspect for swine flu. Travel to Mexico has collapsed. Sales of flu drugs, above all Tamiflu from Roche Inc., have exploded in days. People have stopped buying pork fearing certain death. The World Health Organization has declared 'a public health emergency of international concern,' defined by them as 'an occurrence or imminent threat of illness or health conditions caused by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or highly fatal infectious agents or toxins that pose serious risk to a significant number of people. '2

If you read the stories on H1N1 influenza written by the mainstream media, you might incorrectly think there's only one anti-viral drug in the world. It's name is Tamiflu and it's in short supply.

That's astonishing to hear because the world is full of anti-viral medicine found in tens of thousands of different plants. Culinary herbs like thyme, sage and rosemary are anti-viral. Berries and sprouts are anti-viral. Garlic, ginger and onions are anti-viral. You can't walk through a grocery store without walking past a hundred or more anti-viral medicines made by Mother Nature.

And yet how many does the mainstream media mention? Zero.

The totality of influenza preparedness is defined by the mainstream media as the number of doses of Tamiflu a nation has stockpiled. You see it in stories like this one at the Wall Street Journal.