Health & WellnessS


Whistle

How the EPA and the Pentagon downplayed a growing toxic threat of perfluoroalkyl substances

Abrahm Lustgarten
propublica.org
Mon, 09 Jul 2018 14:45 UTC
contamination
© Environmental Protection
A family of chemicals - known as PFAS and responsible for marvels like Teflon and critical to the safety of American military bases - has now emerged as a far greater menace than previously disclosed.

The chemicals once seemed near magical, able to repel water, oil and stains.

By the 1970s, DuPont and 3M had used them to develop Teflon and Scotchgard, and they slipped into an array of everyday products, from gum wrappers to sofas to frying pans to carpets. Known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, they were a boon to the military, too, which used them in foam that snuffed out explosive oil and fuel fires.

It's long been known that, in certain concentrations, the compounds could be dangerous if they got into water or if people breathed dust or ate food that contained them. Tests showed they accumulated in the blood of chemical factory workers and residents living nearby, and studies linked some of the chemicals to cancers and birth defects.

Comment: PFAS chemicals: Hidden studies conducted up to four decades ago found serious health effects

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Life Preserver

Digital detox: The health benefits of unplugging & unwinding

Sara Tipton
Ready Nutrition
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:06 UTC
tecnology
Recent studies have shown that 90% of Americans use digital devices for two or more hours each day and the average American spends more time a day on high-tech devices than they do sleeping: 8 hours and 21 minutes to be exact. If you've ever considered attempting a "digital detox", there are some health benefits to making that change and a few tips to make things a little easier on yourself.

Many Americans are on their phones rather than playing with their children or spending quality family time together. Some people give up technology, or certain aspects of it, such as social media for varying reasons, and there are some shockingly terrific health benefits that come along with that type of a detox from technology. In fact, more and more health experts and medical professionals are suggesting a periodic digital detox; an extended period without those technology gadgets. Studies continue to show that a digital detox, has proven to be beneficial for relationships, productivity, physical health, and mental health. If you find yourself overly stressed or unproductive or generally disengaged from those closest to you, it might be time to unplug.

Comment: Tech addiction: Photos depict how modern technology is 'stealing souls'
Addiction to technology "is placing the screen as an object of 'mass subculture', alienating the relation to our own body, and more generally to the physical world."

Antonie Geiger is a 20-year-old photographer from France who has perfectly outlined how our electronics are sucking the life out of us. They consume out attention tricking us into thinking it is about affection and all the while distracting us from living our present physical lives.

When we are not grounded in the present moment we are disconnecting. Since many of us are on a path of seeking connection we need to remember to keep our electronic tools in balance with our interpersonal connections.


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Microscope 2

Water Science: Evidence for Homeopathy

Dana Ullman & Lionel Milgrom, Ph.D.
Mercola.com
Fri, 09 Nov 2018 21:37 UTC
water science
© The Asian
If the common physician, scientist and educated consumer were to believe Wikipedia, they would assume that there is absolutely no research that shows the efficacy of homeopathic medicines in the treatment of any ailment. Furthermore, they would conclude homeopathic medicines are so small in dose, there is literally "nothing" in a homeopathic medicine.

And, if you are this gullible and vulnerable to Big Pharma propaganda, then we've got an island to sell you for $24! According to The Washington Post, Wikipedia's article on homeopathy and Jesus Christ are the two most controversial on that website in four leading languages (English, French, German and Spanish).
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Attention

The 'remarkable' decline in fertility rates

James Gallagher
BBC News
Fri, 09 Nov 2018 00:01 UTC
Mother and baby
© Getty Images
There has been a remarkable global decline in the number of children women are having, say researchers.

Their report found fertility rate falls meant nearly half of countries were now facing a "baby bust" - meaning there are insufficient children to maintain their population size.

The researchers said the findings were a "huge surprise".

And there would be profound consequences for societies with "more grandparents than grandchildren".

