Health & WellnessS


Pills

Counterfeit prescription pills made of fentanyl are killing Americans

Samara Lynn
ABC News
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 12:31 UTC
Tablets
© Don Emmert/AFP via Getty ImagesTablets believed to be laced with fentanyl are displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration Northeast Regional Laboratory on Oct. 8, 2019 in New York.
The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning on Monday about counterfeit prescription pills, saying the pills are "killing Americans."

"Mexican drug cartels are manufacturing mass quantities of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl," according to a press release from the DEA.

Twenty-seven percent of counterfeit pills seized by the DEA contain "potentially lethal doses of fentanyl," according to the government agency.

"Capitalizing on the opioid epidemic and prescription drug abuse in the United States, drug trafficking organizations are now sending counterfeit pills made with fentanyl in bulk to the United States for distribution," said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon in a statement. "Counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl and fentanyl-laced heroin are responsible for thousands of opioid-related deaths in the United States each year."
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Brain

Yes, you can catch insanity

Andrew Curry
Nautilus
Thu, 16 Apr 2015 17:19 UTC
Isak
© Adam McCuneA LAST SHOT: At first, Isak’s parents had no idea where their son’s violent tics and terrifying visions came from. Right around the time he snapped this photo, says his father, Adam McCune, Isak “stopped letting us take his picture. He would scream at the sight of seeing us raise our phones.”Adam McCune
A controversial disease revives the debate about the immune system and mental illness.

One day in March 2010, Isak McCune started clearing his throat with a forceful, violent sound. The New Hampshire toddler was 3, with a Beatles mop of blonde hair and a cuddly, loving personality. His parents had no idea where the guttural tic came from. They figured it was springtime allergies.

Soon after, Isak began to scream as if in pain and grunt at his parents and peers. When he wasn't throwing hours-long tantrums, he stared vacantly into space. By the time he was 5, he was plagued by insistent, terrifying thoughts of death. "He would smash his head into windows and glass whenever the word 'dead' came into his head. He was trying to drown out the thoughts," says his mother, Robin McCune, a baker in Goffstown, a small town outside Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city.

Isak's parents took him to pediatricians, therapy appointments, and psychiatrists. He was diagnosed with a host of disorders: sensory processing disorder, oppositional defiance disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). At 5, he spent a year on Prozac, "and seemed to get worse on it," says Robin McCune.

The McCunes tried to make peace with the idea that their son might never come back. In kindergarten, he grunted and screamed, frightening his teachers and classmates. "He started hearing voices, thought he saw things, he couldn't go to the bathroom alone," Robin McCune says. "His fear was immense and paralyzing."
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Biohazard

Massive hummus recall in UK over salmonella fears


RT
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 12:40 UTC
hummus
A massive recall of hummus from UK supermarkets has been extended and now includes some 80 products potentially contaminated with Salmonella the country's Food Safety Authority has warned.

Dip maker Zorba Delicacies raised the alarm after discovering potential contamination in its products in the last week of October. Zorba supplies major retailers like Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's, John Lewis and Iceland among others.

The initial recall affected goods with a use-by date up to and including November 7 but that has now been extended by ten days to include products expiring on November 17.

The full list of recalled products can be found here.

Comment: We're seeing a disturbing rise in cheap food substitutes being passed off as something they're not (like horse meat being sold as beef), a worrying trend of food contamination and poisonings, as well as an uptick in infectious diseases, and one can't help but wonder whether they're in some way connected:

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Bacon

Lard rated one of the top 10 healthiest foods

Dr. Joseph Mercola
Mercola.com
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 00:01 UTC
lard
For decades, saturated fats like butter, lard and tallow were said to cause heart disease. Responding to such health concerns, the food industry replaced saturated fats with hydrogenated oils that are loaded with trans fats, giving rise to a whole new market of low-fat (but high-sugar) foods.

Americans' health plummeted in tandem with this systemwide change, and millions have been prematurely killed by it. As it turns out, trans fat, found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, acts as a pro-oxidant, contributing to oxidative stress that causes cellular damage.

Trans fat is also a major contributor to insulin resistance, currently affecting an estimated 8 in 10 Americans,1,2 and many researchers agree that there is no threshold at which trans fats are safe.

Comment: See also:

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Health

Cancer cases in India spike by over 300% in 1 year, new govt data shows


RT
Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Indian Cancer Patients
© REUTERS/Munish Sharma
The number of Indians diagnosed with cancer more than tripled between 2017 and 2018, according to a new government report. The increase is attributed to a rise in unhealthy lifestyles, as well as better detection.

Of the 65 million patients who visited state-run NCD (non-communicable disease) clinics in 2018, 160,000 were treated for common cancer - including cervical, oral, and breast cancer. Revealed in India's 2019 National Health Profile, the figure represents a nearly 324-percent increase from the previous year.