Comment: See also:

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Biohazard

US: 1 Dead, 164 sickened in ongoing turkey salmonella outbreak, 35 states affected

Catie Keck
Gizmodo
Fri, 09 Nov 2018 11:40 UTC
salmonella
Salmonella
Just two weeks out from the biggest turkey-focused day of the year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that 164 people across 35 states have fallen ill from Salmonella-tainted raw turkey.

The CDC said that 74 more people were reported sick in the ongoing outbreak since its last report in July, and the outbreak has been linked to one death in California. Lab tests showed that raw turkey products contaminated with Salmonella had multiple sources of origin, and the outbreak strain was identified in raw turkey pet food, raw turkey products, and live turkeys. While the CDC says it believes the sources of the outbreak strain show it could be "widespread," no products or brands have yet been recalled. The National Turkey Federation said it is cooperating in the ongoing investigation.

"Our members have individually reviewed their Salmonella control programs in all phases of turkey production and are working collectively through NTF to address this and all strains of Salmonella," it said in a statement on Thursday. "The intense focus of our membership on this issue has allowed the industry to further strengthen guidelines for biosecurity and food safety."

Comment: Reports of contaminated products and infectious diseases are in the news with increasing regularity these days: And for clues on the possible causes: Also check out SOTT radio's: The Health & Wellness Show: Syphilitic Superpower: The rise of STDs

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Info

Pain: Why do some people hurt more than others?

Erin Young
The Conversation
Fri, 26 Oct 2018 13:07 UTC
pain
© Mikhail_Kayl / Shutterstock.comSome people feel more pain than others.
Anyone who came of age in the 1990s remembers the "Friends" episode where Phoebe and Rachel venture out to get tattoos. Spoiler alert: Rachel gets a tattoo and Phoebe ends up with a black ink dot because she couldn't take the pain. This sitcom storyline is funny, but it also simply illustrates the question that I and many others in the field of "pain genetics" are trying to answer. What is it about Rachel that makes her different from Phoebe? And, more importantly, can we harness this difference to help the "Phoebes" of the world suffer less by making them more like the "Rachels"?

Pain is the single most common symptom reported when seeking medical attention. Under normal circumstances, pain signals injury, and the natural response is to protect ourselves until we have recovered and the pain subsides. Unfortunately, people differ not only in their ability to detect, tolerate and respond to pain but also in how they report it and how they respond to various treatments. This makes it difficult to know how to effectively treat each patient. So, why isn't pain the same in everyone?
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Take 2

BBC Documentary investigates 'The Placebo Effect'

Dr. Joseph Mercola
Mercola.com
Sat, 27 Oct 2018 19:49 UTC
The Placebo Experiment: Can My Brain Cure My Body? Dr. Michael Mosley
Could relief for chronic back pain be as easy as taking a sugar pill? In the BBC documentary,The Placebo Experiment: Can My Brain Cure My Body? Dr. Michael Mosley sets out to investigate the power of the placebo effect.

Several studies have demonstrated complaints of lower back pain have risen dramatically in recent decades. Ranking 12th as a cause of disability in 1990,1 it's now the leading cause of disability in nearly all high-income countries.2,3 As many as 8 in 10 adults will experience low back pain at some time in their life.4

Unfortunately, while the problem is fairly common worldwide, so is the mistreatment of the condition.5 In the U.S., more than 60 percent of people who see their physician for lower back pain are prescribed an opioid painkiller. This despite guidelines from the American College of Physicians which state prescription drugs should be used as a last resort.6

Comment: Placebos, nocebos, and the symptoms of healing

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Hearts

Ancient cures for modern times: Bridging the health care gap in Australia

Azriel ReShel
Upliftconnect.com
Fri, 02 Nov 2018 21:20 UTC
healers
Aboriginal healers are bringing their 60,000-year-old tradition into medical clinics across Australia. Working alongside doctors and other health care providers, the traditional healers known as Ngangkaṟis are offering their ancient and powerful traditional healing methods in mainstream health settings.

Traditional healers have been working in their own communities for thousands of years with amazing results, and now they are sharing their wisdom and filling the gaps of Western medicine in South Australia's Royal Adelaide Hospital and many other rural clinics around the country. In South Australia, a policy of cultural respect in the public health system supports Indigenous patients to request a Traditional Aboriginal Healer and so today we can see Aboriginal traditional medicine and Western medicine working hand in hand.
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Cupcake Pink

Dr. Davis: 10 reasons to never eat wheat again

Dr. Davis
wheatbellyblog.com
Thu, 08 Nov 2018 13:36 UTC
cupcake
There are plenty of reasons to never allow a bagel, sandwich, or pretzels to cross your lips again. But here are the top 10 most powerful and compelling reasons to tell the USDA and other providers of dietary advice to bug off with their "healthy whole grains" nonsense.
  1. Gliadin-derived opioid peptides (from partial digestion to 4- and 5-amino acid long fragments) increase appetite substantially-as do related proteins from rye, barley, and corn. This is a big part of the reason why grains make you gain weight.
  2. Gliadin-derived opioid peptides are mind active drugs that trigger behavioral outbursts in kids with ADHD and autism, paranoia in schizophrenics, and 24-hour-a-day food obsessions in people prone to bulimia and binge eating disorder, as well as anger, anxiety, and mind "fog."
  3. Gliadin, when intact, initiates the processes of autoimmunity leading to rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and 200 other conditions.
  4. Amylopectin A raises blood sugar to high levels-higher, ounce for ounce, than table sugar.
  5. Wheat germ agglutinin is a potent bowel toxin. One milligram-a speck-of purified wheat germ agglutinin given to a lab rat destroys its intestinal tract.
  6. Wheat germ agglutinin blocks gallbladder and pancreatic function (via blocking the receptor for cholecystokinin). This leads to impaired digestion and changes in bowel flora.
  7. Grain phytates block absorption of all positively-charged minerals-such as iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium.
  8. Multiple allergens are present-such as trypsin inhibitors, thioreductases, alpha amylase inhibitors, and gamma gliadins, responsible for asthma, skin rashes, and gastrointestinal distress.
  9. Grains are potent endocrine disrupters explaining why women with polycystic ovary syndrome, PCOS, are much worse with grain consumption, why men's breasts enlarge, why male levels of testosterone drop and estrogen increases, why pituitary prolactin levels are higher, why cortisol action is blocked, and why thyroid health is disrupted by autoimmune inflammation.
  10. Big Food and agribusiness use wheat and grains to control human buying behavior, putting their addictive appetite-stimulating effects to use to increase food consumption and keep you coming back for more.
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USA

America's Dark Vaccine History: The Pertussis Vaccine Blame Game

Barbara Loe Fisher
NVIC.org
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 13:30 UTC
Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
© Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
It is a primitive bacterial vaccine licensed in 19141. It has not been given to babies in America for 20 years. It is the vaccine that had brain damaged so many children and caused so many vaccine injury lawsuits 2 that Big Pharma used it to blackmail Congress into giving vaccine manufacturers a partial product liability shield in 1986, which the U.S. Supreme Court made even bigger in 2011. 3

I'm talking about whole cell pertussis vaccine in DPT, a crude brew of whole B. pertussis bacteria heated and washed with formaldehyde 4 but still full of neurotoxic aluminum 5 and mercury 6 along with shock-inducing endotoxin, 7,8 as well as brain damaging bioactive pertussis toxin, 9,10,11 a toxin so lethal that researchers use it to deliberately induce acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in lab animals. 12,13,14 Whole cell pertussis vaccine: the most reactive vaccine still given to infants and children in developing countries because it costs drug companies just pennies to make a dose of it. 15 Whole cell pertussis vaccine, the one that put pressure on the B. pertussis bacterium to mutate into vaccine resistant strains beginning in the 1950s. 16,17
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