Comment:
Cancer distribution in India
© cancerindia.orgGeographic distribution and burden of cancers in India - 2018
See also:

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Info

1 dead, 8 others hospitalized in Salmonella outbreak likely tied to ground beef

William Mansell
ABC News
Sat, 02 Nov 2019 02:49 UTC
Ground beef
© Erik Isakson/Getty Images/Tetra images RF
One person has died and eight others have been hospitalized in a Salmonella outbreak likely tied to ground beef, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lab testing indicated that ground beef is a "likely source" of the most recent outbreak but that a "single, common supplier of ground beef has not been identified," according to the CDC.

There are 10 known people from six states who have been infected and the illnesses in this outbreak are more severe than expected from typical Salmonella infections, in which only 25% usually required some type of hospitalization, according to the CDC.

Salmonella was positively identified from repackaged leftover ground beef from an ill person's home in California. Other Salmonella patients reported eating different types and brands of ground beef, which were purchased from many different locations, according to the agency.
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Life Preserver

Lion's Mane Mushroom proven to reduce anxiety and depression

Crystalline Nutrients
The Mind Unleashed
Mon, 21 Oct 2019 15:13 UTC
lions mane mushroom
Lion's mane mushroom is a medicinal food with many benefits that has been used for centuries and has now been shown to be an effective natural depression and anxiety treatment.

A placebo-controlled human clinical study took 30 female patients to investigate the effects of lion's mane on menopause, depression, sleep quality and anxiety.

Of those who finished the study, 14 took a placebo and 12 took lion's mane mushroom extract that was baked into cookies. Two grams of lion's mane mushroom per day were consumed and after four weeks of use, a reduction in depression and anxiety were reported by the lions mane mushroom group.

Comment: Lion's Mane mushroom: Unparalleled benefits for your brain & nervous system

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Pills

The Pill Pitch

Sharyl Attkisson
The Vaccine Reaction
Fri, 27 Sep 2019 13:42 UTC
pill
Prescription drugs help many people and even save lives. But use of prescription drugs as prescribed is also a leading cause of death in the U.S.

Are some pharmaceutical companies skirting TV ad rules so that they don't have to disclose side effects of some vaccines and other prescription medicine?

Some critics say "yes." And when I asked the FDA about the allegations, the agency told me it's planning a new study into the issue.

Below are excerpts from my Full Measure investigation with a link to the full story at the bottom.
Full Measure has learned the FDA is planning a new study on TV advertising of prescription drugs. It's a multi-billion dollar industry benefiting both pharmaceutical companies and the television networks paid to run the ads. Supporters say patients benefit too. But almost nowhere in the world is it allowed except here. And with prescription drugs a leading cause of death and injury, we investigate the Pill Pitch.

Comment: Hopefully the article Breaking Big Pharma: Doctors call for immediate drug advertising ban will help consumers look at drugs more critically and demand full information before they succumb to Big Pharma drugs with serious side effects!
During a recent vote at the annual meeting in Atlanta, the nation's American Medical Association decided that they were going to call for a ban on consumer drug commercials in magazines and television commercials.

This vote "reflects concerns among physicians about the negative impact of commercially driven promotions, and the role that marketing costs play in fueling escalating drug prices," said AMA Board Chair-elect Patrice A. Harris in a statement announcing the votes result. "Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when these drugs may not be appropriate."
In his excellent book, Generation RX, Greg Critser traces the history of direct-to-consumer advertising and unveils early concerns from major drug companies that it would raise fears of disease, sell unnecessary pills and corrupt the doctor/patient relationship. That's exactly what has happened and Pharma is lamenting it all the way to the bank.


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Cow

Let them eat steak: Hold the shame, red meat is not bad for you or climate change

Will Coggin
USA Today
Sun, 03 Nov 2019 06:02 UTC
steaks butcher display
© J. Scott Applewhite/APSteaks and and other beef products for sale at a grocery store.
Imagine ordering dinner at your favorite restaurant. You know what you want without hesitation: a perfectly marbled 8-ounce steak cooked medium rare. Just before you order, your date tells you they've read that cows cause climate change and that meat might be unhealthy. Suddenly, the Caesar salad seems like a better option.

We've all been steak-shamed before. Ever since Sen. George McGovern's 1977 Dietary Goals report declared red meat a health villain, Americans have been chided out of eating red meat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, red meat consumption has fallen more than 24% since 1976. During that time, study after study has attempted to tie red meat to a laundry list of health problems.

Until now.

Comment: See also:

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Health

Itchy skin conditions and mental health are linked, and we need to talk about it

Peter Dockrill
Science Alert
Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:01 UTC
scratch itch itchy skin
© simarik/iStock
Why do we itch? The reasons are many and varied. But what's becoming ever clearer is many who experience chronic itching due to skin conditions also shoulder a profound psychological burden no scratching can relieve.

While the nature of this link around conditions like eczema and psoriasis has been investigated before, scientists say we're still only beginning to understand how skin disorders, mental health problems, and quality of life all intersect.

"There are already studies showing evidence of a correlation between itch and mental health problems in general, and in specific skin disorders, but there is a lack of a cross-sectional study across chronic skin diseases," says dermatologist Florence J. Dalgard from Lund University in Sweden.

Comment: There is also the possibility that both itchy skin and mental health problems share the same common cause, such as autoimmunity, poor blood sugar control or histamine intolerance.

See also:

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